The Sunny Side of Ireland Part 12

_"Violets dim, But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes, Or Cytherea's breath."_

The road to Kenmare lies high above the sea. Ardgroom is hiding under the Caha mountains, with Glenbeg Lake behind, in the little valley.

Beneath Derrenamackan the lashing seas wage perpetual warfare against the rocks. By the Eskdhu, or Blackwater Bridge, amid the dense foliage of the trees, a waterfall bleats from the thicket with plaintive murmur.

Then it breaks itself free, and amid rocks, and briars, and tangled underwood, rushes wildly towards the sea. Between us and the ocean is Dromore Castle, the residence of one of the heads of a sept of the O'Mahony clan. In the demesne are the ruins of Cappacross, a stronghold of the O'Sullivans. Dunkerron Castle, on the sh.o.r.e, gives its name to the islands in the bay.

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County Clare.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Dromoland Castle.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Ennistymon.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Lisdoonvarna Spa.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Kilkee.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Amphitheatre at Kilkee.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Look-out Cliff, Kilkee.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Golfing at Lahinch]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Golfing, Lahinch.]

Clare County possesses the finest cliff scenery in Ireland. From Limerick or Galway the county may be explored. On the journey by rail from Limerick, beyond Long Pavement, we come on a fine view of Cratloe woods. An ancient saint referred to Cratloe as "a pleasant seclusion from sin"; but in later times it became a haunt of rapparees, and its thick foliage provided what Spenser would call "a meet house for rebels." In later times Freney, a noted highwayman, whose exploits delighted the Irish peasant, here found a refuge. Bunratty Castle was a strong place in feudal times. Here Rinuccini, the Papal Legate to Ireland in 1641, sojourned, and his papers contain many references to the picturesqueness of the surrounding country, and its herds of wild deer. Between Newmarket and Ardsollus is Dromoland, the seat of Lord Inchiquin, and the birthplace of William Smith O'Brien, the aristocratic leader of the revolutionists of 1848. Crossing the Ardsollus river, we are near Quin Abbey, an old Franciscan Priory, and Clare Castle, which took its name from an old watch tower in the river Fergus. ~Ennis~ is the chief town in the County Clare. It is more quaint than important. It is pleasantly placed on the river Fergus, and is a clean town, doing a thriving business with the country. The princ.i.p.al monument in the town is to Daniel O'Connell, who was returned for Clare in the famous election of 1828. The ashes of the controversy that raged around O'Connell in his lifetime are long since dead, and if one wanted proof of this it is in the recent biography of the great agitator which appears in the "Heroes of the Nation" series. In that, the famous Clare election is treated with true historic discrimination by the writer, who compares the bravery of the Clare peasants at Ennis to the gallant Covenanters standing up against Claverhouse's Dragoons at Bothwell Bridge. From Ennis, by car and light railway, Ennistymon, Lehinch, Lisdoonvarna, and Ballyvaughan may be reached. At Ennistymon there is a splendid cascade on the Innagh river. ~Lisdoonvarna~ possesses the best known Spa in Ireland. It is come-at-able from Milltown-Malbay or Ennistymon. Its friends have called it "The Cheltenham of Ireland." It cannot be pretended that the immediate scenery is attractive, but there are many interesting drives in the vicinity. The hotels and lodgings are good. The sixth century Church of Saint Cronan, pleasantly placed in an ash-grove, will give those of an antiquarian taste opportunity of beguiling their time during a stay at the beneficial chalybeate and sulphurous springs. The drives from Lisdoonvarna may include tours to Ballyvaughan and the Cliffs of Moher. The drive by Black Head, the north-eastern promontory of county Clare, gives one a fine view as far north as the Arran; then we approach Ballyvaughan, in Galway Bay, an out-of-the-way old world village. Its approach is by a spiral hill, over two miles in length, called "The Corkscrew-road." The sides of the stony hills are interspersed with the most delicate maiden-hair fern, growing wild. There are two small but neat hotels in Ballyvaughan. From this little town Galway might be visited by steamer and the Arran Isles by hooker. ~Kilkee~ is admittedly the best bathing-place in these islands.

