must grow spontaneously
out of some stirring incident of the hour. Never in those days were our
people so deeply moved as by the Manchester Martyrdom. There is no
grander episode in all Irish history. The song of "God Save Ireland,"
embodying the cry raised by Edward O'Meagher Condon, and taken up by his
doomed companions in the dock, so expressed the feelings of all hearts
that it was at once accepted by Irishmen the world over as the National
Anthem.

I sympathise with the ground taken up by our friends of the Gaelic
League that a National Anthem should be in the national tongue. That
objection has to some extent been met by the very fine translation of
"God Save Ireland" into Gaelic by Daniel Lynch. This appeared in one of
my publications, and is the version now frequently sung at Irish
patriotic gatherings.

With regard to the objection that the air--"Tramp, tramp, the boys are
marching"--to which T.D. wrote the song is of American origin, I was
under the impression that Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, the famous
Irish-American bandmaster, was the composer of it, and that, therefore,
we could claim the air of "God Save Ireland" as being Irish as well as
the words. To place the matter beyond doubt, Gilmore himself being dead,
I wrote to his daughter, Mary Sarsfield Gilmore, a distinguished
poetical contributor to the "Irish World," to ascertain the facts. I got
from her a most interesting reply, in which she said, "I am more than
sorry to disappoint you by my answer, but my father was _not_ the
composer of the air you mention."

I have heard it suggested that McCann's famous war song "O'Donnell
Aboo!" should be adopted as our National Anthem instead of "God Save
Ireland," and I have heard of it being given as a _finale_ at Gaelic
League concerts.

Without doubt it is a fine song, and the air to which it is generally
sung is a noble one. A distinguished Irish poet tells me he is of
opinion that "what will be universally taken up as the Irish National
Anthem has never yet been written." My friend may be right, but let us
see what claim "O'Donnell Aboo!'"--song or air--has upon us for adoption
as our National Anthem.

To do this I must go back in my narrative to the time when I made the
acquaintance of Mr. Michael Joseph McCann, its author. This was a few
years before "God Save Ireland" was written, and over twenty years after
"O'Donnell Aboo!" appeared in the "Nation."

A party of young Irishmen from Liverpool enga