As we bade the O’Neills goodbye, they gave us a cordial invitation to call on them in Dublin. I was delighted with the invitation, and so was Mike, but for a different reason. I was glad because I knew Mr. O’Neill would show us the places of historic interest in Ireland’s capital city, and I was anxious to see a real Irish home. Mike confided to me that he had already arranged to take Miss Edith for a flight over Dublin.
Immediately after breakfast we started. A big crowd cheered us as the aeroplane rose. As we circled around over the crowd, I could see Miss Edith’s handkerchief waving us a farewell.
We sailed along the coast from the Causeway towards Ballycastle, 13 miles away. It was as fine a coast as I have ever seen, excepting along County Clare. We passed over several old ruins, and saw the famous Carrick-a-Rede Bridge. Carrick-a-Rede, which means the Rock in the Track, is a gigantic rock, separated from the mainland by a deep channel, sixty feet wide. Fishermen use the rock from March to October, and a bridge has been constructed of cables between the rock and the mainland. This swinging bridge is fully 80 feet above the water. As you cross it, the bridge bends and sways, but the natives cross it continually, often carrying heavy burdens.
We flew over Ballycastle, a clean-looking little fishing village, making great excitement amongst the villagers. It was nine o’clock when we sailed over the town. There is coal in this vicinity, but it has been properly worked.
In the distance we could see Fair Head towering over the Sea. Near Fair Head is Torr Head, which is only twelve and a half miles from the coast of Scotland. This is the shortest distance between the two countries. We could see the Mull of Cantyre very clearly.
After passing Ballycastle, we flew over a surprisingly beautiful region around Cushendal. Mike was now taking more interest in the Irish scenery and I remarked that he had just begun to appreciate the beauty of Ireland. We found Glen Ariff bathed in sunshine, its innumerable waterfalls glistening in the light of the sunbeams. This is a place of rare beauty. As we passed Larne we could see the excited inhabitants climbing on the walls and roofs to get a better view of the monster bird, as our airship looked to be from land.
Larne has a good harbor protected by a curious, curving headland. Mail steamers leave here for Stranraer across the channel, thirty-nine miles. The crossing is made in two hours. This is the shortest crossing between Ireland and Scotland. There is talk of running an underground railway over to Scotland from somewhere near here.
It was at Larne that Edward Bruce, a brother of the famed Robert Bruce of Scotland, landed in 1315, in an ill-fated expedition which he made to Ireland.
A little later we came to Carrickfergus, where Andrew Jackson’s father used to live. It is ten miles from Belfast, and in former years was a place of greater importance than its neighbor.
There is an old castle at Carrickfergus, built in 1178, which still defies the ravages of time. It is built on a huge rock, projecting thirty feet out of Belfast Lough, and is a splendid example of a Norman fortress. There are walls in the ruins ninety feet high and nine feet thick.