The Sunny Side of Ireland Part 3

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin_ Adare Manor.]

From Listowel the Lartigue railway, unique in the British Isles, runs to ~Ballybunion~, a beautiful watering place, remarkable for its sea-caves and old castle. ~Ardfert~ is remarkable for its ruined Abbey and Cathedral, both dedicated to St. Brendon, the story of whose voyage to the New World was one of the subjects mentioned at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella by Columbus, when inducing them to a.s.sist him in his mission of discovery. ~Tralee~ is the largest town in the Kingdom of Kerry. It is one of the most thriving towns in the south of Ireland, and is situated in the vicinity of marine and mountain scenery. Those interested in the revival of industry in Ireland will do well to visit the Kerry Knitting Co.'s Factory, as well as the fine bacon-curing establishment of the Wholesale Co-operative Society which has been erected under the management of the well known Mr. Joseph Prosser. At Spa and Fenit there is good sea-bathing, and on the Dingle Promontory the ascent of Mount Brandon may be made. From Dingle excursions can easily be taken to Slea Head, by Ventry, and under the Eagles' Mountain, and within sight of the Blasket Islands. ~Smerwick~ has in its neighbourhood a coast line of mighty cliffs, the most remarkable of which is called the ~Three Sisters~. Smerwick was the scene of the ma.s.sacre of seven hundred Spaniards, who had surrendered in the sixteenth century to Lord Deputy Grey's forces. The b.l.o.o.d.y affair is the blackest stain in the careers of the gallant Raleigh and the gentle Spenser. Between Smerwick and Ballydavid Head the well preserved remains of the ~Oratory of Gallerius~ may be seen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Lartique Railway, Ballybunion.]

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

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

For information as to Sport to be had in the Limerick District, see end of this volume, where particulars are given as to Golf, Fishing, Shooting, Cycling, &c.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The Shannon Lakes.

DUKE OF YORK ROUTE.

The Shannon Development Company run during the season a service of steamers between Killaloe and Dromod (county Leitrim). The whole of the journey from ~Killaloe~ to Dromod--about one hundred miles--is interesting and full of variety, the sh.o.r.es and lakes of the lordly river presenting an ever-changing panorama of beautiful scenes. About Killaloe the views are very fine. The mountains of Clare and Tipperary shadow the town on either side, and away to the north for twenty-three miles stretches Lough Derg. Going up the lake, the first stopping place is at Scariff, which overlooks the beautiful Inniscattery or Holy Island. The reach from here to Portumna is crowded with islands, and on both sh.o.r.es are ruined castles and finely wooded demesnes. Dromineer, on the opposite bank, four and a quarter miles from Nenagh, is the next station. Nearly opposite Portumna, with its ruined and blackened castle, are the ruins of the monastery of Tirdagla.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sailing on the Shannon.]

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

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

The ancient city of Portumna was once the chief pa.s.s and means of communication between Connaught and North Munster. Between Portumna, at the head of Lough Derg and Banagher, are the rich meadow lands of Galway, along which the river winds tranquilly, pa.s.sing beautifully wooded islands; its banks green with rich, low-lying pastures. A few miles from Shannon Bridge is Clonmacnoise, over which hang many ancient memories of learning, of wars, and of worship. Near Athlone is a point in the river where the Counties of Westmeath, Roscommon, and King's County meet, and the waters of Lough Ree wash the sh.o.r.es of County Roscommon on the one side and of Westmeath and Longford on the other.

Lough Ree is but little known to the tourist; and yet this lake, with its rocky sh.o.r.es full of indentations, and its shoals of sparkling islands, is one of the loveliest in Ireland. King John's Castle, on the Roscommon side of the lake, is a magnificent Norman ruin, and the town of Roscommon--which is not far from the brink of the lake--also contains the remains of a fine castle and of a Dominican Friary. The castle, which is flanked by four towers of ma.s.sive masonry, was built in the thirteenth century by Sir Robert de Ufford, and afterwards suffered many changes of fortune; it is now the property of The O'Conor Don. The abbey is chiefly interesting as containing the sculptured tomb of Phelim Cathal O'Connor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Lough Ree, Shannon Lakes.]

