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For Victorian Britons, | 0:00:03 | 0:00:05 | |
George Bradshaw was a household name. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
At a time when railways were new, | 0:00:08 | 0:00:10 | |
Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:13 | |
I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains transformed | 0:00:16 | 0:00:20 | |
Britain and Ireland, their landscape, industry, society | 0:00:20 | 0:00:24 | |
and leisure time. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:25 | |
As I follow its routes 130 years later, | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
it helps me to discover these islands today. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
I'm completing my journey across Ireland, | 0:00:54 | 0:00:57 | |
now on the rugged north-western Atlantic coast | 0:00:57 | 0:01:01 | |
and I intend to take to the waters, | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
but safely, because the sea has claimed many lives. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:08 | |
Religion looms large in Irish culture. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
I'll investigate how a beatific nun tackled poverty and hunger, | 0:01:10 | 0:01:15 | |
and I'll assume the high ground in search of Ireland's patron saint. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:20 | |
I began my journey on the coast at Wexford | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
and then travelled north to Dublin, the capital, before turning west. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:39 | |
I crossed this beautiful country | 0:01:39 | 0:01:41 | |
discovering an Irish identity stimulated by political struggles. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:46 | |
I'll be ending my Irish travels on the Atlantic coast. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:49 | |
For this final leg, I begin in Ballina, stopping next in Foxford, | 0:01:51 | 0:01:56 | |
before concluding in Westport and the coast at Clew Bay. | 0:01:56 | 0:02:00 | |
Along the way, things heat up, with an unusual Victorian health treatment. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:07 | |
Steam is rising all around me. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
I learn of a terrible tragedy at Clew Bay... | 0:02:16 | 0:02:20 | |
A lot of the young people got very excited, | 0:02:20 | 0:02:22 | |
because they'd never seen a steamer before, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
and they all went to one side to have a good closer look | 0:02:24 | 0:02:28 | |
and unfortunately, the boat capsized. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:30 | |
..and stretch my skills at a woollen mill. | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
I'm involved in a delicate industrial process! | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
I'm on tenterhooks! | 0:02:38 | 0:02:39 | |
My first stop today will be Ballina. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:49 | |
Bradshaw's tells me it's probably more frequented by tourists than any | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
other part of the district, with 40 miles of splendid cliff. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:56 | |
The tourists might make excursions into the wild Tyrawley and Edis districts. | 0:02:56 | 0:03:02 | |
Despite the formidable reputation of the Atlantic, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
I do intend to take a dip. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
I don't want anyone to think me sea weedy. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
As Bradshaw's indicates, | 0:03:19 | 0:03:21 | |
there was much to draw Victorian tourists to the region. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
Arriving by train from towns and cities inland, | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
they would flock to the coast to take the air and waters. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
Along the coast in Enniscrone, | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
a particular treatment has attracted visitors for over 100 years. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:44 | |
It relies on a locally growing ingredient. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
I've come to meet Edward Kilcullen. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:50 | |
-Edward. -Michael. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:54 | |
What a very beautiful place, what a lovely day. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
I'm really awestruck by it. | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
Well, you're very welcome. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
Can it be true that you bathe in seaweed here? | 0:04:01 | 0:04:03 | |
Absolutely, Michael. And we have done for the last 104 years. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:07 | |
-Why? -Because seaweed bathing and seawater and seaweed is good for you. | 0:04:07 | 0:04:11 | |
Don't ask me to prove it scientifically, but tradition along | 0:04:11 | 0:04:14 | |
the west coast of Ireland has it that if you bathe in | 0:04:14 | 0:04:17 | |
seawater and seaweed, | 0:04:17 | 0:04:19 | |
it's good to relieve the symptoms of rheumatism and arthritis, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
and years ago, that's why people took seaweed baths. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
-Which seaweed do you use? This stuff? -No, that is bladderwrack. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
It's not abundant enough for us. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
What we use is Fucas serratus, more commonly known as Flat wrack, | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
which grows just a little bit further down the shore | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
and we have to harvest that every day. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
So while the Prince of Wales in the 19th century is going to Bognor... | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
-Yes. -..here, you are developing seaweed bathing, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:48 | |
also as a kind of genteel activity, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
