Romantic Ireland; volume 2/2

Island, off the coast of Mayo, that wonderland of natural u

ressively great without rising

nston, in writing

ecessary to their subsistence, without interfering unduly with the wild birds and beasts of the island. There would be, of course, an absolute interdict against 'sportsmen' and gunners; it would no longer be permissible to shoot the seals that haunt the caves and rocks around Achill, while the deer, wild goats, foxes, eagles, ravens, swans, gulls, choughs, and other wild

very encouragement for such a procedure, did

greater admiration of this lone and sea-girt bit of terra

LL I

otels" and "furnished bungalows," Achill Island is a wonderful resort for those in need of soothi

er of Ireland, or even know where it is. Achill Island is the largest island on the Irish coast, in shape not unlike an irregular triangle, and contains an area of fifty-five square miles. To the north is the deeply indented Black Sod Bay, with its myriad smal

by the natives that Ossian resided. Tr

d with. He remained here for some days he thought, and, on his return, was greatly surprised to find no vestige of his house or of his acquaintance. In vain did he seek after his father Fion, and his Fonne Eirion; in vain sounds the buabhal, or well-known military clarion, to collect those intrepid warriors. Long since had these he

rthy the dignity of the name; but heath,

y from the sea, after the manner of the castellated peaks in the fairy boo

ace O'Malley was formerly preserved, and valued as a precious relic. One night, however,-so the legend goes,-the bones of the famous sea-queen were stolen from their resting-place, and conveyed, with those of thousands of her descendants, into Scotland, to be ground into ferti

decreased nearly ten per cent. in the space of ten years; from which fact it may be inferred that the popularity of this salubr

s is also the Protestant community of Dugort. The island, in general, is exceed

e relatively better off than many of their compatriots in the west of Ireland. Considerable numbers annually migrate to the north of England and the south of Scotland for the harvest, just as, with t

people, the cabins they inhabit, and their manner of life show very little change, in spite of the introduction of a good many articles of manufacture which a generation or two ago were quite unheard of. One thing which cannot fail to be noticed will be the queer little "public houses." Th

Dugort proper, the poet-laureate, in the pages

indolent rocking or the rough rise and fall of the sea; precipitous and fretted cliffs, carved with the likeness of some time-eaten Gothic fane by the architectonic ocean; rides, drives, and walks amid the finest scenery of the kingdom. 'I think she prefers Br

s creation to the Rev. Edward Nangle, a clergyman of the Established Church. In 1831

L CAVES,

as to the value or wisdom of his undertaking, Catholic and Protestant alike, now that the dust of the battle has settled, will agree that Mr. Nangle had in him the stuff that heroes are made of. His immediate oversight was withdrawn about 1852, though for the rest of hi

ion is a good one, as it is a spot typically suitable in shape and outline for hidden treasures, shipwrecks, and blood-letting galore. Its outline is bold and jagge

chieftainess and warring amazon of the sixteenth century. Here she actually did live, hoarded her arms and munitions, concealed her treasures, and imprisoned her captives, hence it is with reason that the description lives to-day. One comme

nd. Its identity is now lost in that of County Galway, but it is still kno

ONNE

t, and many other of the purely tourist points is not the equal of any in Ireland. They have not the electric light in many instances, and often not water "laid on," but the genuine traveller

has to take his fill of the wild, natural beauties of the rock-bound coast scenery, the bracing atmosphere, and the wholly uns

oking lakes with which the western part of the county is dotted. The scenery of lake and sea, of bracken-clad hills and plains, and of great

was founded in the reign of George IV., and this early foundation consisted of but a single house, though it is the gateway to

one equals Killary Harbour, which is simply

emarked, except for the fact that no other of even the same rank lies within a radius of twenty miles. The situation o

ORE C

hills come down to the water's edge and almost join hands across the narrow mouth of the estuary, formin

nery of Connemara. Firstly, the region is of interest to the fisherman; secondly, the geologist; and, thirdly, to a

ess, is the mountain range of the "Twelve Bens," a glorious group

as seen it all; but in either case, his memory, if it be a good one, will sooner or later call him to task for his presumption. For this reason, it is ma

untain; but, to the southward, there are wild and rugged bits of coast and red

ss, is but the foreground of a lovely picture which i

s" really belonged to Recess or Leenane. It certainly matters little, si

task of ascending these famous mountains. Benbaun is the monarch of the B

RY HA

thal a very respecta

rs where a part of the ill-fated Armada was supposed to have gone ashore. There are no great centres of population here in the bleak northwest of County Mayo,

have been likened to a stag's antlers,-and reaches Killala Bay, there is naught of twentieth-century civilization to remind one he is not

s two thousand feet sheer above the sea-level. It is one of Irelan

"Life of St. Patrick," is a place

e ocean; and on the south banks of said river he built a noble church called

o architectural importance. Close by, on a knoll, about which the village is bui

798, with the object of supporting the United Irishmen. They at once took Killala and Ballina, and at Castlebar the

ood are some very interesting architectural remains. There are, as is often the case, a Roman Catholic and a Protestant cathedral in the town, and an

publicity, who extols only the size and varieties of fish

half hours by means of that still prevalent i

d of a legend which recounts how, for generations, the Irish peasantry have comforte

Sligo, a peasant would fall to the ground in a trance as it were, a

n have told him that they have seen the girths instantaneously rot and fall from horses; and that few, if any, who enter the B

ore eulogized the

wly; the dreams ga

before my drea

h of fallen horse

shing armies be

ring by the croml

he hill, when day s

e world's empires

ll stars, and of

ter-of-fact seafaring trades, is a centre for journeying afoot or a

g-drawn-out Shannon, or would be if the tide of popular fancy ever turned that way. Enniskillen is the metropolis of Lough Erne. Locally it is known as the Island City by reason of its being apparently surrounded by the all-enfolding waters of the upper and lower lakes. Its fame lies principally in

rt it played in the domestic struggles and troubles of the latter half of the seventeenth century. Of the old castle, which has braved so many fi

Ballyshannon, which has more than a local renown among disciples of Izaak Walton, is the famous "salmon leap" which, at certain seasons, provides a display of the wonderful acrobatic ability of this gamy fish. But a short three miles fr

l of Sl

he most picturesque in the world," but one should judge for himself. They are marvel

ough immediately rebuilt. Its Gothic is of that superlative quality known best in the superb monkish erections of the Continent of Europe. There are various monuments yet to be seen therein of local and historical interest, but the chief attraction is

t, the abbey grounds are still use