Ireland. Dublin, the Shannon, Limerick, Cork, and the Kilkenny races, the round towers, the lakes of Killarney, the county of Wicklow ... and the Giant's causeway

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read the passage as the book has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too.

1. Eagles nesting on Bengore Head

   Bengore Head · promontory · Antrim

   The author's guides told him that a pair of eagles had nested on top of Bengore Head time out of mind, choosing the highest and most inaccessible points, similar to reports at Fair Head.

   Read the passage

   The early departure of the October son, which had hidden his face in gray clouds the whole day. now compelled me to finish my excursion,* although there remained two most interesting points unvrsited. I had not yet climbed the real Bengore Head, and I nad not examined the ruins of one of the most interesting castles in the north of Ireland, Dunloee ' Castle, which lies about two miles westward of the Giant*s Causeway. I sat down, very tired, on the brink of a diff lofiking into the •* Bay of Sighs," and looked dolefuHy across to the dark promontory, frown iqg in lonely grandeur above the angry surges. My guides informed me — all twenty at once—that a pair of eagles had had their nest, time. out of mind, on the top of Bengore ; and as the same thing had been told me at Fair Head, it would seem that they choose only the highest and most inaccessible points. My first sigh was fur Bengore, my second for Dunluce Castle, to which I had several times approached very near, but from which I was now separated by four miles of rough basalt road. My sighs were echoed by my whole twenty attendants, so that I had a lively idea of the sighs of Port na Trughen.

   "Ah! your hnn mr, what a pity that you can't see Dunluce, and that yon can't go there ^ to-monrnw ; youll be sorry fpr it all yoor life. There isn't a castle in the world that has a situation like it." The rock on which it stands, they went on to tell me, is a great cubic rock loosened from the coast, and lying in the middle of the sea, and washed all round by the waves ; the top is perfectly flat, and the sides so steep and craggy, that even a sw/allow can hardly get up them. It is entirely covered with ruins to the extreme edge Maiva*s tower, Mac Quillan's tower, the great castle hall, its various courts — all can still be plainly distinguished. Some walls have fallen into the sea, and lie among the boulderstones in the surf The rock is connected by a wooden bridge with the mainland, where formerly stood some fortifications connected with the castle. The greater part is built with the black basaltic columns, as many buildings on this coast still are. The eldest son of the Earl of Antrim still takes a title from these ruins of Dun!uce Castle. It was built and inhabited hef »re the earliest records, and was for more than a thousand years the seat of s-^veral proud and independent races.

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 88

2. Glenarm, seat of the Antrim (MacDonnell) family

   near Glenarm · village · Antrim

   The valley of Glenarm is described as the most beautiful spot on the Antrim coast, home to Glenarm Castle, seat of the Antrim family (MacDonnell), with a park, gardens, deer, and ancient trees. Kohl notes he visited the castle's mistress and describes the surrounding basaltic glen.

   Read the passage

   ', Gilenaum i? the most beadtiläl point' älOAjgf (he - whple eoa$t, of Antrim ; iofdeed the^ ioriany attrac- ' tion8 which unite m this valley, i^derft One of ttee most heautifal spots m^IrelandJ On each' side, of it ri^es a long range of dark' baaaSlic^ rocks^ leaving« wide tevelibetWeen, as= they run' inland tolerably plurallel* ton each other. A littlebrook sparkles thixiugfa thö. valley, and here and^ there littte waterfalls mh'ddwnthe black roektf' on either side-, keening the land wdl irrigatfed, and covering it with a carpet of the hrfghtest?' verdureTimagi^able, as well asafiibrdingnötirish^ ment to the most beautiful dumps of stately ol(^' trees^ which dot it here and there; In thi^ vaV' ley lies the residence of i he Antrim ihmily, and'' the little village appertaining to it. , Near the village and the castle, g 11 traces of wilderness ' vanish^entimly, and a charming park and preny ' flower-garden confer additional beautie^ on the scene. The castle itself, to whose distinguislred ' mistress I had the honour of paying a visit, i^ built in a fine old Gothic style, and fumiAKed with modem taste and elegance. Fonr hundred deer and stags graze around it, and six hundred old ancestral trees overshadow its grounds with their sheading boughs : and «11 th is sifiiling and peaceful beauty, sheltered ttetwcen'the wiM btatk ■ rocks, which form the little gles^ with a Vfe^ opeoing on old ocean rolHtig his stivmv wMt^^'r crested waves beyond, ibrms perhaps the most' ^ wonderful site in all the ^orld for a suÄäly*| baronial mansion. • > * !

   When the Antrim family eameiovisr, I^oiMyrknowi but ibeir present fosisessiöris-^Bit titles were giyei^ them «^ Ciiartol. iailfiaa "IMr^

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 78

3. Innisfallen Island's ancient trees and abbey ruins

   Innisfallen · townland · Kerry

   Innisfallen, the largest island on the lake, is covered with old oak, ash, and holly trees including one holly twelve feet in circumference, plus the ruins of an ancient abbey remembered in verse by Thomas Moore.

   Read the passage

   wretched, sHisted lioUie^^tbat 6t9^ on a sickiy existeDoe in the Japdia des Plantes, in Paris, where ev6ry caie is taken of them. One of the mighty ash trees had been torn up by the roots in a storm of the preceding winter, and had carried with it a mass of rock, twenty feet in circamfereDce, round which its roots had entwined themselves, and which, as it lay prostrate, it still held firmly clasped. There are also the ruins of an ancient abbey, and many beautiful thickets of evergreens, on this island, which Thomas Moore has remembered in his lines :

   '* Sweet Innisfallen, f«w thee well, May calm and •oBshine long be thiiM, How fair thou art let others tell. While but to feel how fair be mine."

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 23

4. Insurgent chief held out in the uninhabited mountains

   Glendalough · electoral division · Wicklow

   During the last rebellion, one of the insurgent chiefs kept his ground in the uninhabited mountains near Glendalough long after the rest of the country had been pacified.

   Read the passage

   I had heard so much of the Seven Churchesand the Round Tower of the Vale of GlendaK ough, that I spent only a few hours in Rathdrum, and then hastened into the mountains on a small one-horse car ; had I known what an: incomparable spot of earth it is that is known by the name of Glendalough, the hours I spent at Rathdrum should have been reduced to as- - many minutes. The road passes through the Vale of Clara, watered by the Avonmore, and then runs ten miles in a sideward direction, to the sources of some tributary streams of that river. The country is very little inhabited. Along the whole of these ten miles I saw but one village. The mountains to the north of these valleys, however, are still more thinly peopled ; so much so, that they have receivedthe name of the " uninhabited mountains,'* and are in this respect quite a phenomenon, considering their vicinity to Dublin. They occupy an extent of country nearly fiileen miles in length,, and ten in breadth ; and within this space, not only the mountains, but even the valleys, are almost untenanted by man. The soil is everywhere a thin covering of grass over a rocky bottom, and destitute of every other vegetation. Goats graze upon these mountains, and.wander about there in the same half-wild condition as over the mountains of Kerry. Sometimes, indeed, they are said to become so wild, that the herdsman is forced to turn hunter, and, instead of catching his goats, to shoot them. In the last rebellion, one of the insurgent- chiefs kept his ground in these uninhabited mountains k>ng after thereat of the country had been tranquillized. ' It remains incomprehensible to me, however,, that ao close to the metropolis of Ireland, so • wild a district can exist. There are within the Brit'sh dominions large districts of greater natural fertility than any of which we can boast, but there are likewise districts much wikler thaa< any to be found in our less populous Germany, with all her forests and mountains. Have we a province in which goats or sheep live in a half- wild state 1 Even on our loiliest Alps, the cattle is everywhere tended and kept within some sort of eock>sttre. Nov/bere do I remember in Germany to baveaeen a^cpuntry so utterly wild, so thinly peopled, and that by a oraee ^ living in such apparent wretchedness, as is the case with this Irish district, and with some I have seen in Scotland. These things form a part of the physiognomy of a country, and are characteristic of its social condition.

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 47

5. Irish-Language Sermons Scarce in Cork

   Cork · city · Cork

   In Cork, a district where much Irish was still spoken, only two churches offered sermons in Irish. Irish-speaking prisoners in Cork gaol had recently petitioned their chaplain to preach to them in Irish on Sundays.

   Read the passage

   Those who still regard the ancient Irish Ian* guage as their mother-tongue, are even worse off. The great city of Cork, which lies in a dis» trict where much Irish is still spoken, contains only two churches where sermons are preached in Irish. A short time ago, the Irish prisoners in the Cork gaol petitioned their chaplain that he would sometimes preach his Sunday sermon ta them in Irish.

   The Bishop of Coi^t has one of the most interesting collections of hooks that I have ever seen. This learned, industhoos man, has tor«.

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 34

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Cork, it is worth knowing that this city sits in a district where much Irish was still spoken, yet only two churches here preached their sermons in Irish. Not long before this was written, the Irish-speaking prisoners in Cork gaol petitioned their chaplain to preach his Sunday sermon to them in Irish.

6. Low crime rate in County Wexford

   Wexford · town · Wexford

   Official returns showed County Wexford had the lowest rate of crimes in Ireland, with some years recording no murders at all, while national murders ranged between 160 and 300.

   Read the passage

   the f^yvt^est orHaes oeear ; • mä I ftmtär in rlootting over the returns, tih'at, though the murder» for all Ifeland ranged between 160 aed 300; yet there were freqnentiy years in whieh no crtaieof the kind was committed in the county of Wexford. The people of Wexford I fouod» moreover, considered thems^ves much more intelligent and enlightened than their ooonerymen to the west, and the Barony 4>f Piirth, the south-eastern peninsula, eut off from the Atat of the county by the hills of Forth, is said to contain the most orderiy people in all Ireland. It was originally a Welsh coiooy, . phmted by Strongbow, and during seven eentuhes these colonists have kept themselves apart framthe^ rest of the population. They stiR marry, only among «themselves, aild In ihe last century th^ still 'understood Welsh. The most remarlBBble characteristic of the barony, however, is^shstit contftins no beffgars. It is as dhficult, in Iteland, to imagroe a disCriot without btggnsr^a^ in other countries, to believe in the existence of a whole nation ef theen. In «bert, the Barony of Forth is to the county of Wexford^'<wluit the latter is to Ireland. ' In Wexlbrd, the land ' is divided into a number of eaiall estates,, instead of being concentrated in a übw haiidB. There are no large proprietors, but all thoiuor» persons of moderate wealth, and abeeoleeialft is iMmost unknown. All this prevafls to <a still greater «xtent in the Barony efFoitli, where the peasants are generaUy the owuem of the soil th^ till, dwell in elean and orderly houses, and seem to feel that vags: are, aft ell events, a deformity. Their ooUyifes) sie surrounded by flower-gardens, they mingle not kk the political squabbles by which the rest Of lieland is kept in hot water, «nd prateataBtsand catholics dwell among them in peace and^pDodwHI. In a word, the Barony of Forth f reseats a moral picture that naturally awakens < Ihe itquiry, «* And why is it not even so: thtoaghout thereetoflrelandf*

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 42

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Wexford, you are in a county that, according to official returns, had the lowest crime rate in Ireland. While murders across the country ranged between 160 and 300, there were frequently years when not a single murder was committed in County Wexford. The people here considered themselves more intelligent and enlightened than their countrymen to the west. The Barony of Forth, the south-eastern peninsula cut off from the rest of the county by the hills of Forth, was said to contain the most orderly people in all Ireland. It was originally a Welsh colony planted by Strongbow, and for seven centuries these colonists kept themselves apart from the rest of the population. They married only among themselves, and still understood Welsh in the last century. The barony contained no beggars, something almost unheard of in Ireland. The land in Wexford was divided into many small estates rather than concentrated in a few hands. There were no large proprietors, only persons of moderate wealth, and absentee landlords were almost unknown. In the Barony of Forth the peasants were generally the owners of the soil they tilled, dwelt in clean and orderly houses, and their cottages were surrounded by flower-gardens. They stayed out of the political squabbles that kept the rest of the country in hot water, and Protestants and Catholics lived among them in peace and goodwill.

7. Sculpted stone face built into Scattery church wall

   Scattery Island · townland · Clare

   Into the wall of one of the three better-preserved churches on Scattery, nearest the round tower, a stone strangely sculptured into a human face had been inserted, its stiff features resembling Egyptian statues. Kohl concludes it must have originally belonged to another building.

