The Sunny Side of Ireland
J >> John O\'Mahony and R. Lloyd Praeger >> The Sunny Side of Ireland+------------------------------------------------------------+
|Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent spelling of place names |
|are left as in the original. |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
THE SUNNY SIDE
OF
IRELAND.
[Illustration]
Second Edition. Re-written and Enlarged.
THE SUNNY SIDE
OF
IRELAND.
HOW TO SEE IT BY
THE GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN RAILWAY.
BY
JOHN O'MAHONY.
With Seven Maps and over 160 Illustrations.
AND A CHAPTER ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE SOUTH AND WEST OF IRELAND,
BY
R. LLOYD PRAEGER, B.A., B.E., &c.
ALEX. THOM & CO. (LIMITED),
87, 88, & 89, ABBEY STREET,
DUBLIN.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
These pages attempt to make better known the large part of Ireland which
is served by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company, and while
doing so to realise Shakespeare's words:
"An honest tale speeds best being plainly told."
If they succeed in these endeavours, they will satisfy the compiler. No
inexorable route is insisted upon, but no suggestion is stinted which
may help the tourist to enjoy fully the beautiful country he passes
through--and a beautiful country it truly is, be it approached from
Athlone, its north-western gate, by the Shannon, where,
"In the quiet watered land, the land of roses,
Stands Saint Kieran's city fair,"
or from its south-western side, in the kingdom of Kerry, where the ocean
leans against the mountains, and the storm-swept peak of Skellig Michael
makes the most westerly citadel of Christ in the Old World! Everywhere
within its broad borders, swift-rushing rivers, mirror-like lakes, and
mountains tiaraed in the skies, delight the vision and gladden the
heart.
The Gaelic names of places are usually word pictures reflecting with
fidelity the physical features of each place, or "tell sad stories of
the death of kings." Where possible, the equivalents have been given in
English.
With these forewords, nothing further remains but to offer an Irish
welcome--
FAILTE.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
Since "The Sunny Side of Ireland" was issued the Royal Assent has been
given to an Act of Parliament which makes the Great Southern and Western
Railway foremost in every sense amongst Irish Railways. The two
Provinces of Munster and Connaught are now knit together by a huge
network of railway lines comprised in their amalgamated system.
The several counties thus included are dealt with in this Second
Edition. The volume is further enhanced by more particular information
as to the sports and pastimes of the country, and by a valuable chapter
on the Natural History of the South and West of Ireland, by writers of
authority on such subjects.
LIST OF MAPS.
MAP OF THE GREAT SOUTHERN AND
WESTERN RAILWAY AND ITS CONNECTIONS
IN IRELAND 6
MAP SHOWING CONNECTIONS OF THE
GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN
RAILWAY IN GREAT BRITAIN 7
MAP OF DUBLIN CITY 14
MAP OF ENVIRONS OF DUBLIN 15
MAP OF CORK CITY 72
MAP OF ENVIRONS OF CORK 73
PICTORIAL MAP OF KILLARNEY DISTRICT 132
CONTENTS. Page
INTRODUCTION 8
DUBLIN AND DISTRICT--
DUBLIN 15
DUBLIN DISTRICT 24
LIMERICK AND DISTRICT--
LIMERICK 46
LIMERICK DISTRICT 53
THE SHANNON LAKES 67
CORK AND DISTRICT--
CORK 73
CORK DISTRICT 85
THE RIVER BLACKWATER, YOUGHAL, &C. 98
WATERFORD AND DISTRICT 112
KILLARNEY AND GLENGARRIFF 133
LAKES AND FJORDS OF KERRY 175
COUNTY CLARE 221
GALWAY AND DISTRICT 235
CONNEMARA AND SLIGO 245
SUMMER AND WINTER RESORTS 256
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AND WEST OF IRELAND 260
SPORTS--
CYCLING 278
GOLF 291
RIVER FISHING 295
LAKE FISHING 299
SHOOTING 303
INDEX 306
ADVERTISEMENTS 309
Introduction.
