1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,440 For Victorian Britons, 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,000 George Bradshaw was a household name. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,160 At a time when railways were new, 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,600 Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks. 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,880 I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains transformed 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,480 Britain and Ireland, their landscape, industry, society 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:25,640 and leisure time. 8 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,720 As I follow its routes 130 years later, 9 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,720 it helps me to discover these islands today. 10 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,280 I'm completing my journey across Ireland, 11 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,080 now on the rugged north-western Atlantic coast 12 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,720 and I intend to take to the waters, 13 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:08,040 but safely, because the sea has claimed many lives. 14 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,880 Religion looms large in Irish culture. 15 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,920 I'll investigate how a beatific nun tackled poverty and hunger, 16 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,600 and I'll assume the high ground in search of Ireland's patron saint. 17 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,720 I began my journey on the coast at Wexford 18 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:39,040 and then travelled north to Dublin, the capital, before turning west. 19 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,040 I crossed this beautiful country 20 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:46,680 discovering an Irish identity stimulated by political struggles. 21 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,960 I'll be ending my Irish travels on the Atlantic coast. 22 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,600 For this final leg, I begin in Ballina, stopping next in Foxford, 23 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,720 before concluding in Westport and the coast at Clew Bay. 24 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,800 Along the way, things heat up, with an unusual Victorian health treatment. 25 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,440 Steam is rising all around me. 26 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,120 I learn of a terrible tragedy at Clew Bay... 27 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,600 A lot of the young people got very excited, 28 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,760 because they'd never seen a steamer before, 29 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,040 and they all went to one side to have a good closer look 30 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,560 and unfortunately, the boat capsized. 31 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:33,440 ..and stretch my skills at a woollen mill. 32 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,360 I'm involved in a delicate industrial process! 33 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:39,400 I'm on tenterhooks! 34 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,080 My first stop today will be Ballina. 35 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,960 Bradshaw's tells me it's probably more frequented by tourists than any 36 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,760 other part of the district, with 40 miles of splendid cliff. 37 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:02,240 The tourists might make excursions into the wild Tyrawley and Edis districts. 38 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,160 Despite the formidable reputation of the Atlantic, 39 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,360 I do intend to take a dip. 40 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,200 I don't want anyone to think me sea weedy. 41 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,360 As Bradshaw's indicates, 42 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,320 there was much to draw Victorian tourists to the region. 43 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,640 Arriving by train from towns and cities inland, 44 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:34,040 they would flock to the coast to take the air and waters. 45 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,160 Along the coast in Enniscrone, 46 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:44,680 a particular treatment has attracted visitors for over 100 years. 47 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,080 It relies on a locally growing ingredient. 48 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:50,920 I've come to meet Edward Kilcullen. 49 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:54,880 - Edward. - Michael. 50 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,120 What a very beautiful place, what a lovely day. 51 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,120 I'm really awestruck by it. 52 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,040 Well, you're very welcome. 53 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,920 Can it be true that you bathe in seaweed here? 54 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,200 Absolutely, Michael. And we have done for the last 104 years. 55 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,240 - Why? - Because seaweed bathing and seawater and seaweed is good for you. 56 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,680 Don't ask me to prove it scientifically, but tradition along 57 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,560 the west coast of Ireland has it that if you bathe in 58 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:19,000 seawater and seaweed, 59 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,520 it's good to relieve the symptoms of rheumatism and arthritis, 60 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,760 and years ago, that's why people took seaweed baths. 61 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,760 - Which seaweed do you use? This stuff? - No, that is bladderwrack. 62 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:30,600 It's not abundant enough for us. 63 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,120 What we use is Fucas serratus, more commonly known as Flat wrack, 64 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,040 which grows just a little bit further down the shore 65 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,040 and we have to harvest that every day. 66 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,080 So while the Prince of Wales in the 19th century is going to Bognor... 