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The Aran Isles: or, A report of the excursion of the Ethnological section of the British association from Dublin to the western islands of Aran, in September, 1857 (Author: Martin Haverty)

chapter 5

THE BANQUET IN DUN ÆNGUS

Dinner-hour having arrived, and all our company being assembled within the great Firbolgic fort of Dun Ængus, which was most judiciously selected by Mr. Wilde as our banquetting-hall on the occasion, and order being, with some difficulty, restored in the ranks of the hungry savans, it was proposed, to the great joy of all, that the repast should commence without further delay. The stewards commenced their duties; the hampers were unpacked; and the company were arranged in a spacious circle on the grass in the centre of the fort, separated from the overhanging brow of the terrific precipice by a wide, low ledge of limestone, which formed a sort of table, upon which a part of the viands were laid: the waves of the great Atlantic breaking all the while on

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the rocks below, yet, at such a distance beneath us that their roaring only sounded like the gentlest murmurs.

It was a glorious day, the sun being almost too warm, notwithstanding the ocean breeze which fanned us, and groups of the islanders looked on from the crumbling ruins around. With such scenery and such associations, cold would have been the bosom which did not feel a spark of enthusiasm within it. An abundant dinner, in serving which both the stewards and some of the Vestal's crew exerted themselves in a most praiseworthy manner, and which was washed down with some excellent sherry, left nothing wanting to give effect to the impressions of the scene. The repast being disposed of, the party assembled on the grass near the platform of level rock which has been already mentioned, and, on the motion of Mr. Wilde — The Provost of Trinity College was called on to preside, and took his seat on the rock. Dr. Petrie said that, before their proceedings were further entered on, he wished to propose the health of a ‘fine old Irish gentleman’ whom he saw among them — ‘Mr. O'Flaherty, the magistrate of the Island,’ whose generous hospitality he had enjoyed during a long visit to Aran five-and-thirty years ago. Mr. O'Flaherty's health was cordially drank, and that venerable gentleman, who had witnessed nearly eighty summers, and who had traversed the rocks of Aran that day with almost the steps of a young man, returned thanks, and wished them all a hearty welcome. Mr. Wilde then came forward, and, addressing the President, said — ‘Mr. Provost, — As we are still an Ethnological Section of the British Association, I have now to move that you should take the Chair of this our crowning meeting within the cyclopean walls of this ancient fort, where I feel so much satisfaction in congratulating all around me on having met under so glorious a sky, on so serene a day, and with such an expansive view of the mighty Atlantic heaving so calmly 300 feet below the everlasting seat you have now taken. I especially, Sir, congratulate you on thus bringing to a close, amidst scenes so wonderful as that we behold

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around us at this tranquil moment, and so deeply interesting to the hearts of all who look back with the feelings of Irishmen into the far-off fortunes of his race, and rejoice to gather from such evidences all that can be rationally conjectured of the pre-historic times of his ancestors. Members and Associates of the Ethnological Section of the British Association, I congratulate you that we are here assembled to-day; and I think it right to say a few words from this spot to explain why I have brought you here, how I have brought you here, and whom we have brought here. In a consultation at the Provost's, as early as the month of November last, I was asked to what part of our island, as presenting the most interesting features for their consideration, I could organize an expedition for this Section of the British Association. Many localities were suggested — our land abounds in them — offering objects of great attraction; but I said that to my mind, if its accomplishment were possible, an excursion to these Islands was pre-eminently to be preferred. Though much is on record respecting them, the realities have been hitherto known to comparatively but few capable of appreciating their deep interest; and I felt that if I could but see here such a body of men as that which now surrounds me, I should have fulfilled a cherished aspiration of my own, and have afforded to them a source of vast present pleasure, and much profit in their future studies of ethnological lore, by developing the rich resources of the West. Gentlemen, for that it was I brought you here. Call to mind what you saw yesterday — what you have seen to-day — and, above all, contemplate all that surrounds you now, and let every reflecting mind, expanding to the vast fields of speculation now opened before us, whisper within itself, It was well for me to have come here.’

