THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL.
| Number 37. | SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1841. | Volume I. |
ROSS CASTLE, KILLARNEY.
We have heard some of our readers express surprise that weshould not before this have taken notice, among our topographicalcollections, of some of the features of the far-famedLakes of Killarney; but the truth is, that those features,though of the highest beauty, are not, for the greater part,such as wood-cut illustrations could adequately express; andeven those which are properly suited to the powers of the graverhave been in most instances already so often drawn anddescribed, that it is now almost hopeless to expect to find eitherany new points of view or historical incidents connected withthem, which have not already been made familiar to the readingpublic. Still, as our little weekly pennyworth is not intendedexclusively for the wealthy and well informed, but even toa greater extent for those by whom more expensive publicationsare unattainable, it is right that we should occasionallynotice subjects of popular interest, however familiar they mayhave been already made to a portion of our readers; and indoing so, we trust that we shall be able to make them insome degree acceptable to all, by the fidelity of our drawings,or the occasional novelty of the facts with which weshall illustrate them.
We have chosen, accordingly, as the first of our Killarneysubjects, the old favourite Ross Castle; not indeed as the bestor least hacknied, but as properly that which should begin theseries, for it is the first with which the Killarney tourist becomesfamiliar, and from which he usually starts to enjoy allthe others.
In a historical and antiquarian point of view, however, RossCastle is indeed one of the most interesting objects to befound in connection with the enchanting scenery of the lakes.It is the time-worn fortress of their ancient chiefs, and itspresence connects the history of man in distant times with theobjects of eternal natural beauty by which it is surrounded,and imparts to them that delightful feeling or charm of romancewhich, exquisite as they are, they would necessarily want ifit were absent.
Ross Castle, as its present remains show, was similar in itsplan and construction to most of those erected by the Irishchiefs in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and consistedof a lofty square tower or keep, to which were attached thedomestic offices, all which were surrounded by out-worksenclosing an ample bawn, and flanked by small circulartowers at their angles. In its general character, therefore,Ross Castle has no peculiar features worthy of notice; and itschief interest is derived from its situation, which is of themost striking beauty, commanding the richest scenery of thelower lake, and its wooded isles, shores, and mountains. It issituated on the east shore of the lower lake, upon thenarrow neck of the Ross or peninsula from which it derives itsname, and which, by an artificial cut through a morass,[Pg 290]across which a small bridge is thrown, has been convertedinto an island. Neither the date of the erection of this castlenor the name of its founder has been preserved; but itsarchitectural style will not allow us to suppose it much olderthan the early part of the fifteenth century, and history showsthat it was for a considerable period the residence of theillustrious fam