   Read the passage

   Of somc^ of tHe seyen cbnrcbes on Scattery ifile, scarcely a trace remained; bat three of them were in tolerable preservation. Their walls, covered with ivy, remained, and into tbe wall oi one o£ them, that nearest tne round tower, a Mone strangely scalptured into the ibrmof a human face, had been introdaced. Strange to say, it has completely tbe stiff, maskltke features 4md projecting ears of the Egyptian statues, whence I conclude it must have belonged origivnallv to^ some other building. On the opposite wall is a stoiie with evident traces of an, ancient ^inscription.

   The round tower stands a little to tbe side. Although not perfect, it belongs to ihe most picturesque in Ireland, for it has been struck by lightning, and has received a split on one side from top to bottom. On the south side it is covered completely with mosses and creeping plants ; on the north and west side it is bar6, the heavy winds, as tbe sailors told me. making all vegetation impossible there, l^ightning and vegeution are tlie worst enemies ,tbe round towers have to contend with, and it is strange that such active foes should not have been able to overiom tbe whole of them in a space of 2000 years.

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 18

8. St. Columba's monastery on Rathlin

   near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim · 400–900

   In the fifth century, St. Columba founded a monastery on Rathlin which flourished until the ninth century, when it was destroyed amid the wider barbarian invasions that swept across Europe and Ireland.

   Read the passage

   From the earliest period of Irish history. Rath* lin has been mentioned as an inhabited place ;■ and in the fiflh century the Scotch and Irish apostle, St. Columba, founded here a monastery, which, like so many other pious establishmentsof the kind in Ireland, flourished till the commencement of the ninth century, when the gieat barbarian deluge which had flowed over Gepmany, France, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland, swept even across the little island of Rathlin, and buried its holy edifice in ruin.

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 81

9. Stone basins found within the Newgrange chambers

   Newgrange · townland · Meath

   Each of the small chapels within Newgrange contains a large stone basin resembling a font, roughly twenty feet in circumference and hollowed at the top; one chapel held two such basins, one within another.

   Read the passage

   We now proceed to examine the seimrate curiosities of the little chapels. Each contains a large stone basin, and one of them is furnished with two of them. Tbey all bear some resemblance to .the fonts of Christian churches,, being large, round stones, about twenty feet m eircumferenoe, hollowed slightly at the top, se as to form a large sbalk^w basin or saucer. The whole workmanship of these basins, however, is so rough and imperfect, that though they have been very evidently somewhat altered from their natural state, it is difficult to discover how this alteration has been efiTected. r^either chisel, knifts, nor measuring stick, canr well have been used here. The cavities look as if they had been caused by the long rubbing: of one large stone upon another. One of the chapels 'contains, as I have said, two such basins, one within another. Perhaps the. other chapels were formerly similarly provided, but have been robbed of their smaller basins by^ antiquarian collectors.

   The northern chapel, which is opposite the entrance, is built of the largest stones. One of the bamns was half-filled with water, which

   Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 62

10. The Devil's Glen closed on Sundays

    near Devil's Glen · valley · Wicklow

    The Devil's Glen near Wicklow, a wild narrow pass through which the river Vartry rushes after a cascade, was closed by an iron gate on Sundays to keep out sightseers, though the author was admitted as a foreigner by a side gate.

    Read the passage

    By ascending the valley of the little river - Vartry, which falls into the sea at Wicklow, you arrive at the Devil's Glen, a wild narrow |»äss» tbn>ugh which the river rushes« aftel' having just fallen in a magnificent cascade from the wild marshy summit. This DeviPs Glen, profane though its ni^me may be, seems to be very pious in it^ observance (>f the Sunday, for the iron gate at the entrance had been closed in honour of the day, and to keep out the vulgar n>ob of Sunday sight-seers. I had met many things of the kind before, both in England and Ireland, but that a wild mountain glen was to be closed against ä traveller on a Sunday seemed to me to be something new. Being a foreigner, however, an exception was made ia my favour, and I was admitted by a side gate.

    Compared to what he has done in other parts of the world, it must be owned the devil had easy work of it in this glen. The rocks, to be sure, are wild, lofty, and rugged enough ; still the V jrk to be done was not so hard that they need have called in the great and powerful spirit, who in bis time had to build devil's bridges, and to scoop out devil's caverns, qf a very difijerent character.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 50

11. The Druidical isthmus enclosure at Glendalough

    Glendalough · electoral division · Wicklow

    On the narrow isthmus between the two lakes at Glendalough lie traces of ancient circumvallation, one perfectly preserved and seventeen paces in diameter, claimed by Irwin to be a Druid temple, though the author disputes this.

    Read the passage

    On the narrow isthmus between the two lakes are some traces ofancient circumvallation. One,' seventeen paces in diameter, and in perfect pceservation, was at once declared by Irwin to be a temple of the Druids. Other antiquarians pretend that it was only an enclosure for cattle. I am disposed to reject both suppositions, ^or a temple the wall is scarcely large enough, and for an enclosure for cattle it is built with to(f much care and solidity.

    On St. Kevin's day, of the preceding year, this isthmus had been the scene of a great temperance festival. Father Mathew had chosen that day for holding a great meeting on a spot 4S0 dear to the recoUection of every Irishman.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 49

12. The Great and Little Sugar-loaf mountains named for their shape

    near Great Sugar Loaf · mountain or mountain range · Wicklow

    The Great Sugar-loaf and Little Sugar-loaf, the most remarkable mountains in County Wicklow, taper upward like Egyptian pyramids, though their names could not be older than three hundred years since sugar loaves of that shape were only recently made.

    Read the passage

    Leaving Mount Kennedy House we passed the Glen of the Downs, a beautiful corridor of rocks, richly decorated with oaks, ivy, and hushes. It contains some magnificent pointsof view, but you never quit the plain, and after . a few minutes you emerge again into the open country, with the Great Sugar-loaf to your lefl, and the Little Sugar-loaf to your right. These are the most remarkable mountains in the whole county of Wicklow, for they taper upward inas regular a form as the Egyptian pyramids. Their names, however, famous as'thijy have become in Ireland, cannot have been borne by them very long, for it is only during the last three hundred years that it has been the practice to make sugar into the conical loaves iiv which we now see it. Öoth mountains are perfectly naked from the base to the summit.

    Not far from the Sugar-loaves lies the celebrated Killonderry park and the little town of Bray, and a little farther on, the park and mansion of Powerscourt, and the little town of Enniskerry. Thence follows a constant succession of small towns and villages, parks, castles» houses, cottages, and other descriptions of country-seats, all more or less beautiful, either on account of their situation, or of the grounds about them. Hence to Dublin is a denselypeopled district, which Is to Ireland what fhe country of Kent is to England. Of the old, Celtic, turfy, wild Ireland, not a trace is here ta he seen. Everything becomes more and mora English, till we arrive at Kingstown, whence a convenient railway conveys ns back to DuUia;

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 50

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up now, you have the Great and Little Sugar-loaf mountains, the most remarkable in the whole county of Wicklow. They taper upward in as regular a form as the Egyptian pyramids. Both mountains are perfectly naked from the base to the summit. Their names, famous as they have become in Ireland, cannot have been borne by them very long, for it is only during the last three hundred years that it has been the practice to make sugar into the conical loaves in which we now see it. Not far from the Sugar-loaves lies the celebrated Killondery park and the little town of Bray, and a little farther on, the park and mansion of Powerscourt, and the little town of Enniskerry. Thence follows a constant succession of small towns and villages, parks, castles, houses, cottages, and other descriptions of country-seats, all more or less beautiful, either on account of their situation, or of the grounds about them. Hence to Dublin is a densely peopled district, which is to Ireland what the country of Kent is to England. Of the old, Celtic, turfy, wild Ireland, not a trace is here to be seen. Everything becomes more and more English, till we arrive at Kingstown, whence a convenient railway conveys us back to Dublin.

13. The round tower of Monasterboice

    Monasterboice · townland · Louth

    Sheltering from a hailstorm, the author entered the round tower of Monasterboice, noting its usual height of about 170 feet and circumference of fifty feet, though otherwise unremarkable compared to other round towers.

    Read the passage

    We at length arrived at the ruins themselves ; and, at the same time, there arrived one of those stormy and picturesque clouds v^hich we had admired so much as they passed over the landscape. The hail rattied down among the stones of the old ruins, and for shelter we were obliged to creep into the round tower, whose door was luckily near enough to the ground to allow df our entrance. This tower has the uaual height of ITO ffeet, and the usual circumference of fity feet ; and though there is something interesting in visiting one of these curious and remarkable buildings, however familiar one may have become with them, the tower of Monasterboic© has certainly nothing to distinguish it from oth* ers of the same kind. The ruined churches, also, are remarkable only for their picturesque beauty. What renders this spot most interesting, however, are three remarkable crosses erected in honour of three Irish saints, St. Patrick, Boetius, and Columb Kill. These crosMs belong to the most interesting Christian antiquities of Ireland, for tliey are better preserved than most of the remains of a similar character, and very elaborately decorated. They are built of great blocks of stone, placed one upon another, and are between twenty and thirty feet in height. Their shape is very peculiar. Upon a brosKl stone pedestal stands a block of stone, about fonrteen feet high, to the top of which is fastened a cross, formed of fbur arms of equd length, narrowing towards the centre and widening at the ends, like those used by tbe Maltese knights. The arms of the cross are bonnd by a large stone ring or cfrde, whose segments pass round from arm tb arm, and stone cross and stone ring seem united into one figure. Pedestals, crosses, and rings are all covered with curious sculptures, which offer mterestmg subjects of investigation to Irish antiquaries. They prove the existence of a quite peculiar style of Christian art in the early Irish church, and re* nrind us, by the manner of their lines and drawings, of the paintings and decorations in some old illuminated Irish manuscripts which we hhd seen at a library in Dublin.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 64

14. Wexford's shipbuilding harbour and Perkins's Patent Slip

    Wexford · town · Wexford

    Wexford's harbour was noted as having more locally-owned ships than any other in Ireland, with vessels built using American, Baltic, and Irish oak timber. The author observed Perkins's Patent Slip, a machine for raising and lowering vessels according to the tide, which he found notable even compared to large German seaports.

    Read the passage

    •Weltford, which I viewed on the foUoviipg morning, is an old town, füll of narrow streets and small bofldings. The only broad and handsome thoroughfare is the Quay, which runs along^e side of Wexford Haven. The harbour of Wexford is distinguished as possessing more ships of its own than any other in Ireland. Many vefssels are built here, and American and Baltic timber, and Irish oak, are goods seen everywhere. Ifer^, for the first time, I saw an interesting piebe Of mabhinery called Perkins's Patent ^lip, by means of which vessels in the eonrse of building are raised and lowered according as the state of the tide requires. Such machines are found in so small a place as Wex- 'ford, and are not found even iä'the largest of our German seaport towns !

    A jrentleman to whomtbfs-matAiine belonged,

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 42

    As the companion tells it

    Coming through Wexford, you pass a harbour that owned more ships than any other in Ireland. Vessels were built here from American timber, Baltic timber, and Irish oak, all of it stacked and visible around the port. The author saw something here he had not seen even in the largest German seaport towns. It was called Perkins's Patent Slip, a machine that raised and lowered vessels during construction according to the state of the tide. The Quay itself was the one broad street in an old town otherwise full of narrow lanes and small buildings, running alongside Wexford Haven. A gentleman owned the machine, though the record breaks off there.

15. Women of Limerick praised for repeal subscription

    Limerick · city · Limerick · 1843

    A subscription from the women of Limerick is read out at the meeting, prompting O'Connell to make complimentary remarks about the city's female inhabitants, who are greeted with three cheers on Tom Steele's motion.

    Read the passage

    Next followed a •ubseriptibn froM the wotttbai of Limerick, which called forth from O'ConlitMl some complimentary remarks lo the f^ir ii^abitants of that city, who, on the motion of Tom Steele, were greeted with three loud and ringr ing cheers. A contribution from Galvvay called O'Connell again on his legs. There were no tmer Irish hearts anywhere, be said, than in Con naught, hut he was aware that the large graziers there dreaded a repeal of the union, as Hkely to lead in England to the imposition of tn import duty on Irish cattle.

