I remember one occasion in particular when O’Connell was, of course, the hero of the day, which impressed itself upon my youthful mind the more forcibly on account of the presence on the platform of Jack Langan—­of whom I have already spoken—­a warm-hearted and generous supporter of the great Dan, and the Cause of Repeal.  Indeed, we boys regarded the Irish champion boxer with the admiration we would have bestowed upon Finn MacCool or some other of the ancient Fenians, could they have appeared in bodily form amongst us.

Little we then thought that we should be welcoming on the same platform the Fenians of our own days.

That meeting in the Adelphi has also been frequently brought back to my mind since, because for a long time the “leading man” in the stock company at that theatre was Edmond O’Rourke (stage name Falconer), a sterling Nationalist, with whom I made a closer acquaintance in later years.

I was often brought by my father to the weekly gatherings in the Repeal Hall, Paradise Street, where, among the speakers on the Sunday nights I can best remember were Terence Bellew MacManus, Patrick O’Hanlon, Dr. Reynolds, George Smyth, and George Archdeacon.

MacManus and Smyth (the latter of whom I knew well in after years), besides being prominent workers in O’Connell’s agitation for Repeal of the Union between Ireland and Great Britain, took active parts in the “Young Ireland” movement.  Dr. Reynolds was another of the Young Irelanders.  So also was Archdeacon, who, in addition, still showed his belief in physical force by his connection with Fenianism, for which he suffered imprisonment.

Young as I was, I shall never forget the days of the Famine, for Liverpool, more than any other place outside of Ireland itself, felt its appalling effects.  It was the main artery through which the flying people poured to escape from what seemed a doomed land.  Many thousands could get no further, and the condition of the already overcrowded parts of the town in which our people lived became terrible, for the wretched people brought with them the dreaded Famine Fever, and Liverpool became a plague-stricken city.  Never was heroism greater than was shown by the devoted priests—­English as well as Irish—­in ministering to the sick and dying.  So terrible was the mortality amongst them that several of the churches lost their priests twice over.  Our own family were nearly left orphans, for both father and mother were stricken down by the fever, but happily recovered.

It will not be wondered at that one who saw these things, even though he was only a boy, should feel it a duty stronger than life itself to reverse the system of misgovernment which was responsible.