Twenty Years' Recollections of an Irish Police Magistrate

by Frank Thorpe Porter

CHAPTER XXXVI. THE ARRAN ISLANDS—CIRCUIT REMINISCENCES.

On my return from France, I found that my son, Frank Thorpe, had accepted the appointment of medical officer in the Islands of Arran, which lie at the entrance of Galway Bay; and at his earnest desire, I proceeded to visit him, without the slightest expectation of deriving from the trip any pleasure, except that resulting from our meeting. On my journey, as I reverted to the scenes and associations which, in distant and foreign lands, had been almost invariably agreeable, I felt convinced that I was certain of finding, in the lonely insular locality to which I was going, the most striking contrasts. The passenger communication between Galway and Arran was effected by a sailing vessel of very moderate dimensions, but bearing the dignified appellation of "The Yacht." She had one small cabin for the reception of all ranks, sexes, or ages; and as the weather was neither wet nor cold, I preferred a seat astern, and having procured a reeling-line from one of the crew, amused myself by capturing mackerel until I had acquired a couple of dozen. There were four lines in operation during a run of about thirty miles, and for five hours the catching of mackerel was incessant. The skipper said that the bay was swarming with them, but net-fishing was only followed in the vicinity of Galway town, as the transmission of large quantities by sailing boats was considered extremely hazardous. If the capability of Galway Bay for supplying enormous quantities of mackerel, herrings, and occasionally pilchards, shall ever be made available, results may be obtained immensely advantageous to local interests, and most important to the general community. I may revert briefly to this subject whilst detailing some incidents of my sojourn amongst the Arran islanders.

No traveller ever arrived in a locality to which he could be supposed to attach a more slender expectation of being gratified by what he might receive during his stay, than that felt by me at the commencement of my visit to Arran. I was impressed with a paramount idea, that I was to spend the time in a bleak, sterile region, and amongst a population destitute of almost every habitude or quality imparted by civilization. I could not possibly have formed a more erroneous opinion, for I never stood on any spot, in any of the islands, without having in view, whether near or distant, scenery sublimely picturesque; and I found the people, without even an individual exception, unpresuming, unobtrusive, civil, obliging, intelligent, and industrious. The adults of both sexes generally indicate in their personal appearance the effects of constant manual labor, and of occasional privation, but they are mostly tall, vigorous, and active. Many of the youthful females are decidedly beautiful in features and figure, and there is no scarcity of very pretty children. The aggregate population of the three islands exceeds four thousand; and although Irish is the language generally spoken, I did not meet with any who could not converse in English. Schools connected with the National Board of Education are numerously and regularly attended; and although the generality of the men and women appear to be attached to, and contented with the locality in which they live, there is a great desire frequently expressed to qualify their progeny to engage in industrial pursuits or trading employments elsewhere.

There are no forest trees to be seen in any of the islands except a few stunted sycamores. I saw two or three pear-trees, which had been planted close to walls, but their growth appeared to have been checked by the saline atmosphere and shallow soil, and they produced no fruit. On the hills I found a great variety of indigenous flowering plants, which were very handsome, and in the rocky dells there were several kinds of convolvulus of very rich florescence. The Madagascar Periwinkle seems to be perfectly acclimated, and blossoms profusely; and I was greatly surprised to find a very abundant growth of hops, the introduction of which is ascribed to the monks, by whom the numerous old ecclesiastical structures were formerly occupied. The tillage of the islands comprises potatoes, mangold-wurtzel, vetches, rape, clover, oats, and barley. The potatoes almost exclusively planted are round, white tubers, generally small, but numerous, and they are termed "Protestants." A perfect stranger might be startled by hearing a direction given to put the Protestants on the fire, or to roast them in the glowing turf; but the proprietor of the Atlantic Hotel, in reply to an observation of mine, said that there was no offence intended, for they found the Protestants very palatable. The tillage crops are sometimes greatly devastated by caterpillars and grubs; and I have frequently heard the abundance of those pernicious insects attributed to the great scarcity of sparrows and other small birds. Starlings are occasionally seen, but I never observed a swallow. Gulls and other marine birds are very numerous, amongst which the Ospray or sea-eagle is a conspicuous object. The raven, crow, rook, or jackdaw cannot be found; but there is a bird which I thought extremely handsome, very numerous, especially in the North Island. It is the Chough, which, in addition to plumage dark and glossy, like that of the jackdaw, displays a beak and legs of bright scarlet. It is said that this bird was formerly to be seen in flocks at various places on the English coast, especially Dover cliff, and that now it cannot be found in any part of the United Kingdom except the Arran Islands. I should regret its extinction, for I know it to be handsome, and it is reputed to be harmless.

