pride my share in increasing and organising
the Irish vote throughout Great Britain, and its result in bringing Mr.
Gladstone back to power, and enabling him to carry the Home Rule Bill
through the House of Commons.

It was my duty to visit every part of Great Britain to see that the
various districts and branches were kept in a high state of efficiency,
and at the end of that period of hard and unremitting work from 1886 to
1892 I was able to show our Executive from the books and figures in our
possession that we had accomplished our aim.

CHAPTER XX.

GLADSTONE'S "FLOWING TIDE."

I was present at most of the bye-elections that led up to Gladstone's
great victory at the General Election of 1892.

In this way I was brought to many places interesting to us as Catholics
as well as Irishmen.

No spot in Great Britain is more sacred to us than Iona, an island off
the West coast of Scotland, which our great typical Irish saint,
Columba, made his home and centre when bringing the light of faith to
those regions. It will, therefore, be one of the memories of my life
most dear to me that I had the blessing of taking part in the famous
Pilgrimage to Iona on June 13th, 1888. The town of Oban, on the mainland
of Scotland, is generally made the point of departure for Iona, which is
not far off.

Oban is one of the five Ayr burghs which, combined, send a member to
Parliament, and it was singular that, at this time, there was a
bye-election going on. As creed and country have always gone together
with me, I did not think it at all inappropriate that I should do a
little work for Irish self-government while on this Pilgrimage. On the
contrary. Was not St. Columba himself a champion of Home Rule, for was
it not through his eloquent advocacy of their cause before the great
Irish National Assembly that the Scots of Alba, as distinguished from
the Scots of Erin, obtained the right of self-government?

One of the best numbers of my Irish Library was the "Life of St.
Columbkille," written for me by Michael O'Mahony, one of a band of young
Irishmen, members of the Irish Literary Institute of Liverpool, who did
splendid service for the Cause in that city. Michael was, of these,
perhaps the one possessing the most characteristic Irish gifts. He has
written some admirable stories of Irish life, and is a poet, although he
has not written as much as I would like to see from his pen.

There are no Irish residents in Iona itself,