Travelling through Ireland in the good old times was at best a
precarious and inconvenient diversion. Those who had to do so regretted
the necessity, and those who had not, praised Providence. Many "persons
of quality," to use Dr. Johnson's phrase, have written narratives of
their adventures and experiences in "the most damnable country." No man
of position, even early in the nineteenth century, would dream of
travelling threescore miles from his residence without having signed and
sealed his last will and testament. The highways were beset by
"Gentlemen of the Road," such as that fascinating felon, "Brennan on the
Moor," of whom the ballad tells--
"A brace of loaded pistols he carried night and day."
The coach roads were dangerous, the stage was deplorable, and everything
but the scenery unpleasant. The interior and west of the country were
connected with Dublin by canals cut in the time of the Irish
Parliament, which followed the enterprise of the Dutch. They were looked
upon at the time as feats of engineering skill, somewhat in the light
that we view the Suez or Panama Canals to-day. Neville, the engineer,
was the recipient of extravagant encomiums from the Lords and Commons,
and his fame is embalmed in a street ballad which sings the praise of--
"Bold Neville,
Who made the streams run level
In that bounding river
Called the Grand Canal."
Nowadays we have changed all that, and Neville and his skill are as
little remembered in Ireland as the military-road cutter in Scotland, of
whom, to show that
[Illustration: G. S. & W. R. Corridor Train.]
Ireland had not the monopoly in "bulls," an English admirer wrote:--
"If you had seen those roads before they
Were made,
You would hold up your hands and bless
General Wade."
A poor Italian boy--Charles Bianconi--who tramped through the country as
a print-seller, was the first, in the days of Waterloo, in the south of
Ireland, to begin really that healthy competition with the mail-coaches
which made straight the way for the Iron Horse.
The Great Southern and Western Railway was incorporated in 1845. Mr.
Under-Secretary Drummond, the English statesman who got closest to the
Irish heart, was identified with the construction of the line.
Year after year the Company prospered and increased, gradually absorbing
the smaller lines adjoining it until the year 1901, when it amalgamated
the only two other systems of broad gauge lines in their district which
had remained independent. Practically the two provinces of Munster and
Connaught are now knit together by the great network of railway lines
which comprise the Great Southern and Western System. The total length
is about 1,100 miles. The main line stretches from Dublin, through Cork,
to Queenstown, forming the route for the American Mails and the great
transatlantic passenger traffic. Branches extend to Waterford, Limerick,
Killarney, and Kerry, and every place of importance in the South of
Ireland, while in the west the line extends from Tralee, through
Limerick, to Sligo. The carriages which the Company provide are of the
very latest design; vestibule corridor trains, with dining and breakfast
cars, are run daily, and the speed of the trains will bear comparison
with any. The journey, Dublin to Cork (165 miles) is performed in four
hours; to Killarney (189 miles) in about fifteen minutes more, and all
the important tourist centres can be reached within a very short time.
The comfort of passengers is well arranged for; refreshment rooms are
provided at the principal stations, and breakfast, luncheon, and tea
baskets can always be had, as well as pillows, rugs, and all the modern
conveniences of travel. Besides all this, the enterprise of the Company
has provided at Killarney, Parknasilla, Kenmare, Caragh Lake, and
Waterville, hotels, which for appearance and luxury, tempered by
economy, are the equals of any in Europe.
[Illustration: Interior of G. S. & W. R. Dining Carriage.]
The scenery of Ireland surpasses the most roseate expectations. Within a
comparatively small compass her scenic beauties include mountains,
lakes, and seas, and it is the good fortune of the Great Southern and
Western Company to have within its borders the finest scenery in the
country. The "Skies of Erin" have been paid tribute to by artists again
and again. Turner said the sun never seemed to set so beautifully
anywhere as in Ireland, and Lady Butler, the well-known painter, has
expressed the opinion that nowhere, except in the valley of the Nile,
does the firmament put forth such varied changes of beauty as in
Ireland. To the Gulf Stream, which strikes the south-western coast,
scientists attribute the mildness of the climate. From Queenstown to
Leenane the coast-line contains countless health resorts, where invalids
may be recommended winter quarters as salubrious as many of the
continental districts.
The sportsman has always found himself at home here. The fine hunting
counties of Kildare, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Waterford are familiar to
every son of Nimrod. Shooting and fishing, although the preserves are
not so many or so well kept as in Scotland, may be called the staple
sports of Ireland. Golf has come to stay, and within recent years links
have been laid in the vicinity of most of the tourist districts.
