IRISH WHITE FISHERIES. 319 



fpringing up, they made fail, and in a few hours faw 

 the land on the north-weft coaft of Ireland. 



" Lieutenant Grasme, in his cruife along the weft 

 coaft of Ireland, in the year 1766, (as I think) by- 

 order of the Lords Commiffioners of Admiralty, 

 founded on a bank, which extends 25 or 30 leagues 

 weftward from the coaft, between the river Shannon 

 and Sline Head; the depth on it he found to be from 

 45 to 80 fathoms, for the moft part fand and final I 

 ftones, but along the weft and north fides of it 

 deepening fuddenly to 92 and 100 fathoms, and then 

 no bottom. It does not appear by his journal that 

 he tried to catch fifh on this bank. The extent of 

 Mr. Grime's fearch northward was no further than 

 the parallel of Broad Haven in Mayo, fo that he had 

 no opportunity of difcovering any fhoals weftward or 

 north-weft of Tory ifland, nor had he weather at all 

 fit for the purpofe he was fent on, being too late in 

 the year. 



c * In the year 1769, when Mr. Murdoch M c Kenzie, 

 in the (loop Bird, was taking views of the weft coaft 

 of Ireland, about the diftance of from three to feven 

 leagues from the land, wherever there was an oppor- 

 tunity of trying to catch fifh, they found them, par- 

 ticularly off the iflands of Inifh Shank and Boffin in 

 Mayo, where happening to be becalmed, the crew 

 caught cod, ling, and holly, one or other of them 

 almoft as often as their lines could be letdown. 



" At Broad Haven in Mayo, the people have a 

 general perfuafion that there is a Milting bank 20 

 or 30 leagues weftward of their coaft, and affirm 

 that they have fcen feveral {hips mafters who have 

 taken fiih there. The like perfuafion prevails of a 

 fifhing bank off Malbay, in the county of Clare. 

 About fix or eight leagues S. W. from the ifland 

 Durfey, at the S. W. point of Ireland, there is a 

 fhoal called the Lock, on which feveral fifhing fhips 

 from Kinfale take abundance of ling every year, from 



the 