‘Now, Gentlemen, as to how we came here. In the first instance, I applied to the Irish Government, in full confidence of receiving every assistance which could be given, and which I felt ought to have been given, and there I at first had expectations, which were ultimately disappointed. The Lord Lieutenant did apply to the Admiralty for a steamer, the first requisite for our journey, and the Admiralty refused it. In this dilemma a subscription was suggested to charter a steamer for our purpose, and our Chairman, with that well-known generosity for which he is

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distinguished, offered to head the list with a very handsome sum, if this course should be decided on. I proceeded to Liverpool in the hope of chartering the Tubal Cain, but she could not be got in time. While this was under consideration, powerful and influential friends were at work in other quarters, and to none of these do we owe deeper gratitude than to the Lord Chief Baron, who made a personal application to Lord Stanley of Alderley, and the result of that application was success. To the influence of his high position, his enlarged and comprehensive intellect, his gentle, kindly nature, and his devotion to the interests of science, we are indebted for this trilogy of history, antiquity, and pleasure. Had his Lordship not succeeded, I had in contemplation an excursion to the Boyne: there we could have seen the kingly sepulchres of Ireland's earliest race, while here we trace their last retreating steps, as, driven westward, they entrenched themselves on the brink of these stupendous cliffs — raised this and the other cyclopean forts which we have seen, and in this more especially have they left the evidence of their skill and power, as well as desperation and resolve. Here, with their faces to the foe, and their backs to yon yawning gulf, 300 feet above the surging sea, was the last stand of the ancient Firbolgs who fled to these islands and erected these stupendous monuments, when driven from the mainland after the battles at Moyturedh, centuries before our Christian era.’

‘Had we visited the Boyne, it is due to the Directors of the Drogheda Railway to say, they had offered us every facility we could have required, by special and free trains, for our conveyance; and Mr. Maguire, a large landed proprietor in the neighbourhood, would have permitted one of the ancient tumuli on his property to be explored in our presence. When you think of the facility with which we have gotten hither, you will readily see the numberless obligations we are under, and the many persons to whom we must owe our thanks. First in order, to the Midland Great Western Railway, who, beside the extensive liberality with which they granted the distribution of free tickets and two special trains, authorized me, through Mr. James Perry, to whom personally we are under great obligation in this matter — to obtain from the Railway Hotel everything or anything it contained

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which I might think necessary to our comfort and convenience, including a large supply of bedding to be used, if requisite, for whatever sleeping accommodation the steamer afforded. Sir Duncan M'Gregor issued orders to the Constabulary, and Captain Clarke to the Water-guard, to render us all the assistance we required at their hands. The Fishing Company placed their staff at my disposal. The Ballast Board of Dublin did the same; and further, they postponed their intended tour of inspection to the lighthouses, in order that we might have the use of the steamer they should, according to their arrangements, have been on board of this very day. Professor Croker kindly acted as our agent in Galway, and mainly assisted in the commissariat department. To each and all these bodies and individuals we render sincere thanks, and, though last in order, not least in estimation, come the Islanders. To the proprietresses of the Island, the Misses Digby, we are indebted for the most cordial welcome they could offer, and the most liberal mode in which they could tender it; from the moment we set foot upon these rocks to the moment we leave them, their purpose is that we incur no charge, collectively or individually; that all necessaries and conveniences, lodgings for the large number of persons the steamer cannot accommodate, boats, ponies, carriers, — all are placed at our disposal, and all the expense is to be at their cost. I am at all sides met by expressions of astonishment as to how ample this accommodation has been — how cheerfully, how courteously it has been rendered — how kindly, and, at the same time, how unobtrusively, and evidently independently, it is offered; and while I thank them in the name of all, I congratulate them on all we see, and on much that is known only to myself and a few around me, who will bear witness with me to the very remarkable improvement which is so evident to those who remember the condition of these Islands a few years since. It is true that ten years ago I followed on the footsteps of a fearful famine; but I remember what was the state of things here before that visitation, and the improvement in all things is delightful to observe; and I congratulate Mr. Thompson, the agent of the ladies who own this Island, most heartily on a state of things which must have reference to

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his management and influence — what that kindly influence is, Gentlemen, we have seen every step we have trodden.’

