Visit To Ireland, A (1948)

beautiful Ireland is one country that many of us have heard about places such as the valley of glendalough or beautiful County Clare our familiar names to many American families which had their beginnings in Ireland and so we in America have always had a fondness for Ireland and its people let's meet the people who live in this simple fetched cottage with its clean white walls this is Eileen and her father and grandmother they are interested in the letter that the postman has brought a letter from Eileen's uncle Tim in America he's going to visit Ireland and he's arriving next week by airplane so a few days later Eileen and her father often their pony cart to Shannon Airport to meet uncle Tim and there's the big sky liner arriving only half a day after leaving New York City uncle Tim is looking for Eileen whom he hasn't seen for several years suppose we imagine we've come with uncle Tim on his visit to Ireland what he sees and learns during his visit we will see and learn - as we go along the road we pass people on bicycles and in trucks and in pony cars and we see Irish men and women busy on the farms harvesting their grain at harvest time the threshing machines to a grand job for all the neighboring farmers together after the grain is trashed the straw is often used for fetching the roofs of cottages in some parts of Ireland the land contains a kind of turf called peat in a peat bog the turf or peat is cut with a tool called a slain the turf is stacked to let the air through so it will dry out as quickly as possible peat is something like coal it is an important fuel in Ireland once it is dry it is carried wherever fuel is needed sometimes in the peat bogs Eileen's father finds beads amber beads that legend says have magic powers Eileen's father often tells her about the other things that the bogs give up ancient articles that were buried long ago gold ornaments and other relics of Ireland's history speaking of Ireland's history we can see that too in her famous landmarks castles now mostly in ruins were both home and fortress for Irish chieftains who led their Klansmen in the old days of chivalry at the same time there were great Abbey's famous for their learning st. kevin's monastic settlement at glendalough founded in the 6th century was one of the best known in all Europe and the round tower in glendalough was a place of refuge for the holy men a thousand years ago in times of enemy invasion but of all the Irish ruins you've probably heard most of old Blarney Castle and the famous Pliny stone at the top the stone is supposed to make you an eloquent speaker if you kiss it as this lad is doing and if you don't get busy seeing everything upside down you come up ready for a lot of smooth talk or as we say a lot of Blarney but old ruins are not all we see in the Irish countryside the green pastures of the Emerald Isle support many sheep they supply meat for Irish tables as well as wool for clothing first the wool is carted spinning wheels are still used to spin the wool into long strands of yarn then the yarn is woven into cloth on a loom Irish homespun tweeds are famous the world over cattle raising is another important industry the village capital fairs are held early in the morning these cattle dealers are striking a bargain by actually striking each other's hands buying and selling are carried on in the towns and villages which in Ireland as everywhere else are the shopping and trading centers for the surrounding districts in the smaller towns life is quiet and unhurried but the larger centres of trade in Ireland such as Dublin are busy cities similar to our own O'Connell bridge spanning the River Liffey is a famous Dublin landmark there is more bicycle traffic than we usually see on American streets but doesn't this bus and auto traffic remind you of our own towns and cities and the crowds of downtown workers waiting to board the double-decker buses and hurrying home look quite familiar to us department stores much like those in American cities offer both Irish made and imported goods in the cities the store fronts often read like a directory of Irish family names let's visit a family that lives in one of the big cities this is the home of the O'Shea family Eileen's cousins let's see how the O'Shea's spend their day the first thing of course is breakfast that mother prepares upstairs in the bedroom the girls of the family are getting up here's owner and Noreen and Peggy O'Shea a typical day means getting up early and then eating breakfast with the whole family there's porridge for brother Terrence and bacon and eggs for all after breakfast the children leave for school and father is off to work boys and girls go to separate school buildings the Irish National School is the free public school going to school in Ireland is pretty much the same as going to school in our country in the school the Gaelic or Irish language is taught in addition to English and other subjects that we study after school the brothers and sisters practice their dancing while mother plays for them tan spend some time on his homework and finally later in the evening the family gathers about the hearth to enjoy the peace and quiet of their home but family life is not complete without the church it is in the many churches but the Irish people find expression for their deep faith the Irish love fun and celebrations tool at the Irish festival called fish the old arts of folk dancing and singing are staged everyone encourages the boys and girls who compete for prizes the pipers bands at the fair also compete for prizes in costumes marching and playing spirited Tunes another famous event in Ireland is the International Horse Show at Dublin the show attracts skilled riders both grownups and children who put on a thrilling display of fine horsemanship Ireland's national sport is hurling a rough and tumble game that is somewhat like field hockey and now we've seen all the different things that uncle Tim saw on his visit and as he returns to Shannon Airport Intel's Eileen he will always remember the people and the places he has seen we too will remember the beautiful Irish countryside with scene such as this quiet lake of Killarney this Marvin peak clad in a gray mist and the Golden Sun caught between the clouds many and B are the things that we have seen and learned on our visit to old Ireland [Music]