It is dashed into with the full force of the Atlantic, but with the countless nooks fitted into the rocky coast-line, there are numbers of sandy strands suitable for bathing. Here, situated in the very outpost of the West of Ireland, it is as up-to-date and as go-a-head as some of its more fashionable rivals, while in natural advantages it excels them all. It is easy of access by land and sea. The town is protected by a long reef of rock, called "Duggerna." The cliff scenery is very beautiful. The spots to visit are The Puffing Hole, Saint Sena.n.u.s' Holy Well, Bishop's Island, with its beehive cells and Green Rock. A tour to Loophead will bring one in sight of a long line of cliff scenery.

~Lehinch~ and Liscanor Bay promise to become the best patronised golf links in Ireland. Right in front of the little town is a splendid strand, and local enterprise has been auxiliary to nature in making the spot attractive. ~Spanish Point~ also possesses splendid strands, where sea-bathing may be enjoyed with safety. Two miles away is ~Milltown-Malbay~. The town is business-like, and the coast-line in the vicinity is a.s.sociated with weird tales of wreckers; there some of the unfortunate Spaniards came to grief in 1588. The ~Cliffs of Moher~ may be visited from Milltown, Lehinch, or Lisdoonvarna. Going up the road from Lehinch to ~Liscanor~ we pa.s.s a Holy Well dedicated to Saint Brigid. The only cliff scenery in the British Isles to compare with that of Moher is at the Orkney islands. They make a magnificent embroidery into the red sandstone along the coast-line for four miles, rising in heights varying from 440 to 700 feet. From their height on a clear day the distant Isles of Arran may be seen, and the whole surroundings make as gorgeous a seascape as is to be found anywhere in the world. An observer will readily recognise that the quaint craft which the fishermen still use in the vicinity of Moher, as indeed elsewhere in Clare, is the ancient coracle. ~Kilrush~, on the Lower Shannon, is chiefly of interest to the antiquary. It can be reached from Limerick, by the Shannon, as pointed out already, and from Kilkee by Rail. By a ferry from a slip at the foot of the little town, the holy island, Scattery, the shrine of Saint Sena.n.u.s, may be reached. The Round Tower is in good preservation, and the remains of the Seven Churches can still be traced. Saint Sena.n.u.s' bed is still pointed out. No peasant woman who wishes to be a mother will ever enter this hallowed spot. The legend of Saint Sena.n.u.s is similar to that of Saint Kevin. He was haunted by the love of a woman from whom he flew. Thomas Moore in verse tells us the hard-heartedness of both the anchorites:--

"Oh! haste, and leave this sacred isle, Unholy bark, e'er morning smile, For on thy deck, though dark it be, A female form I see.

And I have sworn this sainted sod Shall ne'er by woman's feet be trod."

"Oh! Father, send not hence my bark, Through wintry winds and billows dark; I come with humble heart to share Thy morn and evening-prayer; Nor mine the feet, oh! holy Saint, The brightness of thy sod to taint."

The lady's prayer Sena.n.u.s spurned, The wind blew fresh, the bark returned; But legends hint that had the maid Till morning's light delay'd, And given the Saint one rosy smile, She ne'er had left his lonely isle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Cliffs of Moher.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Kilrush.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Country Car.]

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Galway and District.

Leaving the County Clare by rail we cross into Galway, between Crusheen and Tubber. Beyond the marshy country on the right, away in the woodlands, nestles Loughcootra Castle. The great lake from which the place takes its name covers eight square miles. The hundreds of islets here scattered about its surface are the homes of thousands of herons.