67 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:48,800 - Yes. - ..here, you are developing seaweed bathing, 68 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,680 also as a kind of genteel activity, 69 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,400 - is that right? - Genteel activity, yes. 70 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,760 The actual original bathhouse that was built in Enniscrone was built as 71 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,360 a private facility by our local landlord, who was a fashionable gentleman. 72 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,120 So he took a swim here in Enniscrone on the beach. 73 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,440 The water's only about 12, 13 degrees, so it will be freezing! 74 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,360 So he built a little bathhouse on the rocks 75 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:11,920 and so somebody would have his bath ready for him when he came in, 76 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,120 to warm him up. 77 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,440 So that was the first seawater bath in Enniscrone 78 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,120 and he was the one who did it. 79 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,400 So because he did it, other people decided to do it. 80 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,920 The seaweed is harvested by hand every day at low tide 81 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,200 and then taken up to the bathhouse, 82 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,520 which was opened for business in 1912 by Edward's grandfather. 83 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:34,640 Ah, thank you so much. 84 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:43,160 It still retains all the original porcelain baths, solid brass taps 85 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,720 and panelled wooden cisterns. 86 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,080 The process today is exactly as it was 100 years ago. 87 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,600 Now, Michael. So, I'm going to fill your bath with warm seawater. 88 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,680 As well, I'm going to pop the seaweed into it. 89 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,160 But first of all, you'll sit into your steam box, 90 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,560 so it opens your pores before your bath. 91 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,240 Sit in, close your door and you'll pop your head up at the top. 92 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:07,920 And you just lift the lever slowly. 93 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,160 Then, your bath and there's also a cold seawater shower 94 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,760 as well, yeah. Forgot to mention that bit! 95 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,960 So that closes your pores after, 96 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,040 so it's being pumped straight in from the sea, if you're brave enough. 97 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:26,760 The bathhouse has many regular customers who take weekly seaweed soaks. 98 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:32,160 The bath is filled with warmed seawater, then the seaweed is steamed, 99 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:33,640 turning it from brown to green. 100 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,200 - It's a completely different texture as well. It's oily and slimy. - Urgh! 101 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,960 The steaming process releases oils, 102 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,800 nutrients and alginate from the seaweed. 103 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:55,520 So your bath's ready for you, Michael. 104 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:57,120 - What do you think? - Er... 105 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:58,320 unusual, I would say. 106 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,360 So I'll just leave you to enjoy your bath, OK? 107 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:02,400 Thank you, Lorna. 108 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,120 Step one is to get inside the steam chamber. 109 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,600 Oh! That is a very strange feeling! 110 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:20,320 I have a little steam lever, here, which I'm going to operate rather gently. 111 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,240 Steam is rising all around me. 112 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,080 Actually, that's rather pleasant! 113 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:41,720 The heat and the steam open up the pores, ready for the seaweed soak. 114 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,320 Former politician involved in steamy scene. 115 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,640 HE COUGHS 116 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,600 Now, like Dracula rising from his coffin! 117 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:58,640 Oh! 118 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:06,320 I step into my seaweed bath. 119 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:09,560 Ah! 120 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,400 I can feel it all over my skin, sort of clinging to me. 121 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:24,920 But now, I've sort of got over the yuck factor, 122 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:26,560 it's actually rather nice. 123 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:32,080 The amber tint in the water is caused by iodine. 124 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:37,280 Seaweed is one of nature's richest sources of this therapeutic element. 125 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:39,680 It's certainly very relaxing, 126 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:42,480 but all good things come to an end. 127 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:47,680 Now for the Lorna challenge - a shower in cold seawater. 128 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,320 AH! AHHH! 129 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:25,240 My next stop will be Foxford, which the guide tells me is a small 130 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,880 place on the Moy, a good salmon river. 131 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,200 In Victorian times, a river could mean a mill. 132 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,800 A mill could mean work, rather than the workhouse. 133 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,320 Foxford, a village with a population of around 1,300, 134 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,000 is located in the western county of Mayo. 135 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,880 The great famine hit County Mayo hard 136 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,680 and nine workhouses were built for the destitute. 