-is that right? -Genteel activity, yes. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
The actual original bathhouse that was built in Enniscrone was built as | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
a private facility by our local landlord, who was a fashionable gentleman. | 0:04:55 | 0:05:00 | |
So he took a swim here in Enniscrone on the beach. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
The water's only about 12, 13 degrees, so it will be freezing! | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
So he built a little bathhouse on the rocks | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
and so somebody would have his bath ready for him when he came in, | 0:05:09 | 0:05:11 | |
to warm him up. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
So that was the first seawater bath in Enniscrone | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
and he was the one who did it. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
So because he did it, other people decided to do it. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
The seaweed is harvested by hand every day at low tide | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
and then taken up to the bathhouse, | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
which was opened for business in 1912 by Edward's grandfather. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
Ah, thank you so much. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:34 | |
It still retains all the original porcelain baths, solid brass taps | 0:05:37 | 0:05:43 | |
and panelled wooden cisterns. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
The process today is exactly as it was 100 years ago. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:50 | |
Now, Michael. So, I'm going to fill your bath with warm seawater. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
As well, I'm going to pop the seaweed into it. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
But first of all, you'll sit into your steam box, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
so it opens your pores before your bath. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:03 | |
Sit in, close your door and you'll pop your head up at the top. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:06 | |
And you just lift the lever slowly. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:07 | |
Then, your bath and there's also a cold seawater shower | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
as well, yeah. Forgot to mention that bit! | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
So that closes your pores after, | 0:06:13 | 0:06:15 | |
so it's being pumped straight in from the sea, if you're brave enough. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:19 | |
The bathhouse has many regular customers who take weekly seaweed soaks. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:26 | |
The bath is filled with warmed seawater, then the seaweed is steamed, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:32 | |
turning it from brown to green. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:33 | |
-It's a completely different texture as well. It's oily and slimy. -Urgh! | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
The steaming process releases oils, | 0:06:46 | 0:06:48 | |
nutrients and alginate from the seaweed. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:51 | |
So your bath's ready for you, Michael. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:55 | |
-What do you think? -Er... | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
unusual, I would say. | 0:06:57 | 0:06:58 | |
So I'll just leave you to enjoy your bath, OK? | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
Thank you, Lorna. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:02 | |
Step one is to get inside the steam chamber. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:10 | |
Oh! That is a very strange feeling! | 0:07:10 | 0:07:14 | |
I have a little steam lever, here, which I'm going to operate rather gently. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:20 | |
Steam is rising all around me. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:26 | |
Actually, that's rather pleasant! | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
The heat and the steam open up the pores, ready for the seaweed soak. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:41 | |
Former politician involved in steamy scene. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:44 | |
HE COUGHS | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
Now, like Dracula rising from his coffin! | 0:07:53 | 0:07:57 | |
Oh! | 0:07:57 | 0:07:58 | |
I step into my seaweed bath. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:06 | |
Ah! | 0:08:08 | 0:08:09 | |
I can feel it all over my skin, sort of clinging to me. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:18 | |
But now, I've sort of got over the yuck factor, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:24 | |
it's actually rather nice. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
The amber tint in the water is caused by iodine. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
Seaweed is one of nature's richest sources of this therapeutic element. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:37 | |
It's certainly very relaxing, | 0:08:37 | 0:08:39 | |
but all good things come to an end. | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
Now for the Lorna challenge - a shower in cold seawater. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:47 | |
AH! AHHH! | 0:08:49 | 0:08:51 | |
My next stop will be Foxford, which the guide tells me is a small | 0:09:20 | 0:09:25 | |
place on the Moy, a good salmon river. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:27 | |
In Victorian times, a river could mean a mill. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:31 | |
A mill could mean work, rather than the workhouse. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
Foxford, a village with a population of around 1,300, | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
is located in the western county of Mayo. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
The great famine hit County Mayo hard | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
