Templepatrick

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

TEMPLEPATRICK, a parish, partly in the barony of Lower, but chiefly in that of Upper Belfast, County Antrim, four miles from Antrim.

This place is said to have derived its name from a preceptory of Knights Templars established here at a very early period, but of its foundation or its history nothing is recorded.

The parish, in form nearly triangular, comprising also within its limits the ancient parishes of Carngrany, Ballymartin, and Umgall, was granted, in the reign of JAMES I, to Sir Arthur Chichester, and afterwards regranted to Roger Norton.

At the hamlet of Dunadry, "the middle fortress," one mile from Templepatrick, a sharp action took place in 1648 between the English and Scottish forces, in which the celebrated Owen O'Connolly, who commanded the former, was mortally wounded.

The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance Survey, 13,261½ acres, a considerable proportion of which is mountain land, though affording good pasturage for sheep; there is but a small tract of bog, scarcely yielding sufficient fuel for the use of the inhabitants.

The system of agriculture is beginning to improve under the auspices of Lord Templetown, the proprietor, who has subdivided the larger townlands, increased the size of the farms, drained and brought into cultivation great quantities of wasteland, laid out the whole valley from the castle to the river Sixmilewater as lawn and pasture ground, upon which large numbers of cattle are fed, planted a great number of trees, and whitethorn hedges, and made many other improvements.

Near the village is the venerable mansion of Castle Upton, formerly called Norton Castle, after Sir Robert Norton, by whom it was founded in the reign of ELIZABETH I, and now the seat of the Viscount Templetown: it occupies the site of the ancient preceptory, and is in the castellated style of architecture; it is at present being restored from the partial dilapidations it had suffered from time to time.

The weaving of linen and calico, and the making of hosiery are carried on in several of the farmhouses, supplied with limestone raised on the spot; there are also numerous quarries of basaltic stone, which is obtained in abundance.

Though there are fairs in the parish, two of the largest in the country are held on its borders, one at Parkgate, a mile to the north, and the other at Oldstone, two miles to the west.

This parish appears to have been one of the earliest Presbyterian settlements in Ireland; on the introduction of a Scottish colony into Ulster, Josias Welsh, grandson of the Scottish reformer, John Knox, is said to have obtained possession of the church, from which he was ejected in 1631 by the Bishop of Down and Connor, for nonconformity; he was, however, reinstated by Archbishop Ussher, and died in 1634.

The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Donegall, in whom the rectory is impropriate: the tithes amount to £365, of which £70 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the Vicar.

There was no church from the time of the Reformation till 1827, when the present church, a small edifice with a tower at the west end, was erected on an elevated site, at an expense of £830, a gift from the Board of First Fruits.

There are three places of worship for Presbyterians.

There are four National Schools, situated at Lyle's Hill, Ballypalady, Ballyutoag, and Mallusk; and a school at Carngrany, founded in 1811 by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity, and partly supported by them, and partly by the Hon Colonel E W Pakenham.

Of the ancient preceptory nothing remains except what is included within the walls of Castle Upton (the crypt under which is in a perfect state, and the finely groined roof in good preservation), and the cemetery of the ancient temple church, in which are the tomb of the Rev Josias Welsh, and the mausoleum of the Templetown family.

Carn Greine, near Roughfort, County Antrim (Green Collection/NMNI)

In a field at a short distance from the mail road to Antrim is Cairn Grania, a remarkably fine monument of antiquity: it consists of ten large tabular stones, supported on upright pillars in the manner of a cromlech, but ranged in a straight line of 41 feet in length in a direction from north-east to south-west; the stone at the north-eastern extremity is rather low, and every succeeding one increases in elevation towards the south-western extremity, where the tabular stone is of very large dimensions and supported on five upright pillars.

Various conjectures have been entertained as to the origin of this interesting relic; the name literally implies "the Heap of the Sun."

