In Search Of Ireland Again , livre ebook

Pneuma Springs Publishing - John Butler

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

135 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

I first visited Ireland in 1947 - inspired by that King of travel writers, H.V.Morton and his 'In Search of Ireland'. In numerous visits since, I have been struck by the changing face of the country, splintered by the formation of the six counties to become part of the UK.The book tells of a country in desperate poverty, resurgence into prosperity, via the European Community, the fight for independence, the violence of the IRA and the Black and Tans. It tells of the eternal haemorrhaging of its people through emigration and a history bound up so tightly with our own.The book is a personal account of the tours. It is more than a mere travelogue; it is a personal observation and evaluation of the traumatic phases of the country and its history - seen in past, present and future.I am bewitched by the sheer beauty of Glengariff, see Cushenden and I'm reminded of Clough Elliss and Port Merion. See Donegal - now and in H.V.Morton's time. Visit Knock and its commercialism. Visit Cong where the film' The Quiet Man' lives on. Attend Mass in Galway. Visit the Claddagh. Cobh - the saddest place in Ireland. Here the great liners waited for the emigrants - the haemorrhaging of her best and youngest blood. I kiss the Blarney Stone, discover drisheen, visit Mount Melleray, tour Bronte land. Take the rocky road to Dublin. Inform a lady in Drogheda that Cromwell is dead. Dublin and St Michans, shake hands with a Crusader, search for Uncle Barney, visit Guinness Brewery- the GPO and 1916 uprising - back to Larne and home.Book reviews online @ www.publishedbestsellers.com

Sujets

Travel writing

Ireland

Stephen Ireland

Informations

Publié par	Pneuma Springs Publishing
Date de parution	24 mai 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781782282198
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0195€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

In Search Of Ireland Again

John Butler
Copyright
First Published in 2012 by: Pneuma Springs Publishing
In Search Of Ireland Again Copyright © 2012 In Search Of Ireland Again
John Butler has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work
Pneuma Springs
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Butler, John. In search of Ireland again. 1. Butler, John--Travel--Ireland. 2. Ireland-- Description and travel. 3. Ireland--History. 4. Ireland-- Social conditions. 5. Morton, H. V. (Henry Vollam), 1892-1979. In search of Ireland. I. Title 914.1'5'0483-dc23

Kindle eISBN 9781782280187 ePub eISBN: 9781782282198 PDF eBook eISBN: 9781782281023 Paperback ISBN: 9781907728389
Pneuma Springs Publishing E: admin@pneumasprings.co.uk W: www.pneumasprings.co.uk
Published in the United Kingdom. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.
Acknowledgement
The extracts from In Search of Ireland by H V Morton at pages 19, 33, 54, 57, 59, 67, 83, 107-8, 118, 122-3, 133, 134, 147
are reproduced by permission of Methuen Publishing Limited.

Photograph of ‘The Claddagh, Galway’ by courtesy of Independent Newspapers Limited, Dublin
Photograph of ‘Fair Day’ by courtesy of Stan Mason

Disclaimer
Photograph of ‘Cinderella in Connemara’ – Unfortunately, I have not been able to trace the copyright owner. If anyone knows them, please inform me.
Contents

Introduction

Chapter I
I set out to follow in the footsteps of H.V.Morton to note the changes in Ireland from his visit and mine. Empathise with the emotions of a Scots exile. Meet an Irish exile returning home, talks of ‘the troubles’. Land at Larne, take the magnificent coast-road north, am overawed by it.

Chapter II
I arrange to stay at ‘Margaret’s’ in Glenarm but eat in Carnlough, where I meet German tourists having a monetary problem.

Chapter III
I note some changes since 1992. On to Ballymena, look in vain for a traditional Irish cabin; learn about their replacement by modern bungalows. I see loyalist flags.

Chapter IV
I am staggered by the beauty of Glen Ariff, come to Cushendall, learn about Clough Ellis. I come to Ballycastle, hear about Marconi. I cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. I see a memorial to a wrecked Spanish galleon.

