Entrance of the Dargle from St. Valori, the Seat of J. C. Walker Esqr.

Artist(s): John Carr (Draughtsman), Thomas Medland (Engraver)

View of the Dargle River from St Valery’s, the residence of J.C. Walker, Esq. In the foreground and on the right, a road leads uphill. To the left and in the centre of the image a path runs along the riverbank, where a man is standing, holding a fishing rod, and two other figures are sitting nearby. Left of centre is a a bridge across the river, over which a carriage and a horseman have just passed at full gallop. Fields and hills lie beyond the river, with mountains in the background. The landscape is dotted with deciduous trees and cypresses

Inscribed in Image

Signature – Drawn by Jn. Carr Esqr. / Engraved by T. Medland
Caption outside of boundaries of image – Entrance of the Dargle from St. Valori, the Seat of J. C. Walker Esqr. / Published June 2 1806 by R. Phillips. No. 6, New Bridge Street, Blackfryars

Image Details

Genre	Landscape
Technique	Aquatints
Subject(s)	Nature, Rural life
Geographical Location	Leinster – Province St Valery's – Named locality Wicklow – County
Keyword(s)	Bridges, Buildings, Cabins, Carriages & coaches, Fishing, Hats, Hills, Horses, Houses, Lands, Men, Mountains, People, Rivers, Trees
Colour	Coloured
Dimensions	40.5 cm x 20.5 cm
Published / created	1806

Bibliographical Details

Travel Account	The stranger in Ireland
Contributor(s)	John Carr — Role: Author of travel text
Print or manuscript	Print
Location of image in copy	opp. p. 441
Source copy	National Library of Ireland LO 2699 Dir. Off.
Permalink	https://ttce.universityofgalway.ie/irelandillustrated/view/image/ii_image_1371729953
Rights	Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Related text from travel account

I made a sketch of the entrance to the Dargle, from one of the lower walks of St. Valori; nothing could be more beautiful than the river, which / – leads you on / To the extreme bound, / Of a fair flowery meadow, then at once / With quick impediment, / Says stop, adieu, for now, yes now, I leave you, / Then down a rock descends. / There as no human foot can follow further, / The eye alone must follow him, and there / In little space you see a mass of water, / Collected in a deep and fruitful vale, / With laurel crowned and olive, / With cypress oranges and lofty pines: / The limpid water in the sun's bright ray, / A perfect chrystal seems. // The mountains that rise behind this entrance of the Dargle are called the two Sugar-loaves: to the lesser one the English gave the name of the Gilt-spur Hill. The English settlers in this neighbourhood destroyed every trace of the Irish language, and left nothing but the brogue behind. The conversation at St. Valori, amongst many interesting subjects, reviewed the native promptitude of the low Irish, when one of the party said that a gentleman of his acquaintance one day tried to puzzle a common bog-cutter with the following question : "How far, my good man, is it fro in Mullingar to Michaelmas?" – "As far," said the fellow, "as from Whitsuntide to the ace of spades!" [pp. 440-441]