Circular tourist tickets for one day trips are issued by the Railway Company. Details will be seen on summer time tables.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Cork and District.

CORK.

Enshrined in song and _saga_, set in the beautiful valley of a romantic river, Cork is one of the pleasantest places within the four sh.o.r.es of "the most distressful country." It is the capital of the rich Province of Munster, "the wheat of Ireland," says a Gaelic proverb, and while it preserves the characteristics of an old Irish town, here, too, the traveller, familiar with the quaint cities of the Continent, will meet with much that is suggestive of foreign scenes.

Cork sits snugly at the foot of, and leans her back up against, high hills that shelter her from the north, and the breeze that blows up from the sea is fresh and mildly bracing. From a height to the north overlooking the city a bird's-eye view can be had of the entire surroundings, and of what the poet Spenser called--

"The pleasant Lee, that like an island fayre Encloseth Cork in his divided flood."

Away to the west the eye can easily trace the river, winding with haste to the sea, through the barony of Muskerry, "the fair country," from its fountain home over the hills and far away.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Patrick-street, Cork.]

More than halfway along the Mard.y.k.e Walk there is a sidepath leading down to a ferry across the Lee. Here a good view may be had of the river looking towards the city, with Sunday's Well, Blair's Castle, and Shandon standing high on the hill.

The history of the foundation of Cork City, and its progress through the centuries, is well authenticated. Towards the close of the sixth century, the place was founded by Lochan, son of Amirgin, the great smith to Tiernach M'Hugh, the proud chief of the O'Mahonys. Lochan has since come to be called St. Finbarr. His feast day is a retrenched holiday in the diocese of Cork, and his patron day is kept by the peasantry at the shrine of Gougane Barra, by the cradle of the river Lee. The Irish name, Cork, signifies that the locality was a marsh, and in the life of its founder it is described as a "land of many waters."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ The Marina, Cork.]

For less than three hundred years the little city throve, and then came the Sea Rovers, hungry for spoil. In 820 they burned down Cork, carrying away as pillage the silver coffin wherein St. Finbarr was buried.

Shortly afterwards they returned, and seized on the marshes lying beneath Gill Abbey Rock, fortified them, and founded another little city--but their own. There they sang their "Ma.s.s of the Lances; it began at the rising of the sun," and, as the Four Masters a.s.sure us, "wheresoever they marched they were escorted by fire."

But in time the Rovers were absorbed, and race hatreds died out. They paid tribute to the MacCarthys, and were married and given in marriage to the Irish. Merovingian Kings came to buy and sell in Cork, and the Sagas of the North tell of many a hardy Norseman who fell captive to the maidens of Munster. To this day the Danish blood moulds the nature of many in Cork, and among the men especially the pa.s.sionate affection for the sea is a characteristic. When the Normans invaded Ireland they found Cork a Danish fortress. They broke the power of the Danes in a sea fight, and won over the allegiance of MacCarthy, the old King of Cork, through the wiles of a woman. The strangers had not been long in the city when they, like the Danes before them, were absorbed, and became more Irish than the Irish themselves. As their island city grew in opulence, they began to a.s.sert an independence similar to the free cities of the Continent. A historical writer of repute points out that they were practically independent of external authority. Their edicts had nearly the force of laws. They levied taxes, and regulated commerce.

They judged, pilloried, and hanged offenders. To suit themselves they modified the English laws of property. They set up a mint of their own, and their money had to be declared by the English Parliament to be "utterly d.a.m.ned."

Their audacity can be imagined from the part they played in Perkin Warbeck's rebellion of 1492. They decked him out "with some clothes of silk," and John Walters, the Mayor, insisting that the poor Fleming was son to the Duke of Clarence, demanded that the Lord Deputy should declare him King. Failing in this a number of Cork merchants sent him to France, where they duped the King, and induced the d.u.c.h.ess of Burgundy to give them armament and money. They then sailed for Kent, and having landed there, proclaimed their foundling "Richard the Fourth, King of England and Lord of Ireland." But the sequel of all this bravura behaviour was not so happy, as Warbeck and Walters lost their heads, and Cork lost its charter.

