Among the many memories of that coast which gave me a vision of the
land question as it affected the people in those days, one in
particular has always remained with me. We had made a big catch in a
certain bay, a perfectly beautiful inlet. To see if the local
fishermen could find a market within reach of these fishing grounds,
with one of the crew, and the fish packed in boxes, we sailed up the
inlet to the market town of Bell Mullet. Being Saturday, we found a
market day in progress, and buyers, who, encouraged by one of the new
Government light railways, were able to purchase our fish. That
evening, however, when halfway home, a squall suddenly struck our own
lightened boat, which was rigged with one large lugsail, and capsized
her. By swimming and manoeuvring the boat, we made land on the low,
muddy flats. No house was in sight, and it was not until long after
dark that we two shivering masses of mud reached an isolated cabin in
the middle of a patch of the redeemed ground right in the centre of a
large bog. A miserably clad woman greeted us with a warm Irish
welcome. The house had only one room and accommodated the live-stock
as well as the family. A fine cow stood in one corner; a donkey tied
to the foot of the bed was patiently looking down into the face of the
baby. Father was in England harvesting. A couple of pigs lay under the
bed, and the floor space was still further encroached upon by a goodly
number of chickens, which were encouraged by the warmth of the peat
fire. They not only thought it their duty to emphasize our welcome,
but--misled by the firelight--were saluting the still far-off dawn.
The resultant emotions which we experienced during the night led us to
suggest that we might assist toward the erection of a cattle pen.
Before leaving, however, we were told, "Shure t' rint would be raised
in the fall," if such signs of prosperity as farm buildings greeted
the land agent's arrival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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