ON AGRICULTURE TO IRELAND 45 



human shape," and his work — we are quoting from the Press of 

 the time — was " Hellish," They were accused of forcing young 

 women to emigrate and destroying industry. A co-operative 

 creamery was well on the way to be started at Eathkeale. A 

 local solicitor found that the Society was unpolitical and un- 

 sectarian. He declared that Rathkeale was a Nationalist town, 

 Nationalist to the backbone, and that every pound of butter 

 made at the creamery must be made on Nationalist principles 



SIR HORACE PLUNKETT 



or not made at all. That upset the ' Rathkeale creamery. On 

 another occasion, the construction of a creamery was abandoned 

 because the water to the creamery passed through a conduit lined 

 witii cement purchased from a man who occupied a farm from 

 which another man had been evicted. Tiiese incidents give a fair 

 idea of the kind of material upon which Sir Horace and his 

 associates had to work, and the extraordinary objections which 

 they had to meet. Mr Anderson has told us that he often 

 despaired of ever being able to accomplish anything, but Sir 

 Horace's perseverance and optimism kept them pegging on, and 



