Romantic Ireland; volume 2/2

however extraordinary it may now appear-arrived at a pitch of mercantile greatness superior

well and the Irish Privy Council, dated

he Strayts, West Indies, and other parts, noe towne or port i

lway does not exist in Ireland

the town." "In Galway," writes K?hl, "the metropolis of the west, and a Hesperian colony, he (the traveller) will find a quaint and peculiar city, with antiquities such as he will meet with nowhere else. The old town is throughout of Spanish architecture, with wide gateways, broad stairs, a

sses the bright colours and light textures of Spain. It is reasonable, too, to suppose that in many instances Spanish servants, seamen, and even workmen, formed alliances with the natives of the soil, and thus the population became, not only in dress but in blood, allied to their foreign visitors. Many of the houses built for the merchant princes of Galway still remain, though in a dilapidated state, and have come to be occupied by the poorest inhabitants. Truly, "Galway

p to it. Galway was one day to be the pride and hope of Erin's Isle. This we all know and recognize, and, with this end in view, huge warehouses and quays were built to accommodate a vast ocean-borne traffic which was to come and make it the rival of Liver

cannot fail to be attractive to the tourist for all time to come. Recalling how James Lynch FitzStephen, in 1493, condemned and actually executed with his

, until, at one time, probably one-fourth of the population of the town was pure Spanish. They built their houses after the Spanish pattern, and mingled with the native Irish population; but no

ubt that the Spaniards have left their impress on the features and character of the inhabitants of the town and the near-by districts. One notes this as he strolls through the market, where the women are selling fish, for the most part consisting of sea-bream, red mullet, conger-eels, and lobsters. In th

ept itself quite distinct from its Irish neighbours. The people married only among themselves; had their own religion; in a measure, their own municipal government; and pursued their own way

DDA

tinct survival of the or

sight be seen as in the salmon season may be observed from Galway Bridge, when the water in the river is low. One looks over the bridge into the water, and sees what is apparently the dark bed of the river; but drop in a pebble, and instantly there is a s

ter were he able to corner the supply and control the traffic. The hardihood of the population, their aptitude for seamanship, their industrious habits, and their thrifty instincts make t

fallen into ruins; and tales of former glories are on everybody's lips. There is no dearth of anecdote about Galway. Some of it is fact; much

ilies-those of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Deane, D'Arcy, Lynch, Joyce, Kirwan, Martin, Morris, Skerret, and French. These became known as the Tribes of Galway, and before long becam

nd heiress of a certain lord marshal of the county of Galway in the year 1280. In 1442 a certain Edmond Lynch FitzThomas built at his own expense a bridge called the West Bridge, and twenty years later another, Gorman L

eir own use. One of the party, as providentially happens in most such cases, revealed the horrid transaction to the mayor. He tried and condemned his son to death, and appointed a day for his execution. It was imagined by his relatives that, through their intercession, and the consideration of his being an on

not put up for many years after the transaction, when it was erecte

5

ber D

anity of

ch's Hous

bly received its derivation. At any rate, the circumstance is one of significance and plausibility, or it shows once

ckoned as one of the upright of this world. It is a curious fact that, notwithstanding the maritime resources of Galway, salt was one of the commodities im

-Blaze-Devil-Bob," "Nineteen-Duel-Dick," "Hair-Trigger-Pat," and "Feather-Spring-Ned." But these honourable cognomens are no longer cited with a voice of triumph by the leading citizens; and it may be

the inhabitants of Galway and those of Spain. The circumstance has been authenticated and remarked f

iddle class; and, again, at the proceedings of a philosophical society, it was stated that "in the lower and more vulgar classes, the old Milesian habits still prev

ood excuse, for Spanish idioms and words still come to the surfa

eriences of an ardent automobilist, which

of "Get away! Take care! you'll be run over!" and it seemed likely that some one would be killed when the motor-car should get its head. Just as that disaster became imminent, however, the driver remembered the one Irish word he understood,-"Fau

