TRANQUIL DREAMLAND

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 77, Issue 6567, 17 September 1948, Page 6

TRANQUIL DREAMLAND

DESCRIPTION OF EIRE

INTERESTING LETTER FROM PARISH PRIEST

“Eire at present is a little patch of tranquil dreamland in the discordant welter of contemporary civilisation. It is a country which- has preserved the timeless human qualities that make living an art and an adventure.”

This is the description given of his homeland by Father F. E. Quinn in a letter to the Waikato Independent. He left Cambridge in March to pay a visit to Ireland and intends to return in the near future. As he states: “Ireland is really wonderful, but I must return to the land of my adoption soon, because, New Zealand is lovely, too.” “I have seen nothing yet to surpass the friendliness of the Irish people, the fascination of their legends and the beauty of their scenery,” writes Father Quinn. “It is no wonder that the tourist is finding modern Ireland an oasis of delight. Everywhere one finds that antiquity is close, for every village has its memorial of the past. We can see the tombs of kings who were buried a thousands years before Homer was born. “I went with the annual pilgrimage to St. Patrick’s mountain in the west with 55,000 people. It takes eight hours to chmb to the top, where the church stands on the site, of Patrick’s 40-day retreat. There were 45 priests saying mass there and about 40 were from, other countries. I was also present at the annual gathering on the Hill of Tara. It is a green and quiet place now but for 2500 years it was loud with the pomp of Irish Kings.” Of Eire generally, Father Quinn gave an interesting description. The people were extremely happy, contented and satisfied with everything they had. There appeared to be much money in circulation. This was due to the high prices for farm stock, and agricultural produce and also to the many thousands of tourists who poured into Eire every week and spent lavishly. As a result, meals, souvenirs and shop goods were very dear. The tourists did not mind what they paid, which was making it hard on the poorer classes in towns and cities. Benzine was rationed to one gallon per horse power a month. (New Zealand’s ration is approximately three-quarters of a gallon per horse power a month.) “Eire has very much improved since I left it in 1931,” added Father Quinn. “The housing schemes under the De Valera Government did much to give the people a decent standard of housing in the country districts. Though they may be State built, subsidised or on loan, they are the private property, of course, of the occupants. “The farmers were a little unhappy about the compulsory tillage, but the saner ones among them realise that Eire would have starved for the past 10 years were it not for the compulsory growing of wheat, sugar beet and other crops. The people are producing as much as possible feeding themselves and thousands upon thousands of tourists, and if there is a surplus, it is sent to England or Europe. The prices in Eire were very high, as shown by the lines mentioned by Father Quinn. Eggs cost 5s 6d a score; butter, 2s 8d a pound; chickens, 12s 6d; sheep, £8 to £10; fat lambs, £5 to £6; cattle, £4O to £5O; bobby calves for rearing, £8 to £l2; sucking pigs, £6 to £10; baconers, £3O to £35. He stated that corn would be very dear this season. The new price for barley was announced last month at £2 17s 6d a barrel (16 stone). An acre would produce 20 barrels. “I think the most amazing thing about Eire to-day is the fact that all of her people, Catholic and nonCatholic, worship their God every Sunday,” commented Father Quinn enthusiastically. “It is really extraordinary to watch the huge crowds, from boys and girls to people in the sere and yellow of life, all wending their way to the church or coming home as the case may be. I think that might be the secret of being preserved from the ravages of war. “The standard of education has risen immensely. I saw some of the leaving certificate examination papers and it would take a good B.A. to do them in ordinary countries. This is no exaggeration. I have visited some schools and I found the children very bright with much general knowledge, and a facility for languages. At most primary schools the children could sing in three languages —Irish, English and Latin. There have been many new and ultra-modern schools erected under the previous Government, and they were all badly needed in an old country with prehistoric educational establishments.”