Chapter V
I stay at Portrush for the night, then on to the Giant’s Causeway, hear the facts and the fiction, meet two Wehrmact officers, discuss our language similarities.

Chapter VI
The Apprentice Boys and the Marching Bands, think of the 1992 parade and now 2009. I hear about ‘the troubles’ from an RUC man. Hear how the ‘London’ prefix came about. I cross the border to the republic, am amazed at the informality. I pass through Letterkenny on my way to Donegal, see quaint Dunfanghy, meet an English couple in love with Ireland.

Chapter VII
I enter Donegal town on a Sunday evening, compare it with HVM’s comments all those years ago. I am disillusioned.

Chapter VIII
I revel at the scenery to Ballyshannon, note the empty beaches, make comparisons caused by EEU. No sign of recession.

Chapter IX
I am told all about St.Patrick, hear about Croag Patrick and the pilgrims, see Clew Bay and am told the story of Grace O’Malley.

Chapter X
Sligo and W.B.Yeats. Note the sparse fields. We are in Celtic Ireland, find my grandmother came from Mayo, hear about the links with the Ormondes. I pass through Ballina and halt at Crossmalina, meet Michael— to Bangor, remember the words of HVM. Out at sea is Achill, a sense of auld Ireland, I am bemused at Claggan.

Chapter XI
I read of Thomas Jefferson of Wymondam, think of a Jefferson who became President of the U.S.A., wonder if there is a connection.

Chapter XII
Achill Island, centre of Celtic Ireland. I think of the hard life they led, the annual migration to the mainland for work. I note the changes through the years, see the pre Irish beehive huts, here the past meets today.

Chapter XIII
At Newport I find Grace Kelly’s birthplace, then on to Knock, once again, I am bemused. It is the 130 th anniversary of the ‘sightings’. At Westport I buy some tobacco and hear about ‘the priests’. I hear about ‘the haemorrhage’ and the mass migration. I am saddened.

Chapter XIV
I remember Cong from the film ‘The Quiet Man’ with John Wayne. It is still living off its memories. I see the procession to Sunday Mass. Clifden has not altered over the last twenty years, it stands, looking out over the Atlantic to America. The real capital of Connemara is Boston, Massachusetts. I learn of the history of Connemara. I hear of the Tuatha De Danaan people. I feel the magic of Connemara.

Chapter XV
I meet two friends who run Gregg Castle. I join an Irish Folk Dance group, meet a knowledgeable pair from Tipperary – come to Galway, compare it with the past, tell of my excitement to see ‘the Claddagh’. Learn about ‘Lynch Law’. Find the home of James Joyce, hear Bing sing:
‘To see the moonlight o’er the Claddagh
And watch the sun go down
O’er Galway Bay.’

Chapter XVI
HMV writes of the scene eighty years ago – no railways, shops, cars, telegraph poles, no sound of donkeys’ hooves on rocky soil. I hear the word ‘poteen’, learn how HVM got it. The changes over the years.

Chapter XVII
Celtic Ireland and Connemara, Alcock and Brown, Kylemore Abbey, its sad history. Marconi and the first radio message to Nova Scotia

Chapter XVIII
To Limerick, its siege and history. Irish Town and English Town, the Protestant Ascendency. England’s shame.

Chapter XIX
I find Tipperary disappointing, once the largest barrack town in the UK. Now deserted. Shabby shops, dreary weather. I wonder at the nostalgia of the old army song.

Chapter XX
On the way to Killarny. I stay to marvel at the ‘cosmetic’ beauty of Adare. I sense the ghost of HVM as we near the lakes; recall his boatmen and their tales, mix with the throngs of tourists. I am entranced by the lakes. I am told of strange people that once lived in the valley. Kerry and its early spring, in summer the botanist’s paradise. I marvel at the beauties of Muckross and move on to the Dingle.