137 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,680 I'm visiting a more cheerful vestige of those times - 138 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:03,040 Foxford Wool Mill, run by Joe Queenan. 139 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,280 - Hello, Joe. - Hello, Michael. You're very welcome. 140 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,560 Thank you very much. I must say, I love visiting a mill. 141 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:19,000 And you've got some gorgeous-looking products here. 142 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,920 There's not too many of us left operational in the world at the moment 143 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,800 and this loom in particular is weaving Irish tweed 144 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,040 using Shetland yarns. 145 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,000 This is the sort of wool you use, is it? 146 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,120 This is the wool, it's lamb's wool, 100% Merino. 147 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,840 The mill, I suppose, was established by the river to use water power. 148 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:37,080 You won't be using that today. 149 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,480 No, we stopped using water power in 1965. 150 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:40,520 We're using mains now. 151 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,840 The mill dates back to 1892 152 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,520 and it's surprising to find out that its founder was no rich 153 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:56,760 industrialist, but a nun from the Irish Sisters of Charity, Mother Arsenius. 154 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,720 Joe, it seems like we're in the historic part of the mill here. 155 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:05,680 Tell me more about Mother Arsenius. 156 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:08,880 She obviously had a passion about helping people 157 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:13,120 and she visited Foxford and saw the destitution that existed in the area, 158 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,000 and she wanted to do something and help her fellow mankind. 159 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,960 This devout and driven nun secured a loan of £7,000 from the so-called 160 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,760 Congested Districts Board. 161 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,320 A mill race off the River Moy and mill buildings were constructed. 162 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,600 The early years were a struggle, but by the turn of the century, the mill 163 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:39,120 had begun to thrive and to employ much of the immediate population. 164 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,040 She was effectively, then, an entrepreneur, which seems odd to me. 165 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,160 I don't think of nuns as being entrepreneurial. 166 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,920 No, she knew nothing about textiles, knew nothing about business, 167 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,200 but she just had this vision and passion. 168 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:52,240 What do you think drove her? 169 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,840 She had a great faith in God and with that, a huge desire to help people. 170 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,360 And if we look up here, Michael, at her motto and logo, 171 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,200 "God's providence is our inheritance." 172 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:04,440 What does she mean by that? 173 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,360 Her attitude was you didn't just pray and hope things happened, 174 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,560 you went out, did your 100%, and providence met you the other halfway. 175 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:13,360 And what was her impact, then, on Foxford? 176 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:18,840 Huge. If you imagine, this place employed 250 people of a population of 700. 177 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,840 Today, the operation that Mother Arsenius set up 178 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,080 remains an important part of the local economy. 179 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,880 The workforce is much smaller, but the mill still employs 180 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:31,120 around 70 people. 181 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,360 This appears to be a delightfully colourful part of the process. 182 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:40,760 What's going on here? 183 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:42,760 This, Michael, is called a tinter. 184 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,160 It's a very, very old form of drying. 185 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,720 If you look at the two lines of chains with hooks on them, 186 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,840 they're known as tenterhooks. 187 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,120 So the expression under pressure or nervous comes from there. 188 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:56,760 I had no idea about that. 189 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:58,520 And what width are you using here? 190 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:00,360 We're using 66. 191 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,000 We need it to go out to 69. 192 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,920 Pressing now. 193 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:04,960 That's it. 194 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,680 - Perfect. Well done. - 69 on the button. - On the button. 195 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,280 And is there anything we should do while it's going through? 196 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,000 No. It's important to keep it straight, 197 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,800 so as the machine is moving, if you have to, apply some pressure, 198 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,680 mainly at the edges, and keep it straight. 199 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,920 - Well, let battle commence. - OK, Michael. 200 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,760 Now, come over here and just watch that your lines are straight. 201 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:30,520 It's perfect. 