Jeremiah was the patron-saint for Ireland for a long time. Simeon (the
Welsh) had and have David; and as surely as the Welsh have kept their
saint, so surely ought Ireland. St. Patrick is looked upon by many as a
mythical person. I believe, however, that he was a veritable man. The
best authorities make out that he was born at Bonavena, in ancient Gaul,
near what is now called Boulogne, some time about 387 A.D. He is
reported as having died March 17th, 465, in the county Down. His
father’s name was Calpurnius. Young Calpurnius, or St. Patrick, as he
was afterwards called, had a hard life of it in youth. I believe him to
have been a Benjamite, a Christian; for the Benjamites began to fill in
that part of France about that period. This Tribe were by nature
missionaries. This prompted him to desire to redeem his brethren in
Ireland. In Ulster he began his labours. From this same Tribe others
had visited Ireland. History mentions four who preceded St. Patrick.
The name of St. Paul, by many, is connected with a visit to Ireland. It
is very easy to see how Jeremiah, the patron-saint of Judah, would be
installed in such a relation with the Danites after his death. He was
the real sainted patriarch of Ireland. And by a crafty design of Rome,
young Calpurnius was created sainted patriarch, or St. Patrick, and by
this means Rome linked the greater part of the Irish nation on to
herself. Anybody honest and familiar with history knows that St. Patrick
was a Christian, and in no sense of the word a Roman Catholic. The fact
is, Rome began early to covet Ireland. Once they got possession, it was
necessary for them to destroy the influence of Jeremiah. This they did,
in part, by substituting the name of St. Patrick in the place of the
prophet’s; and more, they then set to work to destroy even the old and
famous capital city of Tara. In 565 St. Ruadham, along with a _posse_ of
bishops and chiefs of the South of Ireland, cursed the city, so that
neither King nor Queen might ever rule or reign therein again. They
forced the government, monarchy and people to abandon the place. From
thence Tara was deserted, and the harp sounded no more through Tara’s
halls. The city thus cursed crumbled to ruins, and remains to this day
buried, awaiting a glorious resurrection. Rome caught her prize at last;
but neither Rome nor any other power ever enslaved or conquered Ulster.
Beyond the pale—that is, the dividing line, running from the Boyne to the
Shannon—Rome never got, nor never will. Irishmen clamour for
independence, to be free from England, and wonder why they are not. The
reason is that God cannot trust liberty to them; for a people that yoke
themselves to a foreigner, and give themselves over to be governed in
spiritual matters, would make a poor effort if trusted with their
temporal government. We all know that if Ireland had been free, she
would not long have remained so, for body, as well as soul, she would
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