The history of Sligo : town and county

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read the passage as the book has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too.

1. Tirerrill district landscape and timber heritage

   Tirerrill · barony · Sligo

   The barony of Tirerrill in south-east Sligo is described as a circular framed plain bounded by named hills, with tumuli increasing in size southward. The well-timbered north-west contains Union Wood, Markree demesne, and Annaghmore, noted for trees of exceptional size and quality.

   Read the passage

   TiRERRiLL, rede Tirollioll, so-called from OUioll, son of Eochy Moyvane, occupies the south-east of the county Sligo. The district, as seen from one of the neighbouring eminences, resembles, not a little, a framed picture or map, more or less circular ; the elevations of Union Rock, Slieve da En, Branlieve, the Curlews, Drumfin, and Carrickbanagher, forming the frame. The enclosed plain, which maintains all through much the same level, is tumulated ; the tumuli, or hillocks, gaining somewhat in size as one moves towards the south, Ardleymore being larger than Ardleybeg, Gaddan than Ardleymore. Sooey than Gaddan, and so on till the southern boundary is reached at Moytura and the Curlews.

   The north-west and west portion of the barony is well timbered, containing, as it does. Union "Wood, CloonmucdufF, Markree demesne, Cloonamahon, and a considerable part of Annaghmore. Some of these places produce trees of great size and the finest quality. The beeches of Annaghmore, the limes and elms of Markree, and the ashes, oaks, and firs of Union Wood, are equal to anything of the kind in the country.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 116

2. Ancient sea stones on the altar of Toomore

   Toomore · townland · Mayo

   Seventeen ancient sea stones remain safe and undisturbed on the so-called 'altar' in Toomore, preserved by the superstitious veneration of the local people. They are thought to be the ancient sacred signa used for oath-taking.

   Read the passage

   The exact nature of the practices connected with these stones is not known, but judging from what is told of the " Malediction Stones " of Inismurray, it would appear that the stones were manipulated for the purpose either of clearing oneself of a charge, or of fixing one on others, and invoking vengeance for it. It is only a year or two ago that an angry islander of Inismurray, who fancied himself wronged by a person with whom he had some dealing, went to the priests of the parish, and asked them for leave to " turn the stones" on the supposed wrong-doer. In the Bollandist life of St. Kevin of Glendalough (See O'Hanlon, Part 61, p. 41,) there is an account of a man who stole an animal belonging to St. Lugid,^ and of whom it is said, '* Accessit ad signa sacra ut juraret;" and the writer cannot help thinking that the signa sacra in question are no other than the seventeen sea stones which, after the multitudinous accidents of fourteen or fifteen hundred years, may be still seen, safe and undisturbed, on the "altar" of Toomour, the superstitious veneration of the people serving as their safeguard all this time.

   These barbarous and sinful customs, whenever they were introduced, became enormously aggravated about the close of the sixteenth and the earlier years of the seventeenth century, when the Catholic Church was under the ban of the Government, its action paralysed, and its priests in banishment. Other evil practices — drunkenness, magical incantations, keening at wakes and funerals (ulalatus) — extended widely at the same time ; and, in the absence of regular religious ministrations, the country was filled with impostors of all kinds — fortune tellers, soothsayers, " wise men," herb curers, and, godless wretches, who, though laymen, carried about to wells, and fairs, and other scenes of public resort, crosiers, crosses,

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 311

3. Annagh Ivenaghan or Kingsborough in 1615 inquisition

   Heapstown · townland · Sligo · 1615–1708

   A famous inquisition about the lands of county Sligo, sped at Roslee in 1615, records that Carbry McDonogh of Annagh Ivenaghan was seised of that townland. The place was also known by the alias Kingsborough, from the King family who held it in the early eighteenth century.

   Read the passage

   Referring, in a note, to the words *' Aenach Tireoilellaj'^ mentioned by the Four Masters at the year 1397, he observes, *' This was, most probably, the village of Carn-Oilella, now in ruins, on the west side of Lough Arrow, in tbe barony of Tirerrill, and county of Sligo ; '* but if he had devoted to this entry the serious study, which he gave to other subjects, he could have easily found that the aenach, or, rather, the annagh of Heapstown, has been always called Annagh Ivenaghan, sometimes, in more modern documents, with the alias of Kingsborough.* To give an instance': the famous inquisition about the lands of the county Sligo, sped at Roslee, in 1615, states, ** Carbry McDonogh, of Annagh Ivenaghan, is seised as of fee of Annagh Ivenaghan and the ^parcel of land called Annagh Ivenaghan,^' In the same inquisition, Heapstown is called simply

   * In D' Alton's Memoir of the family of King (Annals of Boyle, Vol. I., p. 53), the author says, " Francis King, the eldest son, married, in 1698, Dorcas, eldest daughter of William Ormsby, of Annagh, County Sligo, aod, dying in 1708, left issue by her two sons and one daughter, viz. : — William of Annagh- Ihanagher, otherwise Kingsboroughy in the county of Sligo." See also Lodge's Peerage and Baronetage, Vol. Ill,, p. 223. Article, Earl of Kingston.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 130

4. Ballinafad Castle held Chancery inquisitions

   Ballinafad · townland · Sligo · 1625–1649

   As a recent construction, Ballinafad Castle remained habitable after other old Sligo castles fell into ruins. All county Sligo Chancery inquisitions of Charles I were held either in this castle or in the abbey of Sligo, in roughly equal numbers.