‘To prepare for our reception, I sent down Mr. Eager more than a week ago, and he has received every possible facility in executing his task, from every one connected with the Island. All these appliances for the complete success of our expedition make up a sum of means placed at our command which no money could have procured.’

‘I regret much that I could not accede to all the applications to accompany us. There were many whom I would have gladly seen here who gave me their names after the prescribed list was necessarily closed. Some I would willingly have seen join us in Galway, when the extent of our means became more certain, but this could not have been, in justice to others, who were excluded by fears of the want of these means in Dublin. We are seventy persons; all has gone well; but I own that at moments I trembled at the responsibility of providing, as we have fortunately been enabled to do, for so large a party; and had it not been for the labour of my friend Mr. Armstrong, I should have good reason, too. He, by his business-like habits and executive perseverance, so arranged all needful details, that no confusion has befallen; everything has been in its proper place, at the proper time, and nothing has failed in the arrangements which he directed. To the gentlemen of the red-tape department we are also indebted — the stewards, we may call them, of the expedition, who each carry, as you see, a corkscrew, attached by a piece of red tape — they have redeemed the title from some of its obloquy. Their office of circumlocution, with that exhilarating sound which accompanied it, has afforded somewhat more cheering influence than is ordinarily dispensed at that labyrinth in Downing-street.’

‘So much, Gentlemen, as to how we came; — now as to whom we have brought. We have presiding over us the Rev. Dr. Mac Donnell, Provost of Trinity College, without whom our party would have wanted its most appropriate and honoured head. Sir, I thank you for your presence and presidency here, adding another to the many proofs on record, and in my own personal remembrance,

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of your earnest interest in all that tends to the progress of knowledge and refinement, crowned as it has lately been by your reception of the British Association; and I rejoice to see the venerated head of that ancient seat of learning in our land seated here on this rock, encouraging, by the interest he evinces in ethnological research, the rising generation of that University to preserve and to enlarge the sphere of our knowledge of the condition and destiny of that race who passed from earth ere history began. Dr. Petrie is here, the pioneer of philosophic antiquarian research in Ireland, the far-famed author of the History of the Round Towers and the Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland. Fortunate for us it is that he has put on record and illustrated so much so thoroughly, and so beautifully, much which, as he hastold you in describing the ruins on this Island, has been doomed to partial destruction within these few years past, and more which now would have no existence but for his truth-telling pencil. We have Dr. O'Donovan here, who has done so much to advance our knowledge of these Islands. I deeply regret that the pressing importance of other matters should have caused the suspension of the publication of his notes on these Islands to the Ordnance Survey. These manuscripts are now in the Royal Irish Academy; they are most valuable, and I may say that for most of what I have myself learned of the subjects on which they treat, beyond what I have acquired by my own personal observation, I am indebted to my friend, Dr. O'Donovan. It is much to be regretted that these letters are not before the public. We have here Eugene Curry, the chief brehon and lexicographer of Ireland at the present day — the true, the genuine Irishman, to whom the people, the history, and the language of his country are the breath of life. Let not his great erudition pass away without leaving the amplest record. Oh! let not his memory, when it shall be all we have amongst us of Eugene Curry, dearly as it will be cherished, and long as it will be hallowed in the Irish heart, outlive his learning — use him while you have him — publish his Dictionary.’

‘I regret that I cannot say we have Dr. Todd amongst us; he regrets it too, as he has expressed in a letter to me, which,

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however, I will not detain you by reading. We have Dr. Graves here, the Ogham decipherer, and Samuel Ferguson, who, to his valuable contributions to the science of the antiquary, has so happily blended the popular fascination of the poet. Gilbert is here, the historian of Dublin. Frederick William Burton is here, whose pencil has so exquisitely portrayed the living generation of the islands, and whose present visit, we may hope, will tell its own tale in his own happy way. I see here Dr. Shaw, the Secretary of the Geographical Society; Mr. Mitchell, Secretary for Foreign Correspondence of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland; and my jolly as well as erudite friend, Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh celebrity. We have my friend Colonel Colomb. We have William Stokes here, whom I introduce, not as a doctor, but as an Irishman, whose cultivated and refined mind so fully appreciates all that is good and grand in nature, and whose liberal and warm heart throbs in responsive pulse with all that is good and great in his fellow-man. I am happy also to see here amongst us the Consul of France, the representative of that great country which has ever been foremost in encouraging art and science, and preserving the monuments of its national antiquities. He belongs to the same race as ourselves. There are many others here I need not name, without whom we should not have been so complete nor so happy as we are.’

‘Now, why have I brought you here, and more particularly to the spot where I stand at this moment to address you? It is because, after all you have seen, I believe I now point to the stronghold prepared as the last standing-place of the Firbolg aborigines of Ireland, here to fight their last battle if driven to the western surge, or, as I have already pointed out to you, to take a fearful and eternal departure from the rocks they had contested foot by foot. Of that race we have no written knowledge. We can but make our conjectures by such light as recorded history has afforded us, reading it, comparing, and referring it to what they have left us in these litanies of stone. Here, perhaps, the sentinel on Dun Ængus, two thousand years ago, casting his glance on a summer eve over that vast expanse of Atlantic water that now rolls between us and America, brought

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up in fancy on the western horizon that far-famed island of O'Brazil, the tradition of which still lingers among these peasants now grouped around us. It has been one of my fondest hopes to render Aran an object of attraction, and an opposition shop, if I may so say, to Iona. Should I succeed in doing so, I shall feel myself amply repaid. And with reference to these stones, allow me to say a few words to the islanders. It is much to be deplored that these vast buildings are so rapidly going to destruction, not by the slow hand of time, for to time they almost bid defiance. The destruction we lament has been recent, and has befallen them from the hands of those who should preserve, not destroy them, as they have done in the pursuit of rabbits. Now, let me earnestly appeal to you, Islanders — will you not after this day, when you have seen that the interest felt in these old buildings brings so many strangers to your Island — and some, I tell you, have come many hundred miles — refrain from (for the paltry advantage of catching a few rabbits) bringing these walls to the state we see so many parts of them in? In an interested view of the matter you will be the gainers — strangers, in visiting the island, cause occupation and yield profit to many of you; and do not, for your own sake, destroy the things which bring strangers to visit you. Remember, above all, that these were the works of your own kindred, long, long dead; that they tell a history of them which you should be proud of, and that there is no other history of them but these walls, which are in your keeping. You have a great right to be proud of them; they are grand monuments of the brave men your forefathers were, and of how they laboured and how they fought to defend the land they left to you and to your children. Do you defend them in peace as they built and defended them in war, and let your children's children see strangers coming to honour them, as we have done to-day.’

Mr. C. C. Babington, of Cambridge, said he hardly knew how to present himself to the Meeting, but, as an English member of the Association, he felt bound to express the gratification which he had enjoyed. He wished to call their attention to the fact that the ancient buildings in these Islands of Aran, with all their singular

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interest, were scarcely known beyond the Channel. He had heard of Aran, it was true, but the peculiar grandeur of its antiquities was utterly unknown to him; it was only as a naturalist that he had any acquaintance with the Islands. He trusted that the present visit would have the effect of causing more care to be taken of the forts and other remains. He begged to move the thanks of the Meeting to Mr. Wilde, without whose unparalleled exertions their trip never would have taken place, or, if it did, would have been comparatively unprofitable.

Dr. Norton Shaw, as another English member, felt extreme pleasure in seconding the motion. He had read the works of Mr. Wilde with profit and pleasure, but the information and gratification which he derived from his efforts on the present occasion would leave an impression which should never be effaced..

Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, came forward amidst much cheering, and said: — ‘As two English gentlemen have already addressed you, my Scotch friends seem to think that one of their own countrymen should say something, and I rise with much pleasure for the purpose of doing so. Allied as we Scotchmen more especially are to Ireland — descended, in fact, as we are from Irishmen — we naturally feel a particular interest in the object of this excursion. We Scotch antiquarians feel that if we are ever to study the antiquities of our country, it is through the medium of the antiquities of Ireland we must learn to understand and appreciate them; and we, therefore, feel how deeply indebted we are to Dr. Petrie, to Dr. Graves, and to other distinguished men whom I see around me, for the light which their learned studies have thrown upon that subject. We acknowledge with pleasure and gratitude the advantage which we have derived from their works. On a former occasion I had the pleasure of visiting the Boyne, with its singular and colossal tombs of the ancient kings of Ireland, in company with Mr. Wilde, and I was so delighted with that visit, and felt so much the value of the information which I received from him, that the moment I ascertained that this excursion was to take place under his direction, I resolved that I should be one of the party. I have not been disappointed, and I feel that for the gratification which we all enjoy we are mainly indebted

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to the information and indefatigable exertions of Mr. Wilde. I have, therefore, great pleasure in adding my voice to the general expression of thanks to Mr. Wilde.’

The motion having been carried with acclamation, Mr. Wilde again came forward, and, amidst loud and continued cheering, briefly returned thanks. Dr. Graves, F.T.C.D., then said: — ‘Mr. Provost, and Gentlemen, I rise for the purpose of making a proposition which I feel is likely to be received with favour by the assembled Members of the Ethnological Section of the British Association. It appears to me we shall not fully carry into effect the design of this excursion, unless we place on record a complete and scientific Report of what we have just seen and done under the able guidance of Mr. Wilde. In doing this we shall establish a most appropriate memorial, testifying our gratitude to him for the efforts which he has made in bringing us to this place, and we shall, at the same time, promote the interests of archaeological and ethnological science. I, therefore, move that we take the necessary steps to secure the publication of a work illustrating the ancient monuments of the Aran Islands. We do this as a recognition of the excellent judgment with which Mr. Wilde planned this expedition, and of the indomitable perseverance with which he carried his plan into effect, despite of the many difficulties which he had to encounter. And we feel sure that such a memorial will be a most enduring one, lasting as long as the taste for archaeological studies — especially the study of our native antiquities — continues to exist in Ireland.’

Professor Jellett begged to second the suggestion of Dr. Graves. He was personally aware of all the difficulties which Mr. Wilde had to surmount in bringing about this expedition, and was a witness of the indomitable perseverance and unceasing efforts by which they had been overcome; and he, therefore, knew better, perhaps, than any one there, how well Mr. Wilde merited their gratitude. Dr. Stokes agreed fully with the observations which had been made about Mr. Wilde; and he also thought that the second in command should not be forgotten. He, therefore, begged to

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move their cordial thanks to Mr. Armstrong for his successful exertions to make them all happy. At the same time he would take that opportunity to remark that this was the only country of Europe in which no public steps were taken to preserve their ancient remains from decay and destruction. He would, therefore, suggest that before they separated — considering the assemblage there present as a part and parcel of the British Association — some course should be adopted with a view of bringing the subject under the attention of Government, and that for that purpose a Committee should be then and there formed to prepare a Report on the state of their historic monuments, for presentation at the next Meeting of the Association. Mr. O'Hagan, Q. C., seconded both the vote of thanks to Mr. Armstrong and the other excellent motion of Dr. Stokes, which he hoped to see regularly acted on. He was not an archaeologist himself, but in his professional capacity he had an opportunity of seeing some of the most valuable materials for Irish history crumbling away under the dome of the Four Courts; and he believed he was right in saying that no people were more incuriosi of their national antiquities than the Irish.

Dr. Petrie stated that, when he had been there in the year 1822, the walls of Dun Ængus were much higher, especially the inner walls, which appeared to have fallen almost altogether into a heap of ruins. All the remains in the island appeared to be going rapidly into a state of dilapidation; but, fortunately for the ecclesiastical remains, they owed their preservation to the reverence of the people for what appertained to religion.

Mr. Armstrong acknowledged the compliment which had been paid to him.

The following gentlemen, with power to add to their number, were appointed to act as a Committee to carry out the suggestion of Dr. Stokes in reporting on the state of our historical monuments, viz.: — The Provost, Dr. Todd, Dr. Graves, Dr. Petrie, Dr. O'Donovan, Mr. Wilde, Dr. Stokes, and Mr. Gilbert.

Mr. Wilde said their special thanks were due to the Lord Chief Baron, to Lord Stanley of Alderley, to the Directors of the Midland Great Western Railway Company, and to the Misses

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Digby, for their trip, and for the many and various appliances by which it had been facilitated.

Votes of thanks to each of these were accordingly put, and loudly cheered.

Mr. Thompson acknowledged the compliment which had been paid to the Misses Digby and to himself.

M. de Burggraff, Consul of France, came forward, and spoke in the following appropriate terms in his native language: — ‘M. le Président, Messieurs, avant de quitter Dun Ængus je vous demande la permission d'ajouter quelques paroles aux discours que vous venez d'entendre. J'ai besoin de remercier le Docteur Wilde de son aimable invitation, et vous, Messieurs, de la cordiale réception que vous m'avez donnée. Je ne suis pas un homme de science. Je n'avais donc d'autre titre pour être invité à me joindre à votre excursion que votre sympathie pour la France, et je vous en remercie sincèrement. Le Docteur Wilde a parlé de la protection, des encouragemens, que sa majesté l'Empereur Napoléon III. accorde chaque jour aux lettres, aux arts, et aux sciences. Ces marques d'intérêt, vous le savez, ne sont pas limitées aux Français seulement; et si vous voulez bien visiter un jour la France, nous serous heureux et fiers de vous y recevoir.’

Captain Maguire, R.N., begged to make one observation, and it was, that if they did not get a steamer from the Admiralty, why, they did get one from the Trinity House; so that, after all, if one department of the Government did not confer the favour, another did. He would propose three cheers for the captain, officers, and crew of the Vestal, and for the coast-guard men.

The call was cordially responded to. Dr. Simpson having been voted to the second chair, Mr. Mitchell moved the thanks of the Meeting to the Provost, who briefly replied, and at the same time expressed the sympathy which he felt in the general objects of the Meeting.

Professor Eugene Curry, being loudly called on, then came forward to deliver a speech in Irish to the islanders, who, being invited by the Provost and other gentlemen, gathered round in large numbers, and mingled with the company. He described the party of gentlemen who visited their island on that occasion,

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and who were assembled within those ancient walls, as comprising many most distinguished men, who had come not alone from Dublin and various other parts of Ireland, but from England and Scotland, to see that island, so celebrated in times of old, and which contained so many objects of the deepest interest. There were gentlemen there in the midst of them with true Irish hearts, and who loved everything that belonged to their dear old country — gentlemen of great learning, who devoted their time for many a year to study and to write about Ireland [cries in Irish of ‘Musha, they're welcome’]. They had been told by other gentlemen how wrong it was for them to destroy their ancient walls for the sake of hunting rabbits. It was little a few rabbit-skins were worth, and little did they know the damage which they committed in searching for them. Mr. Curry appealed to them, in the names of their own great St. Enda and St. Brecan, whom they venerated, and whose ancient holy faith they still preserved, to respect and preserve the ancient remains of which their island boasted. Mr. Curry's command of the language was such that he was able to address his Irish audience in their own Connaught idiom with as much facility as he would have done in that of his native Munster; although the peculiarities in pronunciation, &c., of the spoken language in the two provinces constitute a very marked dialectic distinction. His words appeared deeply to affect the poor people, who frequently and warmly applauded him.

Dr. O'Donovan followed, describing the state in which he had found the ruins twenty years ago, and the great dilapidation that had since taken place. He also briefly addressed the islanders in Irish.

Paddy Mullin, the Guide, was then called on, and made a short speech in Irish, very much to the purpose. He reminded his fellow-islanders that for the sake of their honour as well as their interest, they should endeavour to preserve their ruins.

A musician, with a bagpipes, then played some merry tunes, and the banquet of Dun Ængus terminated with an Irish jig, in which the French Consul joined con amore.

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Thus finished a Meeting of the Ethnological Section of the British Association as memorable as any in the records of that Society, and from which the old Firbolgic fort within which it was held will probably derive as much celebrity as from the chief of the Clann Ua More, whose name it bears. On returning to the north side, at Port Murvey, where the fine ruins of Teampull Mic Duach were visited, the party were entertained with a well-contested race between nine curraghs, each rowed by three men.