Chapter XXI
The spectacular road of mountains, sea and woodland, the land of the ‘small’ farmer. The Shannon Power Scheme and the electrification of Ireland. The film Ryan’s Daughter and its impact. I come to Tralee and its festival.

Chapter XXII
I visit Macroom and think of Spike Milligan. The beauty of Glengariff and its links with the Royals and the famous. I hear of William Penn and Pennsylvania.
Chapter XXIII
On to Cork, its woeful history.

Chapter XXIV
The Blarney Stone and ‘the gift of the gab’.

Chapter XXV
Mount Melleray - I am given an hour to examine my conscience. Back to Cork and Disheen.

Chapter XXVI
Cobh, I think of James Connolly and Jack Doyle. Cobh’s part played in the mass migration.

Chapter XXVII
Find Fermoy and remember its connections with Princess Diana. Lismore and Boyle’s Law. Clonmel- Lawrence Sterne and Tristram Shandy, Trollope, George Borrow. Greyhound racing.

Chapter XXVIII
Cahir – I see it through HVM’s eyes and compare it with today. The Angelus.

Chapter XXIX
On my way to Cashel I visit a Folk Museum. I hear of an IRA cell.

Chapter XXX
Cashel of the Kings. Its unique architecture – Cormac’s Chapel. St Patrick.

Chapter XXXI
To Thomastown. Dine on fresh mussels. Visit Kilkenny – Ormonde Castle, home of the Butlers. Kilkenny cats.

Chapter XXXII
Carlow, thoroughbred horses and the National Stud. Cosmetic Carlow – pretty, but not Irish.

Chapter XXXIII
Glendalough, Saint Kevin and Kathleen

Chapter XXXIV
Rocky road to Dublin. Recall meeting the Mayor in 1947 – Uncle Barney and the Gaiety Theatre. Book of Kells. The three cathedrals. I visit the Guinness Factory and compare changes over the years. O’Connell Street and Nelson’s Column. Recall 1916 rebellion. St Michan’s – shake hands with a crusader. Spiders.

Chapter XXXV
On to Drogheda. Hear about the siege. Remind a lady that Cromwell is dead.

Chapter XXXVI
Newgrange, older than Stonehenge. Its association with time. Tara residence of the High Kings 2000 years before Christianity.

Chapter XXXVII
At Dundalk think of John McCormack. Learn the meaning of ‘beyond the pale’

Chapter XXXVIII
Dundalk and the changes

Chapter XXXIX
N1 to Newry, reach Warren Point. IRA bombing. Connections with the Brontes, Wuthering Heights and Heathcliffe. Compare Carlingford with 20 years ago, ‘the troubles’

Chapter XL
Cross the border. Compare with 1992, armed forces. Come to
Rahfriland – Patrick Bronte’s school

Chapter XLI
Armagh, Irish Canterbury. Again make comparisons. Theme Park.

Chapter XLII
Carrickfergus Castle, Paul Jones, William Congreave, Jonathan Swift, Louis MacNeice, Andrew Jackson and the President of the U.S.A.

Chapter XLIII
Belfast, Ballynahinch and Humanity Martin. Ranjit Singhi. Newtownards – busy manufacturing town. Scrabo Park, the Ark. I see the film ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ starring Franchot Tone descendant of Wolfe Tone.

Chapter XLIV
Ulster provided half the Presidents of the U.S.A. I reach Larne on the last stage of my journey.

Extra Information –
More about Ireland (At a Glance)
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
I have long been a disciple of that King of travel-writers, HV Morton. His most treasured epistle, the one that forever lives in my memory, is his ‘In Search of Ireland’. He came to Ireland eighty years ago. My first visit was in 1947 followed by a tour in 1992. Now, in 2009, I am eager to see how Ireland, the home of my ancestors, has dealt with the changes. So when the opportunity arose, I set off, many years after the master, to follow in his footsteps