DUBLIN DISTRICT.
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
Round Tower and Church at Clondalkin.
The country in the immediate vicinity of Dublin contains much that is picturesque. The scenery along the coast has in general been already referred to. But Killiney, Bray, and Howth, if time permits, should be visited. The train and tram facilities are sufficient. Wicklow County has been called the Garden of Erin, and on no account should a visit to Glendalough or "The Meeting of the Waters" in the Vale of Avoca be deferred. But those who wish to speed on to the south or west will do so from the Kingsbridge Terminus. From here we pass through Inchicore, the busy thriving hive of industry, where the Great Southern and Western Railway have their engineering works. The first station we come to is that of Clondalkin. The old village sits snuggled up at the foot of its round tower, which is one of the best specimens of that early architecture in Ireland, of which the poet says:
"Two favourites hath Time—the Pyramids of Nile
And the old mystic temples of our own dear Isle."
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
Salmon Leap, Lucan.
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
Castletown House.
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
Carton House, Maynooth.
Irish antiquaries for generations have squabbled over these famous "Pillar Towers of Ireland," but the general trend of scientific opinion is that they are of early Christian origin. Father Matt Horgan, a famous Munster antiquary, humorously started the theory that they were built to puzzle posterity, which they have very successfully done. Lucan is a health resort, possessing a sulphur spa, and situated in a well-wooded country above the Liffey. The Hydropathic stands well sheltered and commanding a splendid view. The drives in the district are many, and the antiquarian will find much of interest. In Lord Annaly's demesne are the remains of an early Norman castle, and in the vicinity is an ancient Rath and souterraine. The drive to the Salmon Leap, at Leixlip, should not be missed. Near by is Castletown, the palatial mansion of the Connolly family, and a grotesque structure known as "Connolly's Folly," which was built in the time of the famine of "Black '47" to give employment. Here, too, the great Dean of St. Patrick's beguiled his time at "The Abbey," the home of Esther Vanhomrigh, the "Vanessa" of his strange life. From Lucan Maynooth may be reached. Here is St. Patrick's National College for the education of priests for the Catholic Church, originally founded on a Government grant. "Carton House," in the vicinity, is the residence of the Dukes of Leinster. It is surrounded by beautiful parks, well planted, among the trees the royal oaks, for which Kildare was celebrated, being conspicuous. Straffan may be called a "hunting village," as the meets of the famous "Killing Kildares" most usually take place in its neighbourhood. Here, too, are the seats of Lords Cloncurry and Mayo. The thriving market town of Naas is two miles from Sallins, and is the railway station for Punchestown, the great steeplechase meeting of the Kildare Hunt. Long centuries ago it was an historic spot—"Naas of the Kings." From the station may be seen the Hill of Allen, rising like a sentinel on the mearings of the "Great Plain of Ireland." Harristown, the second station on a branch line, is about three miles from Poulaphouca Waterfall. The road to the Falls leads through the picturesque village of Ballymore-Eustace, situated on a bank at a bend in the river Liffey. The view from the river below the Falls is very impressive. Tullow is the terminus of this branch of the line. It is a good business town, and the river Slaney affords excellent trout fishing. Within half-an-hour's walk from Sallins is Bodenstown Churchyard, where Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of the United Irish Organisation of 1798, is buried. He was the most desperate man who ever crossed the path of the English Government in Ireland. "The most extraordinary man I ever met," is the verdict of the Duke of Wellington. "He went to France with but one hundred guineas in his pocket, and induced Bonaparte, by his single unaided efforts, to send three armaments to Ireland." Six and twenty miles from Dublin, the town of Newbridge exists as a kind of aide-de-camp to the Commissariat Department of the Curragh Camp. The Curragh, a great plain over twelve miles square, was once a common, the property of the Geraldine tenants, but the Crown quietly seized upon it, and "their right there is none to dispute." It has been made a camp of instruction, and can accommodate, under more or less permanent cover, ten thousand men. It is in a good fox-hunting, sporting country, "the country of the short grass," and several times a year is the scene of race meetings. It is the Newmarket of Ireland, for here are the training stables for Punchestown, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Baldoyle, and all the lesser meetings in the Green Isle, and many of the greater ones across the water. The Curragh was the scene of more than one battle in centuries past, and, like Tara, was one of the historic places chosen in the minds of the insurgents of Ninety-eight as an ideal mustering point. The Curragh District Golf Club has been formed by the military stationed there. Kildare, some thirty miles from Dublin, is the junction for the Kilkenny branch of the line. The town is very old, being, in the early Christian era, a cell of St. Bride, a patroness of Ireland. The ancient cathedral has been partly rebuilt, and in the south transept is the vault of the Earls of Kildare, progenitors of the Leinster line. These Geraldines were the most famous of the Norman invaders:
"And, oh! through many a dark campaign
They proved their prowess stern,
In Leinster's plains and Munster's vales
On king, and chief, and kern;
But noble was the cheer within
The halls so rudely won,
And generous was the steel-gloved hand
That had such slaughter done.
How gay their laugh, how proud their mien,
You'd ask no herald's sign—
Amid a thousand, you had known
The princely Geraldine."
