Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Miseries and Beauties of Ireland (Author: Jonathan Binns)
chapter 4
Edenderry — Protestant opinion of schools — Catholics and Protestants — The Marquis of Downshire's silk-worms — Father Mullens — Mount Mellick — The Ballycommon and Mount Lucas bogs — Hints to the Company for the improvement of waste lands — Lancashire mosses — Departure from Philipstown — Tullamoore — Grand Canal — Banagher — Holy Island in Scariff Bay — Portumna — The Shannon — Killaloe — Limerick — Description of the city — Dr. John Jebb — Estates of the Earl of Dunraven — Carragh.
On the 15th of November I mounted a car and went to Edenderry, nine miles from Philipstown, on the road to Dublin — a small neat town belonging to the Marquis of Downshire. A considerable portion of the inhabitants are members of the Society of Friends. The Honourable Mr. Cooley has property, worth three or four thousand a year, in the neighbourhood. Here we saw a Protestant school-house, erected and supported by that gentleman; it is attended also by several Catholic children.
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The Protestant bible is of course one of the school-books. Mr. Cooley is a good landlord, and makes allowances to his tenants in a bad year; he also supplies them with clover seed. Viscount Halberton, his brother, the proprietor of Carberry castle, has also three or four thousand a year here, and is a good landlord into the bargain; he makes allowances for improvements and draining. A new Government school-house was in course of building; but the friend who kindly drove me about the neighbourhood in his car, informed me that the Protestants would not send their children to it, that they thought schools were already sufficiently numerous, and that the Catholics would accordingly have it all their own way.
The Catholics and Protestants do not appear quite so sociable here as in some other places. A notion seems to prevail, that the former are endeavouring to make proselytes. It was stated moreover, that the Protestants consider the Catholics indifferent about going to chapel, not only on account of being unable to derive any benefit
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from the Latin service, but because they otherwise receive no religious instructions from the priest. If they happen (we were told) to arrive at the chapel before the service closes, they think it enough; and in the afternoon they play at football and other games — pretending, at the same time, to have great faith in saints and priests. Such were the stories related to us. My own observations induce me to believe that the Catholics are orderly, regular, and punctual, in their attendance on divine worship; I have frequently seen numerous congregations both going and returning; and whenever I entered the chapel on other days than the Sabbath, I invariably found numbers at their devotions. This certainly does not savour of indifference.
A few years ago, silver mines were partially worked on the property of the Marquis of Downshire, near the old castle. The Marquis also planted a field of mulberry trees near the town, with an intention of raising silk worms, and introducing the silk manufactory. I went to examine the ground, but not a vestige of the trees could be
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traced, although the land is of excellent quality. From what I could learn, the soil had not been properly prepared, and the mulberry trees wanted protection from the wind by the previous planting of hardy forest trees. Here, as well as in the county of Down, the Marquis has the character of being a good landlord. It is delightful to see the comfortable cottages he has provided for the poor of Edenderry, with small gardens in front, and shrubs behind, and neatly painted doors and windows. They stand in one of the cross streets of the town, and the tenants pay merely a trifling acknowledgment as rent. His lordship's property may generally be known by the neatness of the buildings, and the taste displayed in the little praiseworthy decorations which give an air of comfort and cheerfulness.
In the course of my walks I passed through the Roman Catholic grave-yard of Killaderry, which contains the tomb of "Father Mullens," of Philipstown. The inscription is "Andrea Mullen, Juvenit, 1818, aged 28." I was informed, at Philipstown, that he was a most benevolent and charitable
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man, and sacrificed his own comfort and health to the good of others. He has been often known to strip off his coat and shirt, and give them to those who had none. His death was occasioned by a cold taken in consequence of a charitable act of this sort. His grave is held in great veneration, and is resorted to by the lame and diseased, who frequently lie all night on the ground, under the tombstone, and mix milk, which they bring in a bottle, with the soil of the grave, and drink it. It is supposed to possess a miraculous power of healing and making whole. Many shreds of the garments of those who had visited the tomb, were hung upon small bent sticks at the foot of the grave, in commemoration of their having been cured. In many of the chapel yards, I may observe, garlands of white paper are suspended over the graves of young persons, and left to perish with the weather; and wooden crosses, bearing a written or printed inscription to the following effect, — "Pray for the soul of — —" are commonly met with. In Galway these crosses are very numerous. At Philipstown I saw the mother
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of Father Mullens; she, too, is held in profound veneration. After the death of her son, she cut his clothes into small pieces, and disposed of them as relics. The speculation is said to have been a profitable one.