In 1847 the city suffered fearfully from the ravages of famine and famine fever. The failure of the potato crop drove the unfortunate, hunger-stricken peasantry into the city for sustenance; and it has been estimated that upwards of a million of people emigrated in these unhappy years through the port of Cork. During the Fenian movement, 1865-67, Cork was a hotbed of treason, and more prisoners were sentenced from there than from all the other parts of Ireland put together. Thus, in the nineteenth century, the name of "Rebel Cork," which was earned so far back as the time of Perkin Warbeck, was still deserved.

The manners of the people, gentle and simple, rich and poor, are perfect. There is, perhaps, too often a tendency to adopt your view of anything or everything with the most accommodating agreeableness. This is very pleasant, if not always sincere, but in this respect a thing never to be forgotten is that Cork is only a few miles from Blarney, and

"There is a stone there, whoever kisses, Oh! he never misses to grow eloquent.

'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber, Or become a Member of Parliament.

A clever spouter, he'll sure turn out, or An 'out-an'-outer' to be let alone; Don't hope to hinder him, or to bewilder him, Sure he's a pilgrim from the Blarney Stone."

Thackeray, like many another man before his time and since, has paid tribute to the loveliness of the girls of Cork. There is a graceful charm about them before which the most inveterate bachelor succ.u.mbs. The accents of the Siren singers were never so insinuating and caressing as the Munster brogue as it slips off the tongue of a gentlewoman. Blue eyes predominate, but are excelled in l.u.s.tre by what Froude has been pleased to call "the cold grey eyes of the dark Celt of the south of Ireland." Edmund Spencer, when he was not busy "undertaking" Rapparees, or smoking Raleigh's fragrant weed--"than which there is no more fair herb under the broad canopy of heaven"--wooed and won and wedded a fair woman of Cork; not of the city, though, but of the county. She was a country la.s.s, as he is at pains to point out to the Shandon belles who fain would vie with her:--

"Tell me, ye merchant daughters, did ye see So fayre a creature in your town before?

Her goodlie eyes, like sapphyres shining bright; Her forehead, ivory white; Her lips like cherries charming men to byte."

There is nothing of peculiar interest about the streets of Cork but their number, their narrowness, and the irregularity of the houses. St.

Patrick's-street, which is the princ.i.p.al thoroughfare, has many handsome shops, and winds its way in three curves through the city.

From the "d.y.k.e," as it is locally known, through the "Band Field"--the baby park of Cork--we can cross to an entrance to the Queen's College on the Western-road. The College itself is a handsome building of white Cork limestone, in the later Tudor style, forming three sides of a quadrangle, and consisting of lecture-rooms, museum, examination hall, &c. It is built in the centre of well-laid pleasure grounds, which are open to the public, and which formerly were the site of St. Finbarr's old monastery. During the session proper, practically from November to June, visitors will not be admitted through the building without an official order, which may be had at the Registrar's office.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Queen's College, Cork.]

During the vacation the steward or a.s.sistant officials are in attendance to conduct visitors. The large palm-house is one of the most successful in Ireland, and the Crawford Observatory will repay a visit. The grounds were laid out under the personal supervision of the late president, Dr.

W. K. Sullivan, a distinguished scientist. While at the south side of the city, St. Finbarr's Cathedral[2] (Church of Ireland), eastward from the College, should be seen. It is a very dignified design of the French Early Pointed style. The nave, aisles, and transepts are grouped under three lofty towers with spires.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ St. Finbarr's Cathedral, Cork.]

From the foot of the street a few minutes' walk will bring us under the old bi-coloured steeple, which contains the famous Shandon Bells. The church was built in 1772. The steeple is unique, inasmuch as the southern and western sides are of white limestone, and the northern and eastern red sandstone--