From the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration at Bodenstown on 21 June 1914. Reported in the Gaelic American, 11 July 1914.
The spirit of Wolfe Tone still lives. That spirit is moving through the length and breadth of the land to-day. The tramp of marching men eager to grasp the rifle is evidence of that spirit. We are here to honour the memory and principles of Wolfe Tone. We have with us Irishmen of different religious beliefs—a symbol of that union of all Irishmen for which Wolfe Tone worked. With the new spirit abroad we hope there will come the realization of their ideal. We know what Tone’s name stands for amongst Irishmen, not only in Ireland but wherever the sons of the Gael are to be found; and to-day thousands of eyes are turning to this sacred spot, looking for signs that Wolfe Tone’s principles are still a vital force in our country.
We are here to honour Wolfe Tone’s memory, and no one, I am sure, has come to the graveside but with feelings of reverence. The time of speechmaking is rapidly passing. The drilling and arming of the people of Ireland is what is going to count and what is going to be the determining factor as to just how our national ambition is going to be fulfilled. Cablegrams have been received from friends of Ireland across the sea. One came from the Adjutant-General of the Irish Volunteers of America. Another from Colonel Ricard O’Sullivan Burke, one of the most revered of the old-time Fenians still with us; and one from John Devoy, the man who, more than any one else, helped to smash the proposed Anglo-American Alliance.