    *' I look up<m every apprehension of the kind,** he continued, ** as entirely unfounded. Do ftm. believe the English will be less hungry after tho repeal of the union than they are now t I believe tbey will have as much appetite then at ever they had. They like onr cattle now better than what they get fVom abroad, and hereafter, when we are independent again, oor meadow» and our cornfields will be better cultivated, akid we shall be able to offer them better cattle tliMa we can now. And shoald they then refuse to take it, because it was not onion eatlie, why, I believe that our independence would awaken a» to increased industry, and we should soon be able to buy the Connaught cattle for onr own consumption, without being at all beholden t» England for taking>it o'ff our bands. Besides, we know that the union aflbrds no protection te oor graziers, for the English will certainly be deterred by no consideration for us firom getting their cattle elsewhere, if they can boy it diesiger and better than they can from as. On this pant the new tariff has suflSciently enlightened m, in. draviring up which, not the least coneideratioa was shown for our interests ; and if that tariff has had no greater influence on oor cattle trade than it has, the reason is, that they can get sapplied by us with a better and a comparatively cheaper article than by the foreigner."

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 51

    As the companion tells it

    Up ahead, you come to Limerick. In 1843, at a repeal meeting, a subscription from the women of Limerick was read out. It drew complimentary remarks from O'Connell about the female inhabitants of that city. On Tom Steele's motion, the women were greeted with three loud and ringing cheers. A contribution from Galway then called O'Connell to his feet again. He said there were no truer Irish hearts anywhere than in Connaught, but he knew the large graziers there dreaded a repeal of the union, fearing England would impose an import duty on Irish cattle. He called that apprehension entirely unfounded. He said the English would be no less hungry after repeal than they were now, and would still prefer Irish cattle to what they got from abroad. When Ireland was independent again, he said, meadows and cornfields would be better cultivated, and Irish cattle would be better than ever. If England refused them because they were not union cattle, independence would awaken increased industry, and Ireland would soon buy Connaught cattle for its own consumption, beholden to no one. He added that the union afforded no protection to graziers anyway, since England would buy elsewhere if it was cheaper and better. The new tariff, he said, had been drawn up with no consideration for Irish interests, and if it had little effect on the cattle trade, that was only because Irish cattle were still the better and cheaper article.

16. Cahir's Rival Church Spires

    Caher · town · Tipperary

    The town of Cahir on the river Suir was approached with the spire of its catholic church visible towering over the smaller Protestant church steeple, illustrating the growing prominence of catholic church building across Ireland at the time.

    Read the passage

    The town of Cahir is beautifully situated oi]b the shores of the river Suir, and long before weentered it we saw the proud spire of its catholic church towering out of the plain, and appearing to look down with haughty contempt on the little steeple of the Protestant church beside it. In many parts of Ireland the catholic churches are now beginning to tower above those of **the establishment," as the English often call their church ; and all over the country the Irish catholics are vying with the English protestants in the zeal with which they build new churches and repair old ones. The present mania for church building in the United Kingd<tm surpasses any thing I have ever seen out of Russia.

    As Fermoy looks up with tender veneration to its interesting neighbour, the ancient city of Lismore, so Cahir regards with affectionate reverence the old and famous ruins of Cashel, one of the holy spots of Ireland. We saw the hiU of Cashel rising out of the fdain at a distanoe, covered with the ruins of its old churches, and crowned with its round tower in a perfect state* of preservation. These rams are considered the most beautiful in Ireland.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 36

    As the companion tells it

    As you come into Cahir on the river Suir, the spire of the Catholic church towers over the plain, looking down on the little Protestant steeple beside it. Across Ireland, Catholic churches are beginning to rise above those of the establishment, and Catholics and Protestants alike are building new churches and repairing old ones with equal zeal. Cahir looks toward the old ruins of Cashel with affectionate reverence. The hill of Cashel rises out of the plain, covered with the ruins of its old churches and crowned with its round tower in perfect preservation. These ruins are considered the most beautiful in Ireland.

17. Contrast Between Leinster and Ulster Landscapes

    Dundalk · town · Louth · 1842–1844

    Kohl describes the miserable, wretched cabins and dirty, ragged inhabitants along the road from Drogheda towards Dundalk in County Louth, contrasting them sharply with the neat, thriving cottages seen after crossing into Ulster near Newry.

    Read the passage

    Drogheda and its environs are surrounded by a little range of hills, to which succeed wide plains, followed by another isolated range of hills near Newry and Dundalk. Then follows another plafh and then more hills, beyond Belfast. The first plain, between Drogheda and Bundalk, in the county of Lowth, presents but a dreary spectacle to the eye of the traveller. Lowth is the most northern county in the old kingdom of Leinster, and seems to have participated least of all in the English improvements introduced into that kingdom. Every thing looks so miserable, so truly Irish, the cabins of the peasantry are so wretched, the aspect of the cultivated land is so wild and dreary, and (he inhabitants so dirty and ragged, that only in the western part of Ireland had I seen any thing Hke them. The nearer one gets to the borders of Leinster the worse every thing seems to become. Dundalk itself, indeed, a clean and pretty little town of picturesque appearance, lypg on the shores of a small bay or inlet» forms an oasis in the wilderness, but the hills beyond Dundalk are as miserable-looking as any thing can well be, and reminded me of nothing so much as the »* hungry hills" of Kerry. The aspect of these barren uplands is in the highest <legree wild and desolate. Except the fine, straight road itself, scarcely a trace of human industry is to be seen ; for tUe wretched huts scattered here and there among the hills look more like swallows' nests than human habitations.

    As we drove down the hills, the coachman Stopped to set something to right about his harness, and I got down and went towards one Cf these uninviting abodes. An Irish tinker sat before one of the cabins, busied in patching an old potato-kettle. A large hole had been burnt in its side, which extended so far down, that the kettle could never have been half full. I asked the peasant-woman, who was watching ibe tinker at his work, bow long the kettl^ had

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 68

18. Cove (Great Island): Harbour Forts and Lighthouse

    Cobh · municipal district · Cork

    On Great Island stood the port town of Cove, its houses rising in an amphitheatre up the shore. From the heights behind the town the harbour opened to the ocean between fortified peninsula points, with the lighthouse of St. Roche visible far out to sea.

    Read the passage

    Upon ih0 largeist; of ibe i^nds^ «ailed Groat Island, the piinoipal port of Cork, the well* knawB pove,i extend», io anr ampNtbatro of «lateHBolourod hotisee, up the risiag «hores o|f theislanid^ Wo landedr and climbed upio th^^' topof>th<)se sll^>re$f bebind tbe townf in order tO'look^over tho^wbele soeoe; We^were met OD rout way by half the popmiauon of Cove, who cams streamin^^olvo froW'^he ehisrchy and ai €VBr]jrji^p<woliadopp«rta»iitic8 rfadoiiFtng the 8|wmeiry of form and graeef«! app^aranee of tko; «pp^tCllMaes^i ao. th«y adrb catted,? of tfekia disfriet

    Ffoitt 4heifaMg)l«»«ehiB4«Cöv)e tbo^speotaler loakaupen tbedeepest^ and bfoadiesti pert of the; bajn; all studdeA'^Hb islaRd»^ Beforo-the w»** taiEof thetbay ioee themaelTes 4B^4be oeean, Ibey ; ntHfonf 4>et«een 'tile piojeisting points of^ ti«^ peainsuiafL Uiwa eaeb of these; poimo stanza fortves«, wfaicboiMi^iaaiids anil ■d^fendo;tbe narri Tei»^opei|ingof«ho<bavboitl^ Blefbinditlieso^Hes. tl^i vast; , heavungoxpaaao of the oeean» up^U' '^hitblitb&^8peoCatoif recpggises^' in^lhe shape of^ a few tiny, ibiadk isp^cids 'oo the bei;i«o»r slifp^ Hearing .the lighflbeise^ of ^t?. Roehe^ tiio first/ paetiafitb60orti hBrbourvdesoried byappripae^';: inqgyHseielaL' OB>€]e^liiglito,itijs.saidi t)«at,tb«i; ligbl/eao^raeei^ i^Kienty-fivo miieaf of alt sea^

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 33

19. Fair Day Trading Customs at Edgeworthtown

    Edgeworthstown · town · Longford

    A small fair held near Edgeworthtown allowed the author to observe Irish market vendors, including a mobile booth selling knives and small goods with an auction-like noisy sales style.

    Read the passage

    While I was in the vicinity of Edgeworthtown, a little fair was held there, and afforded m«^ an opportunity of observing the manners of the Irish matket-peuple in the disposal of theiz wares. Some of them — those who deal in fruit, and various kinds of eatables— did as they would have done in most countries, that is to say, they sat by the;$ide of their wares, and waited till customers presented themselves ,• but tboee who dealt in knives, scissors, and an endless variety of small articles, were more noisy and numnteiankisk than I had ever before seen them out of Great Britain. Some of them had arranged their goods on a moveable booth that went upon wheels. One side of this iravellfng repository formed a kind of stage on which the merchant made his appearance, and presented various article^to the public, tu whom, in the style of an Italian vendor of medicines, ne recommended his goods with surprising volubility, accompanied by jokes that were not always without wit. He would name the price of an article. The spectators laughed, and offered hita. perhaps a few pence. Others offered perhaps a trifle more, and so went on, till the merchant was satisfied, or till, despairing of an acceptable offer, be put the article by and produced another. SKnilar scenes are ccmstandy seen at the English fiurs likewise, and even ia London there are shops in which perpetual auctions are going on, a crowd of spectators being kept all day long around the place, which maybe considered half in the light of a shop, and half In that of a, playhouse. 1 saw no gipsies at the fair, and was assured there were none in Ireland. In all the books on Ireland that have come into my hands, I have in vain sought a confirmation of this assertion, vet books ought to tell us what we must not look for in a country as well as what we may expect to see there. It would he strange if the gipsy race, which has found its way into every country of Europe, had avoided Ireland, and ^et several Irishmen have assured me the fact is so; and as Ireland boasts of so many peculiarities, has neither toads nor snakes, nor many other animals that are niet with everywhere else, one is disposed d priori to believe the assertion. It may be that parties of gipsies crossed over to Ireland at times, bnx finding there a race almost as barbarous and wretched as themselves, they returned and did not multiply in the land. The Romans also never went over into Ireland, even when they held possession of almost eveiT other country in the known world. Another fact almost equally remarkable, is the total absence of Jews from Ireland. At least, there does not now exist a Jewish synagogue ia the whole island; not ^even in Dublin, a city of 270,000 inhabitants. Some Jews, it is true, came over- with Cromwell, and in 1746 there were forty families of that nation in Dublin, where

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up now is Edgeworthstown, in Longford. A traveller passing this way once stopped when a little fair was held here, and watched the Irish market people selling their wares. The fruit sellers and food dealers sat quietly beside their goods and waited for customers, but the dealers in knives, scissors, and small articles were noisier than he had ever seen them outside Great Britain. One had arranged his goods on a moveable booth that went on wheels, with one side forming a kind of stage. The merchant mounted it and recommended his goods with surprising volubility, accompanied by jokes that were not always without wit. He would name a price, the spectators laughed and offered a few pence, others offered a trifle more, and so it went on till the merchant was satisfied or put the article by and produced another. The author noted he saw no gipsies at the fair, and was assured there were none in Ireland, a claim several Irishmen confirmed. He found this striking, since the gipsy race had found its way into every country of Europe. He also remarked on the total absence of Jews, noting that no Jewish synagogue existed in the whole island, not even in Dublin, a city of 270,000 inhabitants, though some Jews came over with Cromwell and in 1746 there were 40 families of that nation in Dublin.

20. Fairy gathering ground near Edenvale

    Edenvale · townland · Clare

    A rocky hilltop near Edenvale with a patch of greensward about two hundred paces around was pointed out to the author as a spot sacred to the fairies, where locals claimed to have seen them and one man broke his finger after being led astray by them.

    Read the passage

    I had heard of a place in the neighbourhood that was looked on as a gathering ground of the fairies, and prevailed on some of the people to show me the way there. On the summit of a rocky hill we found a piece of greeniswaid about two hundred paces in circomferetice. This, I was told, was the spot sacred to the good people. « And^have y<^u ever seen the fairies With your own eyes 1" asked I. " Whole swarms of them, your honour, and many a time too,." they answered in chorns. "For my part," observed one, " I haVe al^i^ays takeii toleriatite care to avoid them, bat once they played the an ugly trick for all that. They led me idtd an out-dTthe-way place, where I lost myself, and stulabled over a thing that looked like the root of an old tree, and by the same token I broke my Ut-

    1E£LANI>.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 17

21. Irish fever increasingly severe and prolonged at Belfast

    near Belfast · city · Antrim · 1818–1836

    Before 1818 an epidemic fever never lasted longer than eight months at Belfast, but by 1836 one continued for more than a twelvemonth, the longest duration ever known there, mainly affecting the poor due to scanty nourishment and poverty.

