The following letter, published in New York Mirror on June 30, 1838, offers a firsthand account of a journey through Ireland during the 19th century. Written from Dublin, the letter details the writer’s travels from Killarney to Limerick and onward to Dublin, providing vivid descriptions of the landscape, towns, and social conditions encountered along the way. Through observations on local architecture, noble estates, and the struggles of Irish tenants under absentee landlords. The New York Mirror was a weekly journal dedicated to literature and the fine arts.
New York Mirror
Dublin June 13th, 1838
We left Killarney at an early hour in the mail-car for Limerick, a distance of fifty Irish miles. The mail-car was similar to one of the ordinary jaunting-cars, although somewhat larger, and drawn by two horses; being an open, two-wheeled vehicle, with seats on either side, about two feet from the ground. The passengers sit with their backs to each other, the space intervening between the seats is occupied by the luggage.
We passed through several small towns, very similar in character, and containing nothing of interest. The principal were Castle Island, Abbeyfeale, New Castle, Rathkeale, and Adare; near the latter are the estates of Lord Adare, who has rather a picturesque-looking castle. There are several fine ruins in the vicinity, but as we were constantly en route, we had not an opportunity of visiting them.
We drove into Limerick at three, p.m., and took lodgings at the principal hotel in the New Town. Limerick is divided into three parts, which are known by the names of English Town, Irish Town, and New Town. The former contains the cathedral, an antiquated pile of Gothic architecture, surrounded by the tombs of noble families, many of which are of great antiquity.
Irish Town is principally occupied by the lower orders. The modern part of Limerick (New Town) is inhabited by the wealthier classes; the streets are regular, and the houses, which are mostly of brick, display much neatness and taste; in many respects it reminds me of Philadelphia. The Park is a fine promenade, and contains a column erected in honour of Spring Rice.
The next morning we took a jaunting-car and rode to Mount Shannon, the seat of the earl of Clare, a few miles from Limerick. The grounds are in fine order, and handsomely laid out, but the mansion will not compare with many we have before seen. We were shown through its various apartments; the library is a large room, and contains many rare and valuable works, also some busts by Canavo. In one of the apartments is a full-length portrait of the late earl of Clare, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
The present earl seldom visits Mount Shannon. We were informed by one of his dependents, that he had known him to be absent for five years at a time. Most of the Irish nobility reside constantly in England, trusting the management of their estates to stewards, who are often obliged to oppress the poor tenants, to answer the exorbitant demands of their masters. The money thus obtained is squandered in England, or upon the continent. In this manner is Ireland impoverished?
On our return from Mount Shannon we again visited the cathedral, and ascended to its battlements, from where we obtained a bird’s eye view of the city and the surrounding country. We also visited the custom-house, and other objects of interest, among which is an old stone bridge, crossing the Shannon, the scene of a desperate battle in the time of King John.
We left on the ensuing morning in the mail-coach for Dublin. The country between Limerick and Dublin is in a high state of cultivation, but the scarcity of trees detract much from the beauty of the scenery.
The author of this New York bound letter is not named in the New York Mirror article.
Today, Mount Shannon House is a ruin, having been destroyed by fire in an arson attack in 1920.
