SHORT ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MASTER KARL EGAN, AT THE IOWA OPERA HOUSE, EMMETSBURG, IOWA, MARCH 17, 1909, DURING THE PRESENTATION OF THE IRISH DRAMA, “THE HERO OF WICKLOW,” UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS. SOME FACTS OF INTEREST TO THE PEOPLE OF IRISH BIRTH OR ANCESTRY. _Ladies and Gentlemen_: On this important anniversary, which is associated with so many achievements of interest to the people of our race, it is fitting to enquire what part the Irish took in the Revolutionary War. What did they do for the cause of human liberty at this most critical time in the world’s history? All we ask is the truth. For some reason our ordinary school histories have never given us any credit for the prominent part our ancestors took in that great struggle. What I shall say will bear the closest historical investigation. It was Patrick Henry, who, by his soul-stirring speech, aroused the members of the Virginia Assembly to a sense of patriotic duty. In 1776 he ran for governor on the Independence ticket and carried that important colony for the Revolutionary cause. Still, he claimed that John Rutledge of South Carolina was the greatest American orator of his time. The latter was also elected president of South Carolina in 1776, on the same ticket. John Rutledge and Patrick Henry were both sons of Irishmen. [Illustration: MR. WILLIAM J. FEELEY. Of Providence, R. I. One of the Committee in charge of the Sullivan Memorial and under whose guidance the Memorial was designed and executed. ] During the Revolutionary War men of Irish birth or ancestry served as governors in South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. They were among the most ardent and fearless of the patriots of that history-making period. It was in John Duggan’s tavern in Boston that the Boston Tea Party was planned. Several Irishmen were in the execution of the plan. Eleven of the fifty-four members of the first Continental Congress were Irishmen and sons of Irishmen. Thomas Johnson, who nominated George Washington for commander-in-chief of the American forces, was a Celt of the old school. The war began April, 1775, but it was not officially declared until July 4, 1776. October 15, 1775, Congress sent a committee to interview General Washington and to decide as to the advisability of continuing the struggle. Of the five who participated in that most important conference, Joseph Reed and Thomas Lynch were Irish. The other members were Benjamin Franklin, Colonel Harrison and General Washington.