270 



IRELA.ND. 



Mun- 



flare. 



KutUtb* In tlie description of thi coast, we shall begin with 

 ' the province of Munster, proceeding by the south nncl 

 MSt cottll , tne nor i|| point of the island. The coast 

 of the county of Clare, extends from Galway Bay to 

 the Shannon ; in this extent there are several bays, 

 but none of them form a good harbour. The mouth 

 of the Shannon is formed by two promontories ; that 

 on the north is culled Cape Leane, or Loupshead ; that 

 on the south l!;dlyleigh, or Kerryhead. On the Ker- 

 ry side, about 2.5 miles from the sea, lies the Tarbet, a 

 small but very safe and commodious bay, behind a lit- 

 tle island. Without the mouth of the river, round 

 Kt-rrvhcad, there is a large body of water, one side of 

 which is called Hallyleigh, and the other Tralee Bay. 

 NVar this part of the coast are many sand hills, formed 

 by the wind, and on some parts the sea gains rapidly: 

 other parts of this coast- present to view some of the 

 highest mountains in Ireland. The peninsula of Din- 

 gle is of great height, and behind it rises Brandon hill, 

 a noted land-mark, 2250 feet high. Brandon Bay de- 

 rives its name from this hill : many of the clifts that 

 line this part of the shore, are worn into deep and ex- 

 tensive caverns. On the east is flat low land, off which 

 are seven small islands called the Hogs. On the north 

 side of the peninsula of Dingle, is the harbour of Smeer- 

 wick, corrupted from St. Mary Wick's Bay; it lies 

 from north to south, is deep and sheltered from all 

 winds but north and north-west. Between this har- 

 bour and Ferreter Cove the land is low, and has been 

 much covered with sand by the sea and wind. Dun- 

 morehead is the west point of the peninsula of Dingle, 

 as well as of Europe : off it lies the Blasquet Islands, 

 12 in number; the largest of which is a great moun- 

 tain, three miles long, and one broad : tradition re- 

 ports that it was formerly joined to the mainland. The 

 sound between it and the mainland is of great depth, 

 occasioned probably by the currents of both ebb and 

 flood setting through it with great rapidity. Fintry 

 Bay is open, and much exposed to southerly winds : 

 half a league to the east of Fintry, lies Dingle harbour, 

 six leagues deep and four wide ; the entrance is scarce- 

 ly a quarter of a mile broad ; the depth of water is 

 30 feet, and it is landlocked from all winds. The isle 

 of Valencia lies on the south side of it. The rocks 

 called the Skelligs lie to the south-west of this island, 

 and 12 miles from the mainland; they are merely 

 rocks : the great Skellig rises in two pyramids of naked 

 grit-stone, united by a space of three acres of flat 

 ground. Kenmore river is an inlet of the sea, ten 

 leagues long and three broad at the entrance. 



We come next to the shores of the county of Cork. 

 Dursey island, off the south point of the entrance of 

 Bantry Bay. Kenmore, is four miles long and one broad. Bantry 

 Bay forms one of the most secure and capacious har- 

 bours in the world, being nine leagues long and two 

 broad, and surrounded by stupendously high rocky 

 shores, with few intervals of beach ; nearly in the mid- 

 dle is Bear-island, six miles long, rugged and barren, 

 but forming between it and the north shore the har- 

 bour of Bearhaven, fit for the largest fleets. At head 

 of the bay is Whiddy island, also forming an excellent 

 harbour. On the west side of Bear-island, the pas- 

 sage between it and the mainland is about one mile 

 the passage on the east is something broader : 

 immediately before the island there is from ten to six 

 fathom water, in the east passage from thirty to forty; 

 and further up the bay, near the iele of Whiddy, from 

 ifteen to twenty.five. Between the south side of this 

 island and the mainland, is the road for ships, with a 



Cork. 



dopth of from twenty-four to forty feet. The tides Stntisiie 

 move very gently in and out through the whole bay. ^"""Y"^ 

 Dumnanus Bay is separated from that of Bantry by a 

 peninsula, of which Sheepshead <js the promontory; 

 the south point of the bay is formed by Three-Castle- 

 bcad ; this bay runs far up into the country, and is 

 c.i>v of entrance. The promontory which forms its 

 wjst side terminates in a kind of half-moon, of which 

 Three- Castle- head makes one point, and Mizenhead 

 the other; the latter is the south-west point of the 

 mainland of Ireland, and hence received the name of 

 Notum from Ptolemy. A little within this lies Crook- 

 haven, which in any other country except Ireland, and 

 even in Ireland, in any other of its counties except 

 Cork, would be deemed an admirable p\>rt; it is land- 

 locked on every side, with an easy outlet, good anchor* 

 ing ground, and a depth cf three fathoms at low water. 

 From the Mizenhead to Cape Clear, the course is east 

 by north four leagues. This Cape is an island of the 

 same name, and forms the most southern point of Ire- 

 land ; it is three miles long and one broad. East from 

 this Cape lies the peninsula of Baltimore, which forms 

 one side of a spacious bay, in which there are many in- 

 lets and little ports. The coast to the eastward pre- 

 sents Castlehaven harbour, about half a mile across ; 

 the channel bold and deep, with a depth of water from 

 thirteen to thirty feet; the harbour of Ross, now 

 nearly filled up with sand ; and Court Macsherry, a 

 harbour, which has also suffered from the accumulation 

 of the sand. Corkhead and Poorhead, a steep high 

 promontory, are the two extremities of* a bay, in the 

 middle of which is the entrance to Cork harbour ; this, 

 which is one of the most capacious and secure in Ire- 

 land, opens, from an entrance about a mile in width, to 

 a fine basin, in which are three islands that break the 

 force of the winds and tides, and render it more se- 

 cure. The sea has evidently encroached on the coast 

 near Youghall, the beach at low water.mark being a 

 bog covered with sea-sand, under which are found the 

 remains of trees. The extent of the sea-coast of the 

 county of Waterford, which from Ardmore Head to WaterforJ 

 Hook Tower, is about 12 leagues, is' in fact a spacious 

 bay. The coast is mountainous, presenting to view 

 the highlands of Dungarvon, Cappoquin, and Knock, 

 andown. On this coast there are no inlets or har- 

 bours of moment. Above the bay of Tramore lies, 

 what is called the Strand of Tramore, containing about 

 2000 acres. 



The province of Leinster has 30 leagues of sea Leinstcr. 

 coast, but is deficient in good harbours. Between 

 Wexford and Dublin bay, the coast is lined by dan- 

 gerous banks, particularly off Athlone. The limits of 

 Dublin Bay are Dalkey island on the south, and the 

 peninsula of Howth on the north, the distance between 

 them being six miles. The south shore rises like an 

 amphitheatre towards the lofty mountains of VVicklow; 

 the north shore is lower and more level. The bay is 

 exposed to the east. To the north of the peninsula of 

 Howth, at the north point of Dublin bay, is the island 

 called Ireland's Eye. The county of East Meath has 

 but four miles of sea-coast, and no port. Drogheda 

 bay, which in fact is the mouth of the Boyne, lies be- 

 tween the counties of East Meath and Louth. The 

 broad open bay of Dundalk, may, when it is high wa- 

 ter, be regarded as a harbour, but when the tide is out 

 it is absolutely dry. Lough Carlin gford is a deep inlet, 

 dividing not only the counties of Louth and Down, but 

 also the provinces of Leinster and Ulster. On both sides 

 of its entrance there are dangerous rocks, but it is well 



