“One moment more, my friends. I have tarried long. This page stands out alone in the history of this Society of which I have the honor and rare privilege of being the Executive. Ladies and gentlemen, that Society has one purpose; that purpose is written between the lines of today’s event. We want to know the men who have lived, who have fought, who have bled, who have given everything to the cause of the American people. We want to record their deeds in order that the womb of the future may bring forth a race, generations distant from us, that will stand up and say, ‘I, too, am Irish, although I have six generations separating me from that blood,’ a race that will cherish everything Irish and will extend the open hand of welcome to everyone who bears the hall mark of Ireland, whether his religion be Catholic or Protestant. “We are broad, we are honest, we are liberal. We want to attack no man, but when we peruse the pages of American history, when we turn over volume after volume, chapter after chapter, page after page, and search paragraph after paragraph, line after line, syllable after syllable, and see no recognition of the services of Irishmen, our hearts bleed because the omission is culpable and not due to the fact that the historian could find no achievements to make good his lines. “We claim our place in this Republic. We have sacrificed everything in the world for it. We would go further tomorrow and pledge every security, sever ourselves from home, to protect our freedom and these flags. The United States is ours, whether on the shores of California, Maine, Texas, or Washington. There is one freedom, one brotherhood of man. “I could detain you longer, friends, but the time allotted me forbids. I have lingered longer than I should, but I know of no sentiment with which I might more fittingly conclude than that of one of your great New England worthies, the man who is enshrined in the sanctuary of your hearts, John Boyle O’Reilly. He says, in his own peculiar but grand way: “‘No treason we bring from Erin, nor bring we shame nor guilt! The sword we hold may be broken, but we have not dropped the hilt. The wreath we bear to Columbia is twisted to thorns, not bays; And the songs we sing are saddened by thoughts of desolate days. But the hearts we bring for freedom are washed in the surge of tears; And we claim our right by a people’s fight outliving a thousand years.’” At the conclusion of Doctor Quinlan’s address the Chairman declared the ceremonies of dedication over, thanking all those present for their attendance.