Not far from this heap is one of the mounds or forts so frequently found in this country; it appears to have been very extensive and of great elevation, but has been much diminished and disfigured by the removal of the sand, of which, intermixed with common field stones, it was originally formed.

Near Dunadry is a very perfect circle of large stones, and there are several other raths in the parish.

First published in November, 2023.

Raphoe Palace

IT is not precisely known at what time this See was established, but it must have been prior to the 10th century, since bishops of Raphoe are mentioned in the ninth.

This diocese comprises the greater part of County Donegal, being 56 miles in length from north to south, and 40 in breadth.

The cathedral and parish church stands in the small town of Raphoe.

THE PALACE, Raphoe, County Donegal, formerly a strong castle, is about a quarter of a mile from the town.

This is a handsome and spacious castellated building, pleasantly situated in tastefully disposed grounds.

It was built in 1636 by the Right Rev John Leslie, Lord Bishop of Raphoe, 1633-61; partly fortified, with square corner towers and two storeys over a basement.

The Bishop's Palace, Raphoe (image: eBay)

The front comprised three bays, with an extra bay in each tower.

A third storey, with bartizans and battlements, was added in the 18th century by the Right Rev John Oswald.

Raphoe Castle was burnt to the ground by an accidental fire in 1838 and has remained ruinous ever since.

Arms of the united Bishopric of Derry & Raphoe

The Right Rev William Bissett was the last Lord Bishop of Raphoe before the diocese was united with that of Derry.

First published in October, 2015.

Rathlin Revisited

IN AUGUST, 2017, I STAYED FOR SEVERAL DAYS ON RATHLIN ISLAND

Rathlin Manor House in 2017

IT MUST be about four years since I last visited Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland's only inhabited off-shore island.

I'm fond of Rathlin.

I have always stayed at the Manor House, former home of Rathlin's landlords, the Gages.

Two ferries - one fast and one slower - sail regularly from the nearest town, Ballycastle in County Antrim.

The fast (passenger-only) ferry takes no more than twenty-five minutes to sail to the island.

My return ticket cost £12.

I arrived at about 10am on Tuesday, checked in early, unpacked and had a brief stroll round Church Bay before a good lunch comprising potato and leek soup in the Manor House, where I stayed for three nights.

Room Nine

I actually stayed in Room Nine, a small single room directly above what used to be the snug bar (The Auld Kitchen).

The Manor House closed down a couple of years ago for major renovation work so, subsequently, The Auld Kitchen was not replaced.

The new interior is hard to recognize if you recall the original one: partition walls have been rearranged and fresh, new, contemporary decor - all "mod-cons".

The general colour scheme seems to be painted in a kind of subtle pastel green.

My room had a oculus window and, in fact, there's another oculus window at the opposite end, too.

That evening I enjoyed a good dinner in the main restaurant comprising a lythe (pollack) with whole potatoes and kale; followed by pavlova.

Lawn in front of the Manor House

On Wednesday at 8am I had a fine cooked breakfast: two pork sausages, two lean rashers, potato-bread, soda-bread, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, tea and toast.

After breakfast I walked to Soerneog View hostel, where I hired a cycle for the day (£10) and rode westwards to the RSPB Seabird Centre and the West Lighthouse.

The distance from Church Bay to the West Lighthouse is about five miles.

I was rather glad to reach my destination for, although cycling is a good means of seeing the island, the terrain is uneven to the extent that it was easier for me to dismount occasionally and walk up several steep sections.

The benefit, however, is that one can freewheel down!

The RSPB centre looks brand-new and they have a seating area with refreshments for sale.

The West Lighthouse now has an interesting exhibition and most of the keepers' rooms are open.

It cost £400,000 to build in 1912: that is an astounding £42 million in today's money!

Of course it's been fully automatic since the 1980s, I think.

Reinvigorated and fortified with a chilled drink, I mounted the bike and rode back to Church Bay and on towards the southern Rue Lighthouse and lovely Ushet Port.

