preserved is a monument erected to the memory of the soldiers of the
Eighty-fifth Regiment of the King's Light Infantry who have died in
battle. And above it hang the flags which that regiment has carried
during the last two hundred years, including the Crimean war, the South
African, the war in Spain, the war against Napoleon, and the war for
independence in the United States. Upon one of these flags is inscribed
the name "Bladensburg," the battle, or rather skirmish, that was fought
a few miles from Washington in 1813, and it was this regiment which
entered the city and burned the capitol, then unfinished, the White
House, and the navy yard. Gen. Frederick Maunsell, who commanded the
regiment at that time, is buried near by.
The old church was restored very carefully between 1879 and 1892 under
the direction of the dean, Very Rev. Thomas Bunbury, D.D. The work has
been admirably done at an expense of about $50,000, which was
contributed by members of the parish and natives of Limerick, who are
interested in preserving its antiquities. The present dean is Very Rev.
Lucius Henry O'Brien, a son of that famous Irish patriot, William Smith
O'Brien, who was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for
treason in the revolution of 1848, but fortunately escaped that
barbarous penalty.
An interesting volume has been written concerning St. Mary's Cathedral
and its history and the curious tombs that are found under its roof.
Some of the epitaphs are unique. Here is one:
"Johne Stretche, Aldermane, third son too Bartholomewe
This monument made in Febrarye most true,
Wher he and his heyres males resight theyre mortalle bons
Tyll Chryste do come to judge all mans atte ons."
Another curious inscription upon a gravestone two feet square reads:
"Fifteen years a mayd, one year a wyfe,
Two years a mother, then I left this life.
Three months after me mine offspring did remain,
Now earth to earth we are returned again."
And here is still another in memory of Geoffrey Arthur, treasurer of the
cathedral, who died in 1519:
"Do thou excite the solemn train,
And with the doleful trumps proclaim
Eight times the mournful story
Then to Eana oblation make
Of eight prayers for the sake
Of his soul in pergatory."
One of the bishops of the eighteenth century, named Adams, is buried in
the church, and his monument consists of two slabs, one above and the
other below a space which was evidently intended to contain a bust. On
either side the emblems of the passion--the reed, the spear, the
scourge, and the crown of thorns--are engraved, and after the name and
biographical information are the lines:
"Sufficient God did give me, which I spent;
I little borrowed and as little lent;
I left them whom I loved enough in store,
Increased the bishoprick, relivd the poore."
One of the tombs contains this laconic epitaph:
"Dan Hayes,
An honest man,
And a lover of his country."
The bells of St. Mary's Cathedral at Limerick are famous for their sweet
tones, and a very pretty story is told about them. It is said that they
were cast in Italy at the expense of a rich Italian and presented to a
monastery in Italy. In a few years the monks became very poor and sold
their bells to the Bishop of Limerick for money to relieve their
immediate distresses. The Italian nobleman who had given them also met
with misfortune and became a wanderer over the earth. Coming up the
Shannon River from a long ocean voyage one day, the first sound that
greeted him was the chimes from St. Mary's tower. He instantly
recognized the bells, the pride and the joy of his heart, and tried in
vain until his death to recover them.
Although this story is touching, it is not true. The history of the
chimes is perfectly well known. They were cast in that city about 1660
by William Perdue, a resident of Limerick, who is buried in the
cathedral with an appropriate epitaph:
"Here is a bell founder, honest and true
Until the ressurection lies Perdue.
William Perdue
Obiat III X Xbris Ao. Dini MDCLXXIII."
The royal capital of the O'Briens is often known as "The City of the
Violated Treaty." It was stoutly defended against Cromwell's army in
1651 by Hugh O'Neill, but after a six months' siege it was captured by
General Ireton, the son-in-law of Cromwell, who became governor until
his death of the plague the year following. The house in which Ireton
lived and died stood next to the cathedral. It was torn down some years
ago and the site added to the cathedral grounds.