and nine workhouses were built for the destitute. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
I'm visiting a more cheerful vestige of those times - | 0:09:57 | 0:10:00 | |
Foxford Wool Mill, run by Joe Queenan. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
-Hello, Joe. -Hello, Michael. You're very welcome. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
Thank you very much. I must say, I love visiting a mill. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
And you've got some gorgeous-looking products here. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
There's not too many of us left operational in the world at the moment | 0:10:19 | 0:10:21 | |
and this loom in particular is weaving Irish tweed | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
using Shetland yarns. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
This is the sort of wool you use, is it? | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
This is the wool, it's lamb's wool, 100% Merino. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
The mill, I suppose, was established by the river to use water power. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:35 | |
You won't be using that today. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
No, we stopped using water power in 1965. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:39 | |
We're using mains now. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:40 | |
The mill dates back to 1892 | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
and it's surprising to find out that its founder was no rich | 0:10:45 | 0:10:49 | |
industrialist, but a nun from the Irish Sisters of Charity, Mother Arsenius. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:56 | |
Joe, it seems like we're in the historic part of the mill here. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:03 | |
Tell me more about Mother Arsenius. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:05 | |
She obviously had a passion about helping people | 0:11:06 | 0:11:08 | |
and she visited Foxford and saw the destitution that existed in the area, | 0:11:08 | 0:11:13 | |
and she wanted to do something and help her fellow mankind. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
This devout and driven nun secured a loan of £7,000 from the so-called | 0:11:17 | 0:11:22 | |
Congested Districts Board. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
A mill race off the River Moy and mill buildings were constructed. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
The early years were a struggle, but by the turn of the century, the mill | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
had begun to thrive and to employ much of the immediate population. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:39 | |
She was effectively, then, an entrepreneur, which seems odd to me. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
I don't think of nuns as being entrepreneurial. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
No, she knew nothing about textiles, knew nothing about business, | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
but she just had this vision and passion. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
What do you think drove her? | 0:11:50 | 0:11:52 | |
She had a great faith in God and with that, a huge desire to help people. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
And if we look up here, Michael, at her motto and logo, | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
"God's providence is our inheritance." | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
What does she mean by that? | 0:12:03 | 0:12:04 | |
Her attitude was you didn't just pray and hope things happened, | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
you went out, did your 100%, and providence met you the other halfway. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:11 | |
And what was her impact, then, on Foxford? | 0:12:11 | 0:12:13 | |
Huge. If you imagine, this place employed 250 people of a population of 700. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:18 | |
Today, the operation that Mother Arsenius set up | 0:12:20 | 0:12:22 | |
remains an important part of the local economy. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
The workforce is much smaller, but the mill still employs | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
around 70 people. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:31 | |
This appears to be a delightfully colourful part of the process. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
What's going on here? | 0:12:39 | 0:12:40 | |
This, Michael, is called a tinter. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
It's a very, very old form of drying. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
If you look at the two lines of chains with hooks on them, | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
they're known as tenterhooks. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
So the expression under pressure or nervous comes from there. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
I had no idea about that. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:56 | |
And what width are you using here? | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
We're using 66. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:00 | |
We need it to go out to 69. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
Pressing now. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:03 | |
That's it. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:04 | |
-Perfect. Well done. -69 on the button. -On the button. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
And is there anything we should do while it's going through? | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
No. It's important to keep it straight, | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
so as the machine is moving, if you have to, apply some pressure, | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
mainly at the edges, and keep it straight. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
-Well, let battle commence. -OK, Michael. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
Now, come over here and just watch that your lines are straight. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
