i899-i9°o«] 529 



in natural history by members of the Club. At the close of the 

 formal meeting the party returned by the Ballyemon Glen 

 Roads to Parkmore, where an improvised tea was enjoyed 

 before the train's departure for Belfast. The thoughtful 

 courtesy and generous kindness of the railway staff added much 

 to the pleasure and complete success of the day. 



24 June. 

 DU N DRUM. 



The third field meeting of the session was held at Dundrum 

 Castle, and was attended by a large number of members and 

 friends, whose explorations on the occasion proved what an 

 amount of interest can be thrown into an afternoon ramble. 

 The formal meeting was held on the top of the donjon keep, 

 and was presided over by the President of the Club. After the 

 election of members and transaction of some formal business, 

 one of the members gave a description of the main geological 

 features of the district, embracing volcanic, metamorphic, sedi- 

 mentary, and seolian rocks. From the castle keep of Ruray's 

 Fort there is a commanding view of the bay, anciently known 

 as Lough Ruray, frequently referred to in the earliest annals, 

 and the scene around which were enacted many of the most 

 important historical events of early Ireland, and about which 

 modern writers have had many a wordy contest, particularly 

 about the reputed landing of St. Patrick, as described in the 

 "Book of Armagh," compiled about a.d. 807, and other ancient 

 writings. 



Serious conflicts of opinion have originated owing to the 

 vague topographical references in the early lives of the saint. 

 Some writers contend that Patrick landed in Dundrum Bay, 

 while others maintain that he landed in Strangford Lough. 

 The late J. W. Hanna, of Downpatrick, published a paper 

 on this subject some forty years ago, in which he balances the 



