Westport Clew Bay Clare l slan d Croagh Patrick 6 Surroundings Mal l aran n y an d Ach i ll ' For fuller i nformation see the Company s Ne w a ed Ill ustr t Guide Book (Price 6d . ) FO REWO RD Modern travellin g facilities have placed the Wasr or IRE LAND within easy reach of all parts U i s r of the nited Kingdom , and there no longe any re ason why this m ag nificently endowed d i s triet of the Homelands should not become one l of the most favoured of al our Holiday Resorts . B RITIS H VIS ITORS coming to Ireland have the choice of many ways but for WESTPORT and the West the DIRECT ROUTE i s to Holyhead on the L c ondon and North Western System , and then e by fast steamer to Dublin . The Channel- crossing may be made either by the E i s Irish Mail or the Irish xpress , and reduced to a minimum by the great efficiency and rapi dity of the large and splendi dly-equipped passenger fleets on these specialised services . ’ A three hours sea trip brings the visitor to Dublin , a handsome city entered through a beautiful Bay ' and thence the way to the West — - a matter of four or five hours is direct by the l r Mid and Great Western Railway, starting f om the Broadstone Station . This journey is rendered pleasant by the up-to t h e date comforts and catering provided , and by e varied charms of many of the scenes travers d , f which o fer , as it were , a foretaste of the richer glories at its end . WES T P O RT CROAGH PATRICK—NEWPORT— MALLAR ANNY- THE RAILWAY HOTEL—FISH ING AND GOLFING—A TRIP TO ACHILL HE long-fam ous West of Ireland Towns are winning new renown as the years pass by , as fresh legions of friendly prospectors w ul come and go , carrying home ith them delightf ar memories , and spreading far and ne the praises of those inspiring scenes . Unlike many other ’ al districts which appe to the tourists patronage , Connaught is no circumscribed area of pretty n . picturesque ess It is an entire Province , through out which Nature has lavished her varied gifts with a generosity that defies enumeration in al i t detail , and is indeed most bewildering in s total magnificence . ODE RN L S M TOURING FACI ITIE . And thereto has lately come the busy mind a e of man , pl nning how to place thes riches within reach of enjoyment by the world at large pushing out his railway extensions into the remoter haunts , raising his fine modern hotels beside the ancient loughs and under the shade of the stern old ri rril un mountains that look down g y , but not kindly , on the fairylands beneath . I AY HEAD UARTERS DEAL HOLID ' . Where there exists so extreme a diversity of a , i s a t o sa natural attr ctions it not e sy , y that 2081318 3 any one part of these favoured areas is more typical of the Western Hig hlands than any other . WEsrP ORT o But , with its neighbourho d , has a s peci al claim and is deserving of a speci al treat o ment . As a holiday res rt it is both an end in ee itself , and a base from whence one may proc d On — more adventurous excursions to Connemara, c for instan e , on the one side , or up to Ballina and Sligo , on the other . Such being its credentials , the subject - matter of the present booklet may not be regarded as labour was ted or as suggestions falling upon unheeding ears . I-IE O R E T ' U N Y FROM DUBLIN . Westport is one of the f arther outposts of the n ail - Midla d Great Western R way , a wide stretching system which serves the centre of Ireland and Of the entire Province Connaught , besides throw out as ing its branches so far north Cavan , and running powers so far in the southern direction Li r i as to the City of m e ick . Travell ng by the Midland from the Broadstone Station , Dublin , you may be sure that the irksomeness of a rather long journey will be reduced to a minimum by the expeditious comforts of an excellent train service . And what is more , when you come to the western limit the s ame Company will foll ow you there , and cater for your entertainment by it s hotels , its fishing preserves , its golfing courses , u and its motor coach services . What more co ld you desire Y S S LVAN SCENE . S WE TPORT is a good , thriving business town at of nearly inhabitants , situated amidst l - l tractive we l wooded surround ings . The C ifden coach es begin and end their journeys at the Railway Station , calling at the Railway Hotel . One of the visitors ’ first movements abroad might ’ al L S l i o s s be a pleasant w k through ord g deme ne , crossing the outflow of the lake -expanded arrowbe C g River , and thence on to Westport 'uay . In returning to the town the pedestrian a should vary the route , namely , by t king the w - path through the s ing gate on the right , on 15 the 'uay Side of the lake . This path really u pict resque , and beyond the Mansion passes the ruin of the superseded Protestant Church , and then crosses the Carrowbeg at a charmingly sylvan spot . Hence the bank of the stream ul w sho d be followed , and the outward route ill be rejoined in due course . CROAGH PATRICK . In the vicinity of Westport stan ds one of the predominant n at ural ' feat ures of this part of the — H I country the famous CROAG PATR CK . This u t al a - mo n ain , most equally notable as view point ' i and as a place of rel gious pilgrimage , is most easily reached by driving about 6 miles along . i the 'uay road Before ascend ng , a visit may i I Y t be pa d to MURR SK ABBE , which is a shor distance to the right , towards Clew Bay . The ruin represents a fourteenth - century house of Austin Friars . To climb Croag h Patrick feet) you cross a the eastern spur of the mountain , and then be r up to the right , and the path followed by the devout is unmistakable . Pattern Day is St . ’ 1 Patrick s D ay , March 7th . Again , on the last Sunday of 'uly , thousands of Catholics , aecom ani ed ai p by prelates and clergy , ascend the mount n to the summit to take part in the se rvices of the are c Church , which here elebrated with great i a r. solemnity, in the Open This annual event is al n ways one of peculiar impressive ess . For as the ordinary visitor an cent of Croagh Patrick , k i s r e under summer s ies , a vivifying expe ienc . The bold cone commands a noble view . Conne ll B a mara, Murrisk , Achi , but especially Clew y , m t e i mediately below , with Clare Island in h r are u i n weste n dist ance , incl ded the panoram a. AR AB S REM K LE FEATURE . Within a do'en miles of pedestri an or cycling reach from Westport there are two Objects worth S E . A W visiting . About 5 miles is AGH GO ER i ROUND TOWER . Close by s the ruin of an Cha el r ancient p , with a quite emarkable east was window . Aghagower the seat of a Celtic s i n d mona tery , which is sa d to have been fou de . I 2 by St . Patrick t is something over miles l E . r N from Aghagower to Ail e Church , nea i s M Castl e which the ruin known as , about which history seems Silent . A few hundred yards south from the road i s F OF I the GUL A LLE , a large cavern through which the Aille flows . It is a fine example of a phenomenon common enough in limestone districts . fl i s In times of ood , the pit filled and the fields a c sometimes flooded , but fter an absen e of heavy rain the subterrane an channel can be explored for some di stance . E X CELLENT FI SHING WATERS . ' A journey of some twenty minutes by rail n r from Westport , through a pastoral cou t y, W O l brings us to NE P RT, a little port on C ew Lawr nc D ubl in . P h oto by ' ( e e , R R IS HOO E A B B EY co . M A Y O . B U L , awr nc D u in L bl . ' e e, R OS TUR K co M A Y O. , . P h ot b Lawren c D u l in o . y ' ' e , b ’ R A I W A Y ( 0 s HOT E MA A R A NNY . L L, LL P h t b Lawr n in ce D u l . o o y ' ( e , b VI EW F R OM TH E HO TE M A A R A NNY . L , LL e — n B ay . This villag is a capital place with a — unpretending hotel for the angler wh o i s fortunate enoug h to obtain pe rm ission for a day or two on one or other of the attractive waters .