42 THE IRISH PEOPLE. 



repel the attacks of their enemies. At meals, before 

 the thanksgiving is made, the bishop or priest who 

 may be present makes an exhortation, and all listen 

 to it with great attention. 



" They are so firmly attached to the Catholic faith 

 that they seem never to have given ear to the here- 

 tics. They rise at midnight for prayer and medita- 

 tion, to which some devote an entire hour, others 

 half-an-hour* : the fires are always lit at the same 

 time. At the Pater Noster in the Mass they all rise 

 up and remain standing during its recital. They 

 cultivate sacred poetry with great assiduity ; they 

 do not undertake to compose verses on sacred sub- 

 jects except after fasting and prayer. When im- 

 portant negotiations are to be transacted, the bards 

 are chosen as negotiators." 



15. In 1587 an Irish Bishop presented a report to 

 the Holy See, in which he says : " No schools or 

 universities are allowed in Ireland, the English being 

 desirous to keep the people in ignorance lest they 

 should learn the difference between liberty and 

 slavery ; and knowing well that the Irish are warlike 



* This was called lAijimeijije t>o oeutiAiri, which is fully 

 treated of in Gearnon's Parrtha* an A nma, or, Paradise of the 

 Soul, pp. 38-42. Gearnon, who wrote in 1645, says : " Not 

 long ago this blessed custom was common throughout Ireland 

 among all sorts of people who had the love of God and the care 

 of their salvation. I beg, therefore, of all such to keep up that 

 good practice." 