    Read the passage

    1 he Irish lever seems also tu increase in se- -verity and ubsimaoy. Before the year 1818 an epidemic infectious fe?er never lasted lunger than eight months at Beiiast ; in the year 1818, there wa» one that lasted ten months ; and in the year 1836, there was one that continued more than a twelvemonth, the longest duration for the iev«r ever kaown at Belfast. This (ener is almuet eniireiy conftned to the poorer classes, and ia maifily attributable to their scaaiy noarishjueat and poverty oi life. Every wet year, which iDjufes the harvest, inercaees also the prevalence of fever. When tlie wealthy are attacked fey It, whieh seldoia happens, it is oflener fatal ti>'them tlum to the poor. Certam localities of JtelfiMft, as of Manchester and Glasgow, suffer ttoat from fever. It fs a remarkable fact, that »o fariatioB of seasea seems to have any effect «poff :the fever, which is equaHy prevalent, and «eeuaMy severe aU the year round. I saw a table 'of the oaHings porstfed by the patients be^ lure entering the hospital, Which was interesting as conveying some idea what were the oeeupations most exposed, and what least liable to fever. To be thoroughly useful, however, this table should have beea accompanied by aa- «ther, showing the proportions of these different occupations, to the entire popoUtion of Belfast. Among 2066 patients, 740, that is ibore than a ihird, were of the mauufacturing daas ; namely, millworkers and weavers. In 4he whole list there were only six bleachers, although there «m be no doubt that the proportion of bleachers to the popuhiUon is far greater than this. More than a tiflh of the patients were of che class of servants. It is a singular circumstance ttiat .women aeem to be oltener 4ittacked by lever than men. In almost eveiy year's hospital list, the female exceed the maje jpatiems by ten or twenty per cent. Yet tlie iever «annot be so tatal to the former as to tbe Jtttter, sinoe all the tables show that ten or Swtfttty per cent. BMuemen than women die of Mie lever, i^rhaps this may be because the men, «*pott wfauaet^xeruons the very existence of lUeir families olWn depends, are not so soon MMU.to the hospital. It also appears that the lever seldom attacks the aged, twt that when it ( so, it fs usually fatal.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 76

22. Killarney Town: A Recently Rebuilt Resort

    Killarney · townland · Kerry · 1810–1844

    The town of Killarney is described as neatly built and largely new, most of it being only about thirty years old, having formerly been a wretched place before its transformation to serve tourists visiting the lakes.

    Read the passage

    The town of Kiltarney, like Tralee and most of the other little towns cdf thesouth of Ireland, is pieuUy built, and has an air of novelty, the greater part of it being, in. fact, little more than thirty years old. Before that time it is said to have been a wretched place. It boasts many exeel lent inns, where ibr "money and fair words," one may get all possible accommodation for ▼iewing the lakes and tj^^e surroundiug country. I arrived there exactly at breakfast time, and joined company with an jßnglisb officer, who was also about to visit the lakes, paving obtained leave of absence irom his quarters — some^ where on the Shannon — for the express purpose of seeing the Paradise oi Killamev.

    The lakes lie in a crescent around the foot of the highest group of mountains in Kerry, called Macgilli cuddy's Reeks, and are divided into two

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 22

23. Netterville family monuments in an ivy-covered churchyard

    Dowth · townland · Meath

    Near Dowth, on Netterville family lands, stand the ruins of an old church overgrown with ivy, containing family monuments including a white marble monument to one of the Nettervilles, set against the green ivy and grey walls.

    Read the passage

    winding along between the;p, and towards the west over Slane, where in foriper times existed a famous college, whose ruips are still standing. JJot far irom Dowth, upon the lands of ^be NetterviUe femily, stand also ihe ruins qran old ehos^, overgrown, as usual, with ivy» within th^ ciroait of whose rooile^ walls stand yet tiie nionuneDts of many families, whp aA^ death **were brought home to iheir peoplfj," as tije irish say. Among others was a wtiite marb)e Monameat of one of the Ifettervilles. vhi^ laoked highly pletayesque against ^i^e green ivy ted.the gi«ay M walls. ' I dannot cpnceiye how ihe EbgHsU can go to P^re la Chaise, fi^nd a^}- flsirethe tasteless and prosaic monuments there, liflK^'ä visit to a fbw of the old ^rish cHurpbyartts, would afford theoji, in the grea[test at)un- 4aiioe, venerable and ptcturesuue tombsj and ae^es of the highest interest. We have inainy «dteotions of views of "English misinsionsV' why have not a few English painters and wri-* tscg combined to give i^e wdrld an illustrated work on "The OW Churchyards of Ireland!*' The painter indeed ought to be a Rnysdael, whose ^^ehurohyard,'» in the Dresden gallery, jaaOk rssembles, in beauty and poetry^ an Irish iShärehyard ; and thtf writer ougbt at least to luB.a Mbors or Byron, who should know how to aiunate by the power of a poetical imagination, Mil the »sthetie and the historical part of his

    attix^BniU^ the Monastery of Baite or Bq«ti«B, J9iwes Its prigin to i i^moqs abbot w bishqp pf that name» a puj^il of St. Patrick, whis liv^ toward^ the end ^ the fifth 'Sentagr. Many anciei^t at^ts of this mosastery distingiiHibod themselves in varioufi w40^St w4 ijeadered (Mr QSmea fapf^tus in Irish ^story; the niKist relebrated otthps^ i^aa JPlsnp, whp dis«! i»Mi«yaar ,105$. He IS t^e ^ great «oarps ar piüglaBi .authority inmatj«rs<>if Insh histoi7i R<iB(nW'«iid 4pquience; ap4 t,N ^rajAiM<fnal haUsda (^ Mie p^oj^ t^HS ffiff,^ tpihim;

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 63

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere near Dowth, the ruins of an old church stand on what were the Netterville family lands. The walls are roofless now and covered in ivy, as old churches usually are. Within the circuit of those grey walls stand the monuments of many families, who in death, as the Irish say, were brought home to their people. Among them is a white marble monument to one of the Nettervilles, which looked highly picturesque against the green ivy and the grey walls. The writer of this passage could not conceive how the English could go to Père Lachaise and admire the tasteless and prosaic monuments there, when a visit to a few of the old Irish churchyards would afford them, in the greatest abundance, venerable and picturesque tombs and scenes of the highest interest. He noted that there had been many collections of views of English mansions, and asked why English painters and writers had not combined to give the world an illustrated work on the old churchyards of Ireland. He thought the painter ought to be a Ruysdael, whose churchyard in the Dresden Gallery resembled, in beauty and poetry, an Irish churchyard, and the writer ought at least to be a Moore or Byron, who should know how to animate, by the power of a poetical imagination, both the aesthetic and the historical part of his subject.

24. Sea-sand improves the soil near Glengariff

    Glengarriff · townland · Cork

    Farmers around Glengariff use sea-sand, especially the 'coral sand' from Bantry Bay composed of broken shells and chalk, mixed with cold clay and acrid bog earth to make land cultivable.

    Read the passage

    we come to another celebrated little Paradise— the mouDtainoas district of Glengariff. Here we meet with iimumeiable cars laden with sea-sand i*roceediQg mto the interior. It is found very useful to mix with the cold day and the acrid bog earth) as the Irish say, ''the sea-sand cuts np the clay," and without it much of the land BOW under cultivation would be entirely useless. The fine new roads make the transport of this article much easier than it was formerly, and contribute, therefore, not a little to the improvement of the agriculture of the country. The sand from Bantrv Bay, called ^ coral sand," is thought especially advantageous. It consists, in a great measure, of broken shells and chalk.

    The valleys of Glengariff are richly wooded and sprinkled with many pretty country houses, and the bay on which the village lies is as full of islands as the lakes of Killarney.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 26

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here is the mountainous district of Glengariff, described as a celebrated little paradise. You would have met numberless cars laden with sea-sand proceeding into the interior. The sand is found useful mixed with the cold clay and the acrid bog earth. As the Irish say, the sea-sand cuts up the clay, and without it much of the land now under cultivation would be entirely useless. The fine new roads make the transport of this article easier than it was formerly, and contribute not a little to the improvement of the agriculture. The sand from Bantry Bay, called coral sand, is thought especially advantageous. It consists in a great measure of broken shells and chalk. The valleys of Glengariff are richly wooded and sprinkled with many pretty country houses, and the bay on which the village lies is as full of islands as the lakes of Killarney.

25. The Gobbins of Island Magee, a gigantic basalt colonnade

    near Island Magee · parish · Antrim

    Kohl describes the peninsula of Magee near Larne, formed of volcanic basalt, with pillars ranged along its eastern coast for four or five miles called 'the Gobbins.' He considers this formation a far more truly gigantic natural work than the Giant's Causeway itself, though less famous due to its vegetation cover.

    Read the passage

    Such was the coast, and such the road, along which our car drove away through the storm, with its* mail-bags and other contents. Near Lame the little peninsula, Magee, a volcanic formation of basalt, bends round the entrance of the Lou^h. Along the whole eastern coast of thif; peninsula rise pillars of basalt ranged in regular succession for four or five miles. Thete columns are called " the Gobblns/* and this bftsaltk; peninsula, which is a mile and a half wide, and six or seven miles long, is, in my opinion, a far more really gigantic work than the Giant's Causeway itself. The latter is, in fact, a mere toy compared to it; but because the surface of the peninsula is covered with vegetation, and the pavement of the basaltic columns is thus concealed, the far less colossal'structure has acquired the greater fame.

    The point next in interest is the precipice of Ballygally Head, which advances boldly and majestically into the sea, and is composed of an immense number of irregular basaltic masses. The road winds round the foot of this precipice, and as we still kept close to the edge of the seashoriB. tbe stormy heaving of the white-crestec billows, and the furious working of the tempest.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 78

26. Waterford founded by the Danes and retained longest by them

    Waterford · city · Waterford

    Waterford and Wexford are described as cities founded by the Danes and held by them longer than any other part of Ireland, which accounts for their Saxon-derived names.

    Read the passage

    Waterfbrd and Wexford are cities founded by the Danes, and were retained by them longer than any other part of the country. Hence their Saxon names. Irish geography is full of these Saxon names, received either from the Danee or the English. Nor are these foreign denominations confined to towns, or to the works of human hands. We have the Blackwater River, the Hungry Hills, near Bantry ; the Kasper Mountain, near Limerick ; and many others. The islands and promontories bear mostly Eng^ lish nam^ ; but many of these are, in reality, mere corruptions of the original Celtic, and, elfter all, the Celtic names are those whieh every- • where prevail, even within that part of the country which long constituted what was termed the English pale. The names of English origin are generally known by the terminations ford, town» borough, dec. Those of Celtic origin may be known by the syllables Bally, Dun, Rath, Gleo, Kil, Ennis, dec.

    Bally means a town, and occucs in Ballyoasloe, Ballyporeen, Ballyshannon, Baiiymahon» and others.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 40

27. Carrickfergus as one of the most ancient Irish cities

    Carrickfergus · townland · Antrim

    Lough Belfast is sometimes called Lough Carrickfergus, after the old Irish city of that name, described as one of the most ancient in Ireland, flourishing long before any Englishman set foot on Irish soil.

    Read the passage

    Our course first led tis round Longh -Belfilst. The Irish give the name of Lough, not only to* hiland lakes, but to ealis or inlets of the sea,, such as Longh Belfitst, Lough Strangfoad, . Lough Swilly. and others. Lough Belfast is sometimes called Lough Carrickfeigos, after the old Irish city of that name, which is one of the most ancient in Ireland, and flourished lonr before an Englishman had- ever set foot on Irish soil. On the whole way ih>m Belfast to Carn'ckfergus, the road is bordered by lines of coon* try-seats and gardens: but the gloomy and tern- • pestuous weather did not lend that embellishmeat to the petty beauty of these, human creartiOD«, that it did to the wild works of the giants^ towhteh we were hastening; indeed, as the hail generally obliged us to keep our eves shut, we may be said to have derived no pleasure from the sight of all the flower-beds, shubberies, cot-' tages, and parks, which the speculative industry of Belfast capitalists had so ingeniously spun from the flax of Ulster.