Ushet was used almost 200 years ago by smugglers; their ruinous building still stands, as does the adjacent coastguard house.

It sounds a bit incongruous, doesn't it? Apparently the smugglers' house used to be a kelp store.

There were over a dozen seals at Ushet warily watching me.

Thence I cycled northwards, towards the East Lighthouse which is closed to the general public.

I left my bike back later in the afternoon.

I was certainly fortunate with the weather, managing to avoid the rain.

Reception

The Manor House has a little bar at Reception and this is where I installed myself during the evening before and after dinner.

Manor House breakfast menu in 2017

It's a convivial place where I encountered and struck up conversations with residents and guests.

There's a fine marble fireplace and the fire was lit in the evenings.

On Thursday morning, I opted for the veggie fry (below); thence walked to the National Trust's Ballyconaghan townland.

This walk terminates at a disused 1941 coastguard look-out on the north coast of the island.

En route, one passes a little cluster of cottages, or a clachan, called Crocknanagh.

This consists of four or five old, ruinous cottages forming what would have been a tight-knit community - probably all related in some way or other.

Ruined cottage at Roonvoolin

There are many ruined clachans and cottages on Rathlin: its population numbered 1,200 two hundred years ago; whereas today it's closer to 150.

Incidentally, Rathlin's resident population appears to be increasing: today it's closer to 150 and as I write the schoolhouse is being extended.

I was informed that there are now 9 pupils attending the school.

Rathlin still has many traditional, vernacular stone gate-posts.

By the way, I discovered a great little café called The Watershed.

It's located between the Manor House and St Thomas's Church, adjacent to the large vehicle ferry slipway.

They have a small menu and everything is home-made and delicious.

Margherita pizza & salad at the Watershed Café

I dined at the Manor House again on Thursday evening: crab cocktail and risotto.

Crab Cocktail at the Manor House

Remember to bring plenty of cash to Rathlin. I was down to my last few banknotes!

Of course most establishments accept credit and debit cards.

There is an ATM machine at McCuaig's Bar which, I think, charges a small fee for the service.

How, on earth, did the islanders cope in the past?

Stuffed it under the mattress, I imagine; or bartered a sheep for a supply of milk!

Dinner menu in 2017

I think I'll bring along my Swiss hiking boots next time, for although the terrain was mainly dry, some of it was waterlogged.

I had an absolutely terrific time on Rathlin and felt at home in the Manor House, where the company convivial; the staff very hospitable and friendly; and standards high.

First published in August, 2017.

Lyons Demesne

THE BARONS CLONCURRY WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 6,121 ACRES

The family of LAWLESS was of English extraction, but were settled for many years in Ireland, and became first enriched by commerce, and then ennobled on account of their wealth.

SIR HUGH DE LAWLESS, of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, settled in Ireland during the reign of HENRY II and obtained a grant from the crown of the manor of Shanganagh, County Dublin, where he erected a castle, the ruins of which are still visible.

RICHARD LAWLESS was Provost of Dublin, 1311, and held the office of Chief Magistrate for three successive years. STEPHEN LAWLESS was consecrated Bishop of Limerick in 1354, and died on Innocents' Day, 1359.

WALTER LAWLESS, of Talbot's Inch, County Kilkenny, had a grant from JAMES I, in 1608, of seven manors, situated in counties Tipperary, Waterford, and Kilkenny, with rights of patronage, to be held for ever, in capite, by knight's service.

He married Margaret, daughter of Robert Wrothe, and died in 1627, leaving an only son,

RICHARD LAWLESS, who succeeding at Talbot's Inch, wedded Margaret, daughter of Patrick Den, of Grennan, County Kilkenny; and dying in 1670, left issue, two sons,

Walter, an adherent of JAMES II;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THOMAS LAWLESS, of Talbot's Inch, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of James Butler, of Kilkenny; and dying in 1704, was father of

JOHN LAWLESS, of Shankill, County Dublin, who married Frances, daughter of John Usher, of Crumlin, and had issue, Peter, ancestor of the family seated at Shankill, and

JOHN LAWLESS, who wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Richard MacDonnell.