It's perfect. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:30 | |
Hot air circulates through the machine, | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
which drives the fabric whilst it's being stretched. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:36 | |
I'm involved in a delicate industrial process. | 0:13:39 | 0:13:43 | |
I'm on tenterhooks. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:44 | |
Foxford Station is on a branch line off the main Dublin to Westport line. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:08 | |
In order to continue west, I'll need to make a most unusual change. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:14 | |
Riddle - when can you neither enter nor leave a railway station? | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
Answer - when it's called Manulla Junction, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
because, whilst you can change train here, | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
there is no ingress and no egress. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
You cannot buy a ticket here, you cannot buy a ticket to here. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:43 | |
Unique in my experience so far. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
Serving only a sparse population, the station closed in 1963. | 0:14:47 | 0:14:53 | |
It reopened in 1988 as an interchange station only. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
The Dublin train has taken all the passengers, leaving me alone. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:03 | |
Finally, my train arrives. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:22 | |
My next stop will be Westport, County Mayo. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:37 | |
Bradshaw says, "It's in a valley at the head of an inlet on the south | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
"side of Clew Bay under Croagh Patrick. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:45 | |
"A week might pleasantly be passed boating, | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
"picnicking and bathing amid the islands." | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
In the limited time that I shall have, | 0:15:51 | 0:15:53 | |
I intend to study disaster and divinity. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:57 | |
The planned Georgian town of Westport dates back to the late 18th century, | 0:16:07 | 0:16:13 | |
when Lord Sligo of Westport House cleared a village of 700 people to | 0:16:13 | 0:16:18 | |
make way for it to be built along the Carrowbeg River to Clew Bay. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:22 | |
Now, this is interesting. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
The town before the railway was designated to be the port of the west of Ireland | 0:16:33 | 0:16:39 | |
and stacks of now vacant warehouses were built. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:43 | |
They might readily be converted into factories and ships run into | 0:16:43 | 0:16:49 | |
Westport with cotton from America. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
In the 21st century, those warehouses were changed into hotels, | 0:16:51 | 0:16:56 | |
cafes and seafood restaurants. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
Yummy. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:00 | |
To end my day, I want to try a local speciality from this coast. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
Good evening. You're welcome to The Idle Wall. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
Oh, thank you very much. I was hoping for some fresh seafood | 0:17:20 | 0:17:24 | |
-from Clew Bay. -Tonight, I have some really wonderful native clams. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
Sold. And a glass of white wine, please. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
-Absolutely, coming right up. -Thank you. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
Ah! Gosh. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
Fascinating clams, aren't they? | 0:17:39 | 0:17:41 | |
This is the prayer clam, you see the beautiful pearlised inside. | 0:17:41 | 0:17:44 | |
-I do. That's superb. -And this is a lighter shell one. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:47 | |
It's a little bit more sweet. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
I'm going to try this prayer clam. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
Dip it in the white wine and the garlic. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:56 | |
Mmm. | 0:17:58 | 0:17:59 | |
Gosh, that's so fresh. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:02 | |
Now try the native clam. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:06 | |
What a delicious meal. | 0:18:13 | 0:18:15 | |
This morning, I start on the coast at Clew Bay, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:33 | |
looking out to the rugged Atlantic Ocean. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
"Clew Bay," says Bradshaw's, | 0:18:42 | 0:18:44 | |
"forms an archipelago of 100 green islands popularly said to be 365, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:52 | |
"varying in size from a few acres to a mile in length. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:57 | |
"Mist and rain are the rule here." | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
And, indeed, bad weather threatens today. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:04 | |
Over time, the islanders have often had to close ranks | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
and not just against the elements. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
One of the largest islands of the archipelago is Achill Island | 0:19:14 | 0:19:18 | |
and I'm meeting one of its residents, historian John Sweeney, | 0:19:18 | 0:19:22 | |
for a tour of the bay. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:24 | |
How many of these islands is populated? | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
Just four major islands with a decent population left. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:49 | |
The rest of the 360-odd islands are down to maybe an odd house. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:54 | |