The country people have a belief that this bird is a messenger of good omen, and never interfere with it or its young. There is a beautiful legend in Irish of a heron which visited St. Columba, at Iona, a traveller from his own country. This story is recorded in the interesting life of the saint written in the seventh century by Ad.a.m.nan, one of his successors; a beautiful version in English tells of the saint rising at dawn of day after a dream of the coming of the bird:--

"He looked out over the dreary moor, Over the hill so bleak and h.o.a.r-- 'A bird from the land I revisit no more Has come to visit me, Dear Innisfail from thy fragrant sh.o.r.e-- Land of my own I shall see no more-- Across the driving sea.'

Then he left his prayer, and 'Brother,' he said, 'Take to thee corn, and oil, and bread, A bird has alit--half frozen, half dead-- Upon our southern strand.

Then warm him and feed him with gentle care, And chafe his wing's and anoint him there, He comes from my own loved land-- From my own loved land,' and the old Saint wept; But the Monk arose, while the others slept, And warmed the heron, and fed and kept The bird for a day and night.

So Columb feeling, though far away, For Ireland's soil--like the Gael to-day-- One favour in heaven's sight."

The magnificent residence was designed and erected similarly to East Comer Castle (by Nash, who remodelled Windsor) for Lord Gort, the head of the Vereker family, at a cost of 70,000. The black hand of the famine of 1847 fed on this property, like many another in Ireland, and it pa.s.sed from its owners under the Enc.u.mbered Estates Act. Cove Park, the residence of Lady Gregory, is just outside Gort. Her Ladyship has found a way to the hearts of the country people by her sympathy with the Irish language movement. Her volume, "Mr. Gregory's Letter Box," is a valuable contribution to the history of Ireland in the first three decades of the nineteenth century. Sir William Gregory's Memoirs it is that contain the circ.u.mstantial version of the Cabinet scandal, in which the name of the Hon. Mrs. Norton (George Meredith's "Diana of the Crossways") figures. The story of the leakage of the State secret is as follows:--

"When Sir Robert Peel determined to repeal the Corn Laws he consulted a portion of his Cabinet. They were Sidney Herbert, Lord Lincoln, Sir Jas. Graham, and Lord Aberdeen, all of whom determined that the repeal of the Corn Laws should be kept a profound secret until the whole of the Cabinet had a.s.sembled. That same evening Sidney Herbert dined _tete-a-tete_ with Mrs. Norton, the well-known object of his attachment, and with whom he was infatuated. Before dinner was over she wormed out of him the secret of the Cabinet.

After dinner she pretended to go to see a sick friend for a short time, and returned in half-an-hour. In the meantime she had taken a cab and driven down to the _Times_ Office, and saw Barnes, the Editor, and told him the Government were going to repeal the Corn Laws. Barnes said to her, "If you have no proof I shall not detain you, but if you have you shall have 500." She gave him the chapter and verse, and returned to poor Sidney Herbert with the cheque in her pocket. The next day the announcement was made in the _Times_ which astounded all England. This was on the 5th December, 1845.

The other papers disbelieved it. Lord Derby and the Duke of Richmond left the Government."

In the heart of a stony country beset with high fences and rough copple stones, stands the little town of ~Gort~, The military stationed there now add to its importance. Kilmacduagh, at the base of the Burren Hills, contains a church (seventh century) of St. Colman, the Blue-eyed, and a Round Tower leaning out of the perpendicular. In pre-historic times all this country side at the foot of Burren, from Gort to Loughrea, and for miles apart, is said to have been the favourite hunting-ground of Queen Maev. ~Kinvara~, away on an inlet of Galway Bay, is a fishing village, and the locality is celebrated for the "succulent oysters"--which in the season are to be found in every restaurant in Dublin. The antiquary will find his way easily to Corcomroe Abbey--the church is still in a good state of preservation. Donald More O'Brien, King of Limerick, is commonly believed to have built it in the twelfth century. It subsequently became subject to Furness, in Lancashire. Donough O'Brien, King of Th.o.m.ond--killed in battle in 1267--is buried here; his monument discloses the rude magnificence of his attire. The effigy is looked upon by scientists as an example of the attire of an Irish King of the thirteenth century.