He died in 1730, and was succeeded by his only son,

ROBERT LAWLESS, a woollen draper, of Abington, County Limerick, by Mary, daughter of Dominick Hadsor, of Dublin. and had issue,

NICHOLAS, his heir;
Mary (1736-67).

Mr Lawless died in 1775, and was succeeded by his only son and heir,

NICHOLAS LAWLESS (1735-99), of Abington, County Limerick, who, having returned to Ireland from Normandy subsequently to his father's decease and conformed to the established church, obtained a seat in parliament as MP for Lifford, 1776-89.

Mr Lawless was created a baronet in 1776, designated of Abington, County Limerick; and elevated to the peerage, in 1789, in the dignity of BARON CLONCURRY, of Cloncurry, County Kildare.

He married, in 1761, Margaret, only daughter of Valentine Browne, of Dublin, and had issue, 

VALENTINE BROWNE, his successor;
Mary Catherine; Valentina Alicia; Charlotte Louisa.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

VALENTINE BROWNE, 2nd Baron (1773-1853),  who wedded firstly, in 1803, Elizabeth Georgiana, daughter of Lieutenant-General Charles Morgan, and had issue,

Mary Margaret; Margaret; Valentine Anne.

He espoused secondly, in 1811, Emily, daughter of Archibald Douglas, and had further issue,

Cecil John (died 1853);

EDWARD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

EDWARD, 3rd Baron (1816-69), of Lyons, County Kildare, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1838, County Dublin, 1846, married, in 1839, Elizabeth, daughter of Major John Kirwan, and had issue,

Edward, Colonel, died 1921;

VALENTINE, his successor;

FREDERICK, 5th Baron;

Emily.

His lordship took his own life by throwing himself from the third floor of Lyons.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

VALENTINE, 4th Baron (1840-1928), of Lyons, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1867, who wedded, in 1883, Laura Sophia Priscilla, daughter of Rowland, 1st Baron St Oswald, and had issue, two daughters,

Mary; Kathleen Emily Marie (1888-1957), of Lyons.

His lordship died without male issue, when the title devolved upon his brother,

FREDERICK, 5th Baron (1847-1929), who served on the staff of two Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, was unmarried; and the titles expired on his death in 1929.

LYONS, near Hazlehatch, County Kildare, was originally the seat of the Aylmer family, though they sold it to the 1st Baron Cloncurry, who had a new house built in 1797.

The present mansion house is a three storey block with a curved bow on either side of its entrance front, joined to two-storey wings by curved sweeps.

About 1801, shortly after his release from the Tower of London, the 2nd Baron hired Richard Morrison to undertake improvements and alterations to his father's house, work continuing till 1805.

During this period, Lord Cloncurry was in Italy, collecting antiques and objets d'art for the house.

The seven-bay garden front was left fairly plain, though an immense formal garden was laid out, with abundant statuary and urns.

Beyond the lake, reputedly the largest artificial lake in Ireland, lies the Hill of Lyons.

The Grand Canal passes along one side of the demesne, with a very fine range of Georgian buildings, comprising the Cloncurry private canal station.

The Hon Kathleen Lawless bequeathed the Lyons estate to a cousin, Mr G M V Winn, who sold it about 1962 to University College, Dublin.

Sir Michael Smurfit KBE owned Lyons from 1990-96.

Lyons was later purchased by Dr Tony Ryan, who reputedly spent €100 million on its restoration.

The house stands in nearly 600 acres, including some fine formal gardens.

The orangery and hall contain a large swimming-pool.

There are seven suites in the main house, a self-contained guest wing with four bedrooms, and staff quarters in the north wing.