What sort of communities do you have on the islands? | 0:19:54 | 0:19:57 | |
Sadly it's a two-ended side to the community. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
We've the very young, up to 17 and 18, | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
and after that they go off to college, | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
emigrate usually after that and we don't see them again, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
and then we have the very elderly on the island, | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
so we're a community of kind of two halves, the young and the very old. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
Emigration has long been a part of life for the islanders of Achill. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:21 | |
During the famine of the 1840s, many left their homeland for good, | 0:20:21 | 0:20:25 | |
whilst others travelled for seasonal work in other parts of the British Isles. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
In 1894, a terrible disaster would strike these migrant workers here in Clew Bay. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:37 | |
It was a shocking tragedy, | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
which consisted of migrants from Achill who were travelling to | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
Scotland to pick the potatoes. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:46 | |
They were on what they would call a hooker, that were a big carrying boat, | 0:20:46 | 0:20:51 | |
and they were just outside Westport to meet the steamer here. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
It was picking them up and bringing them up to Scotland, | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
and a lot of the young people got very excited to see the boat because | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
they'd never seen a steamer before, | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
and they all went to one side to have a good closer look | 0:21:01 | 0:21:06 | |
and, unfortunately, the boat capsized and, as a result of it, | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
34 young people were drowned. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
Tragic. Lost the whole island, as you can imagine. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:18 | |
The bodies were returned to Achill by train from Westport. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:23 | |
The line had just been completed and the very first train to run | 0:21:23 | 0:21:27 | |
performed this sombre service. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:29 | |
Sadly, the very last rail service into Achill would also be marked by tragedy. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:40 | |
The tattie pickers were in Scotland, | 0:21:44 | 0:21:46 | |
finishing up their contract for the year and they were locked in a barn | 0:21:46 | 0:21:51 | |
and, unfortunately, a fire started during the middle of the night and | 0:21:51 | 0:21:56 | |
ten of them lost their lives in this tragic fire. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
The dead were once again returned by train. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:06 | |
It was to be the last rail service to the island before the line was | 0:22:06 | 0:22:10 | |
closed for good. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:12 | |
Leaving Clew Bay behind me, ahead is my last stop here in Ireland | 0:22:20 | 0:22:26 | |
and it's one of the most breathtaking. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
Bradshaw's tells me that the tourist who neglects the ascent | 0:22:30 | 0:22:34 | |
of Croagh Patrick will lose one of the finest sights of its kind in the | 0:22:34 | 0:22:40 | |
British Isles and with such encouragement, | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
will I be daunted by a little rain and swirling mists? | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
The striking mountain of Craogh Patrick is the destination of | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
one of Ireland's most popular Christian pilgrimages. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
The name is Irish for Patrick's Stack and is known locally as the Reek. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:05 | |
Guiding me up its slopes today is historian Harry Hughes. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
-Hello, Harry. -Hello, Michael, how are you? | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
You're very welcome to a bleak and wet, but wonderful Croagh Patrick. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:17 | |
-You weren't put off by the weather, thank you. -Indeed not, indeed not. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:19 | |
I'd like to present you with a stick for the Reek, | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
traditionally the staff for climbing the mountain. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
Very nice. Thank you very much. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
We meet by a statue of St Patrick. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
According to my Bradshaw's guidebook, | 0:23:29 | 0:23:31 | |
there is a hut on the mountain where, supposedly, | 0:23:31 | 0:23:34 | |
the saint sojourned for a time. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:37 | |
-Is that true? -It is true. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
We know from earlier references, particularly the Book Of Armagh, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
which is at Trinity College, | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
written 200 years after Patrick's sojourn on the mountain. | 0:23:44 | 0:23:47 | |
It clearly states that Patrick came here, we believe, | 0:23:47 | 0:23:49 | |
in the year 441 and stayed on the summit for 40 days and 40 nights. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:55 | |
-Who was Patrick? -Patrick, we believe, came from Wales, but he | 0:23:55 | 0:24:00 | |
certainly came from Gaelic Britain and he was caught as a slave, | 0:24:00 | 0:24:05 | |
enslaved here, herding sheep for a number of years. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:07 | |
He eventually escaped, studied the Christian faith, | 0:24:07 | 0:24:10 | |