202 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,040 Hot air circulates through the machine, 203 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,760 which drives the fabric whilst it's being stretched. 204 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,000 I'm involved in a delicate industrial process. 205 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,480 I'm on tenterhooks. 206 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:08,320 Foxford Station is on a branch line off the main Dublin to Westport line. 207 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:14,120 In order to continue west, I'll need to make a most unusual change. 208 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,800 Riddle - when can you neither enter nor leave a railway station? 209 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,600 Answer - when it's called Manulla Junction, 210 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,000 because, whilst you can change train here, 211 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,400 there is no ingress and no egress. 212 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:43,040 You cannot buy a ticket here, you cannot buy a ticket to here. 213 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,040 Unique in my experience so far. 214 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:53,080 Serving only a sparse population, the station closed in 1963. 215 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,760 It reopened in 1988 as an interchange station only. 216 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,560 The Dublin train has taken all the passengers, leaving me alone. 217 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,880 Finally, my train arrives. 218 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,520 My next stop will be Westport, County Mayo. 219 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,960 Bradshaw says, "It's in a valley at the head of an inlet on the south 220 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,360 "side of Clew Bay under Croagh Patrick. 221 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,440 "A week might pleasantly be passed boating, 222 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,840 "picnicking and bathing amid the islands." 223 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,720 In the limited time that I shall have, 224 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,360 I intend to study disaster and divinity. 225 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:13,240 The planned Georgian town of Westport dates back to the late 18th century, 226 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,680 when Lord Sligo of Westport House cleared a village of 700 people to 227 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,600 make way for it to be built along the Carrowbeg River to Clew Bay. 228 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,280 Now, this is interesting. 229 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:39,600 The town before the railway was designated to be the port of the west of Ireland 230 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,760 and stacks of now vacant warehouses were built. 231 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:49,160 They might readily be converted into factories and ships run into 232 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,800 Westport with cotton from America. 233 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:56,440 In the 21st century, those warehouses were changed into hotels, 234 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,840 cafes and seafood restaurants. 235 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:00,880 Yummy. 236 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:12,560 To end my day, I want to try a local speciality from this coast. 237 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:20,760 Good evening. You're welcome to The Idle Wall. 238 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,000 Oh, thank you very much. I was hoping for some fresh seafood 239 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,280 - from Clew Bay. - Tonight, I have some really wonderful native clams. 240 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,480 Sold. And a glass of white wine, please. 241 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,480 - Absolutely, coming right up. - Thank you. 242 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,560 Ah! Gosh. 243 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,120 Fascinating clams, aren't they? 244 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:44,520 This is the prayer clam, you see the beautiful pearlised inside. 245 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,240 - I do. That's superb. - And this is a lighter shell one. 246 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,120 It's a little bit more sweet. 247 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:52,160 I'm going to try this prayer clam. 248 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,720 Dip it in the white wine and the garlic. 249 00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,040 Mmm. 250 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:02,080 Gosh, that's so fresh. 251 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,160 Now try the native clam. 252 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,800 What a delicious meal. 253 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,800 This morning, I start on the coast at Clew Bay, 254 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,000 looking out to the rugged Atlantic Ocean. 255 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,640 "Clew Bay," says Bradshaw's, 256 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:52,280 "forms an archipelago of 100 green islands popularly said to be 365, 257 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:57,040 "varying in size from a few acres to a mile in length. 258 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,560 "Mist and rain are the rule here." 259 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,160 And, indeed, bad weather threatens today. 260 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:08,400 Over time, the islanders have often had to close ranks 261 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,800 and not just against the elements. 262 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,600 One of the largest islands of the archipelago is Achill Island 263 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,120 and I'm meeting one of its residents, historian John Sweeney, 264 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:24,320 for a tour of the bay. 265 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,680 How many of these islands is populated? 266 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,760 Just four major islands with a decent population left. 267 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:54,200 The rest of the 360-odd islands are down to maybe an odd house. 268 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,000 What sort of communities do you have on the islands? 