The ride from Philipstown to Mount Mellick in Queen's county (a distance of fourteen miles) is uncommonly dreary — not a tree is to be seen, except a cluster of poor Scotch firs, bent by the unobstructed blast; and much of the land is poor and exhausted, not worth more than 10s. an acre. The roads were excessively bad, and in many places nearly impassable to that most abominable of all conveyances, on bad roads and in stormy weather, an Irish jaunting-car. As we approached Mount Mellick, the appearance of the country improved, and I had the pleasure of seeing one cottage that reminded me of England — it was ornamented with nasturtions and hollyhocks. The Slieve Bloom Mountains to the west of Mount Mellick present interesting outlines, and relieve the monotony of the dreary scene. The population of Mount Mellick is short of 5000, the Protestants and Catholics
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being about equally divided. There is a Dispensary, a Protestant and Catholic School, but no public Library, though the Friends have a Book Society. The town is neatly built, and paved with beautiful limestone, or rather dove-coloured marble with white veins — brought, I suppose, from the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Mount Mellick possesses extensive breweries, and is a place of considerable trade. Mr. Power, who attended here as the English Commissioner, remarked to me that the Quakers had contributed to the prosperity of the country, and that he found wherever they had been settled they had uniformly done good, by promoting cleanliness, order, and sobriety.
The Ballycommon and Mount Lucas bogs, near Philipstown, contain nearly 10,000 acres, no part of which exceeds five miles from the town. Nearly half the county is bog. This might be easily cultivated, and rendered very productive, particularly of tares, rape, turnips, and other green crops. It lies sufficiently high for complete drainage, and has a substratum of limestone, gravel, and clay, well fitted to consolidate the surface. The Grand
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Canal provides the means of bringing manure from Dublin, and for conveying the produce to market at a cheap rate.
The Incorporation of the Company for the improvement of waste lands, it is hoped, will be of essential use to Ireland. They would do well to commence by draining the bogs, and giving them a cover of clay, marl, or gravel, by means of a moveable railway, and leave the remaining operations to be executed by the small farmers, providing them, in the first instance, with a little manure and proper implements, at the same time opening an account with them on Mr. Blacker's principle. Some bog land in Lancashire, in the enclosure and cultivation of which I was engaged, though certainly not superior to a great portion of the bog of Allen, produces in some seasons as much as 55 bushels of good oats per acre. This peat moss, called bog in Ireland, in those parts where the surface had been dug off for fuel, was let at from 20s. to 25s. per acre. Where the improvement had proceeded no further than the cutting of the main drains, and the tenant had to clay or marl it, and break up
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the natural surface, the price for a term of seven or nine years was from 4s. to 5s. per acre per annum; that which had been in cultivation for several years brought a rent of eight or nine shillings. This peat moss is situated in a part of the country where manure is not easily obtained, and the farmers are accordingly in the practice of spreading clay on the surface, then paring the land, and burning the clay and the parings together. Some has undergone the process of burning for forty years, but this is considered injurious, though the land still produces fair crops. The marl and clay lie at various depths of from 6 to 20 feet below the surface. Part of this moss was marled by means of a moveable railway, with small wagons carrying 17 cubic feet of marl, moved by two men each. The sand for the roads was also conveyed by means of the same wagons. One mile of railway, with sixteen wagons all complete for use, cost £400. The moss was too soft for horses to be used for drawing the wagons, even with the Lancashire pattens, and men were substituted, as a matter of necessity; but in Ireland
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they would be preferable for other obvious reasons. On Chat Moss near Manchester, where manure, as well as marl, can be had at a reasonable price, the finest crops of potatoes, wheat, oats, and clover, were produced under the judicious and skilful management of my friend Mr. Reed, by reducing the sod, in the first instance, by pulverization, without burning, and the application of marl and manure. In the cultivation of Irish bogs, and other waste land, it would be most desirable to make large plantations; trees will not only prove advantageous for shelter, but in a short time will supply poles for cabins, fences, and railroads. Quick growing wood, such as larch, poplar, alder, willow, Scotch fir, and birch, ought to be intermixed with the more valuable though slower-growing ones, oak, ash, Spanish chesnut, elm, sycamore, and beech. On the drier land, the larch is more valuable as a nurse, and because it supplies a quick return. Wood is extremely scarce in Ireland, and taking into account the congeniality of the soil and climate to its growth, the increasing demand for it, and that so much
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waste land invites the attention of men of capital, it is surprising that planting, which would improve the climate, should not be a more favourite employment amongst the landed proprietors.