eventually became a bishop and came back to Ireland with the intention | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
of Christianising the Pagan Irish. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:15 | |
This wonderful mountain, | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
exceptional mountain with its deceptive conical shape, | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
was that of importance to early man before the Christians? | 0:24:21 | 0:24:26 | |
Hugely important. The archaeologists found early Roman jewellery, 500 BC, | 0:24:26 | 0:24:31 | |
which is 1,000 years before Patrick's visit to this mountain | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
and it would have been important for Patrick to conquer all the important | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
Pagan ritual sites on behalf of Christianity. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:41 | |
I'm not trying to get all the way to the summit today, | 0:24:41 | 0:24:44 | |
-but shall we press on and get on the way? -We'll try, anyway. Come on. -OK. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
It rises to a height of over 2,500 feet. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:55 | |
It takes around two hours to climb the peak and one and half hours to descend. | 0:24:55 | 0:25:01 | |
It's become a tradition to climb the mountain on the last Sunday of July, | 0:25:01 | 0:25:06 | |
known as Reek Sunday, when 20,000 people make the ascent | 0:25:06 | 0:25:11 | |
and a priest celebrates mass on the summit. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
Bradshaw's tells me that around the patron saint's day, | 0:25:15 | 0:25:19 | |
pilgrims doing penance climb on their bare knees. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:24 | |
There probably were some who would have walked this mountain in their | 0:25:24 | 0:25:28 | |
bare feet back then, but the vast majority of pilgrims would wear | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
hardy boots and climb the mountain and walk up and will kneel at the | 0:25:31 | 0:25:35 | |
summit, of course, to say their prayers. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:36 | |
I suppose that around the time of my guidebook, | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick would have become a national phenomenon in Ireland. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
Yes, the train companies got on board and many trains brought | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
pilgrims to this mountain and they built a new church on the summit in 1905. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:51 | |
So we know for quite a number of years after this, | 0:25:51 | 0:25:53 | |
the main mode of transport coming to Croagh Patrick was by rail. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:57 | |
What do you think is the significance of Croagh Patrick to | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
-the Irish people? -This is a hugely important site. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
This is the interface between the mother Earth and the spiritual world. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:07 | |
And this, to Irish people, is the holy mountain of Ireland. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:10 | |
Today, the mountain attracts pilgrims and hikers from all over | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
Ireland and around the world. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
-Hello. -Afternoon, sir. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
I see that you are climbing Croagh Patrick on a pretty inclement day. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:25 | |
-Why are you doing it? -I heard it's one of the best mountains in Ireland | 0:26:25 | 0:26:29 | |
and hiking is what I do, what I love, | 0:26:29 | 0:26:32 | |
and I heard the legends about St Patrick climbing the mountain, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:35 | |
the penitant climbing the mountain and all that, | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
and that's something I had to see before I left. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:40 | |
Do you have any religious views or feelings? | 0:26:40 | 0:26:42 | |
-I'm a Catholic, sir. -You're not going to get much of a view today. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:46 | |
-Does that make a difference? -No, not at all. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:48 | |
-Why do you say that? -It's the journey. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:50 | |
It's the journey that makes the experience. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
As I end my journey in Ireland, I couldn't agree more. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
Take an island separated from other land, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
inhabited since the dawn of history, with its powerful myths and | 0:27:06 | 0:27:11 | |
distinctive language, heat with religion. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
Whipped together, these ingredients produce a national emotion. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
Add songsters and poets inspired by this verdant landscape and flavoured | 0:27:19 | 0:27:26 | |
with the fiddle and the harp and the emotion becomes a hope. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:31 | |
Stir with colonial repression and a terrible hunger, | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
and the hope becomes a determination to be free. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:38 | |
At the time of my Bradshaw's guide, Ireland was approaching boiling point. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:43 | |
Next time - through breathtaking scenery, | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
where I'll encounter magnificent beasts, | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
mimic fearless explorers and witness distinctive customs. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:03 | |
I'll travel 1,500 miles, | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
recapturing the excitement and promise of the American frontier. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:10 |