Limerick was also besieged in 1691 during the war between James II and
William of Orange. The latter captured the city with an army of
twenty-six thousand men and made a treaty with Gen. Patrick Sarsfield,
who surrendered Oct. 3, 1691. The ninth article of the treaty of
surrender provided that Roman Catholics could enjoy the same privileges
as Protestants and were given immunity for all religious offenses in the
past. This article, however, was repeatedly violated by the Protestant
authorities, although it was no fault of William of Orange. His
representatives made it so hot for the Catholics who had served under
James that they fled from Ireland for France and formed the Irish
brigade that was so famous in continental wars during the next twenty
years. Sarsfield, who was one of the ablest and bravest soldiers Ireland
has ever produced, was killed in battle in 1693, and it is estimated
that during the next half century four hundred and fifty thousand other
Irishmen died fighting for the King of France.
A monument to Patrick Sarsfield has been erected near the Roman Catholic
Cathedral with the following inscription:
"To commemorate
the Indomitable Energy
and stainless honor of
General Patrick Sarsfield,
Earl of Lucan,
the heroic defender of Limerick
during the sieges of 1690 and 1691.
"Sarsfield is the word,
And Sarsfield is the man.
'T would be a shame to let his name
Like other names decay."
[Illustration: TREATY STONE, LIMERICK]
The treaty of Limerick was drawn by Sir John Browne, a colonel in the
service of King James and the first Marquis of Sligo. It was signed upon
a large flat stone which now stands upon a pedestal at the entrance to
the ancient bridge that crosses the Shannon River.
The women of the poorer classes in Tipperary and Limerick wear heavy
woolen shawls made at Paisley, Scotland, and costing from five to ten
dollars, according to the quality. They wear them over their heads in
place of hats, and although it was very hot while we were there, it made
no difference; they go around with their heads hidden in their shawls,
as the Spanish women wear mantillas; and most of them are barefooted.
Tipperary was the first place in Ireland where we saw barefooted women
in the streets, and it isn't an agreeable sight. We saw more in
Limerick, and it was still less agreeable. The workingmen do not go
barefooted, although many of them have shoes very much the worse for
wear, but it seems to be the custom for the wives and mothers and
daughters of the working classes to go about without shoes or stockings
and with heavy shawls over their heads, which, like charity, cover a
multitude of sins and other things. Their dresses are tattered at the
bottom and often ragged and always greasy, and their hair, so far as it
can be seen under the shawls, is very untidy, which gives them a
disreputable and repulsive appearance, so different from the women we
saw at Drogheda, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Blarney, and other places we
had been to.
There is no occasion for the women of Limerick to dress as they do,
because the town is prosperous and it used to boast of the reputation of
having the prettiest girls in Ireland. Some poet who knew them long ago
has written thus:
"The first time me feet got the feel of the ground
I was sthrollin' along in an old Irish city,
That hasn't its aquail the whole wurrld around,
For the air that is swate and the gurrls that are pretty.
And the lashes so thick round thim beautiful eyes
Shinin' to tell you its fair time o' day wid 'em.
Back in me heart wid a koind of sorprise
I think how the Irish girls has th' way wid 'em."
Judging from what we saw on the streets, at church, and in the parks on
a Sunday, when all the feminine population of Limerick seemed to be out,
we would think that the beauties had gone to America with the fairies.
There is "the Irish town" and "the English town" in Limerick, and
between them is a good deal of animosity, which has continued for
several hundred years and probably never will be entirely removed. The
old castle built by King John in 1205, when the British first occupied
Limerick, and considered one of the finest specimens of Norman military
architecture in existence, is now used as an ordnance store for the
military garrison. There is a romantic story associated with the old
town and I cannot resist the temptation of telling it.
Toward the beginning of the ninth century the Danish King of Limerick,
Turgesius, by name, who occupied a fortification that stood upon the
site of the present castle, fell in love with the daughter of Malachi,
the King of Meath--the same who
"Wore the collar of gold
Which he won from the proud invader."
Turgesius demanded her hand in marriage and Malachi, who was not in very
good shape for a fight, dare not deny him. The girl, however, had her
wits about her and suggested to her timid father a plan to outwit the
odious lover. At her suggestion he entreated Turgesius that his daughter
might be received by him privately and at night, and promised to send as
her attendants fifteen of the most celebrated beauties of his kingdom.