On the 25th of November I bade a final farewell to Philipstown, and embarked in the swift boat which plies between Dublin and the Shannon. That evening, however, I proceeded no farther than Tullamoore, a distance of seven miles only, the fare for which was ninepence. The packet was spacious and conveniently fitted up, and drawn by three horses. I alighted at a spacious inn belonging to the Canal Company, and kept by Miss Purcil. The lateness of the day admitted of my seeing but little of the town. The Court-house is on a scale of considerable magnificence. In the centre, six tall Ionic columns support a pediment surmounted by the King's Arms; the floor is approached by a broad flight of steps; the wings are ornamented with elegant pilasters; and the whole building is remarkable for the beauty of its proportions. It is the work of Mr. Murray of Dublin.
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The upper streets of Tullamoore are wide, and lined with good houses. The town belongs to Lord Charleville, whose castle is in the immediate vicinity; the grounds surrounding it are said to he highly ornamented. On the banks of the canal are the ruins of Bally Ecouen Castle, and Shragh Castle; the latter erected by Briscoe, one of Queen Elizabeth's officers in 1588. Tullamoore has about 7000 inhabitants, and is a place of considerable trade in grain and linen. It has also a cotton and linen manufactory, two distilleries, two breweries, several water corn-mills, a County Infirmary, and a News-room.
I left Tullamoore for Limerick by the canal horse-boat at two o'clock in the morning. By this canal we pass for a considerable distance over the bog of Allen, some of which near Tullamoore is cultivated, and lets for 25s. per acre. There is an extensive trade in turf, which the numerous long stacks of black turf on the banks evince.
"The Grand Canal," says Mr. Fanning, in his evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1830, "on the line from Dublin to
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Shannon harbour, runs through a line of very bad ground; it also runs through bogs, and to a great extent through the bog of Allen. That which was unprofitable ground before the canal was cut, has now become ground of excellent tillage, occupied by very comfortable farmers. The bog that was quite impassable, called wet bog, has now become great part of it pasture land, and there is considerable improvement in other parts. That improvement has been effected by the drainage produced by the canal, and by the facilities afforded for transit by its navigation. The effect on the bogs near Robertstown, was a subsiding of from thirty to thirty-five feet, and that portion of it immediately in the vicinity of Robertstown, originally valued (to the undertakers of the canal) at one farthing per acre, is now let for tillage at from 30s. to 40s. per acre."
At the ancient town of Banagher a stone bridge of eighteen arches crosses the Shannon, which we entered at Shannon Harbour: and three or four miles below the town, and at the point where the Birr river falls into the Shannon, are two towers
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and a battery, on the Galway side, erected for the protection of that mighty stream. Here, too, a stake in the river marks the spot at which the provinces of Connaught, Leinster, and Munster, unite.
The Pillar Tower and chapels on Holy Island in Scariff Bay are interesting objects. The tower appears to be of one diameter throughout, and its height is computed at 70 feet. The ruined chapels are said to be seven in number. The island contains about 56 acres, and is remarkable for its fertility and continual verdure.
Portumna is a place of considerable trade, and some of the best land lets for £5 an acre. The Shannon, which here extends into a noble sheet of water, is crossed by a wooden bridge of twelve arches, designed by S. Cox, of Boston in America. As we dashed through its foamy waters, and passed rapidly along its diversified shores and rocky islands, we felt the propriety of the terms applied by Inglis to this, the largest of British rivers. It is indeed "a river of billows — a river of dark mementos!" Here, adorned
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with verdant pastures and waving woods, and broken into numberless bays and inlets — there, crowded with picturesque ruins, speaking with a voice of awful import to the Present from the Past — its banks present a succession of objects of varied and untiring interest. The weather, though unsettled, was propitious. Sometimes the sky became dark with clouds, and poured down its rain in considerable quantities; at others, the clear blue of the heavens spread sweetly above us, and the sun shone out with gladdening brightness. The thin mists, too, that flew wildly through the air, added grandeur to the gloomy mountains of Tipperary. Greatly as I had heard the Shannon extolled, the reality infinitely exceeded my expectations.
It was evening before we arrived at Killaloe, which is in the county of Clare, on the western bank of the river, and built in a commanding situation. The Shannon is here spanned by a bridge of nineteen arches. There is a fine salmon and eel fishery in the neighbourhood. The cathedral is small, but venerable from its antiquity, having
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been built nearly seven hundred years. The bishop has a handsome residence, situated in a rich and beautiful domain, close to the town. Killaloe became a bishopric early in the fifth century.
After encountering considerable annoyance and danger at the rapids, in consequence of a storm that nearly overpowered the horses by which our boat was drawn, we reached Limerick at ten o'clock at night; and in company with two clergymen, who had come to attend an ordination on the following day, I took up my abode at the Clare Hotel. Here we found several other clergymen, brought together on the same business. Limerick is accounted the third city of importance in Ireland, and is indebted for much of its prosperity to the munificent exertions of the Rt. Hon. Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Its population is about 67,000, of whom one half are Protestants.
