Ulysses S. Grant spoke at a banquet in his honor at Dublin's Mansion House on Friday, January 3, 1879. This is how the Freeman's Journal reported it the next day.
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'Never Seen the Blarney Stone': Grant's Dublin Speech
Vanity Fair, May 3, 1873
Isaac Butt |
"My Lord Mayor (John Barrington), fellow citizens (applause) – I address you as such, being now a citizen for about seven hours (laughter and applause) now placing me in competition with you as a candidate for office (laughter) – it may be with the Lord Mayor, it maybe with my friend on my right (Mr. Isaac Butt), who represents you, I believe, in Parliament, at least I saw him there last year, and I suppose he will be there again (laughter and applause) – I am not quite sure, but what you did today may cause me to be a candidate, and a troublesome candidate (laughter and applause), for some of your high places.
I rather like the Irish people (applause), and I don't know but I may have a high representative place here amongst you (applause and laughter). I am, as it were, bidding for your votes this evening. My friend here (Mr. Butt), has, I believe, addressed larger crowds of Irishmen than are now present, and he has been successful, and why should not I? (Laughter and applause.)
I ask your pardon – if I ever come back here to settle (laughter), you may make me a member of Parliament (cries of "We will!"), though I could not ask all that at once, but I might get up to it by degrees (laughter). However, I would say a few words in a more serious vein. My Lord Mayor, we have had some words about my country – the country where I was born – my old country before I was naturalized into another (applause). It is a great country, a prosperous country. No doubt a great many people there were suffering for some years from very great depression, and the world has suffered.
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I have never seen the Blarney Stone – nor am I likely now – but I have been looking for some time at my friend, Mr. Butt, and have read a great many eloquent and witty things that he has said, I thought that if I had the opportunity I would say some good things too.
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There can be no doubt, I think, that when forty-five millions of such consumers as we have in America feel poverty the civilized world feels it also. You have had here great prosperity from our great extravagance and our great misfortunes. If you had a war – a war which involved every man almost who could bear arms – and my friend the general (Noyes) who has just spoken so eloquently to you left a leg in our war, the absence of which you did not miss because he has a wooden one in place of it (laughter) – if you had such a war you would soon feel the effects of it.
When our great conflict was going on we were spending one hundred million a year more than we were producing. Europe got every dollar of that and that made your false prosperity. It was real prosperity but you were getting our bonds – our promises to pay – you were cashing them yourselves – and that made a very good prosperity indeed, but caused a great deal of produce beyond the actual wants of the world. We got through that great contest eventually, and, with an inflated currency, our people were still extravagant. Our speculations were going on, and we had our millions a year of expenditure more than production. We paid all that for your labour and your manufactures. It made up your apparent and your real prosperity, and we were getting very poor.
Being honest, however (laughter and applause),we came down to the day of solid, honest payment (applause). We came down to the day when we were selling more than we had to buy. We turned the corner. We had one depression – yours is just coming on – perhaps it is over nearly (hear, hear). But our prosperity is commenced, and as we become prosperous, we consume your products as well as our own, and I think it is safe to say that with a few years more of such prosperity as we have had the last year or two increase of consumption will be such as it will be hard to estimate.
Rutherford B. Hayes |
Two distinguished men have looked to this subject. One of them is the President of the United States (Rutherford B. Hayes), whose toast you have just drunk. In his Message to Congress he spoke of the prosperity of our country as meaning the prosperity of the balance of the civilized world (applause). Lord Beaconsfield, who is a far-seeing man – just as far-seeing as any other man I know of (laughter), and he says the same thing – that American prosperity meant your European prosperity. I don't speak of English or Irish prosperity, but European prosperity (applause).
Now, this is the longest speech I have ever made (laughter). I have nothing more to say, but I am just going to explain how I have happened to make a speech of this length. It is because I have become an Irish citizen (laughter and applause). I have never seen the Blarney Stone – nor am I likely now – but I have been looking for some time at my friend, Mr. Butt, and have read a great many eloquent and witty things that he has said, I thought that if I had the opportunity I would say some good things too (laughter). That is the explanation.
I hope I have not detained you too long (no, no); but I am going now to propose a toast – a toast which I am sure you will receive with favour – "The Health of the Lord Mayor," from whose hands I had the honour of receiving the freedom of your city today (applause). The merits of your Lord Mayor are well known to you, and I need to do no more than ask you to drink his health and wish him every success in his year of office."
READ MORE ABOUT ULYSSES S. GRANT AND THE IRISH:
Grant in Ireland, Part 1: 'Wild Irishman' Hits Dublin
Grant in Ireland, Part 2: A Rebuff From Cork
Grant in Ireland, Part 3: Farewell to Ireland, Forever
Grant and Bush in Ireland: Contrasts and Parallels
Freeman's Journal's Take on Grant
Grant's Cork Controversy: The Issues Still Resound
The Irish Fight for Grant at Cold Harbor
Grant's Grandfather Called Tyrone Home
Assessing Grant's Place in History
Scrappy Phil Sheridan: Grant's Good-to-Go Commander
Get a "Grant and the Irish" Commemorative Item
Selected Bibliography
Project Credits
This page was produced by Joseph E. Gannon, with research assistance from Scott Berman.
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