64 Scenery and Antiquities of 



opening of new lines of railway and the erection of comfortable 

 and commodious hotels in the centres where the best scenery is 

 situated. Tourists and visitors in search of health, possessed 

 of moderate means, can visit these hitherto exclusive districts 

 at a comparatively small outlay. The railway from Galway to 

 Clifden has opened up the district of Connemara. The exten- 

 sion of the railway from Westport to Mallarany and the Sound 

 of Achill has made that island quite accessible with all its 

 wealth of cliff and mountain scenery, and its invigorating 

 breezes fresh drawn from the Atlantic. Further south the West 

 Clare Railway opens up in County Clare a most charming and 

 interesting district — viz., Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, and Kil- 

 kee. The hotel and golf links at Lahinch, overlooking Lis- 

 canor Bay, are attracting quite a crowd of tourists. Nature 

 has made Kilkee one of the finest, if not the very finest, 

 watering-places in Europe, where the great Atlantic rolls in 

 on its gently-sloping silver strand or dashes with thundering 

 force on its huge cliffs, carrying spray and foam upwards over 

 their topmost summit to be carried landward on the gale for 

 miles. County Clare is comparatively unknown to North of 

 Ireland people. It lies away in the South-West, out of the 

 beaten track of travellers, and until quite recently was most 

 difficult of access. Since the opening of the Balfour railways 

 this remote district has become much better known. Lis- 

 doonvarna, in North Clare, is noted for its sulphur, iron, and 

 magnesia n spa, which is said to equal any in England. We 

 can reach these places by various routes— by rail from Athenry 

 to Ennis, and thence by the narrow guage to Kilkee, or to 

 Ennistymon and thence by coach to Lisdoonvarna. I went 

 straight, via Galway, thence across the bay by steamer to 

 Ballyvaughan, and public car, fare one shilling. The steamer 

 goes three days a week, and it is the most direct route. From 

 Lisdoonvarna to Ennistymon is nine miles, fare by public car 

 IS 6d ; you can take train from thence to Kilkee, or stop at 

 Lahinch for the golf Unks. In July last I spent a week at 

 Lisdoonvarna with the Royal Society ot Antiquaries, who held 



