Travel
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A Western Ireland Holiday
Taos": who hunt, shoot, or fish arc already aware of the existence of Ireland, and since the Empire Marketing Board began its activities orally housewives have learnt to look for her products. . Not many, however, are aware that in Ireland, and especially in the West, they can find the holiday for which one may search England almost in vain, and Scotland and Wales with little inure success. Here in the West—almost as far West as you can go in the British Isles— can be found that lack of sophistication which accepts the tourist as a human being, neither more nor less, and where there is preparation for him, it is usually of so innocent and pleasant a nature that it may be accepted as part of the natural charm of the people rather than an attempt at exploitation.
Of course the journey is a long one and the fares com- paratively high. London to Galway (third-class and first on the boat) costs about £3. But this is little more than will transport one to many English resorts and the journey by L.M.S. and the Great Southern is very pleasantly passed. Leaving Euston at 8.45 p.m. you are in Holyhead without a stop by half-past two, and at Galway direct from Kings- town in time for lunch. There is not a mile of the journey through Ireland on which the scenery is not worth watching and a journey on the Irish railways is never without incident. When we came through it, Galway station was in a great turmoil because " the military," who were going into camp, that day, had "overslept themselves " (collectively ?) and missed their train, and arrangements had to be made for them that were taxing the. station's resources. None of this, however, was allowed to affect our comfort.
With Galway as a centre, a stretch of country is accessible which has few equals. South to Clore and Limerick, or North through Connemara, the roads are good and the scenery beyond description. The Irish climate is such that, although there is a softness in the outlines of hills except on a very clear day, you can see for great distances, and many writers have tried, and failed, to describe the colours of the hills and the country. Just off Connemara lie the Aran Islands, of which Synge wrote in his book of that name, and the quality of that part of the country is perhaps hest described by him, though the mainland is,. of course, less barren and windswept than the islands. Through the stony slopes of " Connemara Moun- tains," meeting a lough or fishing stream at every turn, and the sea in unexpected places, is to be found some of the finest scenery that exists. Service stations and hotels are sufficiently frequent for the motorists, and the latter, which are accus- tomed to cater for the many people who come here for fishing, have a high standard of comfort. In all the essentials the standards are as good, and the food better than at an English country hotel. Those who arc content to see more of the country by seeing it on foot will find that the distances between hotels are shortened by the excellent, if rough, hospitality of the country inns. Prices are about average English village prices, with a little more on things that have come from a distance, but the charge for service is low, and that will probably more than compensate, in most cases, for anything extra that must be paid for commodities.
The historic and scenic beauties of the countryside may safely be left to the guide books. It remains therefore only to speak of the people. It goes without saying that they are courteous and hospitable. Neither is there any feeling against the English—certainly none against individual English people. Many Irishmen will, to make you feel this, tell stories against their own Government, like our postman, who complained that he now had to do with a bicycle what `• a horse and cart had done for forty-five years." (In spite of it, however, they seem very well satisfied.) The greatest charm for the visitor, however, is to be found in their conversation, for their gift of a phrase has not been in the least exaggerated by Yeats or Scan O'Casey- or Synge, through whom most English people know it. When we had not been here six hours, we remarked that our daughter (aged three) was tired after the journey. The reply—" Oh, yes ! She's wakin' and sleepin' now "--contains the core of one of Alice Meynell's most charming essays.
A story of one Irish American whom we met here, six miles front a railway and three from a motor road, may not be without point. She told- me that she " just had to sit and glare " at the beaches here, thinking of what they would be like if they were near to Boston or New York, and it dawned on me that by " near " she meant their actual distance from London. As a final inducement, I must record that the charabanc has not reached the West, and the. sound of the motor bicyde is unheard. Of what other district in
the British Isles could that now be said ? A. M. W.
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