The Letters of "Norah" on Her Tour Through IrelandNorah
History
The Letters of "Norah" on Her Tour Through Ireland
Norah
Ireland -- Description and travel
I had at this time an invitation from Mr. Sydney Bellingham to come over
to Castle Bellingham to see life from another standpoint. I was standing
at the window debating with myself. I did not like to leave the West
before seeing a little more of it, and I do want, in the interests of
truth, to look at things from every available standpoint. If I go to
Castle Bellingham I must go now, I reasoned, for after this they go to
England. As I stood there thinking, a handsome car dashed past with a
gentleman and lady on it, followed by another with a guard of policemen.
I enquired who this guarded gentleman was, and was told it was that Mr.
Bourke who went into the Catholic church armed to the teeth.
I have been nearly five months in Ireland, travelling about almost
constantly, and as yet have only seen three persons who were protected
by police, two men and one woman. I decided to leave Cong, and after
studying on the map the nearest way to Castle Bellingham, determined to
take that way.
Left Cong in the early morning to sail down Lough Corrib to Galway. For
some reason the landing place has been altered, and is now some distance
from Cong, at which it used to be. This change is a drawback to Cong.
There are mills at Cong that used to grind indian corn, but they are not
used now for some reason or other, and are falling into ruin. The
shifting of the landing place was done by Lord Ardilaun, the stoppage of
the mills by him also. The landing place where the little steamer waited
for freight and passengers had a little crowd, who seemed to have more
to do than just to look on, and there was a little hum of traffic that
sounded cheerful.
It was a very windy day; Lough Corrib's waves had white caps on. The sun
came out fitfully, and the clouds swept great shadows over the mountain
sides. There were patches of green oats bathed in sunshine, and
plantations of larch and fir standing close and locked in shadow. The
wind was so strong that the little steamer seemed to plough her way with
a bobbing motion like the coots on Lough Gill. We had a fine view from
the lake of Ashford _demesne_, and the castle looking still grander
and newer in the distance, all its towers and pinnacles bathed in the
cold sunshine.
There are many islands in Lough Corrib besides the islands that the
priest and people of Clonbur built the causeway to. It is strange that
two lords take their titles from islands in this lake, Lord Inchiquin
and Lord Ardilaun. Some of the peasantry felt hurt because Lord Ardilaun
took his title from an island instead of from some part of the mainland.
I was pointed out in the distance from the lake, Moytura house, the home
of Sir William Wilde; it stands where was fought the battle of Moytura
in ancient times.
From the steamer we saw the ruined fortress, Annabreen Castle, said to
be six hundred years old. The masonry is very curious, being all done
within and without, quoins, doorways, window frames, of undressed stone,
and yet most admirably done.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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