Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Journey to Connaught, April 1709 (Author: Samuel Molyneux)

entry 8

Wednesday, 21 st.— I went to vizit old Flaherty27, who lives, very old, in a miserable condition at Park, some 3 hours west of Gallway, in Hiar or West-Connaught. I expected to have seen here some old Irish manuscripts, but his ill fortune has stripp'd him of these as well as his other goods, so that he has nothing now left but some few of his own writing, and a few old rummish books of history printed. In my life I never saw so strangely stony and wild a country. I did not see all this way 3 living creatures, not one house or ditch, not one bit of corn, nor even, I might say, a bit of land, for stones: in short nothing appear'd but stones and sea, nor could I conceive an inhabited country so destitute of all signs of people and art as this is. Yet here, I hear, live multitudes of barbarous uncivilized Irish after their old fashions, who are here one and all in ye defence of any of their own or even other rogues that fly to them, against the laws of Ireland, so that here is the assylum, here are committed the most barbarous murders after shipracks, and all manner of roguerys protected, that the Sheriffs of this county scar[c]e dare appear on ye west side of Gallway bridge, which, tho' Ireland is now generally esteem'd wholly civilized, may well be call'd the end of the English pale, which distinction should still have place as long as the inhabitants live with us in so open a state of nature.28

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Having got back again safe thro' this barbarous country to Gallway, I din'd with some of ye officers who were here quarter'd. After dinner they walk'd me round ye town and citadell: the fortifications are in better order, and seem to have more of present strength, there being a good number of brass and iron ordinance mounted and fitt for use, than any town I saw in Ulster; and indeed, Dublin excepted, this is the best town taken alltogether I have seen in Ireland. The houses are all built of stone, of course kind of marble29, all like one another, like castles for their arch'd doors and strong walls, windows, and floors, and seem to have all been built much about the same time, after the modell, as I hear, of some town in Flanders. The inhabitants are most Roman Catholicks, and the trade is wholly in their hands, and indeed in all Connaught, as you go farther from Dublin, you may see the remains of Popery, yet less and less extinct than in

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ye other parts of Ireland. Here are 2 nunnerys, who, keeping somewhat private, are conniv'd at by ye Governour and Mayor. At ye Gates I observ'd ye sentinells have gotten a use of taking 2 turfs from every horse that comes in with turf, allso, I hear, with herrings, (and, I believe, with other things) which is much more than ye toll due to ye Mayor: this greivance the officers told me they think themselves excus'd from redressing till ye civill power thinks itself so injur'd as to complain, which, it seems, they don't yet. They have here 2 mass houses for one church, which is indeed a pretty modell'd one, but with little ornaments; one tomb is in it of very good and well polish'd black marble well streak'd with white, I believe from the Isles of Bofin30, where I am told there is a good quarry of such. We saw here ye Town-house, which is built on piazzas, but has nothing remarkable, and is not yet finish'd, ye Barracks, one in ye citadell, the other new built at another end of the town, both for foot: they hold about a regiment. Having view'd the town, I was directed where I might have a map of it31, which I bought, and seems pretty exact: 'twas done at Brussells by a fryer who was born and bred in this town, and, they tell you, had been at Brussells 8 years when he made it.