    Near Carrickfergus, close to the brink of the ocean, stands a large old castle, which is stilt kept fortified, and is garrisoned by two companies of soldiers. The situation is very picturesque, and the view over the coa.<«t, the town of Bangor, the Bellhst Lough, and the dreary waste - of wafers beyond, must be most beamiful, in^ weather permitting Its enjoyment. The waHs^ of the castle are at the same time clothed in^. fresh green ivy, and washed by the white foav of the waves, as they break at Its feet. At this ca.stle William HI. landed, before he fought the battle of the Boyne. Here the French endeavoured to land to lend assistance to the Irish labels, when It was too late. Belfast Lough is Iftdeed the principal landing-place for the whhlenorth of Ireland.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 77

28. Balbriggan's cotton mill and famous stockings

    Balbriggan · town · Dublin

    Balbriggan was the first place in Ireland where Kohl saw a large cotton mill, and Balbriggan stockings were noted to have a reputation even in England, marking the start of the north-eastern manufacturing district.

    Read the passage

    A little farther on we passed another ruin, the old castle of Balruddery* But. Immediately beyond Balruddery, at Balbriggan, my eyes rested on a spectacle quite new to me in Ireland — namely, a large manufactory. Balbriggan was the first place in Ireland in which I beheld a large cotton-mUT, and Balbriggan stock-

    BO

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 59

29. Copper mines pollute Avonmore, banish salmon

    near Avonmore River · river · Wicklow

    Near Rathdrum in the vale of Avonmore, copper mines threatened destruction to the beautiful trees, and sulphur-impregnated water thrown up from the works caused salmon to abandon the river, either turning back or dying on the banks.

    Read the passage

    Not far from Rathdrum, in the vale of Avonmore, are some copper mines that threaten de- Btruction to the beautiful trees. The motto aays, indeed, utile cum dulci^ but unfortunately we oflen find the utile and the duici engaged in an irreconcilable feud. Even the salmon, that formerly abounded in the Avonmore, have been

    banished by these copper mines. The watery impregnated with sulpha r, thro^ up from the copper works, is the cause of this. When the salmon enter the Avomuore now, they either turn about again immediately, or jump upon the bank and "die dead." This is another of the many pleonasms that I have heard in Ireland, and that so frequently, that I am tempted to believe there is something nationally chardcteristic about them. , i

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 46

    As the companion tells it

    You are passing through the vale of Avonmore, not far from Rathdrum, where copper mines once threatened the beautiful trees. The works threw up water impregnated with sulphur, and it poisoned the river. Salmon had formerly abounded here, but when they entered the Avonmore after that, they would either turn back immediately or jump onto the bank and, as a local phrase put it, die dead.

30. Ross Castle ruins on the Killarney lake shore

    Ross Castle · castle · Kerry

    The ruins of Ross Castle lie near Killarney on the shore of the lake, its ivy-covered walls offering a view of the lakes and islands, with a huge old hall-chimney indicating the great size of logs once burned there.

    Read the passage

    After rowing about fourteen miles, we landed at length by the ruins of Ross Castle, which He, sot far from Kiilamey, immediately on the shores of the lake, and from whose wall one «njoys a delightful prospect of the lakes and their islands. The ruined walls are overgrown with ivy, and the vast proportions of the old hall-chimney indicate the huge size of the logs that fonnerly held the place of coals at an Englishman's fireside.

    . FROM KILLARNEY TO BANTRY.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 23

31. Ruins of Bunratty Castle and Quin Abbey

    Bunratty Castle · castle · Clare

    The travellers passed the ivy-covered ruins of Bunratty Castle, from which ravens flew up at their approach, and further on reached the celebrated ruins of Quin Abbey, cited as examples of Ireland's abundant ruins from a time of warring chiefs.

    Read the passage

    We passed close by the Ivy-mantled ruins of Bunratty Castle, whence whole swarms of ravens issued at our approach, and a little farther on we came to the celebrated Ctuin Abbey. " In short," said my travelling companion, *'you see we have no lack of ruins in Ireland. The country was divided among a number of chiefs, who dwelt in these castles, and made war on each other. In a word, it was in those days here jast as it is in your country at the present time. Murder and homicide were the order of the day even more than they are now, and the life of a Bobleroan was valued at forty shillings, and that of a peasant at six. That too is an old German law, I (ancy. But youVe no Milesian families io Qermany ; no, there's no people can boast of that but the Irish. And indeed it's somethihg very particular to he a member of such a family.

    Such a one may go forty days without food; at least that* s the received opiiiion among the people of Ireland. Faith, it you look yonder you may see a woman who, though of no royal «ace, would fast more than forty days for you any day you like. I sav" Qurnrng to the driver), *» ihat^ Worisheen, isnn it i"

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 16

32. The great arbutus tree at Mount Kennedy park

    Mount Kennedy · site · Waterford

    At Mount Kennedy, the park of the Cunningham family, the author saw the largest arbutus tree in Ireland, whose main trunk had been cut down but from whose root twenty-five large branches had sprung, with a circumference of eighty-three paces.

    Read the passage

    wilder path on the other side of the river, hot; was told that Mr. S , to whom that bf»*-» of the valley belonged, allowed no one to pass along that road on a Sunday. The DeviPs Glen, on the whole, afforded me much less enjoymec* than the park of the Cunningham family at Mount Kennedy. The situation and soil of this park are particularly favourable to the growth of evergreens, and here, amicf an inconceivable profusion of laurels and hollies, I beheld, on a^ meadow, the largest arbutus in Ireland. The main trunk, or the ** master tree," as the gardener expressed himself, had been cut down, , for what reason I have forgotten ; but no lesa than twenty-five large branches had sprung np on all sides from the root, I walked round the extreme points of the branches, and found the circumference to be eighty-three paces. Another colossal arbutus, of about the same size, existed a few years ago at Rogerstown, near Dublin, but was blown down by a storm in 1839. The old and massive trees which we now admire so much were planted for us in a remote antiquity. Daily their number is lessened by the blast of the hurricane, ^r the more destructive, hand of man A re we planting trees.that will he equaHjr Tenerable to our posterity, some five or six centuries hence 1 or are these vegetable Methusalems to be altogether eradicated from our globe t.

    Cypresses a^ were growing here in the open air, in fifty-three degrees north latitude. Indeed there cannot be a doubt that Ireland is. the most northerly country in which the cypress will grow. Of rose-trees in full bearing at this advanced season I make no rpention, for I fbund them In the farthest north of Ireland, and sometimes high «nou|;h to ovt;rshadow the roof of a cottage.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 50

33. The Murphys and the crown of the Munster kings

    Enniscorthy · townland · Wexford

    Near Enniscorthy, at the chateau of a gentleman named Murphy, a crown is preserved which his ancestors are said to have worn as kings of Munster, a relic of ancient Irish royal lineage.

    Read the passage

    The name that prevAUs in and tbout Enniscortby is Murphy, and at the cbftteau of one jg^tlemdn of this name, the crown is sttlipre- 36rted, which his anc^tors are said to hare ^iwm as kings ü( Munster. How mirty are the rttsty; tlusty ctovhis «till ^prefeerved in diHTbrent pÄtts of Europe! and of tnany the present posfkessors stäl cherish the hope thkt a day w^l come when they may burnish ^p theh* hahblto

    'tigain.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 45

34. Turf Cutting from the Bog of Allen Without Renewal

    near Bog of Allen · bog · Kildare

    Crossing the Bog of Allen near Athlone, the author describes how turf is cut away without provision for regeneration, unlike in Germany, leading many villages to face a dwindling supply of fuel.

    Read the passage

    DnbUfi; for though in some wealthy houses & the seacoast towns, coals are buined, yet the majority of the population everywhere bum nothing but turf, which may be obtained more easily from the siuface of the ground than can the coa» from their deep and laborious piines. When their supply of turf has been exhausted, the Irish wiil pay more attention to their coal-fields, the real extent of which is still unknown to them. Before that time comes some centuries must pass away, but there are parts of Ireland where turf is b^mning to grow scarce. In the north of Germany, wbere we have also many turf bogs, the people provide for the reproduction of the turf. ' They leave square holes, in which the water collects. The marsh-plants accumulate in those reservoirs, and at the end of thirty or forty years turf ma jr again be cut Irom th^ same place, and thus a piece of turf-land is n\ade to afford an inexhaustible supply of fuel to its owners. In Ireland nothing of the kind is thought of. The turf is cut away wherever Nature haadeposited the trea^sore,ana none seems to trouble himself abom the renewal of the supply. I'he oonseouenee is that many villages are mourning over their dwindling stock of turf, and can aK most calculate the day on which they will have consumed their last sod.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 12

35. Manufacturing workers and servants most afflicted by Belfast fever

    near Belfast · city · Antrim

    Among 2066 fever patients at Belfast, more than a third were mill-workers and weavers and more than a fifth were servants, with women oftener attacked by fever than men though men died at a higher rate.

    Read the passage

    1 he Irish lever seems also tu increase in se- -verity and ubsimaoy. Before the year 1818 an epidemic infectious fe?er never lasted lunger than eight months at Beiiast ; in the year 1818, there wa» one that lasted ten months ; and in the year 1836, there was one that continued more than a twelvemonth, the longest duration for the iev«r ever kaown at Belfast. This (ener is almuet eniireiy conftned to the poorer classes, and ia maifily attributable to their scaaiy noarishjueat and poverty oi life. Every wet year, which iDjufes the harvest, inercaees also the prevalence of fever. When tlie wealthy are attacked fey It, whieh seldoia happens, it is oflener fatal ti>'them tlum to the poor. Certam localities of JtelfiMft, as of Manchester and Glasgow, suffer ttoat from fever. It fs a remarkable fact, that »o fariatioB of seasea seems to have any effect «poff :the fever, which is equaHy prevalent, and «eeuaMy severe aU the year round. I saw a table 'of the oaHings porstfed by the patients be^ lure entering the hospital, Which was interesting as conveying some idea what were the oeeupations most exposed, and what least liable to fever. To be thoroughly useful, however, this table should have beea accompanied by aa- «ther, showing the proportions of these different occupations, to the entire popoUtion of Belfast. Among 2066 patients, 740, that is ibore than a ihird, were of the mauufacturing daas ; namely, millworkers and weavers. In 4he whole list there were only six bleachers, although there «m be no doubt that the proportion of bleachers to the popuhiUon is far greater than this. More than a tiflh of the patients were of che class of servants. It is a singular circumstance ttiat .women aeem to be oltener 4ittacked by lever than men. In almost eveiy year's hospital list, the female exceed the maje jpatiems by ten or twenty per cent. Yet tlie iever «annot be so tatal to the former as to tbe Jtttter, sinoe all the tables show that ten or Swtfttty per cent. BMuemen than women die of Mie lever, i^rhaps this may be because the men, «*pott wfauaet^xeruons the very existence of lUeir families olWn depends, are not so soon MMU.to the hospital. It also appears that the lever seldom attacks the aged, twt that when it ( so, it fs usually fatal.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 76

36. Fair Head named by Ptolemy as Rhobogdium Promontory

    near Benmore or Fair Head · promontory · Antrim

    Fair Head, or Benmore, is identified with the Rhobogdium Promontorium mentioned by the ancient geographer Ptolemy, proving the headland was known and celebrated even before the Christian period.

    Read the passage

    Benmore is mentioned by Ptolemy (it is his R&hogtUum Pramonforium), a proof that it was itftowo and even celebrated before tbe Christian period.

    From the lake we ascended gradually to the liigfaest point of the cape, by a very disagreea- ^ble path, in which one foot generally trod upon sharp, rocky points, while the other sunk in iKig. The fartlier we went, however, the less inconvenient it became, and near the brink of the precipice it waa quite fiat and dry. It was very curious when we reached this spot, to find tha( the wind, which had all along been very high, suddenly fell to a perfect caln^ but the ^explanation offered by my companion, seemed a very plausible way of accounting for tbe pbe- >nomenon. The wind, sweeping across the ooean» strikes on the perpendicnlar face of the rock, and ts broken and sent upward at a r^ht angle, so that tbe current becomes vertical s instead of horiaontal. About five or six hun- «dred'feet behind the face of the rock, the wind again fell to ita natural course along the sur face of the ground, and swept on as before, forming over the summit of the precipice a kiiMi of arcih, under which, exposed as was the poBition, we enjoyed a perfect calm.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 82

37. Ruins of Dunkitt, a small Danish castle, near Waterford

    Dunkitt · townland · Kilkenny

    While walking the last miles into Waterford by by-paths, the narrator visited poor farmhouses and inspected the ruins of Dunkitt, a small Danish castle, noting blackberry bushes still in bloom between its walls late in the season.

