The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western RailwayO'Mahony, John
History
The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western Railway
O'Mahony, John
Ireland -- Guidebooks
For information as to Sport to be had in the Waterford District,
see end of this volume, where particulars are given as to Golf,
Fishing, Shooting, Cycling, &c.
[Illustration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Dungarvan.]
[Illustration]
Killarney and Glengarriff.
Killarney.--From Limerick Junction to Mallow, where the branch line runs
into Kerry, the tourist to Killarney runs by many places of interest.
~Emly~, now a dwindled village, was once a diocesan city. During the
wars of the Commonwealth, Terence Albertus O'Brien, Bishop of Emly, was
executed in Limerick by Ireton. His stole and pectoral cross are still
in the possession of representatives of the family to which he belonged
at Mitchelstown.
In the rich plain under the Ballyhoura hills, "the land flowing with
milk," is the ancient town of ~Kilmallock~. It was the citadel of the
Earls of Desmond when they held high their crests, and every stone in
the place is historical.
Two of its four gates still remain, and among the ruins, which have
secured it the name of the "Baalbec of Ireland," are those of the old
Dominican Priory and Abbey Church. In the former is the mutilated grave
of the White Knight, a name still loathsome in the peasant's ear, and on
whom the bards have let fall their choicest curses.
Lough Gur is of interest to the antiquary. It is ten miles to the north,
and was the centre of the Desmond country. Here of old, the Kings of
Cashel kept their Grenan or "Sunny Place" for feasting. The cyclopean
structure in the vicinity points to the place as being of importance in
pre-historic times. From Charleville, a thriving town, runs a line of
railway direct to Limerick. Buttevant and Mallow are particularly
referred to elsewhere. Millstreet is the border town on the mearings of
Cork and Kerry.
Beyond the bogland country outside Millstreet is the village of Cullen,
where tradition says no smith has been known to thrive. Saint Lateerin,
a virgin of early Christian days, near here made her recluse, and every
day she walked across the bog, and took "living fire" in her kirtle from
the forge to her home. The smith once remarking the prettiness of her
white feet, she momentarily forgot her vow of chastity, and the fire
burnt through the homespun and blistered her feet. She went back to her
cell, and prayed that no smith should ever thrive in Cullen, and none
has ever tried to do so!
~Rathmore~ is on the high road to Gneeveguillia mountain, and to the
north of the station, and at Christmas time, 1896, occurred the fearful
_debacle_ of the bog, which struck terror into the simple inhabitants,
and, not unnaturally, was attributed by them to super-natural causes.
Two hundred acres of Bogach-na-Mine formed a landslip and rolled in a
huge mass southwards, sweeping away several little farmsteads and
suffocating the inhabitants and cattle. At ~Headford~, the junction for
Kenmare, the scenery is very wild, and all around
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account