One word for Irish industries will not be out of place. Ireland has no
industries in the sense in which England has. With the exception of
Belfast, there is no place in the country which approaches to a factory
town in the sense in which that phrase is understood across the channel.
Agriculture, of course, is the backbone of Ireland, and in connection
with it the creamery system of the south may be mentioned. Anyone
anxious to find a line of industry in Ireland which has beaten the Dane
in his own market should visit Cleeves' famous factory at Limerick. The
woollen industry in the country has withstood destructive legislature,
and a typical example of modern success is the great tweed factory of
Morroghs, at Douglas, County Cork. The Blarney tweeds have become a
household word, but Douglas is shouldering them in the keen competition
for public recognition. The great bacon-curing houses of Denny, at
Waterford, are well worth seeing, as is also the thriving wholesome
Co-operative Factory at Tralee. In Dublin the mammoth brewery of
Guinness and Sons can be viewed under the conductorship of a servant of
the firm employed for the sole purpose of showing visitors through the
great concern. But it is the lesser industries in Ireland which are
really attractive. The law of the survival of the fittest stands to
these--the homespuns woven in the cottages, the beautiful Dublin poplin,
the delicate lace of Youghal and Limerick, the exquisite pottery of
Belleek, these good things are beyond compare.
[Illustration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Sackville-street, Dublin.]
Dublin and District.
DUBLIN.
The Tourist too often hurries away from Dublin to the south or west with
but a superficial knowledge of the attractions of the city. It will well
repay a stay, and if the visitor happens to come at Horse Show week he
can easily believe himself sojourning in the capital of one of the
wealthiest countries in Europe. During that short carnival each autumn
the tears are brushed aside, and Erin is all smiles and welcomes for her
guests. The hotels are good, the lodging-houses are clean, and moderate
in price. The restaurants have much improved within recent years.
Readers of Lord Mayo's encouraging articles to would-be Irish tourists
will do well to test his tribute to "The Dolphin" in Essex-street. If
anyone wants to see the ladies of fashion at their tea, Mitchell's in
Grafton-street is a sure find, and the well-equipped D.B.C. tea-houses,
which are established in several parts of the city, will meet the
requirements of moderate purses.
To attempt to mention more than a few of the more important places worth
seeing in this city would be beyond the intention of these pages.
Stretched beneath the beautiful Dublin Mountains the city scatters
itself about the sides of the River Liffey. To get from one place to
another in Dublin is simplicity itself. The electric-tram system is
equal to any in Europe, and excels most in the cheapness of its fares.
The cars run through the principal streets and along the quay sides to
the suburbs. A good view of the city may be had from the top of a tram
on a fine day. Those who wish to suit their own convenience, however,
will always avail themselves of the outside car. The jaunting car is to
Dublin what the gondola is to Venice--at least an imaginative Irish
Member of Parliament has said so, and that settles the matter. When
selecting an "outside" take care that you secure one equipped with a
pneumatic tyre. The Dublin driver is much maligned, he is generally
courteous, and not without humour. The municipal authorities supply him
with a list of fares and distances. He is bound to produce it should any
difficulty arise as to the financial relations, which sometimes happens.
[Illustration: _Photo,, Lawrence, Dublin._ Shelbourne Hotel,
Stephen's-green.]