    Read the passage

    gentleman of the party oflering to shovir me the way along some by-paths. We stopped to look at some workmen employed on a new road, visited a few poor farmhouses, and inspected the ruins of I]|unkit,*a small Danish castle, between whose walls some blackberry- bushes were still in bloom, at this advanced period of the seasoa. The climate of Ireland is noi calculated to accelerate either the unfolding of the blossom or the ripening of the fruit. The com grows so slowly that, though the summer seed may be put into the ground six week^ sooher than in those parts of the European continent that lie under the same latitude, yet the harvest is usually gathered in nearly six weeks later. In the north, we have countries where the life of Nature may be said to blaze up into flames for a few weeks in summer, and then to sink again into dust and ashes. In Ireland, Nature never bursts into a flame, nor ever becomes dust and ashes, but continues to glimmer away, all the year round, like a lighted sod of turf.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 39

38. Flintstone trade at Glenarm

    near Glenarm · village · Antrim

    The white chalky rocks of the coast contain flints arranged in horizontal strata, which local inhabitants dig out and sell as articles of commerce. At Glenarm, Kohl observed great heaps of flintstones ready for shipping.

    Read the passage

    The while chalky rocks of the co&st are Ml' of flints, which are not irregalartty scatiet^d^ through them, but are deposited in long hoiiJ-i zontal strata fh)m two to three feet tttfck; Thtt^' inhabitai)^ of the neighbouring coumt^ dig out these stones, and use them as articles of cpmi^^* merce. At Glenarm I saw great heap» of kifge^ and small flintstones^ ready for shipping. ' Not only do these limestone roetfs occasionally break u p into boulderstones ; the same< is the ease with - the black basalt massesf'which iie over them. Thus the whole coast; and all the little valleys' which run down towards it, aro sprinkled wifh great loose black and Ivhite atones, like the black' and ^hite heids of Jacob. , Thes^ black' and white stones are seen everywhere around. 1%^' road is macadawazed withbacic and white stonesf,' and the walls of the bojuses, gardens, and :<50iirt«'- yards are all built of blae^ and white «tones.

    After Balllßy-galley Head, w« reached other steep and preoipitodis rocks and clifis. calted the^ Sallagh-braes. Here the wh«te chalk founda-^- tion an<| tbe<b1ackfbaaaii deposit were plainly' enough< to be. diatinguished. One large mass df ^ basalt, had detached itself from theirest, and reapJ' ed its black' heiad from itte itraves near the toast " Knockdhu,? or theBla^k Rock, waa the name given it by the lirish. Farther out to sea. abpuc foqr miles fromland, lie other rocks called <* Th^ • Maidens." , . U poo two of them lighthobses havd , bejsn erected. Pjarth^ü out in the distance, the ■ nearest point of &<(xytlaiid is seen irearingits head above the waters. •■ It is the Mdll of Ahtib^ with' ita ne%hbour: island; of Sandä. - ' : ^

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 78

39. Round tower on Swords church bears a Christian stone cross

    Swords · town · Dublin

    Kohl notes that Christian emblems have been discovered on some round towers, citing the tower near Swords in County Dublin, which bears a small stone cross on its summit, considered a modern addition rather than original to the structure.

    Read the passage

    ChristlaB emblems have been diM!0?«red te some of these towers. On the summit of that near 8words, in the county of Dublin, is a small stone bn^s^ aiid" i& otheru even representations of the Virgin have been found; but these, there i:anhot be a doubl; are of modem addilibh. That churches and oemeteHes should so oltea be found in the vicinity of these towers is bothmg surprising, fur a building that has once become saered in the eyes ol a people, generally retains a portitm of its sanctity, even though the. original religion mayiae utterly swept away. Most of the early Christian churches were erected on the foundations of heathen temples, and a large portion of the Turkish mosques were lormerly Christian churches.

    Generally, where in the vicinity of a round tower there qccur the ruins of churches, these are in number Seven. This has been explained by supposing !that previously to the appearance of St. Patrick, Christianity, but not Romas OithoKc Christianity, had been introduced into- Ireland. This ante-patrician Christianity iß- said to have been introdueed l^ the ApostlW James, who first preached the gospel in Ireland;, and established the Eastern church there, with the rites of the Eastein (Ecumenic Synods ; and the frequent appearance of seven chnrehes close to each other, is accounted for as a reference to the seven celebrated churches of the East la this hypothesis, though stoutly denied by the Roman Catholics, there is nothing improbable, and if true it aflbrds another remarkable proof of the early connexion between Ireland and the- East. In no other Christian land in Europe do^ weeonstantly find the ruins of ancient churchee in groups of seven.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 18

40. Shannon Harbour as Canal-Shannon Junction Point

    Shannon Harbour · electoral division · Offaly

    Shannon Harbour, at the mouth of the Grand Canal where it meets the Shannon, formed an intermediate trading point between Dublin and Limerick, consisting of an inn, warehouses, and cabins for Irish labourers, with Galway oysters stored there.

    Read the passage

    Shaimon Harbour lies on the Shannon, at themonth of the Grand Canal. This canal extend« - to Dublin, and the Shannon being navigable hence to Limerick, Gannon Harbour forms an intermediate point of some importance for the inland navigation between those two cities. The commerce along this canal is not, however, very considerable, and Shannon Harix>ur, whatever it may hereafter become, consists at present only of a good inn, with a row of warehout^es and counting-houses along the canal, and a sort of appendix »f cabins for the Irish labourers. In the warehouses I saw little except large qiiantities of Galway oysters, and as I found it im pes-

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 12

41. Tober a Youlish Spring Near Drogheda

    Drogheda · town · Louth

    The reciter mentions a beautiful old song about 'Tober a Youlish', the glittering spring located only three miles from Drogheda.

    Read the passage

    *• Yes, indeed, our ancestors have bequeathed to us great numbers of songs, and very beautiful ones too, sir. If you could only understand them ! What a beautiful song is that of ' Tober a YoUish,* that is of the glittering spring, "Which is only three miles off from our town ; and that other of CuchuUin, the Irish champion, who went over Scotland. Please your reverence, shall I begin with CuchuUin V •• Do, my son, and God bless you." The man began to recite, and went on uninterruptedly for a quarter of an hour. His story, of which I of course understood not a word, but "MTbich my friendly host afterwards explained to xne, »"eated of a Scottish enchantress, named Aithuna, who, forsaken by her Irish lover, CuchuUin, laid a cruel speU upon their son Konnell, which compeUed him by an irresistible en- «bantment, and entirely against his will, to follow, to persecute, to fight, and at last to destroy bis father CuohuUin. At the last moment, after stabbing his father to the heart, in spHe of the efforts by which he struggled to resist the borrible impulse of his destiny, his own heart broke in the struggle, and son and father died together, while the revengeful spirit of the cruel enchantress hovered in exultation over the flying» repeating to her treacherous lover the story of his inconstancy and her revenge.

    I was glad of an opportunity of assuring myself by o^ demonstration of the actual existence of Ossianic poetry like this at the present day. The reciter was, as I have said, a simple and ignorant man, with a good deal of the clown about htm, and his recitation was as simple, unadorned, and undeclamatory as himself Sometimes, however, when carried away by the interest of his story, his manner and voice were animated and moving ; at such times he fixed bis eyes on his hearers, as if demanding their sympathy and admiration for himself and his poem. Sometimes I noticed that the metre completely changed, and I was told that this

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 65

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Drogheda, there is a spring called Tober a Youlish, the glittering spring, that sits three miles from the town. A writer travelling here was told by a local man that their ancestors had bequeathed great numbers of beautiful songs, and among them was one about this very spring. The man offered to recite, and went on uninterrupted for a quarter of an hour. The tale he told was of Cuchullin, the Irish champion, who went over to Scotland. There he was loved by an enchantress named Aithuna, but he forsook her. In her bitterness she laid a cruel spell upon their son, Connell, compelling him by an irresistible enchantment, and entirely against his will, to follow, to persecute, to fight, and at last to destroy his father. At the last moment, after stabbing his father to the heart, in spite of all his efforts to resist the impulse of his destiny, his own heart broke in the struggle, and son and father died together. The revengeful spirit of the enchantress hovered in exultation over the dying, repeating the story of his inconstancy and her revenge. The writer was glad to satisfy himself that Ossianic poetry like this still existed in his day, carried by a simple, unadorned man whose voice grew animated and moving when the story carried him away.

42. Belfast as Presbyterian Ecclesiastical Capital

    near Belfast · city · Antrim

    Belfast is identified as the principal seat of Irish Presbyterianism, where the general assemblies of the church are held and where the Moderator, head of the Presbyterian Church, resides.

    Read the passage

    The principal. seat of episcopacy in Ireland is Dublin, where the Episcopalian university is situated ; but the Episcopalian ministers reign as masters in every part of the island. Belfast is the principal seat of Presbyterianism ; it is there that their general assemblies are held, and that their Moderator, the head of the Presbyterian Church, resides. The Catholics have no such central city, although many of the great towns in Ireland, Cork, Gal way, and Drogheda, for instance, are very Catholic.

    The Presbyterians oi^ Ireland form a particular church, planned on the model of that ot

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 72

43. Clonmel described as the largest town in Tipperary with lively streets

    Clonmel · town · Tipperary

    Clonmel is noted as the largest town in County Tipperary, with about 15,000 inhabitants, and the narrator observes its thriving, bustling streets as evidence of its importance and prosperity.

    Read the passage

    Clonmel is the. largest laws in the cettnty oi Tipperary. It eontama 1((/QM inhabitaBtsvaad ita thrivinf aspect, and the aaioiated bnstleoCita . streets, bear teatuBony to its imperlaBC8.andvi prosperity^ AsweidismooBtedibefore thninoBl. donmiel amonber of oMbeggavwomen sur« rounded our car aa usnah . I gave oneof thanis: a penny. She spat upea it, and aft< first I Jma^ gtned ahe did 'soi to ahttwherxxmteBiptv beoaase I had given her so small a com: AfterwardSy however, I found that it is a regular custoia.o(^ the beggar»' in Iiehind (and also in some parts of En^^ndX toapit upon the money given them^ *• for good locfc^?' as -they say.

    The begganwomen were many of - them >too ohl and infian :t« foHonr >iis ; but a oR)Wd'iol>llttk^iflaoara haired chifalneti ran after the «ar » long I way, wfaea it had dfiaen oflT^ ThO'Wisvd« "ba^peaoy?' seema ta»have hecBBie so natwal' ^o their tongues, that it drops out spontaneoWKly^h» moraent-^they topes their lips^ They do not .GBret (What -, you. tmy • ta . them^ bJ! keep ' op one. incessnIi.cryT of '^halpbnny 1' ha'penhy.!»'^ • until aipiece of eoipperis^tlnrown toward« tAiesB, when tbs whole troop ftll t<^ gnibbing> in the * din, and acrambling fep it. On^ the wiNrie way • frwnj Limoriok) to Oork^ aiid ihoB» Coi4c to KiU keany;, a distanooiof somo hundred miles in lengthy opr ofor aras naveri a muMoeHi ftee fhMi' ^watraa« of ^ noiay little^ beggarsi and (as sooO aa * OBOitiroop gam ap iihe pur«ttl«f in deäpair, another; «ragged :litlile>tlia!OBg( came ehoutingaadg^^ kxpiB^iorer the oaoor.^ tosupptT itb place; fhe 3ianooBi-oara are vbit» ihvoamble «o besgars; beaaas»l!httttBrvelieKa«$t; perpetttaHyfaci^ thi» poBr< .sappliofNits, and daset to thou. F spoke of flaxea-haiced chik^r^Pfbiyt ,m fofpp^ intern districts the' li-rsh ate all hiack-haired. TJjp moat remarkable thing^ about it is, thfit whereas in other oouotriea blue eyesr are älvi^ fband with light bair, and dark eyes with dark hair, . the Irish are without reception bitte eyed, ana eyea of the cl^areBt azure tint gleam contitiu- ^ beneath hairiilack as tl^ raven*^ wing

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 37

    As the companion tells it

    You're coming through Clonmel, the largest town in County Tipperary, with about 15,000 inhabitants. A traveller once noted its thriving aspect and the bustling streets as testimony to its importance and prosperity. When his car stopped there, a number of beggar women surrounded it, and he gave one a penny. She spat upon it, which at first he took as contempt for so small a coin, but later found it was a regular custom among beggars in Ireland, and in parts of England too, to spit on money given them for good luck. Many of the beggar women were old and infirm, but a crowd of fair-haired children ran after the car a long way once it drove off. The word 'halfpenny' seemed so natural on their tongues that it dropped out the moment they parted their lips. On the whole way from Limerick to Cork and from Cork to Killarney, a distance of some hundred miles, he was never free from noisy little beggars. As soon as one troop gave up the pursuit in despair, another ragged little band came shouting to supply their place.