The arrangement was acceptable, and, at the appointed time, the princess
and her fifteen ladies-in-waiting arrived at Limerick and were conducted
to the apartments of the king, who was eagerly awaiting them. When
Turgesius took the princess in his arms the fifteen ladies-in-waiting
immediately threw off their disguise and the astonished king of Limerick
saw before him fifteen of the stoutest and bravest of the Irish
chivalry, each with a flashing sword in his hand. Before he could
recover from his astonishment Turgesius was seized and bound, his
guards were surprised, and the gates of the fortress were opened to
Malachi and the men of Meath, who massacred the entire garrison and
thereafter ruled in Limerick.
The migration to America from County Limerick has been very large and
every person we have met has one or more relatives in the United States.
Every family is represented there and those who have not gone are
anxious to go. Each spring and summer quite a number of young people
return to their old homes, and the airs they put on and the raiment they
wear are very amusing. We saw them at the railway stations, at church,
on the streets, and elsewhere, surrounded by admiring and envious
friends.
More laborers' cottages have been erected by the government in County
Limerick than in any other part of Ireland, and more are being built all
the time. Any laboring man who wants a home of his own need only to make
application for the assistance of the commissioner of the poor and
express his preference for a site. The commissioners are not required to
accept his choice, but usually do so when there is no particular
objection, and he is entitled to an acre of ground for a garden. After
certain legal preliminaries are fulfilled, they erect for him a
two-story, five-room cottage, costing about $750, with an outhouse for
fuel, storage, and the accommodation of a cow. They inclose the property
in a stout fence and turn it over to the new owner without the
expenditure of a farthing on his part. He, however, undertakes to
reimburse the county for the investment it has made in his behalf at the
rate of 3-1/4; per cent of the cost price, which usually amounts to about
thirty dollars a year. The laboring class of no other country is so well
treated.
Before I left Washington a highly esteemed friend, and one of the most
charitable and public-spirited citizens of that city, intrusted me with
a mission which was fulfilled as soon as possible after arriving in
Limerick. It was to leave with the parish priest of his native village
of Askeaton a generous sum of money for the benefit of the poor, and you
may imagine the pleasure that attended our visit there for that reason.
Askeaton is an ancient village of seven or eight hundred inhabitants
about twenty miles from Limerick, where the River Deel tumbles over
ledges of rocks into the Shannon and forms a series of cascades, which
make it the second best water-power in Ireland and perpetuates the name
of a Celtic chieftain, concerning whom nothing else is known.
We went down in an automobile, visiting several other places of interest
by the way, passing Donmore, the seat of the Earl of Limerick, an
ancient ruin in which a holy hermit lived several centuries ago, Dysart
House, the seat of the Earl of Dysart, and a beautiful place called
Holly Park, where resided a queer man by the name of Taylor. He
inherited a fine farm and considerable wealth, but lived a bachelor
until he was sixty years old, when he married his cook. There was
nothing wrong with him except a mania for buying coats, and he used to
haunt the second-hand stores of Limerick, Dublin, London, and wherever
else he happened to go, picking up all the queer patterns and colors
that he could find. He spent most of his time brushing and cataloguing
them, and when he died last spring more than five thousand coats were
found hanging on racks in the upper rooms and the attic of Holly Park.
It took three big wagons to carry them away, for his wife, the former
cook, got rid of them as soon after the funeral as she could arrange
for.
Askeaton used to be a place of some importance, and at one time returned
two members of parliament, but it has lost population and trade, and
many years ago the franchise was taken away and the sum of $75,000 was
paid as indemnity to Lord Massey, who controlled the suffrages. It isn't
far from the sea and there is a good deal of fishing, although
agriculture is its chief dependence. There is a carbite factory owned by
John B. Hewson, and a big flour mill, which, however, is idle because
the people find it cheaper to buy American flour. The farmers here
cannot compete with California wheat. They told me that it is more
profitable to raise potatoes for market and turnips for cattle.
