I shall always remember with pride my share in increasing and organising the Irish vote throughout Great Britain, and its result in bringing Mr. Gladstone back to power, and enabling him to carry the Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons.

It was my duty to visit every part of Great Britain to see that the various districts and branches were kept in a high state of efficiency, and at the end of that period of hard and unremitting work from 1886 to 1892 I was able to show our Executive from the books and figures in our possession that we had accomplished our aim.

CHAPTER XX.

GLADSTONE’S “FLOWING TIDE.”

I was present at most of the bye-elections that led up to Gladstone’s great victory at the General Election of 1892.

In this way I was brought to many places interesting to us as Catholics as well as Irishmen.

No spot in Great Britain is more sacred to us than Iona, an island off the West coast of Scotland, which our great typical Irish saint, Columba, made his home and centre when bringing the light of faith to those regions.  It will, therefore, be one of the memories of my life most dear to me that I had the blessing of taking part in the famous Pilgrimage to Iona on June 13th, 1888.  The town of Oban, on the mainland of Scotland, is generally made the point of departure for Iona, which is not far off.

Oban is one of the five Ayr burghs which, combined, send a member to Parliament, and it was singular that, at this time, there was a bye-election going on.  As creed and country have always gone together with me, I did not think it at all inappropriate that I should do a little work for Irish self-government while on this Pilgrimage.  On the contrary.  Was not St. Columba himself a champion of Home Rule, for was it not through his eloquent advocacy of their cause before the great Irish National Assembly that the Scots of Alba, as distinguished from the Scots of Erin, obtained the right of self-government?

One of the best numbers of my Irish Library was the “Life of St. Columbkille,” written for me by Michael O’Mahony, one of a band of young Irishmen, members of the Irish Literary Institute of Liverpool, who did splendid service for the Cause in that city.  Michael was, of these, perhaps the one possessing the most characteristic Irish gifts.  He has written some admirable stories of Irish life, and is a poet, although he has not written as much as I would like to see from his pen.

There are no Irish residents in Iona itself, but I found a few in Oban, on whom I called to secure their votes for Home Rule.

To hear Mass on the spot made sacred by the feet of our great Irish saint, in the building, then a ruin, erected by his successors to replace that which he himself had raised here as a centre of his great missionary labours, was an experience to treasure until one’s latest day.  What made the celebration the more memorable was the sermon in Gaelic by Bishop MacDonald of Argyll and the Isles.  I had the pleasure, after Mass, of having dinner with him, and some most interesting conversation.