~Athenry~, as its name, the "Ford of the Kings," signifies, and its ruins testify, was of old a place of renown. The tower is entered by a small gate tower; before it stands the quaint market cross, on one side is the Virgin and Child, on the other the figure of the Crucified. The base is relieved with deer and wolf hounds, and at the corner an angel holds a scroll, the legend of which is defaced. The Franciscan Priory (1464), despite the attempt to modernise it, has still two thirteenth century windows, and the south transept has the remains of a very beautiful window. The Dominican Priory is said to have been erected at the personal request of St. Dominick in 1241. So late as 1644 it was the seat of a university acknowledged by Rome.

~Tuam~ is now of little importance. It is to ecclesiastics, however, of interest, as the centre of an Archiepiscopal See. The statue to John MacHale is worth seeing. He was well known in the first part of the nineteenth century as "John of Tuam." An uncompromising Ultramontane, he translated Homer into Gaelic, and O'Connell in one of his speeches called this great patriot bishop "The Lion of the Fold of Judah." The ancient cross in the square is a good specimen of the Irish stone crosses.

~Galway~ still possesses the evidence of its former greatness. To-day it is simply an old world city in the midst of a sporting county. Of old it was a strong-walled town, ever on the alert against alarm and foray, with its harbour crowded with the warships of Spain and the merchantmen of many a foreign port. There is a famous map of the city, dating back to 1651, when the then Lord Deputy Clanricarde pledged the town to the Duke of Lorraine. It shows a walled-in town with fourteen gates, each guarded by a watch-tower.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ At Galway.]

In the twelfth century, when De Burgo conquered O'Connor, he made Galway the citadel of his western possessions. During the next century there gathered into the prosperous town from far and near adventurers and merchants--the Blakes and the Bodkins, the Lynches, the Morrises, the Martins, the Joyces, &c.; founders of the great families, whose names have since been inseparable from Galway. In after times the clanship and attachment of these families to their members and each other, drew from the Scripture-loving Puritans the scornful appellation--"The Tribes of Galway"; but the expression was afterwards adopted by the Galway men as an honourable mark of distinction between themselves and their cruel oppressors. In old times the merchant princes of the place were renowned for their hospitality, which they carried to such an excess that the civil authorities interfered with it, in 1518, with a law to the effect that

"No man of this town shall oste or receive into their houses at Christmas, Easter, nor no feaste elles, any of the Burkes, MacWilliams, the Kellies, nor no cepte elles without license of the Mayor and Councill, on payn to forfeit 5; that neither O nor Mac shall strutte nor swaggere through the street of Gallway."

Indeed, the O's and Mac's seem to have made their history by more than enjoying the hospitality of their neighbours, and what was not given them willingly they at times took by the strength of their right hands.

Over the western gate of the city was the following meaningful inscription:--

"From the fury of the O'Flaherties, good Lord, deliver us."

The trade with Spain was for centuries a source of great prosperity to the town, and those familiar with the characteristics of Spanish architecture will see much in Galway to remind them of it. The sympathy of the townspeople seems always to have been with the leaders of forlorn hopes in Irish history. It was almost destroyed by Ludlow for its fidelity to the King in 1652, and having been rebuilt, it again fell before the siege trains of the victorious Ginckle in 1691 after the battle of Aughrim, the Culloden of Ireland. With the fall of the Jacobite standard in that battle, the hopes of the western Irish declined. The surviving sons of most of the old families sought service abroad in the armies of France, Spain, and Austria. There are many love songs of the time in Irish, which have been translated, such as--

AFTER AUGHRIM.

Do you remember long-ago, Kathaleen!

When your lover whispered low-- "Shall I stay or shall I go, Kathaleen?"

And you answered proudly, "Go, And join King James and strike a blow For the Green."