New-York tribune., 1907-09-02
IRISH SHOW PLACES.
Neglected Opportunities at the
Giants Causeray.
Portrush, August Is.

wherever they went faithful love of the old
home. 1t is not the pathos of poverty and mis-
government that impresses the casual visitor
who is without the strain Of Irish blood-a pre-
cious heritage because 1t implies quicl1ness OF
mind and q sense of humor 1t is the pathos OF
neglected opportunities and ruined industries
that depresses him, especially If he be an Amer
lean with any buoyancy of spirit. Nature mas
been kind to ireland, where the soil is fertile
and the climate almost semi tropical; YET asrl-
culture. with the uncertainties Of land tenure
and small holdings, has been poor resource
which has barely kept the tenantry alive The
mountainous seaboard is pierced with deep
fjords, where there is secure harborage for
shipping; but there is no commerce to attract
a profitable mercantile fleet. The central oasin
behind the encircng rim of headlands ana lol'y
cliffs is cracked and faxed with rivers ana iahes
flowing into tidal estuaries; and this 1nFoNes
the most valuable resource for manufacturing
under modern conditions-an abundance OF
water available for the production OF cheap
electric power Yet with the exception OF dls-
tileries. the linen industry in the north ana
shipbufdine in Belfast, the island is without
manufa ctures to increase its wealth ana com
merce and to employ impoverished popula-
ton Nature a most bountiful almoner to Ire
land. has provided in the varied and picturesque
coast scenery a Iargess of Ioveliness and gran
derr There ought to be money in 1t when there
are unrivalIed resources for tourist rounds and
holiday traffic. but enterprise is lacking ana
slight use is made Of a most promising ,Pppor-
! tunity.
The Antrim seaboard is not so grand as the
! coasts of Mayo and Doregal with their tower
| ing cliffs, surf-riven mountains and majestic
! sea walls: but ii is deeply interesting from its
| volcanic beds water worn trap fields and basal
! tic columns and ampitheatres. and it is acces-
| sibIe from Belfast and Londonderry and can
! readily be opened TO excursion traffic from Lam
cashre and Glasgow Portrush to have
| been specially designed a coast resort
| long headand of basalt juts out into the sea.
| with protected bays and broad sweeps OF sand
shingle on either side with the Skerries. string
! OF emerald islands carelessly knotted together
! off the coast and with cavernous chalk cliffs
| for boating smooth beaches for bathing ana
wind swept terraces for golfing The Giants
| Causewav Is eight miles distant. with cir
| c1,it Of rock scenery and seaward prospects OF
! exceptional beauty and breadth and with Dun
| luce Castle, a biackened but romantic ruin. on
| the crest Of precipitous gray cliffs. Portrush
| with its natural advantages and the approaches
| 70 the splendid platforms Of basaltic columns
which have made this region famous through
| ont the world ought to be a fourishing water
ing rlace with ambitious hotels. crowded prom
! .nades marine drlveways and rapid train ser
/ vice with the Causeway. II should he. at least
| another Blackpool or Morecambe. If not another
Brighton or Scarborough. II has suffered from
retarded DEVELOPMENT and lack of enterprise inc
/ hotels are small. the improvements are meagre'
and the system OF coast transit has not oeeh
CARRIED OH, in n progressive spirit. Railway man
! ayers have cheapened excursion traffic by spe-
| ciaI trains without making adequate provision
I - electric
way to the Causeway. while the first Of the kind
| I'm the kingdom has not been adapted TO I'M
proved mechanism: cumbersome steam motors
are brought into use. with frequent sidlnss
| where trains are stalled: open air cars are re-
| tained for a coast line where drenching showers
are constantly to be expected: and the best
| part of an hour is taken up by a journey Which
| ought not 10 require more than twenty minutes
| This sluggishness has tended TO block the de-
velopment OF most favorably situated seaside
| resort.
| The cau.ewav itself is as eloquent of neglect
| ed opportunities Of man az of the stupendous
! mechanical processes of nature in the cooling
| and contraction OF lava flow. From the
| terminus of the railway there is a rough
| scramble uphill and across meadows 70 two
| small hotels with accommodation for luncheons:
| and there are steep paths over the rocks to a
/ small boathouse. the three causeways and along
| the long semf-circular sweep of the cliffs to
| Chimney Point the Amphtheatre and Bengore
| Head. Near the entrance to the Grand Cause
| way there is toIgate where a siXpence Is
! charged for entrance: and that represents All
| that is made out Of one of the marvels of nat
| urc except the fees of the good uatured guides
and the postcards and fossil souvenirs sold by
women and children. While the guide with
| Celtic fuency is chattering about hexagons and
| pentagons convexities and concavties in the
| pillared pavement running down into the sea. or
| exercising his Imagination in tracing resem-
| blances in cliffs and headlands. a practical
| Yankee amuses himself with conjecturing what
| would have happened If the Organ, the Loom.
| the Honeycomb, the Chimney, the Nurse and
| Child the Camel the Lady's Fan and Lord
Antrinl's Parlor and all the other basaltic
freaks had been transferred to the Lancashire
| or south cost of England, not TO mention Coney
| Island Atlantic City More clearly than the
| guides pictured rocks he sees the improvements
| which would have resulted from private or
| municipal enterprise; the steam electric
launches for the exploration of the caves and
| the long short circuits Of the bays; the IN
/ cned railways to the Causeways and around
| the big horseshoe curve to the Amphitheatre;
| the score of spacious. well equipped hotels on
| the cliffs and all the modern improvements
| for the entertainment of vast throngs of holi-
| day visitors Portrush with all the vaunted
energies and enterprise OF Ulster behind IT, is
| content with modest sixpence in gate money.
| when without any great investment of capital
| the income drawn from the Giants Causeway
| might be immeasurably increased.
It must be added that no visitor OF any de-
gree of sensibility is anxious for a modern
himself In the Wishing Chair of the Honeycomb
causevav Irish conservatism or neglect of on