A further five lodges are located around the estate which include a 22-acre spring-fed lake which is stocked with trout and, for equestrian enthusiasts, there are stables, stud farm facilities and outstanding natural gallops.

Dublin is a 45-minute drive, but private jet access is available on request at nearby Baldonnel's Casement Aerodrome which is three miles from the estate.

It has undergone a total refurbishment which was recognized as outstanding when it received the Europa Nostra and Institut International des Châteaux Historiques joint award for refurbishment.

Cloncurry arms courtesy of European Heraldry.   First published in June, 2012.

Portstewart

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND, 1837

PORTSTEWART, a sea-port and town, in the parish of Agherton or Ballyaghran, liberties of Coleraine, County Londonderry, 3½ miles from Coleraine.

It is situated at a foot of the branch of the great basaltic range of promontories, and commands an extensive view of the estuary of the river Bann, the entrance into Lough Foyle, and the promontory of Downhill, with the peninsula of Inishowen in the distance.

The exertions of the proprietors, John Cromie and Henry O'Hara, have raised this place, in the space of a few years, from a group of fishermen's huts to a delightful and well-frequented summer residence.

Its principal street, which commands the view already described, consists of well-built hotels and shops, having the mansion of Mr Cromie near its centre; at a little distance to the south is another street of smaller houses, and westward are a number of detached villas, lodges, and ornamental cottages, chiefly built for bathing-lodges by the gentry of the surrounding counties.

In this portion is a castle, built in 1834 by Mr O'Hara, on a projecting cliff over the sea, the road to which is cut in traverses through the rock on which it stands, thus giving it the character of a chieftain's fortress of the feudal ages.

A mail coach passes through the town every day; numerous vehicles ply to Coleraine, the Clyde, Derry, and occasionally from Belfast.

Portstewart (W H Mason/NMNI)

A mile from the town is the parish church of Agherton; divine service is also held in a schoolhouse in the place.

There are a meeting-house for Presbyterians and a chapel for Methodists.

The town is plentifully supplied with wildfowl, round and flat fish and herrings, of which last one of the most productive fisheries is off this port and on the coast of Inishowen.

The air here is serene and pure, the scenery grand and picturesque, the country well cultivated, planted, and embellished with elegant mansions, the principal of which, besides those already noticed, are Cromore, the seat of John Cromie; Flowerfield, of S Orr; Low Rock, of Miss McManus; and Blackrock, of T Bennet.

The vicinity presents a variety of objects of geological interest, especially at the castle, and near the creek of Portnahapple, where there is a rock of the colour and appearance of Castile soap, which, on being burnt, emits a sulphurous smell, and leaves a purple cinder.

Here also are large layers of zeolite, steatite, and ochre among the rocks of basalt.

Not far from the town is the old channel of the Bann, from which the new channel has shifted nearly a mile westward: between both are large drifts of sand blown in from the sea, and covering many acres of excellent land.

Lost Salmon of the Erne

River Erne at Belleek, County Fermanagh

THE LOST SALMON OF THE RIVER ERNE

"For six months of the year Lough Erne is in County Fermanagh and for the other six months County Fermanagh is in Lough Erne" is an old saying.

For thousands of years, possibly all the way back to the last Ice Age, the River Erne has run from its source, 653 feet above sea-level in County Cavan, for more than 64 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Ballyshannon, County Donegal.

It spreads out to form the Upper Lough (closer to Dublin) and the Lower Lough (closer to God), south and north respectively of Enniskillen.

Its total water catchment area is 1,669 square miles.

Before its first drainage scheme was introduced in the 1840s some 18,000 acres of farmland were flooded every winter, reducing to 4,000 acres as recently as 1960. 

James Greatorex wrote in 1834 that,

Lough Erne abounds in fish of many kinds, affording a cheap and nutritious article of diet to the poor peasantry, inhabiting the shores of the lough and islands – salmon, trout, pike, perch, eels, bream and roach are in great dominance... 