Dublin was an old fortress of the Danes. They held the whole eastern
seaboard of Ireland until 1014 when Brian Boru defeated them and broke
their power at the battle of Clontarf. Historic remains of the old
city--the Ford of the Hurdles the Irish call it--there are none. The
Danes, the Normans, the Elizabethan, the Cromwellian, the Jacobite, all
made history in Dublin in their day, but the city as it stands is
practically modern. Between the Rotunda, one of the finest maternity
hospitals in the world, and St. Stephen's Green, the beautiful park
presented to the citizens by Lord Ardilaun, the principal buildings in
the city lie. The College Green, however, forms a natural centre from
which to make a short tour. The magnificent portico of the Bank of
Ireland--formerly the Irish House of Parliament--is characterized by
surprising dignity of proportion. Visitors can witness the printing of
bank notes. The Irish House of Lords, which remains unaltered, is an
oblong room with recess for throne at one end. Within may be seen two
valuable Dutch tapestries, the one representing the famous Siege of
Derry, and the second the Battle of the Boyne. Immediately outside "The
Old House at Home," as the historic building is affectionately called by
Irishmen, is a noble statue of Henry Grattan. He was the people's
darling from 1782, when the Volunteers mustered in College-green, up to
1800, when the Act of Union was passed. Behind Grattan stands the old
leaden statue of William III., erected in 1701. This equestrian figure
of "King Billy," as the prince of glorious, pious, and immortal memory
is familiarly known, has been the centre of, in its time, much mischief
and merriment. Up to 1822 His Majesty was annually decorated with orange
ribbons to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. This
party demonstration was always resented by the populace, and King Billy
came in for no end of ill-treatment. However, he has braved the battle
and the breeze.
Turning from the Bank we face the University, in front of which stand
fine bronze statues of its distinguished sons, Edmund Burke and Oliver
Goldsmith. The University, unlike its sisters, Oxford and Cambridge,
contains but a single college--that of the Holy and Undivided
Trinity--founded by Adam Loftus in Elizabeth's reign. Visitors to the
College should be shown the chapel halls, museum, and library, and grand
quadrangles, including Lever's notorious "Botany Bay." While in the
library the world-famous "Book of Kells" may be inspected, and the
enduring qualities of its marvellous illuminations admired. The College
park is very beautiful, and during the College races at midsummer
presents quite a gala sight.
[Illustration: _Photo,, Lawrence, Dublin._ Dublin Castle.]
In Dame-street most of the Irish banks have their offices. At the end of
the street furthest from the College is the City Hall. The building was
originally the Royal Exchange, but in the middle of the nineteenth
century it was handed over to the Dublin Corporation. The Corinthian
columns which form the portico are very handsome. The entrance is
modern, the older structure having given way in "the troubled times,"
while a crowd of citizens were beguiling the time watching a public
whipping of a malefactor from the steps. The centre hall is crowned with
a decorated dome. The hall contains statues of O'Connell,
Under-Secretary Drummond, Grattan, and Dr. Lucas, a publicist in
eighteen-century Dublin. The Council Chamber is well furnished, and some
of the portraits of former Lords Mayor are very fine. Immediately behind
the City Hall is Dublin Castle, far from being the imposing structure
those familiar with its history may suppose. The Lower Castle Yard is
entered from Palace-street. It contains the Birmingham Tower, a modern
structure replacing the fortress, some of the walls of which still
stand, from which the fiery Red Hugh O'Donel, Prince of Tyrone, escaped.
The Castle Chapel is beside the Tower, and permission to visit it is
easily obtained. Among the things of interest in the chapel are the
emblazoned arms of all the Irish viceroys. The wood work throughout is
Irish oak, and there are ninety heads in marble to represent the
sovereigns of England. St. Patrick's Hall, the Throne-room, and the Long
Drawing-room are the most important of the State apartments. While in
the vicinity of the Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral should be visited.
Founded so long ago as 1190, this cathedral, dedicated to the Apostle of
Ireland, has had a chequered history. Mostly Early English in
architecture, modern styles have been grafted on the building without
consistency or unity of ideal. The monuments are many. Dean Swift's
bears an inscription written by himself and breathing the hatred of
oppression and love of liberty characteristic of the writer--
"Hic depositum est corpus
JONATHAN SWIFT, s. t. d.
Hujus Ecclesiae Cathedralis Decani
Ubi saeva indignatio
Ulterius cor lacerare nequit
Abe Viator
Et imitare si poteris
Strenuum, pro virili,
Libertatis vindicatorem,
Obiit 19 deg. die mensis Octobris, A.D. 1745,
Anno Aetatis 78."
Hard by is a white marble slab in memory of her whose name must be for
ever associated with that of Swift--"Stella." Ten minutes' walk through
Patrick-street will bring one from St. Patrick's to the most interesting
ecclesiastical structure in Dublin--Christ Church Cathedral. An old
Danish foundation, fire and time laid hands upon the original
building. Its restoration is a triumph of architectural genius in the
reproduction of thirteenth-century English Gothic. Strongbow's tomb is
the famous monument of the place. The Crypt contains, besides other
antiquities, the old City stocks, which is some three centuries old.