Limerick, like Edinburgh, consists of the old and new town; in the former, the streets are so narrow that persons may shake hands across them from the projecting upper-stories of the houses,
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and so extremely filthy, that the stranger who happens to enter them once, will have no desire to visit them a second time. The abodes of the poor in these districts are distinguished by the most terrible wretchedness, and the poor themselves are reduced to a state of more than ordinary destitution. The new town is well built, and contains some good streets and private houses, and some excellent shops. Limerick bears every appearance of being, as it is, an improving place. A beautiful new bridge, consisting of five arches (of 70 feet span each) and designed by the justly celebrated Alexander Nimmo, has been lately built across the Shannon — and a new dock, by which the trade of the city will be very materially augmented, is projected. The exports of Limerick consist principally of grain and butter; the manufactures are woollen, linen, paper, and gloves.
Among the curiosities of the place, the Cathedral lays claim to particular notice. The original cathedral is said to have been founded in the sixth century, by St. Munchin, and was destroyed by the Danes. The present building rises from amidst
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old ruined houses, is black and of unsightly exterior, and exhibited, when I saw it, a great number of broken windows. In the new town, among the ornamental grounds which occupy the centre of a spacious square, stands a statue of Mr. Spring Rice, upon a fluted column. For some time I was at a loss to know what the Right Hon. gentleman held in his hand, nor am I sure that if I had not been informed, I should have discovered it to be a hat. With the exception of this awkward appendage, the figure appears to be creditably executed; I say nothing of the gigantic proportions of the statue; for though Mr. Spring Rice is in reality not a large man, it is only charitable to assume that the good people of Limerick may have adopted this peculiar method of expressing the herculean character of his exertions in their behalf.18
Limerick possesses a Lunatic Asylum, conducted on the best principles, and established on an extensive scale; and a Hospital built at the
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expense of Sir Joseph Barrington, and known by the name of "Barrington's Hospital."
No one who feels any regard for the character of a pious, learned, indefatigable, and peaceable minister of the gospel, can visit Limerick without remembering that it was for some years the residence of Dr. John Jebb, bishop of the diocese. This prelate, whose amiable virtues endeared him to men of all parties, was consecrated Bishop of Limerick in January 1823. By his own parishioners, Romanists and all, says one who venerated his name, the event was hailed with exultation. On his return to Abington, of which place he was the beloved minister, he was met on the borders of the parish by a multitude of the peasantry, who took the horses from his carriage, and drew him in triumph to the glebe. And, there, a still more striking testimonial awaited him. He was presented with an affectionate address from the Roman Catholics of Abington, drawn up by their own pastor, and with his signature at its head.19 And towards the close of
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the life of this excellent man, when the announcement of his death was hourly expected, the Roman Catholic Priest of the principal chapel in Limerick addressed his congregation in the following words — "I have fifteen thousand poor," said he, "in my parish; let them, and all of us, pray, falling on our knees, for the good bishop of Limerick. None, before, have done as he has for the poor. Never will they have such another benefactor." And what was the key to the influence acquired by this holy prelate over the minds of all persuasions of Christians, all parties of politicians — Did he conciliate their regard by compromising his own principles, and flattering theirs? No such thing. He maintained his Protestant principles in their integrity, and defended them with energy, upon every occasion that demanded such defence; and some of his political sentiments were diametrically opposed to those of the Catholic population which surrounded him. The secret of his influence was this: — he allowed to others the same right of opinion which he asserted for himself: he viewed the Roman Catholic priesthood
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as his brethren, associating with them on terms of affectionate intercourse; he looked with an eye of paternal regard upon the poor, and relieved their distresses with a bounteous hand; he was meek and gentle, charitable and courteous, in his demeanour; and though a titled dignitary of a state-preferred church, he knew that with God there is no respect of persons, and, acting upon this knowledge, he scorned to regulate his feelings or his conduct by the narrow prejudices arising out of merely human institutions. Bedell and Jebb are names that may well propitiate the esteem of the most inveterate opponents of Protestanism.
Among other objects of interest in the neighbourhood of Limerick are the beautiful domains of the Earl of Dunraven; and Carragh, the residence of Sir Aubrey de Vere. Within the former are the ruins of the ancient castle of the Earls of Desmond, a name connected with one of the most gallant of England's poets, the unfortunate Earl of Surrey, and the far-famed object of his affection, the lady Geraldine. Carragh is said to be a
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delightful spot, but I had not an opportunity of seeing it. Sir Aubrey de Vere is a man of refined taste, and considerable literary reputation.
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