The Open Secret of Ireland

The Open Secret of Ireland

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Title: The Open Secret of Ireland
Author: T. M. Kettle
Release Date: March 7, 2005 [EBook #15277]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE OPEN SECRET OF IRELAND

By
T. M. KETTLE
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY J. E. REDMOND, M.P.

"Also it is a proverbe of olde date, 'The pride of Fraunce, the treason of
Inglande, and the warre of Irelande, shall never have ende.' Which
proverbe, touching the warre of Irelande, is like alwaie to continue,
without God sette in men's breasts to find some new remedy that never

was found before."
State Papers, Reign of Henry VIII.

LONDON
W. J. HAM-SMITH
1912

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION BY J. E. REDMOND, M.P. vii PRELIMINARY. xi
CHAP. I. AN EXERCISE IN HUMILITY. 1 II. HISTORY _(a)
Coloured_. 17 III. HISTORY _(b) Plain_. 31 IV. THE
OBVIOUSNESS OF HOME RULE. 47 V. THE RAVAGES OF
UNIONISM (1). 65 VI. THE RAVAGES OF UNIONISM (2). 80 VII.
THE HALLUCINATION OF "ULSTER". 98 VIII. THE
MECHANICS OF HOME RULE. 120 IX. AFTER HOME RULE. 144
X. AN EPILOGUE ON "LOYALTY". 161

INTRODUCTION
The object of Mr Kettle, in writing this book, is, I take it, to reveal to
English readers what he not inaptly terms as "The Open Secret of
Ireland," in order to bring about a better understanding between the two
nations, and to smoothe the way to a just and final settlement of their
old-time differences. Any work undertaken on such lines commends
itself to a ready welcome and a careful study, and I feel sure that both
await Mr Kettle's latest contribution to the literature of the Irish
question. As the son of one of the founders of the Land League, and as,
for some years, one of the most brilliant members of the Irish Party,
and, later, Professor in the School of Economics in the new National
University in Dublin, he has won his way to recognition as an eloquent
exponent of Irish national ideas; whilst the novelty of his point of view,
and the freshness, vigour, and picturesque attractiveness of his style
ensure for his work a cordial reception on its literary merits, apart from
its political value.
Undoubtedly, one of the main sources of the Anglo-Irish difficulty has
been mutual misunderstanding, generating mutual mistrust and hatred.

But the root of the difficulty goes deeper. It is to be sought in the
system of misgovernment and oppression which successive generations
of British rulers have imposed upon what, with cruel irony, British
historians and statesmen have been wont to call "the sister country."
This is the real "open secret" of Ireland, a secret that all who run may
read, and the effective bearing of which is: that tyranny begets hatred,
and that freedom and justice are the only sure foundations of
contentment and goodwill between nations.
During the past thirty years, and especially since 1886, when Mr
Gladstone threw the weight of his unrivalled genius and influence into
the scale in favour of justice to Ireland, a great deal has been done to
erase the bitter memories of the past, and to enable the English and the
Irish peoples to regard each other in the light of truth, and with a more
just appreciation of what is essential to the establishment of genuine
and lasting friendly relations between them.
But it would be idle to ignore the fact that, to a considerable section of
the English people, Ireland is still a country of which they possess less
knowledge than they do of the most insignificant and remote of the
many islands over which the British flag floats. Mr Kettle's book ought
to be of service in dispelling this ignorance, and in enabling
Englishmen to view the Anglo-Irish question from the standpoint of an
educated and friendly Irish opinion.
The output of purely political literature on the Irish problem has been
increasing during the past few years, and there is room for a book
which aims at focussing attention upon some aspects of it which the
mere politician is apt to pass lightly over or to ignore altogether. Like
most of Mr Kettle's work, the book bears the impress of his
individuality, and, to many of his readers, this will constitute much of
its charm and