 |
| Eamon de Velara |
With the upcoming visit of Dr. Mary McAleese this Friday, it
occurred to me that this is not the first time that a President of Ireland has
come to St. Patrick Church. The planning
for her visit has been going on for weeks with agendas being confirmed, and
protocols being checked. This week’s
visit is being co-sponsored by the Irish Cultural Committee of St Patrick
Parish and UMass Lowell. It has been a
whirlwind of meetings and emails. Things
haven’t changed much from a similar event in 1920.
As the provisional president of Ireland, Eamon de Valera was
on vigorous 19 month-long tour of the US seeking recognition of the Irish
Republic. The purpose of his visit was to acquire a loan to help secure
finances for the newly formed country and to seek the help of the American
public in accomplishing these goals. At
times his itinerary had him visiting several cities in one day, making speeches
to groups both small and large, and moving from one train station to
another. A committee of Lowell citizens
wrote a letter in September of 1919 to de Valera petitioning him to visit the
city. A response came committing that he
would arrive on Sunday, February 8, 1920.
Once word got out, it seems that every Catholic church, city dignitary
and politician, every social group and fraternity and marching band wanted to
join in. The Lowell Sun tracked the
President’s whereabouts day by day. As
the day of the visit drew closer, the city prepared itself. Notices were posted about different Holy Name
Societies preparing their marching orders.
Receptions were planned around the city.
A parade route was formed with each organization vying for its place to
greet the President.
We are told that the skies shown bright blue on the day of
the visit. But February in New England
is known for its frigid temperatures and winds, and that was what nature sent
that day. A corps of uniformed soldiers
made their way to the train station on Middlesex Street. They formed an honor guard for the motorcar
that would carry him through the city. He
was set to arrive at about two in the afternoon. Though a full agenda was planned, he was set
to leave for Lawrence by 6 pm. The crowd
was estimated to be over 10 thousand that lined the route. Many businesses had donned bunting and the
Irish colors over the doorways and window fronts.
As the fates would have it, his train had a series of
delays. There was no way to let the
crowds know of the length of time they would have to wait in the cold. Many tried making their way into the train
station to get warm. Others hid in the
doorway along Merrimack Street. The
reporter of the day said few would leave their post. Finally at 5 pm a cheer went up announcing
his arrival. The excitement passed along
the parade route down Middlesex, to Central, to Merrimack, to City Hall, where
a private reception was planned with speeches by a long list of
politicians. He was given the seat of
the Mayor while the politicians spoke on. De Velara made his apologies and
everything was cut short due to time.
 |
| Msgr. William O'Brien |
There was one item on the list that was not deleted. De Valera got in a car and was driven over to
St. Patrick Parish where he had a private audience with Msgr. William O’Brien. We have no idea what was said between the two
men, but we do know that he was invited into the rectory for a small
reception. From there, he went to the
main reception of the visit at Associates Hall.
It was now 7 pm. The room could
not hold another person. Many stayed out
in the cold just to hear his voice.
Mayor Thompson and Fr. McDermott of Sacred Heart introduced the
President. His speech came from the
heart. He spoke of freedom, the right to
choose, and the right of a people to for their own government. The speech was as American asyou could get, but tugged at the hearts of those who knew
the Irish plight. It was 9:15 pm by the
time speeches were done and he was on his way to the next city, always working
for the cause.
Please join us as we welcome President Mary McAleese on her visit to
St. Patrick Church and Lowell on Friday, November 8th at 4pm. Dr. McAleese will speak on the peace process
and light a peace candle to be kept burning at the church.
No comments:
Post a Comment