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Subj: [IRELAND] Columbus or Lynch, from "The Quest for the Galloping Hogan"
Date: 7/8/00 12:06:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: JPMTCC@aol.com
To: IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com
This book by Matthew J. Culligan-Hogan also treats the lifetime exile of
Thomas Meagher et al, (see page 113). This is Matthew's story of his search
to link his family to the Galloping Hogan. From a chapter titled 'The
Runaround in Rome', is an account of a Saint Patrick's Day speech made by
Judge William Hughes Mulligan in New York, in which the identity of
Christopher Columbus is questioned.
Part of this speech which is presented in this chapter has been copied below.
I apologize for it length, but it is interesting. Is this truth or yarn?
All comments are welcome.
"I am honored indeed to be in such distinguished company and to be invited to
respond to the toast "The Day We Celebrate."
Toasting reminds me of an Irish friend who, when asked that most welcome
question, "Will you have another drink?" responded, "I only answered that
question in the negative once - and that time I misunderstood the question."
I thought it might be appropriate, on this evening particularly, to comment
on some Irish achievements and characteristics not generally appreciated or
in fact even known.
A few years ago when I was in Ireland, I visited the ancient port city of
Galway where I was assured by a local that Christopher Columbus had stopped
there to bring on board an Irish navigator, who actually guided him to the
New World.
A few months ago I was in the company of the chief judge of the Supreme Court
of Ireland, a typically urbane scholarly, and intellectual Irishman, not
given to the easy acceptance of leprechauns or unfounded legends. I asked
him about the story of the Irish navigator, and I was frankly surprised when,
instead of debunking it, he responded, "Oh yes, the story is well
authenticated. The man's name was Lynch."
With all due respect, I could not accept the story; there was no record that
Columbus ever made any such diversion to Galway, pleasant though it might be.
It seemed much more logical to me that Lynch, great sailor that he must have
been, had sailed from Ireland to Spain and was the navigator from the start.
Becoming more interested, I studied the celebrated work on the subject,
Samuel Eliot Morison's ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA, and discovered to my dismay
that Lynch's name does not appear on the list of the crew of any of the three
vessels. This in turn led me to a somewhat spectacular discovery which I
must share with you tonight in the privacy of this room. Morison's book
gives a physical description of Columbus, which was provided by his own
contemporaries, including his son. At pages 40 to 41 I quote:
"He was more than middling tall, aquiline nose, blue eyes, complexion light
and tending to bright red, beard and hair red. When he was angry he would
exclaim, 'May God take you.' In matter of religion he was so strict that for
fasting and saying all the canonical offices he might have been taken for a
member of a religious order."
Gentlemen, in all honesty and frankness, how many religious, blue-eyed,
red-faced, red-haired Italians have you met in your life?
Friendly Sons and friends, I am not only suggesting but I think the facts
clearly establish that in reality Columbus was Lynch - or Lynch was Columbus
- whichever way you want it. There is even further evidence - Morison, who
claims that Columbus was born in Genoa, admits that Columbus could not read
or write Italian - neither could Lynch. Morison - and we, of course, could
expect no help from Samuel Eliot Morison - further states that Columbus spoke
Spanish with a Portuguese accent. Actually, of course, it was Irish he
spoke, and isn't it a mark of Lynch's great leadership and seamanship that he
could make that Mediterranean crew understand his orders, even though they
were given in Gaelic.
Gentlemen, we have convicted men of serious crimes in the Federal Court on
less evidence than we have here - and my court affirmed them.
Of course, Mr. Vice-President, it is only logical and reasonable for us to
assume that the great Irish seamen who visited Italy, and for all I know may
have discovered it, undoubtedly took the Greek Island tour. We now know that
it was their custom to adopt the names of the natives. My only regret is
that my work on the Court has precluded me from establishing the true
identity of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. It is interesting, however, to
note that Socrates died after drinking too much hemlock, which affords us
some small notion that his origins were in some colder clime....
Gentlemen, although few of us were born in Ireland, most of us were all
reared in a distinctly Irish tradition -- it was marked by a fierce devotion
to our faith. It was a demanding faith of fast and sacrifice and
self-discipline. The tougher it was to follow, the easier it was for the
Irish to pass down to their children. Now that its strictures have been
somewhat relaxed, it will be so much more difficult to give and bequeath or
even to inherit. But we will meet the challenge. We also inherited from our
Irish forebears a fierce love of country - in peace or in war. Particularly,
perhaps in war, we contributed much more than our share. But why shouldn't
we love America? After all, we discovered it.
God bless you."
Jim McNamara
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