bond of union between them. This, however, was formed in due time, the
man to take the first step in bringing us together being John Barry,
then residing in Manchester, and the chief man in our organisation
there.

John was, therefore, practically the founder of the great organisation
which, under its various names--of the Home Rule Confederation of Great
Britain. Irish National Land League of Great Britain, Irish National
League of Great Britain, and United Irish League of Great Britain--has
been in existence since 1873, working in accordance with and taking the
name of whatever has been the recognised organisation for the time being
in Ireland.

John Barry, who had borne an active share in the struggle for
self-government--irrespective of the methods being constitutional or
unconstitutional--was a man of attractive personality and an
indefatigable worker and organiser. He was the Secretary of the
Manchester Home Rule Association, and, seeing the want of some body in
which the various associations in Great Britain would be represented,
he, in the name and with the authority of his branch, issued invitations
to the associations then known to exist to send delegates to a
Convention to be held in Manchester. To give importance to the occasion,
and the necessary authority, Isaac Butt was invited to preside, and to
attend a great demonstration in the Free Trade Hall, on the night of the
Convention, January 18th, 1873.

Although I bore an active part in the organising of that first Home Rule
Convention of Great Britain, it is only a short time since, after a
lapse of over thirty years, that I heard from John Barry himself the
difficulty he had in securing the presence of the Home Rule leader. It