   Read the passage

   The castle, being a recent erection, continued habitable after the other old castles of the county — except that of Ballymote, which was in private hands — had fall-en into ruins, so that all the county Sligo Chancery inquisitions of Charles I. were held either in this castle or in the abbey of Sligo, the number held in each of these places being about equal. We learn from the Cromwellian Census of 1659, that in that year Henry Hughes, gent., was the Titulado of Ballinafad, that the population of the

   * Ordnance Survey Letter Book of county Sligo.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 164

5. Castletown, Drumcliff: cradle of the O'Connors Sligo

   Castletown · townland · Sligo

   Castletown in the parish of Drumcliff is described as an historical spot and the cradle of the O'Connors Sligo. The name is explained and identified with the Caislen Conor of the Annals of Loch Ce, and the district was always populous before passing to the Gores and Parkes.

   Read the passage

   Castletown, Drumcliff, an historical spot, I. 504. The cradle of the O'Connors Sligo, 505. Explanation of the name, 506. The Caislen Conor of the Annals of Loch Ce,

   507. Always a populous district,

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 336

   As the companion tells it

   Somewhere close to Castletown, you are passing through what the old records call the cradle of the O'Connors Sligo. This place is identified with the Caislen Conor of the Annals of Loch Ce, and it was always a populous district before it passed to the Gores and Parkes.

6. Cloonacool's 19th-century institutional buildings

   Cloonacool · townland · Sligo · 1830–1832

   Cloonacool's importance as a town dates almost entirely from the 19th century. Its Catholic church was erected around 1832, with Mass previously said in private houses, and its Protestant church was built in 1830 with a £900 gift from the Board of First Fruits. Sessions courts, a constabulary station, workhouse, and dispensary all followed.

   Read the passage

   Constabulary district ; that it gives plenty to do to two efficient and highly respectable doctors ; and that it is the place where the county Sligo portion of the Achonry clergy assemble for ecclesiastical conference and other corporate proceedings, it will be seen that it occupies a leading position in the localities of the county. It is to be noticed that almost everything which gives importance to the town dates from the present century. The Catholic church was erected about 1832, Mass being previously said in private houses on Sundays and holidays; the Protestant church was built in 1830, by means of a gift from the Board of First Fruits of £900, and was designed to provide for the accommodation of 180 persons ; while the other improvements mentioned — the Sessions courts, the Constabulary station, the workhouse, the dispensary, and the ecclesiastical conferences — all come later.

   Kilcummin, the chief burial ground of Cloonacool, contains an area of about 120 feet square — enclosed by a good stone and mortar wall — and lies in the valley of the Moy, at the foot of the Ox mountain, in a townland of the same name. The graveyard is crowded, and has a fair number of tombstones, on which the prevailing names are, Gray, Henry, Brennan, Hibbert, McHugh, and McGloin. At present there are no remains of a church, though people say, that ten or twenty years ago, there existed considerable fragments of one, the stones of which have been recently removed from their places to form headstones of graves ; a most objectionable practice, which has had a great deal to do with the disappearance of our old church structures.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 68

7. Convent of Mercy built in Sligo by Father Owen Feeny

   Sligo · town · Sligo

   Father Owen Feeny, once instituted Parish Priest of Sligo, set about building the Convent of Mercy, receiving liberal aid from townspeople and a munificent donation from Mr. Peter O'Connor. The building was completed and the Sisters took occupation.