The pike reach very great size, having been seen in Lisnakea weighing 40 lbs. 

Eels are often caught weighing 4 lbs. and bream of like weight. The perch and roach rarely exceed 1 lb. 

These fish are caught by line and net in vast quantities and during the season furnish the principal item of diet to the peasants living in the vicinity of the lake.

The Irish Times reported in 1884 that, after nine years’ work at a cost of £211,823, the largest set of gates in the world had been built across the River Erne at Belleek, and about 4 miles of the river above Belleek had been dredged and canalised, destroying many well-known salmon ‘throws’.

It wrote that,

Fears are expressed that the present drainage to the Erne will destroy the fisheries. Already the sport has fallen off because of dredging. 

At the same time one gentleman last week landed four salmon averaging 15 lbs….Already regular visitors from England have ceased to come to their favourite haunts and the sport is sure to be deteriorating. 

The price of fishing has hitherto been £4 per week for each rod, having the right to keep two fish… 

In 1881, 53 anglers in 151 weeks killed no fewer than 904 salmon, weighing 8,300 lbs. 

Last year Mr. Bates, a famous angler, caught 114 salmon weighing 1,100 lbs. in 5 weeks. The average angled fish is 9 lbs. 

The biggest fish ever taken was 52 lbs.

At the same time as the river was being fished by rod and line, nets were being used in the river at Ballyshannon.

On one day in June, 1883, 800 salmon were netted.

In the pool below the Assaroe Falls, the last waterfall in the river where fish would have waited for enough flood water to swim and jump up and over the falls, 241 fish were captured in a single draw of the net. 

A land surveyor named Sidney Wilkinson had come over from England in 1867 and spent the next 50 years living and working in the north-west of Ireland.

He developed an enthusiasm for salmon fishing, became a friend of the MARQUESS OF ELY (who owned much of the land south of Lower Lough Erne), and married Miss Alice Munn of Cliff House, Belleek (whose family owned fishing rights on the River Erne between Belleek and Ballyshannon).

Cliff House and Salmon Throw on the River Erne, Belleek

In his privately published book Sport in Ireland he records that on one day in 1881, he caught on the Erne five salmon weighing respectively 25 lbs., 16 lbs., 14 lbs., 13 lbs. and 12 lbs.

His great regret in life was that he never landed a fish of more than 25 lbs. weight, although several times he had much larger salmon on his line which escaped by tearing away from the hook, breaking the leader or, once, a knot at the fly came undone as an estimated 40 lb. fish was about to be gaffed. 

Later in that same year, he fished the streams above Cathaleen's Fall in Ballyshannon for two days, hooked 18 salmon and landed 13 of them weighing from 14 lbs. to 25 lbs.

He wrote "I never saw so many fish; they must have literally paved the bottom of the river below the bridge at Ballyshannon."

Wilkinson wrote of the drainage schemes on the Erne that,

No doubt the farmers … have benefited, but there is no room for any doubt whatever as to the harm it did to the angling between Roscor and Belleek. 

On that splendid stretch of water all the fords were cut away and a canal made, and places where I have killed fish are now dry land! 

Well, one must only be thankful that one knew this glorious river before the angling catastrophe took place.

Although the Erne lost a lot of its finest fishing to the 1880s drainage scheme, it survived as a salmon river.

From the 1890s onward, salmon continued to run in good numbers, the net fishery continued to take a large annual catch and there was excellent fly-fishing to be had on the eight miles between Belleek and Ballyshannon.

Augustus Grimble, writing in 1903, thought it was still the finest summer salmon fishery in the United Kingdom.

There were eight separate beats from Belleek Gates to Ballyshannon, and these were fished in the mornings in rotation, with rods free to go where they wished after 1pm with fierce competition for the best ‘throws’.