44. Decline of distilleries in Wexford, New Ross and Enniscorthy

    Wexford · town · Wexford

    The author notes that Wexford formerly had seven breweries of which only one remained prosperous, and that the principal distilleries in New Ross and Enniscorthy had closed, which he takes as a hopeful sign against intemperance.

    Read the passage

    We cannot expect, at the end of only five years, to see a veiy visible effect produced upon the present generation by these infant schools. Yet the effect must be an important one. Thousands of children that would otherwise have ran wild about the streets, or have grown up in idleness in wretched hovels, enjoy now the advantage of a rational superintendence, and of a temporary asylum far better than the parental roof can offer them. There is a great desire for instruction among the Irish, and such being the case, it is diflScult not to rest sanguine hopes on the host of new schools that are starting up in all parts of the country. I do not remember to have passed through any Irish town, in which I did not see a spick and span new school-hoose, and a distillery either shut up or going evidently to decay. In Wexford there were formerly seven breweries, of which only one is now in a prosperous condition. In New Ross, whence we came, and in Enniscorthy, whither we were going, the principal distilleries had all been closä. These are the facts to make a man cry " Hear, hear !" and " One cheer more !" These are things that to a traveller whose heart is in the right place, convey more real enjoyment, than the contemplation of the finest scenery or the most magnificent monuments.

    I have already spoken of the new catholic churches and steeples that present themselves in almost every large Irish town. In Wexford, we saw another new catholic building, namely a handsome catholic college. **Our young priests," the Irish say, ** have no longer occasion to go to Rome or Paris, if they wish to learn something." Add to these the newlyerected poor-houses that are scattered over all Ireland, and we shall have named, pretty nearly all the new buildings of the country, and shall have indicated, at the same time, the principal points from which the moral destitution of the country is to be attacked ; the poor-houses wiU direct their assaults against the widely-spread

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 43

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Wexford, there is something here the author noticed in his own journey through this town. He said he could not remember passing through any Irish town where he did not see a spick and span new schoolhouse, and a distillery either shut up or going to decay. Wexford had once seven breweries, and only one was still in prosperous condition. The principal distilleries in New Ross, where he had come from, and in Enniscorthy, where he was going next, had all been closed. He took these as facts to make a man cry, hear, hear, and one cheer more. To a traveller whose heart was in the right place, they conveyed more real enjoyment than the finest scenery or the most magnificent monuments. He had spoken already of the new Catholic churches and steeples in almost every large Irish town. In Wexford he saw another new Catholic building, a handsome Catholic college. Our young priests, the Irish said, have no longer occasion to go to Rome or Paris, if they wish to learn something. Add to these the newly erected poor-houses scattered over all Ireland, and you have named nearly all the new buildings in the country, and indicated the principal points from which the moral destitution of the country was to be attacked. He had seen infant schools at work too, only five years established, already keeping thousands of children from running wild about the streets or growing up in idleness in wretched hovels. The effect, he said, must be an important one.

45. Dundalk as an Oasis Amid Desolate Hills

    Dundalk · town · Louth · 1842–1844

    Kohl describes Dundalk as a clean and pretty little town of picturesque appearance lying on a small bay, forming a striking contrast to the miserable hills beyond it which he compares to the 'hungry hills' of Kerry.

    Read the passage

    Drogheda and its environs are surrounded by a little range of hills, to which succeed wide plains, followed by another isolated range of hills near Newry and Dundalk. Then follows another plafh and then more hills, beyond Belfast. The first plain, between Drogheda and Bundalk, in the county of Lowth, presents but a dreary spectacle to the eye of the traveller. Lowth is the most northern county in the old kingdom of Leinster, and seems to have participated least of all in the English improvements introduced into that kingdom. Every thing looks so miserable, so truly Irish, the cabins of the peasantry are so wretched, the aspect of the cultivated land is so wild and dreary, and (he inhabitants so dirty and ragged, that only in the western part of Ireland had I seen any thing Hke them. The nearer one gets to the borders of Leinster the worse every thing seems to become. Dundalk itself, indeed, a clean and pretty little town of picturesque appearance, lypg on the shores of a small bay or inlet» forms an oasis in the wilderness, but the hills beyond Dundalk are as miserable-looking as any thing can well be, and reminded me of nothing so much as the »* hungry hills" of Kerry. The aspect of these barren uplands is in the highest <legree wild and desolate. Except the fine, straight road itself, scarcely a trace of human industry is to be seen ; for tUe wretched huts scattered here and there among the hills look more like swallows' nests than human habitations.

    As we drove down the hills, the coachman Stopped to set something to right about his harness, and I got down and went towards one Cf these uninviting abodes. An Irish tinker sat before one of the cabins, busied in patching an old potato-kettle. A large hole had been burnt in its side, which extended so far down, that the kettle could never have been half full. I asked the peasant-woman, who was watching ibe tinker at his work, bow long the kettl^ had

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 68

46. Kilrush described as a fresher seaport town

    Kilrush · town · Clare

    Kilrush is described as a small seaport town on the Shannon, notable for having fewer ruins and a greater appearance of freshness and comfort than inland places, where the author lodged with a former sailor who had served under Nelson.

    Read the passage

    Kilrush is a small seaport town, and, like all seaport towns in Iretand, has fewer rains and a greater appearance of freshness and comfort man any of the places in the interior. I pat up imder the roof of an old sailor who had rought, in his time, under Nelson, and now direeted the only tolerable hostelry in the place.

    My first walk wfts to the gronnd where Father

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 17

    As the companion tells it

    You're coming through Kilrush, a small seaport town on the Shannon. Unlike places in the interior, it has fewer ruins and a fresher, more comfortable look. The author of one old travel book lodged here with a former sailor who had fought under Nelson and now ran the only tolerable inn in the place.

47. No trees survive the wind on Rathlin

    near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim

    Guides on Fair Head told the narrator that Rathlin was subject to such constant tempestuous wind that no tree could grow above the level of the rector's garden wall without sickening and dying, so nothing on the island grew larger than bushes.

    Read the passage

    On the sumtnH of Fan* Head we were exactly ' . »pposite Rue Point, the nearest part of the j island of Rathlin, and about four miles distant The eastern side of this promontory presents the same basaltic structure as Benmore, and it is probable that the island has been torn from the mainland by some violent convulsion of nature. The long coast of the western wing of Rathlin was so plainly visible to us as we stood on Fair Head, that we could distinguish Church Bay, and tlte two districts of Ushet and Kenraraer. A mountain was pointed out to us, sa the site of Bruce Castle, and its high chaikf clifl^ and black cap of basalt were clearly diaoernible,.so that I could hardly persuade myself that it was impossible to reach it, although th» inland was surrouaded by a tremendous s«rt My guides informed me thai there wss ahnost always a tempestuous widd on Rathbn, so that no tree would grow in the reetor^s gatden^ and all over tbe island there were aoae larger thaa. bushes. So soon as any tree grsw ahovn tha level of the garden-watt, it began to sicken and die.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 82

48. Rathlin fishing-boats stormbound at Ballycastle harbour

    near Ballycastle · town · Antrim

    Eight Rathlin fishing-boats were stormbound in Ballycastle harbour for three days, unable to make the six-mile crossing to Rathlin Island due to the tempestuous sea, delaying the rector's relatives from reaching the island.

    Read the passage

    The furnitiire looked comfortable, the tea-table stood ready, and near the fire — oh, wonder h-« were seated sonie ''.Antrim lasses," young ladies, who were on their way to pay a visit to their relative, the rector of Rathlia. The storm had for three days prevented their crossing to the. island, and eight Rathlin fishing-boats were lying in Ballycastle harbour, unable to get oqt on account of the temf)estuous sea, although the distance is but six miles.

    " It i^ an ill wind that blows no one any good,*' says the proverb, and I was at all events indebted to the gale for the pleasure of taking my tea in the company of the young ladies. There was no sitting-room but the one, and as necessity has no law, even the stiffioess of English etiquette was obliged to give wav, and the cold, wet, de* piorable^looking traveller, had to be admitted, without even asking permission from papa or mamma

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 79

49. Reduced income of the rector of Enniscorthy

    Enniscorthy · townland · Wexford

    The rector of Enniscorthy had his income reduced from £2100 to about £1000 a year following reforms of the Irish Protestant clergy's revenues, illustrating the changing fortunes of the established church in Ireland.

    Read the passage

    Since the last '* clipping** Of the reffetraes of the Trish Protestant clergy, the rector of-Enniscorthy had been reduced from £21*00 to about £1000 a year ; but it most not be supposed that every Protestant clergyman has been reduced to -the same ettent. The bishops and archbishops are those from whom the least has been taken, and the necessity of a further dipping is sufficiently shown by a Teference to the table of the revenues of the Irish dignitaries. There zfe in all twenty-two Anglican bishops and

    ' afchbishops in Ireland» Only five less than in England.* Upon the wbö)e»the Irish bishops are better paid than those-öf England ; for the average income of the former is £7000 a year, and of the latter £6000. Four English bishops have less than ^IfOOO a year ; in ir^'änd there is not one whose ineomef fklt^ bdowthat amount. The two tiche« sees in Etfg;larrd «re those bf

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 45

50. Rook colony at Edenvale glen

    Edenvale · townland · Clare

    The author describes an immense flight of rooks darkening the sun over the glen at Edenvale, a spectacle locals said was common as the rooks long favored the glen as a haunt.

    Read the passage

    On my arrival, I found my worthy host bu.sy with his trees and flowers, and we immediately undertook a Utile tour round the lovely glen on the margin of which his house is situated. One of the most remarkable spectacles that presented itself during my visit, was a complete eclipse of ^e sun, caused bv an immense flight of rooks. Never in my life had i seen so many bird» collected together. It was as if all the feathered tenants of the hundred thousand ruined castles, abbeys, and towers of Ireland l^ad assembled to hold a motister meeting. The silent glen was at once filled by their. loud and discordant cries, and their droppings poured down like a shower of hail J and jet the mhabitants of Eden vale assured me the spectacle was no uncommon one, the rooks having long made the glen one of their favourite, haunts. It. was at least an hour before the^ihj cpncert was at au end, and the air clear of the ungainly vocalists, and when the swarm had passed, I felt as if a thunderstorm had rolled away.

    These rooks, as the English call them, may

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 17

51. Tralee's Modest Comforts After a Grey Evening

    Tralee · townland · Kerry · 1842–1844

    The author arrives in Tralee on a dreary evening and finds relief in a blazing fire and a hearty supper of chickens, bacon, ham, roast beef and vegetables. He remarks on the surprisingly good fare found in so remote a place.

    Read the passage

    It is a pity that the. ck;»ids .turn their lea^^ agreeable side towaidis the earth. Had we thai evening contemplated from aJbove, the clouds that looked to us so gray and .monotonous, we should probably have seen them radiant with light^and diversified with every shade of colour. To us, however, ti^y were- one dull, unbroken gray, and glad enough we weoe^ aanigbt set in^ and this gray was turning into b^aek, to arrive in Tralee, wnere a fine blazing fine indemnified us fbr the itirfrmuB^ evening.