Other places worth seeing in the city are the Four Courts, the Custom
House, the Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough-street, St. Michan's Church and
Churchyard, and the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Gardiner-street. The
general architecture in the streets is incongruous, and the modern
"improvements" not always desirable. In the back streets here and there
the quaint gables as old as Queen Anne still survive, but the Dutch
houses have almost entirely, and the Cage houses have entirely,
disappeared.
[Illustration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Custom House, Dublin.]
Leinster Lawn, or the Duke's Lawn, as the man in the street in Dublin
still calls it, contains, among other attractions, the National Gallery,
Museum, and Public Library. These are store houses of treasure. The
catalogue of the Gallery reveals a valuable collection of paintings, and
the Museum contains an unique exhibition of gold, silver, and bronze
ornaments, collars, brooches, shields, clasps, and spears, which were
found from time to time throughout Ireland, and are evidence of her
former civilization. The Royal Irish Academy, in Dawson-street,
possesses a rich collection of ancient Irish manuscript.
[Illustration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ National Library, Dublin. Four
Courts, Dublin.]
The cemeteries of Dublin are small, except Glasnevin. A drive through
the Phoenix Park will bring one by the embanked river or through the
northern side of the city. An inquisitive tourist asked an Irish driver
why the Park was so called, when there was no such bird ever in the
world. "Sure that's the reason," said the driver. "Sure there's no such
Park in the world either." Lord Chesterfield put up a column with a
Phoenix in the Park, but of old its name was Parc-na-Fionniake (the
field of the clear water). It lies on the northern bank of the river
celebrated by Sir Samuel Ferguson:--
"Delicious Liffey, from the bosoming-hills
What man who sees thee issuing strong and pure
But with some wistful, fresh emotion fills,
Akin to nature's own sweet temperature;
And haply thinks:--On this green bank 'twere sweet
To make one's mansion sometime of the year,
For health and pleasure on these uplands meet,
And all the Isle's amenities are here."
Long ago the St. John's Hospitallers had their house at Kilmainham, and
the lands belonging to the Order lay about either side of the stream.
The Hospice is now the Old Man's House--an Asylum for Disabled Soldiers,
designed by Sir Christopher Wren--and possesses one of the finest halls
in Europe. The lands have been built over at Inchicore, and on the other
side of the river formed into the Phoenix Park, containing close on
two thousand acres, and bounded by a circumference of seven miles. The
Park contains the lodges of the Viceroy and the Chief Secretary for
Ireland, and the monuments to Lord Gough, Lord Carlisle, and the
"overgrown milestone," as the obelisk to the Duke of Wellington has been
called. The People's Gardens have been laid out with great taste, but
they cannot compare with the natural beauty of the Furze Glen with its
deep shade and silent lake. Visitors in the summer time should not fail
to drive from Knockmaroon gate, beside the Liffey, to "The Strawberry
Beds." Here, in the season, delicious fruit, fresh from the gardens, and
rich cream, can be had in most of the cottages beside the road.
DUBLIN DISTRICT.
[Illustration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Round Tower and Church at
Clondalkin.]
The country in the immediate vicinity of Dublin contains much that is
picturesque. The scenery along the coast has in general been already
referred to. But Killiney, Bray, and Howth, if time permits, should be
visited. The train and tram facilities are sufficient. Wicklow County
has been called the Garden of Erin, and on no account should a visit to
Glendalough or "The Meeting of the Waters" in the Vale of Avoca be
deferred. But those who wish to speed on to the south or west will do so
from the Kingsbridge Terminus. From here we pass through Inchicore, the
busy thriving hive of industry, where the Great Southern and Western
Railway have their engineering works. The first station we come to is
that of ~Clondalkin~. The old village sits snuggled up at the foot of
its round tower, which is one of the best specimens of that early
architecture in Ireland, of which the poet says:
"Two favourites hath Time--the Pyramids of Nile
And the old mystic temples of our own dear Isle."
