A TRIP ABROAD.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 52, 26 February 1912, Page 3

A TRIP ABROAD.

(By a Traveller.)

The population of Ireland’s metropolis is now 379,000. We had an introduction to Mr T. W. Russell, M.P., who has a line hotel at St. Stephen s Green. Being Horse Show w.eek he was “full up” with visitors, but very kindly procured us good accommodation elsewhere. The tariff is doubled when the Horse Show is in session. Hotel and pensions that charged 7s 6d per day were asking 15s! St. Stephen’s Green is the largest of Dublin’s beautiful squares and is laid out with a lake, rookeries, flower beds, etc., at a cost of £20,000, the gift of Lord Ardilaun to the public... At the main entrance is a handsome gateway to the memoi'y of the men of the Dublin Fusileers who fell in the Boer war. The famous Phoenix Park contains so much of interest that on arrival a jaunting car should be taken as it is so extensive (being seven miles in circumference and having an area of 1760 acres. Proceeding there by tram many famous buildings are passed on the way. .The first being Trinity College founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1591 on the right and opposite is the old Parliament House now the Bank of Ireland. The Liffey is crossed by the O’Counel Bridge. This brings us into the beautiful Sockville Street. Close to the bridge is the splendid monument to Daniel O’Connell, the work of the Irish, artist Foley. Further along is Nelson’s Pillar and a statue of Father Matthew (the great temperance advocate). Near by is being erected -a statue of the late C. S. Parnell. This very wide street is considered one of the finest in the Kingdom. On the right from O’Connell’s Bridge is the Custom House, a splendid building built in ,1794 at a cost of half a million. Close to the main gate of the Park is the People’s Garden, beauti-fully-laid out in flower beds, rookeries, etc. ‘‘The flower beds were simply a revelation in the tasteful blending of colours, the effect produced being sup erb. Ido not remember seeing anything to equal them anywhere. On the main drive near the gardens is a fine equestrian statue of Lord Gough and to the left the Wellington Column 205 feet high,.. In the afternoon a visit was made to the Royal Kilmainham Hospital to see Sergeant Murray, late 68th Regiment, who won the Y;G. at.:Te-Ranga, N.Z., but he had’left the .institution. On the way is Guinness’s brewery, an enormous place of business' on 'Much over 1600 hands find' employment. Walked oh to the Park \ to |seo- a very interesting Jarifl exciting Ipolo match'. The Zoologlical;oarden’hneajiv'by are considered!tc■ -lie 'one 1 ;of | tile “finest ;in the Kingdom' ■rtnd rfis* said(thuf iahtyitj2oo Hon cribs 'have boeri reared) Mhhy of which’have been sold. The Horse Show at Ballsbridge is one of the great functions of the' year, - and ."attracts ’ visitors from far and near. The Royal Dublin So ciety have expended over £70,000 or the premises there which can accommodate 1500 horses. The Vice Regal party)arrived in- state at the show dr tile afternoon,’' at' Which the attendance was 18,000 and 1000 horses were .entered for’the different competitions The jumping was a great feature and was splendid’ but it Ts’ a question if any better than that to be seen at the leading shows' in New Zealand. In the fine large pavillion were on exhibition many articles of an industrial nature, etc., amongst .them samples of Irish grown and manufactured, tobacco, which looked very nice and was well got-up, but whether the industry will be a paying concern I can venture no opinion. Donnybrook tc the south of Dublin, once a village famous for its fairs, is now all built upon and to all appearances part of the city. There are many play-goers of a past generation in the colonies who will remember the visits of those famous singers Catharine Hayes, Annie Bishop, and Sarah Flower. The former received her musical education in Dublin from Signor Sapio in 1839 From Dublin to Cork a good view- of, the famous Bog of Allen on the rigid and the Corragh of Kildare on the lofl is obtained before reaching the town, of Kildare. Portarlington, Thurles. Tipperary, and Mallon are passed or. this route. At the latter town trains are changed for Killarney, Tralee, otc. In many places en route the farmers had not been able to get then crops in on account of the continuous rain. Cork, on the river Lee, the third city in importance and population in Ireland, is the capital town city of the south. It is a very ancient city, for as far back as the sixth century St. Finn Barr founded a monastery' round which a town gathered. The principal bridge of the several that span the Lee is St. Patrick’s, and the principal street takes its name from the bridge. That, Parade, and South Mall, are very fine streets in which are many handsome buildings and shops. Near St. Patrick’s bridge stands a fine bronze statue of the Rev. Father Matthew. We had the pleasure of hearing the beautiful tone:of the “Bells of Shandon,” which were chiming on Sunday morning These bells in St. Anne’s, Shandon. have been made famous in the song by the celebrated “Father Front” (Rev. Francis Mahoney), whose remains lie in the graveyard of the church.

