The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-04-15
By Seusnos
Mac Manus
CARRICKSHOCK
copyright, lsU9, by w. Il. Chapman

copyright. lsU9, by w. 4. Chapman
BY long skip, partly by train, part
~ by cycle, found myself at Piltown,
near the Kilkenny-Waterford border
line; and remembering that this was
not far from Carrickshock, made en-
qu1r1es and learned that l had but
seven miles of hill to ride when the
town of the Battle of the Tithes would
greet me. 1t was a sultry afternoon
and the road for the first few miles
had surface which, among all the
Irish road surfaces in Ireland, was
distinguished for It's vileness. They
call it The Main Road said to me
a poor, ragged fellow who was alter.
nately coaxing and coercing a heavily
laden mule. They call it The Main
Road an begorra, it's the mainest
road I've ever met with in all me born
days." And he spoke truly, am sure
But when, after a few miles, l left
this Main Road" and got upon a by.
road which was to take me over the
hills, felt translated to Heaven. Even
If this by-road shot up hill and down
dale with frequent and sudden i'm.
pulse, the surface was smooth, and it
was for the first few miles, at least,
heavily shaded by wood and hedge
which made it fresh and grateful. A
wide, cool, green marge extended
along either side, and a. wild and lux
urlant natural growth of fern, and
briar, and holly, and thorn, and birch
lined the way on both sides. The whin,
too, golden-f1owered, asserted itself.
and pleased the eye at frequent inter.
walls; and occasionally l got glimpses
Of whole hillside whose fences Of
lowered furZe were like great, long,
torch-like professions. At one part of
my journey, almost for two miles, l
had to walk, so steep was the hill; but
this walk was far from wearisome, so
pleasant was the luxuriant growth
that accompanied me by the road.
sides, and so variegated, and so grand
and extensive the view of country
that lay around me in every direction.
After l topped great plateau,
found by the wayside a lonely forge
where blacksmith was making mer-
ry music on his anvil. When he came
to his forge door he gave me direc.
tons how to reach Carrickshock
looked afar with him, and saw that
from his picturesque situation he had
view of half Kilkenny. Without
doubt, in this forge was forged long
,,c%vy nil
and to this forge from the cottages
that dotted the great miles and miles
of country now visible, many an ar.
dent eye, l felt sure, had, in certain
days of yore, frequently and longing.
ly turned. The blacksmith, unlike the
neither tall nor stout. He was small
and thin, but 1.-THE and wiry, and hard,
I knew, as nails. Potential fires slum-
bered in this quiet little mans eye
and l felt that If opportunity came
and his country called, he would, with
a heart and a half, do his country's
work as stoutly and bravely and vel
as the biggest, stoutest blacksmith
that ever Ireland has good reason tc
be proud of. When l asked for Car
rickshock he gave me sidelong
glance which showed that he knew the
wherefore of my seeking that place.
YES l said in reply to no verba
question asked by HMM reply mere
ly to his glance-"Yes that's why
want to see Carrickshock." He mere
ly nodded his head in approval; anc
then, with much care and kindness
gave minute directions.
Everyone who knows Irish history
knows that the 1.-THE war which SHOOK
Ireland about and after Emancipation
year was decisively settled and ended
on the day of Carrickshock. To the
ministers of the Established church
all Ireland of every creed had to give
yearly 1.-THE of their lands yield Al
the posts of many thousands of these
clergymen were mere sinecures, theil
churches unattended by any save
themselves, their families and the sex
ton, and since five-sixths of the PEG
pie of Ireland belonged to another
church, the Irish nation in the end Of
the Juveniles" and beginning of the
"thirties" of the last century came tt
the tardy conclusion that it was mon
strous to pay tithes to these gentle
men, and a great agitation against II
swept the land. O'Connell, ever man
of peace and opposed to bloodshed
who, after winning Catholic enamel
patton in '29, believed the English par
Lament was generous assembly thai
would readily grant justice whenever
wrong was made clear to them
begged his people, who were almos
on the point of rising up against tithes
in 81, to observe the law and shed M
blood, and that he would get the grea
and generous British parliament to re
dress their grievance and right theil
great wrong.
The people, obedient to their hon
ored leader refrained from doing any