3 6 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



own industry ; their shoes were of untannecl hide, and were so suitable for 

 the rocky surface of the island that I was always glad to substitute a pair of 

 them for my boots. The hides for making shoes were bought in Galway, and 

 cost about £1 each. A patch of osiers belonged to each house, and the 

 weaving of baskets was a household occupation. The preparation of kelp was 

 another industry common to all ; most householders possessed a few sheep, 

 a cow, a mare, or a donkey, and some pigs ; the pigs and the surplus offspring 

 of the other live stock were exported. 1 The great range of activities required 

 for all these occupations made the islanders alert and resourceful beyond any 

 experience of mine in other places. During one of my visits a " slip " was 

 a-building to make better provision for the launching and landing of the 

 curachs. For this work the Congested Districts' Board supplied a foreman, 

 cement, and tools. The dressing and laying of the stone were done by the 

 islanders, whom I saw at work with mallet and cold chisel as if they had 

 never known any occupation but that of stonecutters. The contrast in economic 

 history between Inishmaan and Clare Island explains how the one island has 

 been able to maintain a population hardly, if at all, less than it was when the 

 population of Ireland was at its maximum ; while the other island, nearly four 

 times as populous in 1841, has at present almost exactly the same number of 

 families as Inishmaan. 



In Inishmaan, as in Clare Island, every outstanding feature of the coast- 

 line bears a distinctive name ; but the maintenance of the fishing industry 

 keeps these names in constant use. I was fortunate enough in Clare Island 

 to find a guide who was born before the Great Famine, Padraic Mhac Thuathail, 

 born in Inishturk, but brought up from infancy in Clare Island ; hale and 

 active in mind and body, keenly observant, courteous, and eager to assist me. 

 He is one of the best speakers of Irish that I have met, and a good 

 speaker of English, too. In both languages he deliberately chooses the words 

 and phrasing to suit his thought, as a poet or a good orator does, instead of 

 using the ossified phraseology which is customary with most people. It is 

 probable that many of the places named by him could no longer be named by 

 many of the islanders. Indeed I was told by others that only he and one 

 other man could be found to supply me with the correct place-names. 



Professor Wilson has called attention to the situation of the Clare Island 

 homesteads which, at first observation, seems to bespeak a degree of 

 indifference to the fishing industry, since they are not placed so as to give the 

 best access to the sea. The situation of the homesteads in Inishmaan is 

 somewhat similar, though all the men and grown-up youths are engaged in 



1 The cultivation and manufacture of flax, however, were only remembered by the oldest 

 inhabitants. 