    Ou¥ supp^ consisted of chickens, bacon, ham, i^ast beer, Chester cheese,. and celery, with po^ tatoes and cabbage sodden in water, and I bad scarcely expected, in so reasnote a i^ace, to (have fbond these various dishes so esoellently pif&^ pared. There were four of us, ands^ur ooutyev^ sation was of the kind which genelisily passi^s on such occasions, in the British; iiiiands, between persons whose aequaintance with each other is slight and of teoent*date. '^ Ma y I trou* ble you ft>r ft bit of beef V^ « Will yon allow nae to »»end you< a piece of chicken 1 Have you, any eAioice as to the wing or the breast 1" *^m»yl have thejionouit of taking a gbi$9 of wii^ witb you 1" " I shall he veiy happy." '* I'll trouble you for a potato." •* Witt you take any moreT* This was the soi^ of crossr^re of civil, speeches» that wais kept nptbrougb, supper time, and though itsoundiipretMly^eaoHgh When heard fyr the first time, it becomeer insufferably, tedious and absurd after firequentrenetiticHi«

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 21

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here, a traveller in the 1840s arrived on a gray, dreary evening and was glad to reach shelter as the dusk turned the clouds to black. A fine blazing fire made up for the cheerless weather. The supper that followed was surprisingly good for so remote a place. There were chickens, bacon, ham, roast beef, Chester cheese, celery, potatoes and cabbage, all excellently prepared. Four of them sat down together, and the talk was the usual polite exchange you find in the British Isles among people who barely know each other. "May I trouble you for a bit of beef?" one would say. "Will you allow me to send you a piece of chicken?" another would answer. "Have you any choice as to the wing or the breast?" "May I have the honour of taking a glass of wine with you?" "I shall be very happy." "I'll trouble you for a potato." "Will you take any more?" The author notes that this sort of civil crossfire sounds pleasant enough the first time you hear it, but becomes insufferably tedious and absurd with frequent repetition.

52. Woman's fairy music encounter near Ballinasloe bog

    Ballinasloe · town · Galway

    A woman recounted that while travelling from Galway through County Roscommon over the bog of Ballinasloe, she heard beautiful fairy music near a well while her husband slept, and in her haste to leave with him forgot a new handkerchief she had bought in Galway.

    Read the passage

    " I see, sir, you don't believe 'em," cried « woman here, ^'and yet it's a wonder Vou don't. Well; I've seen the good people witß my owa eyes dancing on their grounds, and my own ears have heard them play the most beaatiful music. It's only a few days ago that my husband and/" were coming Irom Gal way, through the count» of Roscommon, over the bog of Ballinaslo« We were both tired and lay down to sie«*» »*- ♦»-

    18

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 14

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Ballinasloe, that bog you're crossing has its own tale. A woman travelling from Galway through County Roscommon told how she and her husband lay down to rest here, tired from the road. While he slept, she heard what she called "the most beautiful music" from the good people dancing on their grounds, and saw them with her own eyes. In her haste to be gone, she left behind a new handkerchief she had bought in Galway.

53. Belfast Museum's Natural History Collection

    near Belfast · city · Antrim

    The Society of Natural History in Belfast maintained a small museum containing Irish antiquities found in the neighbourhood and natural curiosities, though Kohl criticized its lack of a complete geological collection illustrating the Giant's Causeway formations.

    Read the passage

    The Society of Natural History has collected a small museum« in a handsome and elegant building. Many such museums have of late been established in all the towns of England ; but upon the whole, the museums of our smaller German towns are older, richer, and better kept than these British provincial museums. The museum of Belfast contains many interesting Irish antiquities ibund in the neighbourhood, and also many natural curiosities ; but the traveller seeks in vain for what he must most desire and expect in this place— I meaii, a complete, well-arranged, satisfactory, and instructive collection of geolofrical and m'ueralogical specimens, illustrative of the Gimt's Causeway, and the other interesting volcanic formations, which render the whole northern coast of Ireland so remarkab'e. Every proviii. cial museum has its own particular task to fulfil, since each is generally particulariy qualified, by its geographical position, to promote the investigation of some one important branch of natural history. Belfast, a great city, rich in scientific materials and learned men, is undoubtedly called upon to collect in its museums whatever can be collected of specimens, models, or reports, likely to afford instruction as to those remarkable basaltic formations, whick render the northern coast of Ireland famous throughout the scientific world. Some specimens of this coast are indeed found in the Belfast museums ; but in vain we ask after a «-omplete collection of all the volcanic materials of which the northern coast consists, or for an arrangement of them in the natural «irder in which they are found, or for a correct model in wood or plaster of the Giant's Causeway, or of, the whole northern coast, none of which ought to be wanting in a place like Belfast. The trav-

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 74

54. New Catholic college built in Wexford

    Wexford · town · Wexford

    A handsome new Catholic college had been built in Wexford, meaning young priests no longer needed to travel to Rome or Paris for their education.

    Read the passage

    I have already spoken of the new catholic churches and steeples that present themselves in almost every large Irish town. In Wexford, we saw another new catholic building, namely a handsome catholic college. **Our young priests," the Irish say, ** have no longer occasion to go to Rome or Paris, if they wish to learn something." Add to these the newlyerected poor-houses that are scattered over all Ireland, and we shall have named, pretty nearly all the new buildings of the country, and shall have indicated, at the same time, the principal points from which the moral destitution of the country is to be attacked ; the poor-houses wiU direct their assaults against the widely-spread

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 43

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Wexford, there is a handsome new Catholic college among the new churches and steeples that have gone up across Irish towns. The Irish themselves say their young priests have no longer occasion to go to Rome or Paris if they wish to learn something. The college means that education for the priesthood can now happen at home in Ireland rather than abroad.

55. Newry: A Handsome Linen Town

    near Newry · town · Down · 1842–1844

    Kohl describes Newry as a handsome, pleasing town with pretty houses, tree-lined streets, and a bay full of vessels, marking the beginning of the flax and linen manufacturing country of Ulster.

    Read the passage

    Newry is a handsome town of a tolerable size, and throughout of very pleasing appearance. Its houses are pretty, its streets adorned by rows of trees, and its bay is full of vessels. Here begins the flax and linen country, the spinning, weaving, and bleaching land ; and from Newry the farther north we go, the finer and choicer becomes the linen. The villages of Banbridge and Moyallan are distinguished for producing particularly fine flax. All these flax-growing and spinning places. Banbridge, Drömore, Hillsborough, and others, through which we passed, looked cheerful, pros- |>erous, and thriving, ,and seemed, as neat and . clean as the linen they produced.

    This branch of industry is of a p^ultar kind, .and when flourishing, it is about as desirable a

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 68

56. Ruined Castles of Duninny and Kenbaan near Ballycastle

    near Ballycastle · town · Antrim

    Near Ballycastle, ruins of two heroic-period castlets, Duninny and Kenbaan, stand atop a lofty perpendicular rock rising from the ocean. The round tower of Armoy also stood nearby to the left of the road.

    Read the passage

    On the feUowing day I prepared for my es»- cursion to the Giant's Causeway. The wiaA was still bowling along over the sea, and rashiing in violent gusts and eddies among the redot» breaking against their perpendicular sides» aad dashing up in wilder tumult probably, than ever did ih6 waters ofthe ocean in their utmost fury. On the coast I remarked many of the ^ puffing« holes*' I have already menttoaed, from whiok the water was rushing as if from the nostrils of the whale. My equipage was again the little. Irish car with, one horse, and my imaginatkni was filled with the things that I was going to see. The. whole rocky coast of Antrim is cov** ered with the ruins of ancient castlets of the> heroic period glorified in the Iri^h and Scoteb ballads^ Immediately beyond Ballycaatle, on m lofly perpendicular rode rising out ofthe oeeaa» lie the ruins of two of them — Dun ing and Kenbaan Castles, and on the left of the road those of a still mightier work of human hands, thai found tower of Armoy.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 84

57. The Kilkenny race course and its crowds

    Kilkenny · city · Kilkenny

    The race course lay three miles outside Kilkenny town, reached by a dusty road crowded with cars, omnibuses and carriages of every description, with thousands of spectators, a Grand Stand, and rows of dancing and refreshment tents set up nearby.

    Read the passage

    The flelä ^«s ^ct^H^tid with thousands ef

    trspeetators. ITbe Grand Stand w^ full to («verflowing, and m were two otüer soafföki- 'dngs erected only for t the day. The ^uifiage^ ridfaWn upon the ctdge iof the course formed a complete ii^trenchment, while 'hondreds en

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 38

58. The Maidens rocks and lighthouses

    The Maidens or Hulin Rocks · island or archipelago · Antrim

    About four miles offshore lie rocks called 'The Maidens,' upon two of which lighthouses have been erected, marking a hazard for shipping along the Antrim coast.

    Read the passage

    After Balllßy-galley Head, w« reached other steep and preoipitodis rocks and clifis. calted the^ Sallagh-braes. Here the wh«te chalk founda-^- tion an<| tbe<b1ackfbaaaii deposit were plainly' enough< to be. diatinguished. One large mass df ^ basalt, had detached itself from theirest, and reapJ' ed its black' heiad from itte itraves near the toast " Knockdhu,? or theBla^k Rock, waa the name given it by the lirish. Farther out to sea. abpuc foqr miles fromland, lie other rocks called <* Th^ • Maidens." , . U poo two of them lighthobses havd , bejsn erected. Pjarth^ü out in the distance, the ■ nearest point of &<(xytlaiid is seen irearingits head above the waters. •■ It is the Mdll of Ahtib^ with' ita ne%hbour: island; of Sandä. - ' : ^

    ', Gilenaum i? the most beadtiläl point' älOAjgf (he - whple eoa$t, of Antrim ; iofdeed the^ ioriany attrac- ' tion8 which unite m this valley, i^derft One of ttee most heautifal spots m^IrelandJ On each' side, of it ri^es a long range of dark' baaaSlic^ rocks^ leaving« wide tevelibetWeen, as= they run' inland tolerably plurallel* ton each other. A littlebrook sparkles thixiugfa thö. valley, and here and^ there littte waterfalls mh'ddwnthe black roektf' on either side-, keening the land wdl irrigatfed, and covering it with a carpet of the hrfghtest?' verdureTimagi^able, as well asafiibrdingnötirish^ ment to the most beautiful dumps of stately ol(^' trees^ which dot it here and there; In thi^ vaV' ley lies the residence of i he Antrim ihmily, and'' the little village appertaining to it. , Near the village and the castle, g 11 traces of wilderness ' vanish^entimly, and a charming park and preny ' flower-garden confer additional beautie^ on the scene. The castle itself, to whose distinguislred ' mistress I had the honour of paying a visit, i^ built in a fine old Gothic style, and fumiAKed with modem taste and elegance. Fonr hundred deer and stags graze around it, and six hundred old ancestral trees overshadow its grounds with their sheading boughs : and «11 th is sifiiling and peaceful beauty, sheltered ttetwcen'the wiM btatk ■ rocks, which form the little gles^ with a Vfe^ opeoing on old ocean rolHtig his stivmv wMt^^'r crested waves beyond, ibrms perhaps the most' ^ wonderful site in all the ^orld for a suÄäly*| baronial mansion. • > * !

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 78

59. Waterford's stagnant population compared to other Irish cities

    Waterford · city · Waterford · 1821–1831

    Waterford, the sixth city of Ireland with about 30,000 inhabitants, is noted to have remained nearly stationary in population over twenty years (up from 28,700), unlike Belfast, Galway, Derry and Newry which grew substantially between 1821 and 1831.

    Read the passage

    Waterford is the sixth city in Ireland with about 30,000 inhabitants. Twenty years ago it contained 28.700, and may therefore be considered to have remained stationary, as has been the case with' most of the towns in the south of Ireland. Even in Cork, from 1821 to 1831, the population increased only from 100,668, to 107,016 inhabitants ; whereas, in Belfast, during the same period, the augmentation was no less than forty-two per cen.t., in Gal way twenty* in I ondonderry sixteen, and in Newiy thirty per cent.

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 40

60. Cork, Galway and Drogheda as Catholic Strongholds

    Cork · city · Cork

    The text notes that unlike the Presbyterians and Episcopalians, the Catholics have no single central city, though several major towns including Cork, Galway, and Drogheda are noted as strongly Catholic.

    Read the passage

    The principal. seat of episcopacy in Ireland is Dublin, where the Episcopalian university is situated ; but the Episcopalian ministers reign as masters in every part of the island. Belfast is the principal seat of Presbyterianism ; it is there that their general assemblies are held, and that their Moderator, the head of the Presbyterian Church, resides. The Catholics have no such central city, although many of the great towns in Ireland, Cork, Gal way, and Drogheda, for instance, are very Catholic.

    The Presbyterians oi^ Ireland form a particular church, planned on the model of that ot

    Internet Archive irelanddublinsh00kohlgoog, Chapter 72

    As the companion tells it

    As you travel through Cork, it's worth knowing this city stands out as one of Ireland's strongly Catholic towns. The Catholics have no single central city the way the Episcopalians have Dublin or the Presbyterians have Belfast. But Cork, along with Galway and Drogheda, is noted as very Catholic.