Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-09
WILD IRISH BEAUTY
GIengariff, "the Madeira of
Great Britain"
ROCKS AND OCEAN MEET
Thackeray Thought Bantry Bay q
Picturesque Worlds Wonder.
WOLF TONES EXPEDITION
Simon Smith Rode Sixty-five Miles
In Six Hours to Head Off
the Invaders.
ROCKS AND OCEAN MEET
WOLF TONES EXPEDITION
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald
GLENGARIFF. Ireland. July 81. 1908.
This is the loveliest place you ever SAY"
They call it 1.-The Madeira of Great Bri-
tain" because its climate varies only a
few degrees winter and summer. and Is
about the same as that of the Madeira
Islands. without a trace of frost or snow
except up among the rugged mountains
that protect it from the cold winds and
make it an ideal resort for those who
seek health. rest or solitude.
A Lake for Each Day In the Year.
The name signifies "a rough glen." and
that describes it exactly-a deep cleft In
the mountains a cash which some ire
sistibe glacier made ages ago In the rug
ged rocks. about three miles long and
quarter of a mile wide. and terminates
upon an exquisite little sheet of water
branch of the Bay Of Bantry In the Tar
southwestern coast of Ireland.
The glen is filled with wonderful trees
and wonderful flowers. which seem 10
bloom perennially. The surrounding noun
tains are of the widest description. being
naked moorlands covered with heather
and gorse; huge gray boulders and peaks
which project into the air. Among them
it is said, there are no less than $50
little lakes. that number having been sug-
gested to the pious peasants. VINO at
tribute everything to apostolic 1nterposl-
ton that some holy saint prayed eff
fectually for a separate one to supply
water for each day of the year. The rocks
reach far away to the westward ana
down into the cold blue of an I'M
easy ocean, which beats impetuously upon
the outer walls. but the water Is seldom
disturbed by more than ripple within
the bay. For q combination of ocean,
mountains. lakes. rocks waterfalls. for
ests and flowers I have never seen the
like. and any one can easily understand
why Glengariff is called the most beauti-
full spot in Ireland.
Land Of Wondrous Beauty.
Thackeray in his Irish Sketch Book says:
1.-THE journey from Glengariff to Ken
mare is one of astonishing beauty; and l
have seen Killarney since. and am sure
that Glengariff loses nothing by COM
parison with this most famous of lakes.
Rock. wood and sea stretch round the
traveller. thousand delightful pictures.
The landscape is at first wild without be-
ing fierce. immense woods and planta-
lions enriching the valleys; beautiful
streams to be seen everywhere What
sends picturesque tourists to the Rhine
and Saxon Switzerland? Within five miles
round the pretty inn at Glengarif there is
q country of the magniflcence of which no
pen can give the idea. I would like to be
q great prince. and bring a train of paint
ers over to make. IL they could. and, ac-
cording to their several capacities, q set
Of pictures Of the place. Were such a bay
lying upon English shores. 1t would be q
worlds wonder. Perhaps If 1t were on the
Mediterranean or the Baltic. English trav-
elers would flock to 1t by the hundreds.
Why not come and see it in Ireland?"
The Town Of Glengarih.
The town OF Glengariff is composed OF
fourteen houses. six saloons, a post Office
q vine-covered headquarters for the con-
stabulary which looks altogether too pic
turesque and beautiful for such a practi-
cal purpose: a Catholic church. brand
new and built with money from America;
an old church where the Catholics former
ly worshiped now used as a school for
teaching lace making; a pretty little
Church of Ireland chapel. an ivy-clad rec
tory adjoining, and several comfortable
hotels. There are 400 Inhabitants in the
parish. mostly farmers scattered within
the glen and upon the surrounding rocks
They are mostly Harringtons. Sullivans
Caseys and O'Sheas. and are nearly all
related All the population are Roman
Catholics except twelve families who be-
long to the Church of Ireland and are
ministered to by the Rev. Mr.. Harvey.
who Is paid salary of ECO q year and
midst of one of the loveliest gardens and
groves You can imagine.
Where Rocks and Ocean Meet.
Eccles Hotel has been famous for more
than a century. You will find a fiatter-
ing account of 1t in Mrs. Halls book on
Ireland. published in the ffties. And. by
the way. that book contains q charming
description of the country although so
lo6
derOus volumes that weigh four or five
pounds each. There have been many
changes since the book was written. but
they concern only the people and their
customs. Its historical references its
legends and descriptions Of scenery hold
good today
The hotel. not the book. is a rambling,
irregular structure with many gables and
many chimneys. and Is almost completely
covered with a lustrous robe OF English
ivy. 1t sits at the foot Of the glen where
the rocks and the ocean meet and the
prospect from the front window is I'M
wall with mighty mountains. Titanic
rocks have become detached and have
rolled down into the water in some great
cataclysm. and now lie In picturesque
artist would have arranged them. clad in
vivid green. The outlines OF the bay
are very irregular. Little arms of water
reach up among the rocks that inclose
II ana Wnen tHe tlQe goes out II dlSclOSeS
deep beds of wonderous seaweed, curious
vegetable and animal forms that nature
in her fantastic moods has designed in
her studio under the waters of the sea-
In the foreground at the right Is a land
ing place for the little steamer that comes
over from Bantry twice day, and beyond
1t. rising from rocky eminence are
the ruins Of an ancient castle with
tower intact. that was once a stronghold
Of the O'Sullivans when they were kings
In these parts. Now 1t belongs to the
estate of the late Earl Of Bantry
Wolfe Tones Expedition.
On the other side Of the bay q long
point Of land protrudes across the hori-
zon. II was there that the French troops
intended to land under Wolfe Tone and
Baron Hoche on the Goth Of December
1895. There were seventeen ships Of the
line. thirteen frigates. Ave corvettes, two
gunboats and six transports with about
14.CcO men. and $1,000 stands of arms on
the expedition. II was expected the news
of their landing would be the signal for
an uprising OF the Irish people. Simon
White. who lived near the point where
the landing was to be made, was a man
of quick movements and energy, and as
soon as the fleet was sighted he sad
died his horse end rode direct to Cork,
siXty-five miles in half a dozen hours, to
notify the military commander and other
authorities of the invasion.
For that the king made him the Earl
of Bantry. and gave him a strip Of land
he ha -txxyn mil ma