Why English people were 'scared' of Ireland and one particular region in the 1800s

Galway, the third most visited county in Ireland, is a place where locals frequently bump into tourists from all corners of the globe strolling down the city's famous Shop Street. Yet, this reputation for warm hospitality and lively craic in the West of Ireland is more modern than many might think, particularly when considering the views held by our closest neighbors.

Colm Wallace's enthralling 'The Little History of Galway' delves deep into a peculiar belief held by the English about Galway, especially Connemara, which deterred them from visiting. Certainly, bandits and rogues were part of 1800s Connemara's landscape, but much of the area's infamy and the associated fear can be attributed to anti-Irish sentiment.

The English perspective on Irish people, particularly the native Irish speakers in the West, was far from positive, reports Galway Beo . An article from a British newspaper regarding the Maamtrasna murders in 1882 along the Galway-Mayo border described the locals as "scarcely civilized beings, and approach far nearer to savages than any other white men."

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In 'Little History of Galway', Wallace recounts an anecdote about an Englishman named John Barrow who, in his 1835 publication 'A Tour around Ireland,' recounted his experience in Leenane: "Shortly after leaving Clifden we came upon a part of the road in an unfinished state where a party of some dozen remarkably fine-looking fellows were busily employed," he observed.

"Two of them, in perfect good humour, placed their spades across upon a level with the horse's breast, and brought us to a stand-still, declaring that we must pay a toll."

Barrow recounted how he tossed a few coins to the men before venturing into Joyce Country, the historic region straddling Galway and Mayo, which was once dominated by the Joyce clan for ages and later celebrated in a tune by the Saw Doctors. Upon arriving at the residence of the Joyce family head, Big Jack, Barrow was granted permission to stay overnight.

"One of the first subjects he discussed was the dread that our countrymen seem to have of traveling through Connemara," Barrow added.

"He said he really believed that all who had gone through his country expected to have their throats cut, and asked me if I had entertained no fears myself. I told him none whatsoever, but admitted that my friends in England had cautioned me not to enter his country alone."

Joyce found this highly amusing, noting that he assumed the English considered them all barbarians but expressed hope that since the ice had been broken in the past two or three years, his people would become better understood. Barrow didn't just share his experiences; he also lauded the locality, writing "in no part of the country have I hitherto met with people more harmless or better disposed."

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"They appeared to me to be an uncommonly fine race of men, very good-humored, and extremely respectful and polite in their behavior to strangers."

Despite Barrow's fondness for the region, his English compatriots didn't alter their stance for a considerable time, and just ten years after his visit, the Great Famine commenced. Maybe it was the Connemara locals who should have been wary of the English, rather than vice versa.

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