Written in the 1920s, The Angler’s Guide To The Irish Fisheries by Joseph Adams describes fishing the Erne’s Ballyshannon pools, probably the only fishing available to him as a casual visitor.

He caught the first spring salmon of the year, a fish of over 16 pounds in weight, which took 95 minutes to land: 

A beautiful fish with small head and deep shoulders, the sea parasites clinging to the silver sides … Spring salmon differ from grilse (i.e. one sea-winter fish) in the greater freedom with which they take the fly and their indomitable strength as fighters.

The following day he landed another 16 pound fish, again after a 95-minute fight, and on the third day he caught another fish: "I wandered down the rough bank seaward, wondering greatly at the enormous force of water that in a sharp inclined plane rushed madly down the descent and then plunged madly over the Assaroe Falls".

He cast his fly into the torrent and a salmon took it: "I felt as if I were holding a racehorse that had taken the bit in his teeth."

The fight up and down the rocky pool with water falls at either end lasted 70 minutes.

When the fish was landed it was found that the fly was in a bit of gristle protruding from the salmon’s mouth and it was moments from getting off.

One of the pleasures of reading the Angler’s Guide To The Irish Fisheries almost one hundred years after its publication is that, where rivers and loughs are substantially unchanged, one can recognise the descriptions of the pools and even experience taking a fish in the same piece of water.

However, the Erne has been changed drastically and no part of the Guide is still relevant.

In the late 1940s a hydro-electric system with twin dams below Belleek and above Ballyshannon was built, and the eight miles of salmon fishing became two newly-created lakes which, in the words of the fishing writer Colin Laurie McKelvie in 1987, "eventually combined to form what is now the dreary and virtually salmon-less Lough Assaroe…"

The Irish Government’s official Angling Guide, published in 1948, stated that “It is impossible at present to say what angling facilities these lakes are likely to afford”…History has provided the answer… the fabulous Erne salmon fishery had been wiped out."

All modern salmon fishers dream of the days when rivers which ran into the North Atlantic ocean were full of silver salmon, making their way back to the gravel beds where they were bred; before in-shore trawlers fished for the sand-eels which the young salmon feed on before their journey out to the deep ocean; before deep-sea trawlers off Greenland, using sonar, found the rich feeding grounds where some fish spent a winter before coming back as grilse of about 7 pounds weight, and others spent many years growing fat and strong, reaching 52 pounds in weight for one Erne salmon; before pollution; before climate change; before estuary netting; before water extraction; and before hydro-electric schemes destroyed their Eden.

Fishermen have often complained about the present and longed-for times past, but modern environmental conditions would have reduced the Erne’s salmon stock in any event.

Salmon are now so scarce in the rivers of Ireland that killing fish is limited where it is not banned.

The Erne would likely have suffered similar losses, but on nothing like the scale caused by the "canalisation" of the river between Roscor and Belleek in the 1880s; and the destruction of the surviving salmon fishery between Belleek and Ballyshannon, caused by the hydro-electric scheme in the 1940s.

This essay was written by a friend of this blog, who wishes to remain anonymous.

First published in July, 2019.

2 Royal Avenue, Belfast

2, ROYAL AVENUE, BELFAST, was built between 1864 and 1869 to designs by William Joseph Barre.

Barre, a Newry and Belfast-based architect, rose to prominence after winning the competition to design the Ulster Hall in 1859, and was one of the most prominent engineers of the mid-Victorian period, often coming into competition with his immediate contemporaries Charles Lanyon and William Lynn.

Barre’s other Belfast works include the Albert Memorial Clock.

The Irish Builder records that the Provincial Bank of Ireland remained uncompleted by the time of Barre’s death by illness in 1867.

The bank premises were consequently completed under the supervision of the architects Turner & Williamson.

When finally completed in 1869, Barre’s design was described and, indeed, praised as being a peculiar adaptation of Venetian-Gothic.

The Irish Builder remarked that the Provincial Bank was built by Henry Fulton, a local builder; whilst the interior and exterior stone carving was by a Mr Barnes.