Black Rock Castle is a well-known land mark and well worth, a visit. H is a romantic looking place, jutting out .into the river. Formerly it was the scene of many civic festivities, then a lighthouse for vessels navigating the river at night. Now u is the (headquarters of one of the Cork Boat Clubs. Queenstown, once called Cove, was renamed on the visit of Queen Victoria in 1849. From the heights at the hack of the town there is a splendid view of the beautiful barhour and surrounding country. Commanding the entrance of the harbour

which is well fortified is Spike Island, once a convict depot, now used as a military station. Blarney Castle was reached by the Cork and Muskerry light railway through some very pretty scenery. On this line there is a large hydropathic establishment at St. Anne’s. On arrival at the town a charge of threepence is made for admission to the grounds and castle, a short distance from the station. The castle was once the residence of the famous McCarthys, Lords of Muskerry, EVirons of Blarney, and Earls of Clancarthy, and was built by Cormack McCarthy in the 15th century. 'The castle’s great square tower is about 120 feet high and,is reached by a spiral staircase. It has a, projecting embattlement and it is in this embattlement that the Blarney stone is placed. On arrival at the top of this donjon tower one finds a large space or hole .in the projection as if a stone had been removed, and through which apporture the tops of the shrubs and lawn can bo seen below by a person loaning over the iron railing placed there for protection. It is down this aperture that a person has to be held whilst he or she reaches outward to touch or kiss the blarney stone. This requires a little nerve to do. One of our party after looking down at the trees below said that was quite enough for him and nothing would in-' duce him to attempt the touching or osculating ceremony! to say the view from the top is very fine. “Father Prout?’ has made the “Groves of Blarney” famous 1 find, a stroll through them is a thing to be remembered. Sir George Coldhurst is the proprietor of Blarney Castle. His fine mansion is in the demesne, 'i’he support of the village is the woollen mills erected in 1824 and now owned by aMr Mahoney. Killarney shortly . after leaving the hotel for Muckross Abbey and the lakes, the Flesk River which flows into the Lake Learne is crossed. The water of this river is of a peculiar smoky topaze colour which the driver explained was caused by what is called bog stain on account of its flowing through peaty ground.

It lias been said that the climate of the south of Ireland has greatly changed of late years and is much damper than it was formerly. The luxuriance of the vegetation, etc., around Killarney favour this statement, and a long stone wall on the road to Muckross was topped with a .growth of moss and ferns. Muckrqss,Abbey is situated in the estate of-, Lord Andiiann. This famous old ruin, was founded in 1340 by Donald McCarthy Mor, Prince of Desmond, pdioi, is buried there. The stone (the .original slab) is protected by iron bar t s preserve the coat of 'arms sculptured ,011 it. The bearings, on this slab, are an Irish crown, surmounted by an Lari’s coronet, two swords per saltere (that is, like St. Andrew’s Cross) with points, elevated. .Orest, a bon. ntmpant issuing from a crown. In tire centre of the cloister, square is a yew tree said to be the largest of its kind in the world, and nearly GOO . y ears old, having been planted by the monks at the foundation of the abbey. Ihe tree is about 12 feet in circumference at the base. On the ruins is an old ivy growing minus the root, which was cut some years ago to retard its growth, but it lives on drawing sustenance from the decayed vegetation of ages that has accumulated on the wall tops. The word Muckross is derived from the Gaelic word muck (pronounced like mook) a pig and rhns, a moor or meadow, and is supposed to be a place where the wild boar roamed ages ago. The farfamed lakes of which Lough Leaiie is the largest, being miles long and 21 broad, are not very far from the town. Proceeding from the Abbey the route lay along the shore of the middle lake, which is considered the most beautify], to Brickeen bridge, past the Colleen Bawn rocks to Dinms Island and the Tore Mountains, thence to the “meeting of the waters,” where one lake joins another forming a sort of rapid that runs under an old rustic bridge, and is very picturesque indeed. A short stay was made here from where there was a fine view jof Macgillicuddy’s Reeks, about six or'seven miles to the West. Carran Tual, the highest peak is the most lofty mountain in Ireland being 3414 feet high. The eagle’s nest is a mass of rock and stunted scrub about 1000 feet high where the eagle builds its eyrie. There is a very fine echo from it. The lake scenery is very beautiful and the vegetation most luxuriant. Our Jarvie, a very intelligent man, pointed out the remains of the Colleen Bawn’s cottage, and the cave where Danny Mann lived. and in passing Muckross village he pulled up to show us the monuments to the Herberts on the hill and the village green whereon the “Kerry dances” used to bo held long ago. The estate came into the hands of the Herbert family through intermarriage with Florence McCarthy Mor in 1750, and the lands were purchased from that family by the lit. Hon. Lord Ardilaun in 1899. The return was made by the fine old ivy-clad ruin Ross Castle an old fortress built in the 14th century. In the well kept grounds there are some pieces of ancient cannon. From the summit there is a splendid view of the lakes and mountains. The drive was continued via the Earl of Kenmare’s beautiful mansion and grounds.