IRELAND FOR TRAVELLERS.
[To TN! EDITOR 07 ins ' ErSCTATOR."] SIR,—Permit we to protest against a serious mistake in your review of Murray's Irish handbook in the Spectator of August 29th. It is there stated that Irishmen, as a rule, care nothing for the antiquities of their country, and in proof of this a story (or legend) is told of a "distinguished Dublin writer" who guided a tourist, who wished to see an Irish round tower, to Glasnevin churchyard, and showed him the tower erected over O'Connell's tomb, both visitors believing it was one of the ancient towers whose origin and character have been settled by Petrie. The truth is that Irishmen have generally a quite passionate love of the antiquities of their country. The Royal Society of Irish Antiquaries, founded under another title more than fifty years ago by the Rev. James Graves (Dr. Graves, Bi..hop of Limerick, being a Vice- President), numbers nearly fifteen hundred members, and there are similar societies on a smaller scale in Belfast and Cork. I suspect if you go into statistical details you will find that such societies are not so well supported in England as with us, considering the size and wealth of that country, and the unfortunate absentee system so long and in so many ways an injury to ours.—I am, Sir, &c., AN IRISHWOMAN (A Member and ion. Local Sec. of the for nearly
twenty-five years).
[In the absence of such statistical details as " An Irish- woman" refers to, the matter must remain one of opinion ; and we retain ours. Every educated Englishman knows in outline the history of his own country since the Norman Conquest. Of how many educated Irishmen can the same be said ? And how can antiquarian interest in Ireland co-exist with an ignorance of Irish history P—En. Spectator.]
Previous page
