370 THE SEA FISHERIES OF IRELAND. 



allow room for any finer feelings, which, in the absence of education, and ot 

 wealth, it might be unreasonable to expect. 



It is curious how little real history there is of these times ; but, besides a 

 stray note, such as the above, the impress of the Spanish type on the people 

 in some parts of the West, the legends that hang about the sites of the 

 permanent Spanish fishing establishments, the foundations of a pier still 

 called by the people a " Spanish pier," and such like indications, give us 

 some idea of this period of great fishing activity. 



In the reign of Charles I. the Dutch were granted a licence to use the 

 Irish fisheries on payment of ^^30,000, and in 1650 a similar licence was 

 granted to Sweden. 



In the seventeenth century among the chief fishers of the Irish coast 

 were the French. One of many places where the French established 

 themselves was Portrush, now famous for its golf links : — " The Bretons 

 came every season thither for dogfish and rays, which, being well handled, 

 are a very great commodity in Spain, especially in the Condado. The rays, 

 likewise, sell well in the river of Nantes." Rays are still a commodity at 

 Portrush and Portstewart, but the taste for dog-fish awaits revival. Fishing 

 vessels from Yarmouth also came to the Irish coast, looking for cod, ling, 

 and herrings, and English merchants cured thousands of barrels of herrings 

 on the coasts from Wexford to Kinsale for export to the Continent. 



On the whole, these were, for fishermen, troubled times, as " pecharoons," 

 or pirates, continuously infested the coast, making their headquarters at 

 Leamcon, in West Cork ; while in time of war the Dutch fleets held com- 

 mand of the seas, and Anglo-Irish merchants wrote in vain to the English 

 Government for protection of convoys, which the King was unable to give. 



As far back as the fifth year of Edward IV. attempts were made to 

 profit by this foreign fishing by Flemings and others by putting a tax of 

 I3J-. A^d. on every foreign fishing vessel of over six tons, or large enough to 

 carry a small boat, and 2s. for every boat less than that size that visited the 

 Irish coast. These were small craft" to come from foreign ports ; but the 

 terras of the Act points to their having done so. " An office was erected " 

 for the collection of these dues. Queen Elizabeth conferred the right of 

 collecting them on a faithful servant and an intelligent leaseholder, under 

 this title, in the following reign, attempted to exact the tax from English 

 vessels, which naturally led to an outcry on their part. They appealed to 

 the King, who thereupon ruled that the law should not apply to any of His 

 Majesty's subjects. 



During intervals of peace the Hollanders strengthened their position on 

 the coasts of Ireland, and went so far as to attempt the purchase of the 

 port of Galway. The price said to have been offered was as many coins 

 as, placed side by side, would cover the quays. The King accepted the 

 ofter, provided the coins were placed on edge. This terminated the nego- 

 tiations. With more congenial excitements, such as Tyrone's Rebellion 

 and Civil War, it seemed difficult to get the Irish to interest themselves in 

 fishing. No doubt " the trade," so well understood by the foreigners, and 

 by the English, which enabled them to turn the products of the fishery into 

 money value, was quite unknown to the native Irish. The want of business 

 instincts so often bemoaned in Ireland was then far greater than in our 

 time, while the Hollanders were the most skilful traders that the world has 

 ever produced. In these times Scotch fishermen fished for herrings in 

 Publin Bay, and Sir John Temple states that in 1641, 500 of the Scotchmen 



