Via The Transcripts:
From a St. Pat's dinner in NYC in 1920 - de Valera was there in the room - quite interesting actually considering what was going on in Ireland at that very moment.
Al Smith, Governor of New York
From His Address to the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
At Their Annual Banquet
New York City
17 March 1920
From His Address to the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
At Their Annual Banquet
New York City
17 March 1920
Not only am I honored by the invitation to attend this dinner, but I had the honor and distinction, as the Governor of this State, to witness the parade.
I have looked at parades during my term as Governor and before I was Governor, and it was a great sight to see 250,000 determined-looking men and women marching up the principal avenue in the greatest city in the world for a principle that will never die and never can be adjusted by compromise.
We have heard in the last few years a great deal of talk about self-determination for the small nations. What man is there in this country, or in any other country, with an open mind, with a free mind open to reason, open to common sense, ready to listen to justice, ready to pay attention to that which is right, who can say that any nation in this world more deserves, after a long history and an honorable record, the right of self-determination than does Ireland?
Happy Saint Patrick’s Weekend !
The public papers of Governor Al Smith are free. Click here.
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