The Irish standard., 1889-10-26
The HOME OF mr.. PARNELL.
a Rarely Beautiful and Pleasant Spot
Near the Fa Famed "Vale
Of Avoca.''
MS LOVE OF HIS NATIVE LAND.

p
R.w the Landed Possessions Of the Grea
Uncrowned King of ireland
Now Stand.
1t was one of those lovely autumn
evenings for which the Irish climate il
80 Justly celebrated that the writer frs
Oehe]d the ancestral home Of the grea
lrish ieader--Charles Stewart Parnel
The grand old house with its white
walls and pillared portico was simmer
ang IN the sunshine that fell redly upor
It from the west. It looked lonely anG
deserted, much of it's old time glory
having al parently beetl lost with the
lapse OF recent years, The grounds
were not in good order and the hand
some garden on the north side Of the
mansion was overgrown with weeds
The mansion itself, large three-story
structure, is solidiy and plainly built
The portico is a handsome one, and
above it is tho crest motto Of the Par
nell family. From the lordlY height
upon which it stands one OF the fairest
views in all the fairy land of Wicklow
Gao be obtained. From the rear ell
trance to the house the hill slopes down
almost precipitously till it bathes its
feet in the gurgling, moaning, weirdly
dancing waters OF the Avonbeg. On
the far side of the river the pine clad
hills rise sharply up to che height of a
thousand feet, thus forming shadowy
legend glen that winds through woody
hills and rocky gorges until three miles
further south it widens out into the far
famed Vale Of Avoca. To the west.
hills rise above hills IN endless tiers,
through which the glen of the Av0nbeg
winds with the course of the stream,
first into the beautiful woody vale Of
Clara, and terminating in the song
famed ya!lev Of Gendalough. Nota 500
of those green and smiling valleys, not
q shade of those spreading woodlands
that had not witnessed a fierce and
bloody struggle for supremacy between
CelJ and Saxon; every rock has from
time to time proven shelter to the out
law battling for his own; every glen
and mountain hold has been refuge
and resting-plac tor the expiring spirit
of liberty. A fierce and gallant race
were these Irish clansmen that for CEN
5turles owned and ruled these lovely
giens-so fierce and sturdy. indeed,
that they were never broken and de-
moralized, as other septs and clans
were, bv Norman steel. The O'Byrne's,
of Wicklow. or Lilmantain; as it was
anciently called, fought for their hills,
and more bravely, stubbornly and sue
cessfully than any other sept of their
countrymen, and to-lay they till the
green fields and valleys of Wicklow as
of yore. for it is an old saving that the
names Of every third man you meet in
Wicklow is .n'Byrne. Ganet Byrne,
the present member of Parliament for
the Western Division of Wicklow, is a
lineal descendant OF "the O'BYrne" the
ancient chieftain of the sept and a
goodly representative he is of the race.
To the north of Parnell's home on the
Avonbeg is the ford of ltathdrum. The
latter place is small but very ancient
village which stoo1 on these very banks
200 years or more ago when the English
Lord Deputy Essex was defeated by the
O'Byrnes under their chieftain, Feagh
McHugh, anu driven with much loss
back to the town of Glenealy. This
place is still known as 1.-THE. Deputy's
ass.'' Theyale of Glendylough was the
scene of manY q wild adventure Of
Michael Dwyer. the Wicklow hero, who
kept alive in his native mountains for
several years after the rebellion OF 17S9,
the spirit that the defeat OF Vinegar
Hill in Wexford crushed throughout
the remainder Of the island. 1t is small
wonder that young Parnell, as he grew
up among those lovely scenes and
stirring memories, should imbibe with
the very air he breathed a lofty spirit Of.
patriotism. His family surroundings,
however, were not favorable to such a
result. for although his ancestor was
the last speaker OF the old Irish Parlia-
ment and his father. Sir John Parnell,
was a man OF liberia! principles and a
model landlord, yet the family was dis
tsnctively aristOcratic !. I'd moved in an
atmosphere OF Conservatism. Parnell
owns all the lovely glen Of the Avon
berg, and the peasants for miles around
owe him fealty as the lord OF the soil
but his estate terminates and that Of
his cousin, the Earl OF Wicklow, begins:
at the meeting Of the waters in The vale
off sAvoca. JIG was among such family
associations as these that the childhood
and youth of Parnell was passed but
his jud damBnt Was not biased bY them.
Il hIss 1lhoosll u Mn elll " as a good deal