THE PARNELL MEETING.

The Butte Miner, Butte, 1883-06-17, p.4

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Summary

Report of the public meeting at the Renshaw Opera House in Butte on 16 June 1883 at which a branch of the Irish National League of America was formed. Resolutions of sympathy with Charles Stewart Parnell were passed; a separate resolution condemned Pope Leo XIII's recent interference in the temporal political activity of Irish Catholics while affirming spiritual obedience to him. Officers elected: James Mathews (President); J. T. Sullivan (Vice-President); Jno. H. Curtis (Cor. Secretary); James H. Lynch (Fin. Secretary); Samuel Mulville (Treasurer); James A. Murray, Patrick Coalan, John Maguire (trustees). Initiation fee $1, monthly dues 50 cents. Thirty members enrolled on the spot; $186 subscribed to the Parnell testimonial fund.

Narrative

A large meeting of Irish citizens at Renshaw Opera House in Butte, on the night of 16 June 1883, organised a branch of the Irish National League of America and passed resolutions pledging support to Charles Stewart Parnell while emphatically repudiating Pope Leo XIII's intervention in Irish temporal affairs as sympathetic to England. James Mathews was elected president of the new branch, with James A. Murray, Patrick Coalan, and John Maguire among the trustees. Thirty members enrolled on the spot and $186 was subscribed to the Parnell testimonial fund.

  • we emphatically repudiate his claim to exercise any authority over us as Irishmen while we vindicate the solemn and sacred duty we owe our mother country
  • we hereby pledge him our faith, support and sympathy, now and in the future, in all his efforts to alleviate the sufferings of Ireland and the Irish people

AI-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

Also mentioned

  • John Maguire · meeting_chairman_and_trustee
  • John H. Curtis · secretary_and_corresponding_secretary
  • James A. Murray · resolutions_committee_and_trustee
  • James Mathews · president_butte_inla
  • J. T. Sullivan · vice_president_butte_inla
  • James H. Lynch · financial_secretary_butte_inla
  • Samuel Mulville · treasurer_butte_inla
  • Patrick Coalan · trustee_butte_inla
  • Charles Stewart Parnell · subject_of_sympathy_resolutions
  • Pope Leo XIII · subject_of_critical_resolutions

Places

Themes

Story threads

Tags

  • evidence_primary
  • context_setting

Source type

news_item, public_meeting_report, list_of_officers

Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# Transcription — The Butte Miner, 1883-06-17, p.4 **Source**: The Butte Miner (Butte, Montana), Sunday 17 June 1883, p.4. **Status**: Complete. OCR cleaned against the page image. --- **THE PARNELL MEETING.** *A Large and Enthusiastic Gathering of Patriotic Irish Citizens.* *Organization of a Branch of the Irish National League of America.* *Resolutions of Sympathy With Charles Stewart Parnell.* Renshaw Opera House was well filled last night with an enthusiastic assemblage of patriotic Irish citizens, who met for the purpose of expressing their sympathy with the efforts now being made by the Parnell wing of the Irish national movement for the amelioration of their brethren in the mother country, and the formation of a branch of the Irish National League to co-operate with the parent organization formed at the convention recently held in Philadelphia. John Maguire was elected Chairman of the meeting, and John H. Curtis was appointed Secretary. Upon taking the chair Mr. Maguire addressed the meeting at some length on the subject of Irish affairs. James A. Murray, from the committee on resolutions, presented the following: The Committee on Resolutions report as follows: MR. CHAIRMAN: — We, your Committee on Resolutions, respectfully submit the following, and recommend their adoption: WHEREAS, The uncalled-for interference of Pope Leo XIII., in the temporal concerns of the Irish people in the present crisis, substantially expressing sympathy with England, starvation, eviction and extermination of the people of Ireland, therefore, be it *Resolved,* That while we acknowledge and are ready to yield obedience (as Catholics) to the spiritual authority of Pope Leo XIII., we emphatically repudiate his claim to exercise any authority over us as Irishmen while we vindicate the solemn and sacred duty we owe our mother country. *Resolved,* That we approve of the course pursued by Charles Stewart Parnell relative to Irish affairs in the past, and we hereby pledge him our faith, support and sympathy, now and in the future, in all his efforts to alleviate the sufferings of Ireland and the Irish people. *Resolved,* That the Secretary of this meeting be instructed to furnish the *Citizen*, of Chicago, a copy of the proceedings and actions of this meeting. The resolutions were unanimously adopted. An organization was then effected of the Butte branch of the Irish National League of America, and the following permanent officers were elected: James Mathews, President; J. T. Sullivan, Vice President; Jno. H. Curtis, Cor. Secretary; James H. Lynch, Financial Secretary; Samuel Mulville, Treasurer; James A. Murray, Patrick Coalan, John Maguire, trustees. A resolution was adopted fixing the initiation fee at $1 and the monthly dues at 50 cents. Thirty members were enrolled on the spot, and $186 was subscribed to the Parnell testimonial fund. Resolutions were adopted providing for holding meetings of the League on every alternate Monday at 7:30 p.m., that the subscription list to the Parnell fund be kept open until June 24th, and of thanks to John Maguire for the free use of Renshaw Opera House for the meeting; after which the meeting adjourned till 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 24th.

Open questions

  • Do any of the 1883 Butte INLA officers (Curtis, Mathews, Sullivan, Lynch, Mulville, Murray, Coalan, Maguire) recur in the Butte AOH clippings later in the 1880s and 1890s? AOH/INLA memberships overlapped heavily. Cross-link as those clippings come in.
  • Patrick Coalan — unusual surname spelling. Possibly Coalan / Cohalan / Collins. Worth checking against the 1880 or 1890 census for Butte.