SNIPPET: An in-depth article on Kerry's Dingle peninsula appeared in the April 1976 issue of the Washington D.C. "National Geographic" magazine. The author, American Bryan HODGSON, writes that his mother was born in Cork and he spent many childhood holidays in West Clare, not far north. Some excerpts -- "Last parish before Boston: The Bay of Coumeenoole washes the final spit of Irish land that emigrants glimpse on departing by air for the promise of America. Paddy FITZGERALD made the trip by sea in 1922. He returned in 1930, resumed farming, and now (in 1976) lives with his wife, Eileen (both pictured) in a house near the bay. Most who leave, however, don't return, posing the greatest problem facing the Dingle Peninsula and other rural areas. (Poetess) Ethna CARBERY told of the exodus that sprang from hardship and suffering in the 1840's, the decade of the potato famine: 'They are going, shy-eyed cailins, and lads so straight and tall/From the purple peaks of Kerry, from the crags of wild Imaal/From the greening plains of Mayo, and the glens of Donegal.' Now most emigrants from Dingle go to England or other parts of Ireland, rather than to the United States. Money sent home by sons and daughters has long played in important role in the rural economy! ." Memories dance to an Irish ballad as retired farmer Paddy BOLAND is shown playing his accordion in a tidy, but sparsely-furnished parlour in one of the many photographs by Linda BARTLETT. Per the author, "The Irish Land Commission helps men like Paddy either continue farming or to retire 'with dignity and guaranteed financial security.' Consolidating the peninsula's patchwork of tiny fields into larger, more productive tracts, the commission also helps introduce modern equipment and techniques ... But it is now, of this moment, that the old accordion squawks and puffs like an orchestra of elves, and Paddy BOLAND is a concertmaster. His blunt fingers tap out hornpipes and marches on the worn keys, his foot marking time and his eyes turned sidelong down the years. 'The Laddo from Cork,' he plays, and 'Bold Thady Quill,' and the room dances with memories. Paudie would dance too, if he were not too shy, and too caught up in the magic of his grandfather's skill. He is 5, a! nd Paddy 72, and they are at the two ends of a great friendship. Paudie's father, Micheal, is 39. Five years ago he quit his construction job in England and returned with his wife, Kathleen, and daughter, Eileen, 7, to the family farm in Coumaleague, near Ventry. 'There is good money in Birmingham,' he says, 'But it's no place to be raising children.' His return is something of a phenomenon. Since 1946 more than a million Irish men and women have sought employment overseas. (In 1976) The Gaeltacht - the Irish-speaking enclaves - have suffered a 4.5 percent annual population loss, mostly among the young. Some 20 percent of the remaining male are bachelors, and men over 18 outnumber women 3 to 1. Since 1956 the Department of the Gaeltacht has tried to stem the loss by establishing handcraft industries and offering cash grants and tax benefits to investors willing to set up industries. In Dingle Belgians own a lucrative trout farm, whose packinghouse also buys and ships the daily catch of the local fisherman's cooperative. An American-owned computer center employs 65 local people to process magazine subscriptions. Two government-financed hotels and several guesthouses cater to a growing tourist trade. But subsistence farming is still the main occupation in Corca Dhuibhne. Like most farmers (in 1976) Micheal BOLAND hand-milks his small herd twice daily; he drives his pony cart three miles each morning to the creamery and back. He will net between a thousand and a thousand and a half pounds ($2,000-$3,000) in a good year, plus cash from his small flock of sheep. Inflation has bitten deep - Ireland has one of the highest rates in Europe, coupled with low average earnings. Things will get better, Micheal says. But lately his eyes don't quite agree. Paddy BOLAND ends his concert. He and Paudie go out to the field. It is never too soon for a boy to learn about cows." ...