I recollect reading, although I am unable to specify in what work, that frogs were not indigenous to Ireland. It was stated that in the reign of Elizabeth, a person connected with the University of Dublin, then recently established, brought from England a crock or jar of frog spawn, which he emptied into a ditch at Beggars' Bush, near Dublin, and that in his importation our present community of amphibious croakers and jumpers originated. The probability of this statement is strengthened by the fact, that frogs are not to be seen in the Arran Islands.

I believe that there is not a salmon fishery in Great Britain or Ireland more abundant than the one at Galway. I have there seen from the bridge the fish in such numbers as I should have considered incredible if described. These myriads of salmon entered Galway Bay from the Atlantic, and passing the islands, proceeded about thirty miles to the river where they appeared in such enormous quantities. I therefore think that I should mention a most extraordinary fact, that whilst I was at Arran, I saw, in a morning stroll, five men drawing a seine net at the entrance to Kilronan harbour. They took some herrings, a few flat fish of various kinds, some whiting, some pollock, and a salmon of about twelve pounds weight. I was desirous of purchasing the latter, and they readily sold it to me for two shillings; but they all assured me that they did not know what kind of fish it was, and that they had never seen one before.

The quantity of land capable of tillage in each island is very limited, and consequently affords employment only to a small portion of the population. Fishing in the bay, with boats rather poorly equipped, or drawing seine nets in the creeks and entrance of the harbour, and cleaning and drying the produce, are followed by many during the favorable weather; but the principal employment of a very considerable number of both sexes is gathering of the seaweed, and converting it into kelp by calcination. I believe that all other industrial occupations are of trivial importance to the Arran people compared with the production of kelp. The capability of Galway Bay to be made a fishing station of immense importance has never been denied; it can produce an abundance of the choicest piscatory delicacies, and frequently becomes, through its entire extent, replete with mackerel or herrings. I venture to express an opinion, that the greatest obstacle to the development of such advantages is to be found in the feeling of indifference, perhaps I might use a stronger term, on the part of the people belonging to the various adjoining localities, to each other. I have heard, in Arran, frequent expressions of contempt for the Connemara fishermen, of dislike to the Clare people, and of utter detestation of those belonging to the Claddagh at Galway. On two occasions, in the South of England, I saw a great fleet of boats, comprising vessels from Cornwall, Devonshire, Hampshire, and Kent, co-operating amicably and efficiently in surrounding a shoal of mackerel or pilchards. On narrating these occurrences to some Arran fishermen, I was told "it would be impossible to bring about such a state of things there; and that, even if others became agreeable, the Claddagh fellows would rather sail through the nets of other fishermen than join in taking as much as would fill every boat."

Whilst I was at Arran some cases occurred of severe typhus fever. There is no hospital in any of the islands. The habitations are, with three or four exceptions, thatched, and without any upper story. The invariable course adopted was to nail up the door of the patient's apartment, to take out the sashes of a window, and render it the sole means of external communication. The medical attendant, clergy, and nursetender, had no other means of ingress or egress, and I never heard any objection made to the system. My son contracted the disease, and although ten days elapsed before a medical gentleman arrived from Galway, he surmounted the fearful malady. I spent each night in his apartment, and during the day he was tended by a nurse. Almost every night I heard some gentle taps outside of the vacant window, and on going to it I would be told, "My wife is afther making a pitcher of whay fur the poor docthur; you'll find it on the windystool," or "I brought you two jugs of milk, to make whay fur yer son; they're on the windystool." When the crisis had passed, and nutriments or stimulants were required, I would be told, "We biled down two chickens into broth for the docthur, I hope that it will sarve him." Rabbits, chickens, and joints of kid were tendered for his use, and even a bottle of "rale Connemara potteen" was deposited on the window-stool. The people were all kind and anxious; and when he became able to walk out, he was cordially saluted and congratulated, but no person would approach him if they could avoid it. They were all dreadfully apprehensive that he might impart the direful contagion. I brought him home as soon as possible, but he and I will always remember most gratefully the unvarying kindness and sympathy we experienced in Arran.