GRANT, James. Impressions of Ireland and the Irish. By the author of “Random Recollections of the Lords and Commons”, “The Great Metropolis” &c., &c.

London: Hugh Cunningham, 1844. First edition. pp. (1) viii, 308 (2) vi, 302. Modern green buckram, titled in gilt. Ex libris with stamp on titles. A fine copy.
A substantial and perceptive pre-Famine travel account by James Grant (1802-1879), Scottish journalist and editor, written shortly before the Great Famine and reflecting contemporary British liberal and Calvinist perspectives on Ireland. Grant, long associated with the Morning Advertiser and other major London newspapers, travelled extensively through Ireland with evident apprehension, yet arrived at a cautiously optimistic conclusion, predicting Ireland’s imminent “regeneration” and echoing Daniel O’Connell’s vision of a nation becoming “great, glorious, and free.” The work combines reportage, political commentary, and social observation, with detailed chapters on Dublin; O’Connell
and the Repeal movement; Conciliation Hall; Donnybrook Fair; Maynooth College; Cork; Kilkenny; Drogheda and the Boyne; alongside extended discussions of poverty, education, religion, temperance, Young Ireland, and the Irish press. Of particular importance is its eyewitness depiction of Irish social conditions, political agitation, and religious life on the eve of catastrophe, making it a valuable primary source for historians of nineteenth-century Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations.
The chapters include: Arrival in Ireland - Irish Humour - Kingston; City of Dublin - Present Appearances and Condition; The State Prisoners - Richmond Penitentiary - O’Connell - Steele - Barrett - Ray - Duffy - Dinner with the State Prisoners; Conciliation Hall - Repeal Association; Donnybrook Fair - Its Popularity with Irishmen - The Great Good done by the Temperance Movement; Visit to Maynooth College - Appearance of the Village - The College - Extent of the Building - Number of Students - The Library; Cork and its Neighbourhood - Literary Men - Father Mathew - Visit to a Convent - From Cork to Kilkenny - Tim Haly - His Eulogium on the Virtues of Water - Incidents on the Way - The Tutor and his Patron; From Dublin to Drogheda and its Neighbourhood - Road to Drogheda - Town - Its Appearance and Situation - Visit to the Place where the Battle of the Boyne was Fought; Travelling in Ireland - Beggars - Bianconi Cars - Physical Aspect of the Country; Irish Drollery, Bulls, Humour - General Remarks - Evasive Answers - Repartee - Illustrations given; Physical and Mental Condition of the Irish - Poverty - Irish Cabins - Clothing of the Peasantry - Their Mode of Living - Beauty of their Children - Causes of Poverty and Wretchedness in Ireland - Mental or Intellectual Condition of the Irish - Natural Characteristics; Political Condition of the Irish - The Question of Repeal - Federalism - O’Connell’s Tactics - Anti-English Feeling in Ireland; Religious State of Ireland - The Roman Catholic Faith - Influences of Catholicism on the Minds of the Peasantry - The Catholic Priesthood - Protestantism; The Temperance Movement - Its Wonderful Effects - Obstacles which had to be Overcome; Young Ireland - Origin of the Party - Its Numbers and Progress - Its Principles - Character of the Men Composing it - Their Writings; The Dublin Press - General Remarks - Saunders’ News Letter - The Freeman’s Journal; The Provincial Press - The Number of Papers - Their Aggregate Circulation; Remedies for the Evils of Ireland, etc.

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