be found. That is, so far as his or her dress is concerned; and, truth to tell, it has all but disappeared from here, for it is o

he Claddagh fishing quarter-who does not cling to this bit of colour, as thick as a blanket and very fleecy. It is spun, woven, and made at home; and, as a result, raggedness is exceedingly infrequent among the Galway natives. Indeed, all Connemara is remarkable for the clean, neat, and whole clothing of its people, who are otherwise poverty-stricken. It is only in great towns, where the poor clothe themselves in slop-shop stuffs and cast-off garments of the upper classes, that they are ragged a

oaks and bolts of homespun, which ultimately appear in more f

dagh fishing tribes for many centuries. Indeed, every peasant matron in the county wears one. The design is that of a heart over two clasped hands, surmounted by a c

s have passed since the date popularly assigned to her reign, but there can be no reasonable doubt that she was a thoroughly genuine personality, and left her individual mark upon the history of her time. Like Boadicea, she led her own armies in person, and seems, according to the wild legends told of her exploits, to have been an Amazon of terrible reputation and dauntless courage. She had the red-gold hair that may still be seen in Connaught,-a heritage popularly supposed to have descended from her,-and wore it flowing lik

nd in the early part of the nineteenth century

ys, i

ng, one sees five or six young ladies, perched upon a jaunting-car, go two miles from the city to refresh their charms by a sea bath, and in the afternoon, if

nt coquettishness on the part of Galway young ladies is to be noted to-day,-at least, it has not been

merica. "He knew what he was about," said Mr. O'Connor, "when he declared that Chesapeake Bay was the finest

e Matterhorn-bounding it on the far side, and with a somewhat narrow mouth opening out into the Atlantic. A mouth that, under the light of morning or evening, is something to suggest either the

which Mr. O'Connor writes. Continuing, Mr. O'Connor writes of his school-days in Ireland thus, in words which give

but natural that my father should like me to go there, and, accordingl

and the school near it; and they were

wept the first day after I returned to Athlo

nes that, once seen, haunt one ever afterward. Beyond the town you could catch sight of the sea; and there, on certain evenings, you saw the fleet of herring-boats as they went out for their night-watch and

the sea is often so rough as to make it impossible for small boats to undertake the c

ianized Britons, and had travelled to Rome before the arrival of St. Patrick among the Irish. After his return, he became the disciple and fellow

not only Christians, but saints, and for this great ability King Engus bestow

r the sanctity of its people that

ar and intimate acquaintance with himself and in the daily habitual practice of the most perfect virtues. In his old age, it was his earnest desire to commit to others the care of his dear flock, that he might be allowed to prepare himself in the exercise of holy solitude for his great change. For this purpose, he begged that he might be suffered t

n, and Inisheer, and contain among them such a wealth

OF THE CA

he same area: perhaps fi

ectural and historical lore of these parts. More one could not wish to know unless he were profoundly interested, and less would not even satisfy him if he became

nd daughters, too-have migrated. Here the peasants still reverently believe in

ide, and, as far as the eye can reach, it is covered with groves, bowers, and silent glades; its fields are ever green, with sleek cattle grazing upon them; its groves filled with myriads of birds. It is only seen occasionally, owing to the lon

ch henceforth became Ara-na-noamh, "Aran of the Saints." The church was one of several destroyed by the soldiers of Cromwell; but its plan, about twenty by ten feet, can be traced behind the village. Above the village is the stump of a round tower, and, on the ridge, the oratory of St. Benen, a unique specimen of early Irish church architec

wn as Tegloch Edna, is anoth

es of every size and shape. This is particularly so if one is to make the journey to Dun ?ngus, one of the finest prehistoric

e on the verge of a bold headland, are those best preserved. Tradition assigns it to ?ngus, a Firbolg chief who lived about two thousand years ago. T

e seventh century, and Dun Oghil is a grand fort consisting o

nt masonry, a choir which more nearly approaches our own time by four or five hundred years and is still mo

van, brother to St. Kevin, the legend of whose life everywhere confronts one i