Lord Kenmare's Park

Asenath Nicholson

Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger

1847

Chapter XVIII (17) | Start of Chapter

Glens had been my peculiarly pleasant walks in Ireland, but here I was in a way to get too much. I followed a clear stream for a mile or more, and saw no outlet. Darkness was gathering, and my prospects were not the brightest; at length a bridge led me across the stream, through the glen, to a deep ditch, on the top of which was a fence made of poles. Down the ascent of the ditch on the other side was a crazy ladder made of sticks, and to reach this I must climb and cross the fence. The risk looked dubious, and I walked away, ascended the hill, but could find no outlet; returned, and resolved to make the effort, much fearing the second part to the fall made a few days before. Throwing my muff and parasol before me, I made the leap, and happily succeeded. A long walk was before me, and—

"Wide o'er the scene her tints grey evening flings,"

but one happy reflection was, that I should escape the staring in town by the darkness. And so it proved.

Ireland’s Welome to the Stranger is one of the best accounts of Irish social conditions, customs, quirks and habits that you could wish for. The author, Mrs Asenath Nicholson, was an American widow who travelled extensively in Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine and meticulously observed the Irish peasantry at work and play, as well as noting their living conditions and diet. The book is also available from Kindle.

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An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

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