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Trinity held in the eyes of young Irishmen of Catholic or patriotic stock. De Valera felt very uncomfortable there, and were it not for the good offices of a certain Professor he would have reaped but little benefit from his connection with that institution. The noble Wolfe Tone tells us in his autobiography that it was much against his grain that he continued his studies at Trinity." Even Dr. Douglas Hyde regarded himself there "as an alien in a hostile place." De Valera's feelings, therefore, only accorded with what its history might lead us to expect. There are many people, of course, to whom prejudices are concrete facts, but in the case of Trinity the anti-Irish spirit which pervaded the atmosphere of that College chilled the hearts of more men than Tone, Hyde, and de Valera. It is doubtful if Aristotle, who, we are told, besides his other extraordinary talents had the art of insinuating himself into the affections of those he conversed with,' would have been a success in Trinity under similar circumstances.

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During his College career de Valera spent most of his holidays in Bruree. While he still enjoyed Gaelic games such as hurling and football, he did not practise these very much during his visits, but instead took to shooting, a pastime which besides pleasure and exercise brought him no little profit, for he was a good shot. There was little in the mechanism of a gun that he did not understand. It was noted that he had a different fowling-piece each time he returned to Bruree, and the last was always sure to be superior in some respect to the former. His love for firearms was something akin to the love of the Arab for his steed. He was once heard to remark : 'I am afraid I shall be a soldier, I have such a love for guns." He usually found plenty of sport to the north and north-east of Bruree. Looking down from Knockmore Hill or from Clogher Hill on a summer evening one might observe small puffs of smoke rising here and there, and in the immediate vicinity a tall, athletic figure moving swiftly forward. This was de Valera. He had probably bagged a snipe,

or a duck, or perhaps he was following up a new trail, but it was de Valera, for his tall, thin figure, silhouetted against the high fields beyond could not be mistaken.

Shooting is an exquisite pastime in this locality. A small stream known as the " Brook" winds its way through the townlands of Dromin, Clogher and Howardstown, entering the Maigue a few miles to the north of Bruree. This stream and its basin abound in snipe and duck. Partridges are to be found in the fallow fields, with an occasional pheasant, the rarity of this bird making the search all the more interesting. Grouse is not to be found, except for a stray bird from the preserves at Ballyhoura—a mountain range about eight miles distant. De Valera had, therefore, ample opportunities for enjoying a good day's shooting, and although there was splendid salmon and trout fishing available, the sport of the angler was unable to divert him from the gun.

That indefatigable search after knowledge, of which we have already spoken, did not remain in abeyance even during these outings, for we find him keeping touch with a casual acquaintance upon whose store of Irish he placed much value. When a little boy he picked up many words of Irish from his grandmother, and having enlarged his vocabulary at school he found it beneficial to put into practice what he knew, by conversing, as far as possible, with persons who were able to respond and merely exchanging the salutations with those who had no better knowledge. In this way he gained the friendship of an old shoemaker from Bruree who proved to be a fluent Irish speaker. The shoemaker was well nigh one hundred years of age, but looked as fresh as a man of sixty. He was a fine story-teller, and the freshness and charm of his anecdotes appealed to de Valera, who always enjoyed his conversation. He had one fault, however; he spoke 19 to the dozen, like Matroyona— the wife of Simon-in one of Count Tolstoy's tales. Nevertheless, de Valera extracted much information from him, and what was more important he acquired the correct

blas. The shoemaker became a frequent caller at Mr. Coll's house, flattered, no doubt, at the amount of attention his superior knowledge of the language attracted. De Valera, too, had the quality-rare nowadays of being able to economise his speech, which was pleasing to the shoemaker, from whom, when not interrupted, a wealth of charming stories and anecdotes poured out in an even flow like milk from a pail. Desmond Ryan also speaks of the grey-haired Seanchaidhe, who was Pearse's truest teacher; but with the exception of Pearse, de Valera, and the other enthusiastic workers in the Gaelic League movement, the people did not appear to realise the treasures they possessed in those grand old men and women. At one time it looked as if the tide of anglicization would have swamped young and old, and the onward rush was so great that the Gaelic League would hardly have succeeded in stemming it, were it not for the fact that its more ardent members became merged in Sinn Fein, thus bringing to strength and maturity a movement that at one stroke rescued the soul of Ireland from a fate shameful to contemplate.

It was when in pursuit of his Irish studies that De Valera first met the late Roger Casement. This memorable meeting took place at the Irish College, Twain, Tourmacready, Co. Galway, and from the beginning a warm friendship sprung up between them which continued until that valued life, ever devoted to the regeneration of the oppressed and the downtrodden, was suddenly cut short on an English scaffold; for this was the reward meted out to Roger Casement for his services to humanity. De Valera had charge of the Irish College at Twain for a while. One should really become a student at one of these Colleges to understand thoroughly the warmth of the enthusiasm, of the patriotism, of the fervour and hospitality of those lovers of the language and of Ireland who assemble there. The discussions in Irish, the chat over the tea-cup in Irish, the prayers in Irishall combined—would force one to believe that the soul of

Ireland was within those walls, and that the rest of the country was an English Pale. Here in Twain, and elsewhere, de Valera and Roger Casement collaborated in the Gaelic revival movement, and it is sad to think that the extension of this collaboration to the free and、independent counsels of the Dail should have been prevented by the hand of an English executioner.

CHAPTER III.

the summer of 1907, while de Valera was still at Blackrock College, his mother visited Ireland for the purpose of taking him back to America. She thought that there were better opportunities for him in the New World, and, indeed, she had good reasons for so thinking, for when she left Ireland in 1879, coercion acts, imprisonments, rackrenting and multifarious milder forms of aggression occupied the minds of the governing classes to the complete neglect of the rights of the people. De Valera had, however, now won his way through the various schools and colleges, and having an educational career mapped out for himself did not wish to interrupt it. He was, moreover, pleased with his surroundings and was not anxious for a change. He felt, too, that his position in life was assured. Education was his forte, and he had, perhaps, the same determination to succeed as that which prompted Daniel O'Connell to remark: "Though nature has given me subordinate talents, I never will be satisfied with a subordinate situation in my profession." He put the matter in this light before his mother, whom he had little difficulty in convincing of the fact that there was much more to be gained by remaining in Ireland than by returning with her to the United States of America. She agreed therefore that he should continue his studies and professorial duties in Dublin. This decision was, indeed, à momentous one, not alone for de Valera himself but for Ireland also. Momentous decisions sometimes occur within the ambit of all our lives, but it is only he who accepts, and not he who resists, the interposition of the