Askeaton has one irregular street and old-fashioned houses of brick and
mortar, hugging closely to the walls of an ancient castle which was the
stronghold of the earls of Desmond and the scene of much fighting in
ancient times. It is one of the largest ruins in Ireland, a monstrous
pile covering more than two acres, and the walls of stone, now standing,
are more than ninety feet high and ten to fifteen feet thick. The great
hall measures ninety by thirty feet and is lighted by four great windows
in a fair state of preservation. Over the first arch from the stairway
is a small chamber measuring eight by seven feet, called "Desmond's
prison," in which Gerald, the twelfth Earl of Desmond, imprisoned by
Edmond MacTeig, who contested his succession, "for six years pined in
captivity, shut up in the castle of Askeaton, till his release, which
was obtained by the intercession of his wife, who was related to
Edmond." A battlemented wall surrounds the entire structure, which could
be entered only by a narrow pathway cut through the rock so that any
attempt to force an entrance would be impossible.
Askeaton Abbey, which was founded under the protection of the castle for
the Franciscan monks in 1420, by the seventh Earl of Desmond, is only a
few steps distant, and, judging from the huge masses of masonry, it must
have been an extensive and solid structure. Some of the walls are twenty
feet thick and the lightest are four feet and a half thick. It is kept
with great care by the board of public works and the cloister is
remarkably perfect, being inclosed by twelve pointed arches of black
marble. It was destroyed at the same time as the castle, and many of the
monks were murdered by the Irish troops under the Earl of Ormonde and
Sir Henry Pelham. In 1641 an attempt was made to restore the abbey to
its former magnificence, but it was abandoned shortly afterward.
The parish church, which stands upon a hill on the edge of the village,
was built by the Knights Templar, who had an establishment at Askeaton
dating from the thirteenth century, but nothing remains of it now but a
curious tower in the churchyard.
With Sergeant Quirk, the head constable, we inspected the ruins under
the very best auspices, and I found Father Edmond Tracy, the parish
priest, a most charming companion. He is an ideal type of the Irish
priesthood, a man of culture, learning, and charming personality. He
accepted the trust I was instructed to place in his care and told me
that, although Askeaton was fairly prosperous and the people of the
neighborhood parish were well to do, he frequently had appeals for
charity that the scanty revenues of the church made difficult for him to
respond to.
Upon our way back to Limerick we stopped at Adare, which is considered
the model village and belongs to the Earl of Dunraven, who has the
enviable reputation of being one of the best landlords in Ireland. The
village of Adare has about six hundred people living in model cottages,
which he and his father built for them, with vegetable and flower
gardens and everything that an Irish peasant could ask for, including
both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. The former was once "The
White Abbey," founded by the Augustinians in 1230 and restored by the
Earl of Dunraven in 1811 with great care. A portion of the monastery has
been rebuilt for a national school and given to the Roman Catholics. The
neighboring Franciscan Abbey, founded in 1315, was restored for use as
the Protestant church in 1807. The Earl of Dunraven who lived in those
days built a family mausoleum in connection with it, and turned the
refectory of the monks into a schoolhouse for Protestant children.
Although the earls of Dunraven have been members of the Church of
Ireland, they have been generous and frequent benefactors of the Roman
Catholic church, and there seem to have been successive generations of
wise, thoughtful, and considerate men in that family.
[Illustration: ADARE ABBEY, IN THE PRIVATE GROUNDS OF THE EARL OF
DUNRAVEN, NEAR LIMERICK]
The house of Dunraven enjoys the proud distinction of being one of the
few of the ancient Celtic aristocracy to survive the vicissitudes of the
centuries. The earl traces his lineage back to the chief of the
Dalcassian clan of prehistoric days. He is of the same stock as the
O'Briens of Limerick, who have a common ancestor in Cormac Cas, son
of Olliol Olum, monarch of all Ireland at the beginning of the third
century. And the present earl has a curious and interesting letter
written by Thady Quin of Adare in the time of James I., giving the
complete pedigree.
Adare Manor, as the estate of the Dunravens is known, is one of the most
extensive and beautiful in Ireland. There is a stately mansion of the
Tudor school of architecture, begun in 1832, upon the site of a former
residence of the family and built entirely of material found upon the
estate, by artisans of Adare. The material is gray limestone, relieved
by blocks of red, and the striking feature is a tower which rises one
hundred and three feet from the level of the ground. The stone work of
the parapet which surmounts the front façade is inscribed in old English
letters with the text, "Except the Lord build the house, their labor is
in vain that build it." The late earl seemed to be fond of inscriptions,
for over the main entrance is carved in stone this admonition: "Fear
God, honor the Queen, eschew Evil and do Good," while upon a panel set
into the front wall is the coat of arms of the Dunravens and the
inscription:
"This goodly Home was erected by
Wyndham Henry, Earl of Dunraven,
And Caroline, his Countess
Without borrowing, selling or leaving a debt."