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
The Liffey, near Celbridge.
Poulafouca Falls.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
Curragh Military Camp.
The Round Tower in the graveyard, which is one hundred and three feet high, is perfect, except that the original cap has been replaced with a battlement, out of character with the rest. The old castle stood by, to guard the church and tower, and what remains of it has been turned to use as a tenement. The Earls of Kildare were often warring with the Kings of England. The Archbishop of Cashel one time protested to the King against the Earl burning down his cathedral, and the Earl, when reprimanded, explained to the King in person that he would not have done so had he not thought that the Archbishop was inside the church at the time. This was the same Earl of whom the Parliament complained that "all Ireland could not govern the Earl of Kildare." "Then," said the King, "let the Earl of Kildare govern all Ireland," and he was appointed Lord Deputy, and made an excellent one. From Kildare, Carlow, twenty-six miles distant, and Kilkenny, fifty-one, are the principal stations on the line which terminates at Waterford. Carlow is an old town which belonged to the hereditary enemies of the Fitzgeralds, the Butlers of Ormonde. It is beautifully situated, surrounded by fine trees, and built on the picturesque Barrow. There is splendid water-power above the town, and it was the first place in Ireland that was lighted with electricity. Kilkenny, the marble city, easily induces the visitor to linger within its walls and enjoy fully the attractions of the river Nore. Long ago it was a keep of "Dermott of the Foreigners," "who had grown hoarse from many shoutings in the battle," and was given by him as a dowry with his beautiful daughter Eva to Strongbow. Afterwards it passed, by purchase, into the possession of the Butlers, Lords of Ormonde. Here a Parliament was held in 1367, which endeavoured by law to prevent the absorption of the newcomers by the old Irish race. It tainted the blood of all who gave their children into fosterage with Irish women, and penalised the usage of Irish dress and customs. It made it a capital offence for any of English blood to marry an Irish woman, which was humorous enough when we remember that Strongbow, "the first of the foreigners," did so. But the statute was of no avail, and the Butlers in time became as big rebels as the Geraldines. Here, in 1642, the Confederate Catholics held their Parliament. Among other things they drafted a scheme of local government for the country, and set up the first printing press in Ireland. St. Canice's Cathedral, the Round Tower, one hundred feet high, the Black Abbey, and Franciscan Friary, are the principal ecclesiastical objects of interest. The Round Tower is at the southern side of the Cathedral. This latter building, which is of an Early Pointed Style, was founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century. The pavement is of the famous Kilkenny marble. The principal object of interest in the building is St. Kieran's Chair, against the wall in the northern transept.
Carlow.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
Kilkenny Castle.
The grounds of the Franciscan Friary have been overbuilt by a brewery, but the fine seven-light window and tower still stand. The Black Abbey, a thirteenth century foundation, has come back into the possession of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, who have restored it. The small parish church near the northern transept of St. Canice's contains a window commemorative of Lieutenant Hamilton, V.C., of Inistioge, who was killed in the massacre of the Cavagnari Expedition by the Afghans in 1879. From the market place, Kilkenny Castle, the noble seat of the Butlers, may be entered. In the absence of the family of the Marquis of Ormonde, the public are allowed to visit the castle. It is a practically modern residence, built into the ancient walls; and three of the imposing watch towers of bygone years survive. The hall of the castle is decorated with beautiful Spanish leather work, and the rich tapestries on the staircase were wrought in the sixteenth century, on looms set up in the town by Flemings. Besides the family plate, jewels, and heirlooms—which are displayed in several apartments—the picture gallery is exceptionally attractive. Among its treasures are Murillo's "St. John," Corregio's "Marriage of St. Catherine," and Giordano's "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin." From St. John's Bridge, above the Nore, a splendid view of the castle may be seen. There is a pleasant pathway under the castle wall, along the river side from the bridge. From Kilkenny many interesting excursions may be made. To Kells, twelve statute miles, where there are the ruins of an important twelfth century priory. Two miles from Kells is Kilree, where are situate a ruined church, Round Tower, and Celtic cross, and a remarkable tomb slab in the church, on which is an ancient symbolic sculpture of a cock-in-a-pot crowing. Three miles from Kilree is Aghavillar, with ruined church, attached castellated house, and Round Tower. About seven miles from the city is the Cave of Dunmore, a stalactite cavern worth seeing. Thomastown, on the line to Waterford, was formerly a walled town. It is less than two miles from Jerpoint Abbey, the ruins of which are interesting. It was founded by Donough Tiernach, Chief of Ossory, in 1180. The style is Early Norman, but the turrets and battlements are fifteenth century work.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
Picture Gallery, Kilkenny Castle.
Cromwell, who is discredited with destroying places in Ireland where he never was, is said to have passed by Jerpoint without molesting it, but when the peal of bells rang out in thanksgiving, he took it for a challenge, and returned and sacked the place. In Cork he melted down the chapel bells, saying that "as it was a priest that invented gunpowder, the best thing that could be done with chapel bells was to make them into cannons," which he did.
If, instead of branching off the main line at Kildare, we continue along it in the south-western direction.
