This is the youngest historical daughter of Erin in America. It has been suckled at the breasts of the Mother Irish Societies here, many of whom are older than the very country itself. It has grown and matured because it was sustained by a spirit of justice, and it has lived and prospered under the sheltering influence of the Stars and Stripes. Our fathers sought this country as an asylum from the tyranny and misrule of England, and they builded far better than they knew. For the past two hundred years, they were deprived of every condition, social and educational, that belonged to a country whose civilization at one time had illumined the world. The pages of Irish history for the past seven hundred years present little else than sorrow, privation and oppression. During the past two hundred years, Irishmen have come to Columbia’s open arms, and they have not been unworthy of her tender care and affection. We stand here tonight entrenched behind the history of our past, and Ireland’s sons and daughters have taken their place in the household of America, and we will strive to be worthy of the position assigned to us in her family. I am pleased to announce that the past year has witnessed industrial and educational changes in the Emerald Isle. One-half of the present occupiers of the land have purchased the ground outright (Applause) and the division of the untenanted pasture lands among the people has stimulated thrift and neatness, as well as increased production, whilst the Irish trade-mark has protected its home industries. Home Rule agitation has strengthened the position of Mr. Redmond and vindicated his Parliamentary activity. The prospects for Home Rule in Ireland, whether from the tariff reform or from the Conservatives or Free Trade Liberals, are now brighter than they have been since the year 1885. (Applause.) [Illustration: HONORABLE THOMAS F. GILROY, Far Rockaway, Queen’s County, New York. Formerly Mayor of New York City. ] It is not my thought, in this prefatory address, to invade the province of subsequent speakers, but rather to introduce to you in a modest way our position as an historical body in this great nation. The gentlemen who will follow me will give you detailed accounts of our activity and strength in this country, whereas it is my humble part to explain our existence and ratify our importance as one of the races that make up this glorious Republic. (Applause.) We know no creed except the Sermon on the Mount; no race but the community of honest purpose; no politics but those which serve for the betterment of mankind. We want our record from the voyage of Brendan, who antedated Columbus nine hundred and fifty years, to this country, down to the invention of Brennan of the monorail, inscribed upon the pages of history as products of Irish thought and ingenuity.