In 1901-2, the bank was depicted as a rectangular-shaped building situated along the recently laid-out Royal Avenue.

When originally constructed, it did not possess its current rear return, which is a modern extension added ca 2005.

The present building replaced an earlier bank building that had originally stood on the same site, but was demolished about 1864.

The bank manager resided at the site, in a small house to the rear of the building.

The bank contained two sets of rooms: four rooms for the manager's house, and two rooms for the porter's house, both located at the rear of the building.

It was described by Brett as an ‘extraordinarily exuberant building’, and is significant as the only building to survive the Royal Avenue redevelopment of the 1880s.

Hercules Street, predecessor of Royal Avenue

Prior to this date, Donegall Place and Hercules Street (the precursor to Royal Avenue) were divided by a line of buildings that formerly stood along the eastern side of the current street.

These buildings were demolished by Belfast municipal council in 1880-81 by the town surveyor, J C Bretland (who in the process re-housed over 4,000 people).

The demolition and clearance of Hercules Place and Hercules Street created the long open boulevard which now extends from Donegall Square to York Street.

However, it caused the destruction of almost all the buildings on the street pre-dating the 1880s.

2, Royal Avenue, continues to occupy the original line of Hercules Place (a narrow square that linked Donegall Place to Hercules Street), and, as a result, is set further back than the adjoining buildings.

Barre’s design for the Provincial Bank clearly displays the influence that the architectural critic John Ruskin had on the Belfast architects of the Victorian period.

Throughout his career, Ruskin remarked on the eclectic quality of northern Italian architecture; how it mixed materials to produce a polychromatic effect; and how it also mixed Gothic tradition with the classicism of Ancient Rome.

Hugh Dixon notes that Barre

was principal among those who put Ruskin’s theory into practise … [his Provincial Bank] an outstanding illustration of what could be achieved. The basic classicism of the building readily identified by the symmetry and the central triangular pediment. 

Yet the decoration is medieval. The faces of hairy Lombard warriors look out from foliage beneath deep, rounded, Romanesque arches. Colonnades flank the openings, and even the balustrade along the roof line is adapted from an interlacing Saxon arcade.

Larmour states that the completed building is notably less ornate that Barre’s original design, which employed greater use of sculpted figures; however, due to rising expenses, Barre was forced to amend his intended design prior to his death and so the pediment has remained bare of statues.

The exterior façade is also much more polychromatic than Barre envisaged as, due to the decay of the white Cookstown sandstone employed, since the 1880s the façade has required painting repeatedly.

The interior of the building was fully realised from Barre’s original design.

Larmour notes that the stucco figures in the groin angles of the circular dome each represent Mechanism, Engineering, Art, War, Law, Navigation, Architecture and Industry.

Throughout its history the Provincial Bank of Ireland has been a prominent landmark in Belfast city centre.

Prior to the completion of the City Hall in 1906 the bank, with its large open area in front, was utilised as a public venue and witnessed a number of important processions; for example, in 1901, large crowds gathered outside the Provincial Bank to welcome home Boer War veterans.

The Provincial Bank continued to occupy the building for over a century until the late 1980s, when the Allied Irish Bank took over possession of the site.

It remained a financial institution till the 1990s.

The premises were occupied by Tesco, which sympathetically renovated the building and constructed the large extension to the rear, undertaken by Chapman Architects ca 2005.

Tesco undertook a major restoration of the building in 2008.

The supermarket chain ceased trading in the premises in 2021, and it is now in the ownership of Belfast City Council as a "community and cultural hub [which] provides a free creative space in the heart of the city centre."

The fine, Cookstown sandstone has now been revealed for all to see, having been covered in paint for a very long time - perhaps even since its original construction.

It particularly interests me because I worked there for a brief period in the early 1990s.

Anderson & McAuley's department store was still trading then, too.

First published in 2008.