269 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,080 Sadly it's a two-ended side to the community. 270 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,560 We've the very young, up to 17 and 18, 271 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,320 and after that they go off to college, 272 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,240 emigrate usually after that and we don't see them again, 273 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,160 and then we have the very elderly on the island, 274 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,280 so we're a community of kind of two halves, the young and the very old. 275 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:21,360 Emigration has long been a part of life for the islanders of Achill. 276 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:25,280 During the famine of the 1840s, many left their homeland for good, 277 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,880 whilst others travelled for seasonal work in other parts of the British Isles. 278 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:37,720 In 1894, a terrible disaster would strike these migrant workers here in Clew Bay. 279 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:40,480 It was a shocking tragedy, 280 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,000 which consisted of migrants from Achill who were travelling to 281 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,240 Scotland to pick the potatoes. 282 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:51,640 They were on what they would call a hooker, that were a big carrying boat, 283 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,160 and they were just outside Westport to meet the steamer here. 284 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,200 It was picking them up and bringing them up to Scotland, 285 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,920 and a lot of the young people got very excited to see the boat because 286 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:01,840 they'd never seen a steamer before, 287 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:06,200 and they all went to one side to have a good closer look 288 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,880 and, unfortunately, the boat capsized and, as a result of it, 289 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:11,280 34 young people were drowned. 290 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,800 Tragic. Lost the whole island, as you can imagine. 291 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:23,280 The bodies were returned to Achill by train from Westport. 292 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,600 The line had just been completed and the very first train to run 293 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,720 performed this sombre service. 294 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:40,480 Sadly, the very last rail service into Achill would also be marked by tragedy. 295 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:46,960 The tattie pickers were in Scotland, 296 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,960 finishing up their contract for the year and they were locked in a barn 297 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:56,280 and, unfortunately, a fire started during the middle of the night and 298 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,440 ten of them lost their lives in this tragic fire. 299 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,800 The dead were once again returned by train. 300 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,960 It was to be the last rail service to the island before the line was 301 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:12,280 closed for good. 302 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:26,400 Leaving Clew Bay behind me, ahead is my last stop here in Ireland 303 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:28,600 and it's one of the most breathtaking. 304 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,840 Bradshaw's tells me that the tourist who neglects the ascent 305 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:40,360 of Croagh Patrick will lose one of the finest sights of its kind in the 306 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,080 British Isles and with such encouragement, 307 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,400 will I be daunted by a little rain and swirling mists? 308 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,520 The striking mountain of Craogh Patrick is the destination of 309 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,760 one of Ireland's most popular Christian pilgrimages. 310 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:05,240 The name is Irish for Patrick's Stack and is known locally as the Reek. 311 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,360 Guiding me up its slopes today is historian Harry Hughes. 312 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,360 - Hello, Harry. - Hello, Michael, how are you? 313 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:17,080 You're very welcome to a bleak and wet, but wonderful Croagh Patrick. 314 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,960 - You weren't put off by the weather, thank you. - Indeed not, indeed not. 315 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,480 I'd like to present you with a stick for the Reek, 316 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,280 traditionally the staff for climbing the mountain. 317 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,200 Very nice. Thank you very much. 318 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,320 We meet by a statue of St Patrick. 319 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,320 According to my Bradshaw's guidebook, 320 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,240 there is a hut on the mountain where, supposedly, 321 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,040 the saint sojourned for a time. 322 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,160 - Is that true? - It is true. 323 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,720 We know from earlier references, particularly the Book Of Armagh, 324 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:44,040 which is at Trinity College, 325 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,320 written 200 years after Patrick's sojourn on the mountain. 326 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,680 It clearly states that Patrick came here, we believe, 327 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,240 in the year 441 and stayed on the summit for 40 days and 40 nights. 328 00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,040 - Who was Patrick? - Patrick, we believe, came from Wales, but he 329 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:05,040 certainly came from Gaelic Britain and he was caught as a slave, 330 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,920 enslaved here, herding sheep for a number of years. 