"This goodly home" is surrounded by one of the finest parks in the
world--about three thousand acres of glorious native forests, meadows,
and pasture lands, all inclosed within a high wall. There are lakes and
ponds and a roaring brook whose waters alternately dash over cascades
and lie spread out in calm pools where trout and salmon can be seen
motionless upon the bottom under the shadows cast by the overhanging
trees. Roadways several miles in length reach every part of the demesne
and permit views of the most picturesque portions of the scenery. They
cross and recross the river over ancient bridges and through undulating
pastures where the famous Dunraven herds are feeding, and follow long
avenues between colonnades of very old trees.
There are several interesting ruins within the demesne, including those
of the ancient castle of Adare, which was built some time before 1331,
because a record of that date gives a description of its appearance. It
was afterward strengthened and enlarged, and for several centuries was
one of the most formidable strongholds in all Ireland. It was from this
castle in 1520 that the Earl of Kildare, viceroy of Ireland, left for
London to answer charges brought against him by Cardinal Wolsey, by whom
he was imprisoned in the Tower.
There are ruins of several monasteries which also date back to the
fourteenth century and are kept in perfect order. The most beautiful was
once a monastery of the Franciscan order, and is within a step of the
mansion, in the midst of the golf links.
The present Earl of Dunraven, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, was born in
1844, educated at Eton and Christ Church College, Oxford, and in 1870
married Florence, daughter of Lord Charles Lennox Kerr, a member of
parliament from County Wexford. Dunraven is one of the most active and
versatile men in the kingdom, and is almost as well known in the United
States, being soldier, sailor, horseman, sportsman, yachtsman, explorer,
politician, newspaper correspondent, author, antiquarian, economist, and
historian. After receiving his degree at Oxford Dunraven served for
several years in the Life Guards, and in 1871 resigned upon succeeding
to the title and estates. While he was in the army he gained the
reputation of being the best steeple-chase rider in the kingdom. Upon
leaving the army he became a correspondent of the _London Daily
Telegraph_ and represented that paper in an expedition to Abyssinia and
during the Franco-Prussian war. He then went into politics and was under
secretary for the colonies during two of Lord Salisbury's
administrations. He then went into parliament and made a reputation as
chairman of committees on the sweating system and the housing of the
working classes. He devoted much time and attention to horse breeding
and has a stock farm adjoining his estate at Adare with "Desmond," the
most famous stallion in the kingdom, at the head of his stud. He has
been offered $150,000 for the horse.
In 1874 Dunraven went to the United States with his wife and spent
nearly a year in the Rocky Mountains hunting big game and exploring and
climbing peaks and shooting buffaloes with General Sheridan and Buffalo
Bill. He wrote a book giving an account of his experience. He then took
up the Irish question, went into it very deeply, and has retained his
interest until now. He has written several books on the land question
and the other economic problems of Ireland. He has been a prolific
contributor to the magazines, and was the inventor of what is known as
the "devolution policy" as a substitute for home rule in Ireland, which
Sir Antony MacDonnell worked up into the so-called "Irish councils
bill," which proposed to give home rule in every respect except the
courts, police, and legislation. His lordship went through Ireland
making speeches in favor of the project, but the leaders of the Irish
parliamentary party declined to accept it and it fell to the ground.
The Earl of Dunraven is best known in the United States, however, as a
yachtsman. For several years he was the leader of that sport in England,
and in 1893, 1894, and 1895 sailed for the _America's_ cup with three
successive yachts named _Valkyrie_. The third contest was a fiasco, as
may be remembered. Lord Dunraven published a pamphlet setting forth his
side of the controversy, which created a great sensation. His lordship
has made a thorough study of the archæology of this section of Ireland,
and has written several interesting volumes on the subject.
XXX