Tag Archives: Paradise

This day thou shouldst be with me

G K Chesterton thought that Paradise was somewhere reached by way of Kensal Green, but in fact it’s at the junction of the Shannon and Fergus estuaries. I have had a page about Paradise for some time; I have now added some black and white photos taken by Brigadier Frank Henn, whose family home it was, in 1936 and 1938.

This has come about through the kindness of Seán Matthews, who made the arrangements. Seán’s grandmother Hester Mahon married a Matthews; her sister Geraldine married a Henn and Frank is Geraldine’s son.

The black and white photographs show, better than my colour pics do, why the place was called Paradise. The copyright in those photos belongs to Brigadier Frank Henn; I am extremely grateful both to him and to Seán Matthews for making it possible for me to use them. They are spread about among the earlier material on this page.

The Shannon River in 1902

Last week I gave the dimensions of the Shannon River:

Length: 770 feet

Breadth: 3 feet 6 inches

Depth: 1 foot 3 inches

Longest straight stretch: 90 feet

Tunnels: 6, totalling 356 feet, the longest 100 feet.

I added that it had a monorail link.

And so it did, in Bombay in 1902, at Lady Northcote’s Fancy Fete and Shannon River Show, with boats, a mono-rail, frocks, shamrocks and Art. Irresistible.

Crovraghan continuity

The cattle-carrying lighters and other interesting boats at Crovraghan.

Rosscliff

Rosscliff is a cattle port on the Fergus estuary. It is not clear whether this is the location of the quay referred to by Lewis and the Parliamentary Gazetteer in their entries for Ballinacally (Ballynacally).

Up the creek

Ballycorick Bridge is north of Ballynacally, on the western side of the Fergus estuary in Co Clare. There is a small quay just below the bridge; Samuel Lewis mentioned the trade to that quay in 1837, and it stayed in use until the 1950s.

Kensal Green

The way to Paradise.