331 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,880 He eventually escaped, studied the Christian faith, 332 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:13,920 eventually became a bishop and came back to Ireland with the intention 333 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:15,680 of Christianising the Pagan Irish. 334 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,920 This wonderful mountain, 335 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,840 exceptional mountain with its deceptive conical shape, 336 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,600 was that of importance to early man before the Christians? 337 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:31,840 Hugely important. The archaeologists found early Roman jewellery, 500 BC, 338 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,040 which is 1,000 years before Patrick's visit to this mountain 339 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,360 and it would have been important for Patrick to conquer all the important 340 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,560 Pagan ritual sites on behalf of Christianity. 341 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,240 I'm not trying to get all the way to the summit today, 342 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,720 - but shall we press on and get on the way? - We'll try, anyway. Come on. - OK. 343 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,920 It rises to a height of over 2,500 feet. 344 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:01,120 It takes around two hours to climb the peak and one and half hours to descend. 345 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:06,720 It's become a tradition to climb the mountain on the last Sunday of July, 346 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,160 known as Reek Sunday, when 20,000 people make the ascent 347 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,960 and a priest celebrates mass on the summit. 348 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,720 Bradshaw's tells me that around the patron saint's day, 349 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,040 pilgrims doing penance climb on their bare knees. 350 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:28,360 There probably were some who would have walked this mountain in their 351 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:31,400 bare feet back then, but the vast majority of pilgrims would wear 352 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,120 hardy boots and climb the mountain and walk up and will kneel at the 353 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:36,960 summit, of course, to say their prayers. 354 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,120 I suppose that around the time of my guidebook, 355 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:43,120 pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick would have become a national phenomenon in Ireland. 356 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,320 Yes, the train companies got on board and many trains brought 357 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:51,080 pilgrims to this mountain and they built a new church on the summit in 1905. 358 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,360 So we know for quite a number of years after this, 359 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,120 the main mode of transport coming to Croagh Patrick was by rail. 360 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:00,280 What do you think is the significance of Croagh Patrick to 361 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,520 - the Irish people? - This is a hugely important site. 362 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:07,320 This is the interface between the mother Earth and the spiritual world. 363 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,240 And this, to Irish people, is the holy mountain of Ireland. 364 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,480 Today, the mountain attracts pilgrims and hikers from all over 365 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,800 Ireland and around the world. 366 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,480 - Hello. - Afternoon, sir. 367 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,200 I see that you are climbing Croagh Patrick on a pretty inclement day. 368 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:29,240 - Why are you doing it? - I heard it's one of the best mountains in Ireland 369 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,040 and hiking is what I do, what I love, 370 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,840 and I heard the legends about St Patrick climbing the mountain, 371 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,000 the penitant climbing the mountain and all that, 372 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,120 and that's something I had to see before I left. 373 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:42,960 Do you have any religious views or feelings? 374 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,360 - I'm a Catholic, sir. - You're not going to get much of a view today. 375 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:48,840 - Does that make a difference? - No, not at all. 376 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:50,720 - Why do you say that? - It's the journey. 377 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,600 It's the journey that makes the experience. 378 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,920 As I end my journey in Ireland, I couldn't agree more. 379 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:06,360 Take an island separated from other land, 380 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:11,240 inhabited since the dawn of history, with its powerful myths and 381 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,600 distinctive language, heat with religion. 382 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,640 Whipped together, these ingredients produce a national emotion. 383 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:26,160 Add songsters and poets inspired by this verdant landscape and flavoured 384 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:31,160 with the fiddle and the harp and the emotion becomes a hope. 385 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,840 Stir with colonial repression and a terrible hunger, 386 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,960 and the hope becomes a determination to be free. 387 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:43,920 At the time of my Bradshaw's guide, Ireland was approaching boiling point. 388 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,480 Next time - through breathtaking scenery, 389 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:58,280 where I'll encounter magnificent beasts, 390 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:03,720 mimic fearless explorers and witness distinctive customs. 391 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,120 I'll travel 1,500 miles, 392 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:10,440 recapturing the excitement and promise of the American frontier.