So I may say, we rob no race to gild the Irish name when we undertake to unearth the records of the past, showing what the Irish element has accomplished in the early colonial periods and in later periods when the republic was forming and had become a fact. We merely wish to claim, assert and set forth the credit which to us belongs, for the part that men and women of Irish blood took in bringing about the reign of liberty and freedom we now enjoy. Toward people of all other race elements in the make-up of the American people—English, French, Dutch, German, etc., by whatever name they may be known or from whatever land they or their ancestors may have come—we entertain good will and desire them to have such meed of credit and of praise as to them belongs. We do not wish to praise ourselves by “masquerading in borrowed plumes,” nor have we any desire to detract one iota from the credit that is honestly that of others. But the credit that is ours we demand and shall insist upon possessing. Our mission is “To make better known the Irish chapter in American history.” That brief statement of our principles conveys in a very few words our exact reason for existence as a society. We are an American historical organization devoted to a work that shall place the Irish element in this great republic in its proper and merited position before the American people of which we constitute no small part, and which shall, at the same time, reflect glory upon the Irish fatherland. Our Society rests upon a generous basis. Its founders builded wisely and for the perpetuation of the heroic deeds of the past. I trust these founders will long be honored by every member of the organization. Reviewing the work thus far accomplished by the Society, I am prompted to say a few words: With very limited financial means, we have, nevertheless, produced five handsome volumes of the JOURNAL of the organization, two other volumes of great merit and a number of extremely interesting pamphlets. Copies of these publications have been placed in the leading libraries of the country, where they have been cordially welcomed. Our publications are in the libraries of such institutions as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown, Princeton, and other great universities, where they are having an excellent influence. Here in Washington our publications are in the library of Congress, in that of the George Washington University, in the Catholic University and in the newly-established Trinity College for young women. The United States Military Academy at West Point also has our works on its shelves, as has the Naval Academy at Annapolis. From many leading historical societies come reports of our publications being received by them.