rth Munster. Between Portumna, at
the head of Lough Derg and Banagher, are the rich meadow lands of
Galway, along which the river winds tranquilly, passing beautifully
wooded islands; its banks green with rich, low-lying pastures. A few
miles from Shannon Bridge is Clonmacnoise, over which hang many ancient
memories of learning, of wars, and of worship. Near Athlone is a point
in the river where the Counties of Westmeath, Roscommon, and King's
County meet, and the waters of Lough Ree wash the shores of County
Roscommon on the one side and of Westmeath and Longford on the other.
Lough Ree is but little known to the tourist; and yet this lake, with
its rocky shores full of indentations, and its shoals of sparkling
islands, is one of the loveliest in Ireland. King John's Castle, on the
Roscommon side of the lake, is a magnificent Norman ruin, and the town
of Roscommon--which is not far from the brink of the lake--also contains
the remains of a fine castle and of a Dominican Friary. The castle,
which is flanked by four towers of massive masonry, was built in the
thirteenth century by Sir Robert de Ufford, and afterwards suffered many
changes of fortune; it is now the property of The O'Conor Don. The abbey
is chiefly interesting as containing the sculptured tomb of Phelim
Cathal O'Connor.

[Illustration: _Photo, Lawrence, Dublin._ Lough Ree, Shannon Lakes.]

Circular tourist tickets for one day trips are issued by the Railway
Company. Details will be seen on summer time tables.

[Illustration]

Cork and District.

CORK.

Enshrined in song and _saga_, set in the beautiful valley of a romantic
river, Cork is one of the pleasantest places within the four shores of
"the most distressful country." It is the capital of the rich Province
of Munster, "the wheat of Ireland," says a Gaelic proverb, and while it
preserves the characteristics of an old Irish town, here, too, the
traveller, familiar with the quaint cities of the Continent, will meet
with much that is suggestive of foreign scenes.

Cork sits snugly at the foot of, and leans her back up against, high
hills that shelter her from the north, and the breeze that blows up from
the sea is fresh and mildly bracing. From a height to the north
overlooking the city a bird's-eye view can be had of the entire
surroundings, and of what the poet Spenser called--

"The pleasant Lee, that like an island fayre
Encloseth Cork in his divided flood."

Away to the west