Monasterevan, which was an old ecclesiastical place of importance, now insignificant except for its malting houses and distillery. The Marquis of Drogheda's demesne and residence, Moore Abbey, stands in the centre of the well-wooded lands, which were formerly monastic property. Portarlington, a small town on the Barrow, has the seat of the Earl of Portarlington. The river divides the town, and is the boundary here between Kildare and the Queen's County. The Irish name of this place is Coltody; but in the time of the "Merrie Monarch" it was given to a court favourite, Lord Arlington, who here built a little harbour on the Barrow, whence its name. In the townland of Deer Park, near the town, there is still a colony of pure Huguenot descent. Portarlington is the junction of the branch line running to Athlone.
Maryborough is pleasantly situated on the river side. From the Rock of Dunamaise, an old fort of "Dermot of the Foreigners" in an almost impregnable position, there is a splendid view of the Slieve Bloom mountain ranges. At Ballybrophy is the junction for the Parsonstown and Roscrea and Nenagh branches. Roscrea, under the Devil's Bit mountains, has celebrated ecclesiastical remains and a modern Cistercian Monastery, the parent house of which is the famous Mount Melleray Abbey. Among the ruins of interest to the antiquary are the remains of Augustinian and Franciscan foundations, and a Round Tower, about the foot of which St. Cronan had one of the early schools in Ireland in the sixth century. A square tower of the Butlers and a tower of Prince John's Castle will repay attention. Birr Castle, the seat of the Earl of Rosse at Parsonstown, is surrounded by a fine park. It is remarkable for its mammoth telescopes, one of which is fifty-two feet long, with a speculum six feet in diameter. Nenagh, at the foot of the Silvermines and Keeper mountains (2,278 feet), is a stirring market town, and possesses a Norman keep in fair preservation. Birdhill brings us to the Shannon, the attractions of which are dealt with in another chapter.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
Birr Castle.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
Lord Rosse's Telescopes at Birr.
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
The Bridge, Athlone.
The branch line which runs from Portarlington to Athlone, runs right through the Bog of Allen. It is available for through passengers for Connemara. For miles, the undulating bog land, green and brown. The King's County still remains out of the primeval forests, and its great peat fields are the only source of wealth to the surrounding peasantry. Athlone, some two miles below Lough Ree, on the Shannon, is the military key to the Province of Connaught. The keep of the old Castle, dating from King John's reign, remains, but the bridge and salmon weir are of more interest. In 1691 Ginckle besieged the town on the eastern bank, but a handful of Irish troops held the Connaught side, desiring to keep the position until St. Ruth arrived. The defence of the bridge is one of the most gallant exploits in Irish history. Colonel Richard Grace, who held the position for the Jacobites, was offered security in his estates and military honours, if he surrendered, by the Duke of Schomberg. At night, when the offer reached the Jacobite general, he was in his quarters, playing the familiar Irish card game of spoil-five with his officers. The six-of-hearts happened to be the "deckhead." Grace took it from the pack and wrote on the back, "It ill becomes a gentleman to betray his trust," and gave it to the Williamite messenger. The "six-of-hearts" is still known as "The Grace's Card," especially in Kilkenny, where the general's estates were. From Athlone excursions may be made to Auburn, eight miles; Clonmacnoise, ten Irish miles; and to Lough Ree. Lissoy, where Goldsmith spent his childhood, there can be little doubt, was the original of—
"Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain."
It is a pleasant drive, the road from Ballykeeran skirting Lough Killinure. Lough Ree, three miles from Athlone, is low-lying, some ten miles long, and in parts prettily wooded. There is a small archipelago in the northern end, of which pretty "Hare Island" is the residence of Lord Castlemaine. The Seven Churches of Clonmacnoise formed the old city of St. Kieran, whose feast day is the 9th September. There are two Round Towers, O'Rourke's and M'Carthy's; a Holy Well, the Cairn of Three Crosses, Relich Calliagh, founded by Devorgilla, who bewitched Dermot of the Foreigners. Teampul-Kieran is a small cell. Teampul-Connor has an interesting tenth century doorway, and in Teampul-Fineen the chancel arch still remains, and the piscina can be traced. Teampul-Ree has two round-headed lights and a lancet window, twelfth century work. The Great Cross of the Scriptures is inscribed with Gaelic, "a prayer for Flan, son of Malseclyn," and "a prayer for Colman, who made this cross for St. Flan," referring to the ninth century monarch of Meath, and to Colman, Abbot, early in the tenth century, of Clonmacnoise. The cross is fifteen feet high, and its panels were sculptured with Scriptural scenes, interlined with Celtic tracery.
Photo—Roche, Dublin.
The Shannon at Athlone.
Photo—Lawrence, Dublin.
At Clonmacnoise.
"In a quiet, watered land, a land of roses,
Stands St. Kieran's city fair;
And the warriors of Erin in their famous generations
Slumber there.
"There, beneath the dewy hillside, sleep the noblest
Of the Clan of Conn;
Each below his stone with name in branching Ogham,
And the sacred knot thereon."
For information as to Sport to be had in the Dublin District, see end of this volume, where particulars are given as to Golf, Fishing, Shooting, &c.