[Illustration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Salmon Leap, Lucan.]
[Illustration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Castletown House.]
[Illustration: _Photo, Roche, Dublin._ Carton House, Maynooth.]
Irish antiquaries for generations have squabbled over these famous
"Pillar Towers of Ireland," but the general trend of scientific opinion
is that they are of early Christian origin. Father Matt Horgan, a famous
Munster antiquary, humorously started the theory that they were built to
puzzle posterity, which they have very successfully done. ~Lucan~ is a
health resort, possessing a sulphur spa, and situated in a well-wooded
country above the Liffey. The Hydropathic stands well sheltered and
commanding a splendid view. The drives in the district are many, and the
antiquarian will find much of interest. In Lord Annaly's demesne are the
remains of an early Norman castle, and in the vicinity is an ancient
Rath and souterraine. The drive to the Salmon Leap, at Leixlip, should
not be missed. Near by is ~Castletown~, the palatial mansion of the
Connolly family, and a grotesque structure known as "Connolly's Folly,"
which was built in the time of the famine of "Black '47" to give
employment. Here, too, the great Dean of St. Patrick's beguiled his time
at "The Abbey," the home of Esther Vanhomrigh, the "Vanessa" of his
strange life. From Lucan Maynooth may be reached. Here is St. Patrick's
National College for the education of priests for the Catholic Church,
originally founded on a Government grant. "Carton House," in the
vicinity, is the residence of the Dukes of Leinster. It is surrounded by
beautiful parks, well planted, among the trees the royal oaks, for which
Kildare was celebrated, being conspicuous. ~Straffan~ may be called a
"hunting village," as the meets of the famous "Killing Kildares" most
usually take place in its neighbourhood. Here, too, are the seats of
Lords Cloncurry and Mayo. The thriving market town of ~Naas~ is two
miles from Sallins, and is the railway station for Punchestown, the
great steeplechase meeting of the Kildare Hunt. Long centuries ago it
was an historic spot--"Naas of the Kings." From the station may be seen
the Hill of Allen, rising like a sentinel on the mearings of the "Great
Plain of Ireland." ~Harristown~, the second station on a branch line, is
about three miles from Poulaphouca Waterfall. The road to the Falls
leads through the picturesque village of Ballymore-Eustace, situated on
a bank at a bend in the river Liffey. The view from the river below the
Falls is very impressive. Tullow is the terminus of this branch of the
line. It is a good business town, and the river Slaney affords excellent
trout fishing. Within half-an-hour's walk from Sallins is Bodenstown
Churchyard, where Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of the United Irish
Organisation of 1798, is buried. He was the most desperate man who ever
crossed the path of the English Government in Ireland. "The most
extraordinary man I ever met," is the verdict of the Duke of Wellington.
"He went to France with but one hundred guineas in his pocket, and
induced Bonaparte, by his single unaided efforts, to send three
armaments to Ireland." Six and twenty miles from Dublin, the town of
~Newbridge~ exists as a kind of aide-de-camp to the Commissariat
Department of the ~Curragh Camp~. The Curragh, a great plain over twelve
miles square, was once a common, the property of the Geraldine tenants,
but the Crown quietly seized upon it, and "their right there is none to
dispute." It has been made a camp of instruction, and can accommodate,
under more or less permanent cover, ten thousand men. It is in a good
fox-hunting, sporting country, "the country of the short grass," and
several times a year is the scene of race meetings. It is the Newmarket
of Ireland, for here are the training stables for Punchestown,
Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Baldoyle, and all the lesser meetings in the
Green Isle, and many of the greater ones across the water. The Curragh
was the scene of more than one battle in centuries past, and, like Tara,
was one of the historic places chosen in the minds of the insurgents of
Ninety-eight as an ideal mustering point. The Curragh District Golf Club
has been formed by the military stationed there. ~Kildare~, some thirty
miles from Dublin, is the junction for the Kilkenny branch of the line.
The town is very old, being, in the early Christian era, a cell of St.
Bride, a patroness of Ireland. The ancient cathedral has been partly
rebuilt, and in the south transept is the vault of the Earls of Kildare,
progenitors of the Leinster line. These Geraldines were the most famous
of the Norman invaders: