Articles from 1848

The Connacht Tribune, Saturday, July 16, 1938.

Memorial to Irish Statesman

Galway Friends of Late Paddy Hogan Raise £1,300 Fund

The fund opened in the spring of last year for the provision of a memorial to the memory of the late Mr. Paddy Hogan, first Free State Minister for Agriculture, has now grown to £1,303 9s. The fund will be closed on September 3, and it is expected that many other subscriptions will be received by that date.

The organizing committee, composed entirely of close personal friends and admirers of the late Paddy Hogan, have decided to endow a permanent scholarship in Agriculture known, as the "Hogan Memorial Scholarship" tenable at the National University of Ireland, and to erect a material memorial. The form which the material memorial is to take has not yet been definitely decided, but a suggestion by Mr. T. J. W. Kenny will be considered at the next and final meeting of the committee, that the Government be asked to accept an oil painting of the late Mr. Hogan and to give it a place of honour in Leinster House, "the scene of his work for the nation."

When the fund is closed on Saturday, September 3, the final list of subscribers will be published in the Press.

The meeting at which these arrangements were made was held at the Imperial Hotel, Galway, on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Sean Brodrick, T.D., presiding. When the meeting opened, Mr. Brendan Glynn, solicitor, one of the joint hon. Secretaries, announced that the main business was to decide on a closing date for the fund. After the closing date he said, a final list of subscriptions would be published together with the total amount subscribed, and it was proposed to hold a final meeting to decide on the form the memorial should take. — On the proposition of Mr. Kenny, seconded by Mr. Seamus O'Reilly, Co. C., it was decided to close the fund on September 3. — Mr. Glynn said it was desirable that people who intended to subscribe should do so before the closing date, as subscriptions received after September 3 would give them insufficient time. Any money outstanding would be received by the secretaries.

Picture at Leinster House

Following a review by Mr. Patrick Cawley, Craughwell, of suggestions made at earlier meetings regarding the form the "material" memorial should take, Mr. Kenny said he felt that Paddy Hogan should in some way he represented at Leinster House, and that whatever the committee intended to do in the way of a scholarship, a definite reminder to the Irish people of his work should be erected in Leinster House either in the form of a plaque or a picture. He felt sure that the present Government would agree to accept a picture of Paddy Hogan for erection in Leinster House. It would be a fitting memorial to a very great man and a National figure.

On the suggestion of the chairman, it was agreed to consider this suggestion at the next meeting and that the chairman in the meantime approach the Government with a view to securing their approval.

Mr. Kenny added that Leinster House was the scene of Mr. Hogan's work for the country, and it was only fitting that his picture should be shown there, not merely for the present generation but for generations to come.

Success of the Fund

Chairman: As an old friend of Paddy Hogan — one who knocked around with him for about sixteen years — I am very grateful to the members of this committee who have worked so hard in the past eighteen months to make this fund a success. I wish particularly to thank the two secretaries, Messrs. Paddy Cawley and Brendan Glynn. They have done splendid work and we should be proud of them. They left very little for the committee to do. The fund itself is very creditable. The people of Galway city and county — the friends of Paddy Hogan — deserve every credit for the way they responded, especially when we consider the fact that they were asked for money for three elections within the same period.

"The fund is a great success," continued the chairman, "but there are probably people — admirers of Paddy Hogan and his policy — who will be glad to know that they will have an opportunity to subscribe within the next few weeks. It is beyond doubt that Paddy Hogan, Minster for Agriculture with the first Irish Government, was the best Minister for Agriculture in the world. He was a man who did his job well and worked anything from ten to eighteen hours per day in order to put agriculture in this country on a good footing, and the Government which came after him, by their expressions on several occasions; show that they believe the policy advocated by Paddy Hogan to be the policy best suited to this country. Mr. Kenny has suggested that a picture of Paddy Hogan be placed in Leinster House where Paddy Hogan worked the hardest ten years of his life for the country. I think the suggestion is a very good one.

"We thank all subscribers; they were very generous. We received subscriptions from all over the country, and while we received a number of big subscriptions from other counties, the people of Galway were as generous as any. I hope that all who have not already subscribed will have time to subscribe before September 3."

The Greatest Tragedy

Mr. Kenny joined in the tributes to Messrs. B. Glynn and Paddy Cawley. Speaking of the late Paddy Hogan, Mr. Kenny said that not merely had they admired him for his ability, but they had loved him as a friend. He was one of the most lovable Ministers this country ever had. "One of the greatest tragedies that ever happened in this country", added Mr. Kenny, "was the death of Paddy Hogan. He felt as we all Irishmen feel that our roots are in the soil and unless we keep the farms going, there is no future for Ireland. I am not talking politics. Paddy Hogan was the greatest friend the farmers in this country ever had. It is a good thing that we should meet here together to put up a memorial to him and to know that the future generations who work and toil in this country will look up to him as a man who worked for them and spent his life for the farmers of the country. May God be good to him."

Mr. B. Glynn, on his own behalf and on behalf of Mr. Cawley, thanked the chairman and Mr. Kenny for their appreciation, and said that the work of the secretaries was lightened by the help given by all the members of the committee. The success of the fund was, he said, the greatest tribute that could be paid to Paddy Hogan.

On the proposition of Mr. Glynn, seconded by the chairman, sympathy was expressed with the widow and relatives of the late Mr. Michael Noone, Milltown, whose death occurred since the previous meeting. Messrs. Kenny, O'Reilly and John Monahan associated themselves with the vote, which was passed in silence, the members standing.