   Read the passage

   add to the embroglio, Miss Madden soon married, and left for the neighbourhood of Boyle, where her husband resided. By this time the Bishop and Dean had quite enough of the Ladies' school, and its " lady superintendents," which was all the better for Siigo ; for they resolved, at whatever sacrifice, to procure for the town the greatest boon and blessing it has ever received — the presence and services of its incomparable nuns. Bishop Burke and Dean Donlevy would have been happy to be themselves the means of conferring this priceless benefit on the town, but both having been called to a better life before they could carry out their intentions, the good work fell into the able and willing hands of their respective successors, Doctor Browne and Father Owen Feeny. Once instituted Parish Priest of Sligo, Father Owen Feeny set about building the Convent of Mercy ; and having received liberal aid from the proverbially open-handed inhabitants of the town, and a munificent donation from Mr. Peter O'Connor, who was then as now the Guaire Aidhne of both town and county, had soon the happiness of seeing the building completed and the Sisters in occupation.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 247

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Sligo, the Convent of Mercy stands as the fruit of a long effort to bring religious sisters to the town. Bishop Burke and Dean Donlevy first wanted to secure what they called the greatest boon and blessing Sligo had ever received, after tiring of a troubled Ladies' school and its lady superintendents, but both men died before they could act. The work fell to their successors, Doctor Browne and Father Owen Feeny. Once instituted as Parish Priest of Sligo, Father Owen Feeny set about building the convent, helped by liberal aid from the townspeople and a munificent donation from Mr. Peter O'Connor, described as the Guaire Aidhne of both town and county. The building was completed and the Sisters took occupation.

8. Cromwellian Tituladoes and Restoration land grants in Tireragh

   Tireragh · barony · Sligo · 1652–1666

   Under the Cromwellian regime, various gentlemen were assigned townlands across the parishes of Tireragh including Rathlee, Finidy, Eosslee, Killyn, Duneil, Dunmeakin, Carrowrush, Carrowmalina, Lacken, Templeboy, Skreen, and Dromard. Many of these Cromwellian tituladoes retained their lands under the Act of Settlement despite the Restoration.

   Read the passage

   Notwithstanding the great change that took place at the Restoration, many of these Tituladoes, with the characteristic tenacity of Cromwellians, held to their debentures, and figure among the grantees of the Act of Settlement. Those who received grants under that act in Tireragh are the following : — Robert Choppyne, and Mary his wife, relict of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Gore, and Frances Gore, daughter of the Lieutenant- Colonel ; Sir Arthur Gore ; Captain Robert Morgan ; John Thornton ; Captain Charles Collis ; Captain William Ormsby, Cornet George Ormsby, Nicholas Rutledge, and James Ormsby ; Cornet Thomas Wood ; Lieutenant John Bourke ; John Nicholson; Thomas Lovelace; George Dodwell; Jeremiah Jones; Lord Collooney ; Sir Theophilus Jones ; John Vaughan ; Fitzgerald Aylmer ; Captain Lewis Wingfield, and a few others.

   Dromard. — High Ridge — which is the most eastern parish of the barony of Tireragh, and diocese of Killalla, has its name from the elevated situation of its old church on the slopes of the Ox Mountain, the remainder of its area being a lowland stretch along the left bank of the Ballysadare estuary. The land near the sea is rich, and the soil higher up, though light, is suited for tillage and sheep pasture. Tanrego, the seat of Mr. Yerschoyle, and Longford, the seat of Sir Malby Crofton, are well timbered and picturesquely situated, and have each interesting historical associations.

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 213

9. Curlew Mountains: from ancient woodland to reclaimed farmland

   near Curlew Mountains · mountain or mountain range · Roscommon · 1400–1499

   As late as the fifteenth century the crest and slopes of the Curlew Mountains were covered in wood and jungle. The land has since been reclaimed and now produces moderate tillage crops and coarse grass, with some plantations maintained by the landlord Colonel King Harman.

   Read the passage

   So late as the fifteenth century the crest and slopes were all wood and jungle, but the land being now reclaimed, the surface is covered with moderate tillage crops and coarse grass, there being some plantations in the occupation of the landlord. Colonel King Harman. There are a few houses on the plateau while the white-washed cottages, scattered picturesquely over the long southern slope, shine out and scintillate from the dark background so brightly, as to form one of the most striking sights which the traveller, by train, meets with in the run from Dublin to Sligo,

   The views from the crest are very fine — to the south, the famous far-stretching plains of Roscommon, the noble demesne of Rockingham, and the fine sheets of water of Lough Gara, Lough Ce, Lough Skean, and Lough Meelagh — and to the north the sweet, well sheltered Lough Arrow, the wooded demesne of

   Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 151

10. Droiched-Awnan, the Bridge of Adamnan over Dunmoran stream

    Dunmoran · townland · Sligo

    Over the Dunmoran stream there is a flag nine feet long and nine inches broad called Droiched-Awnan, the Bridge of Awnan or Adamnan. It is believed to be the Leo Adamnan mentioned in the Book of Fenagh, linking the saint's name to the local landscape.

    Read the passage

    Adamnan left his name to other objects of the neighbourhood besides the church. Over the Dunmoran stream there is a flag, nine feet long and nine inches broad, which is called Droiched- Awnan, the Bridge of Awnan or Adamnan, and which, no doubt, is the Leo Adamnan of the Book of Fenagh ; and near the church, but on the north side of the road, is a well called Tubber Awnan, over which there is a stone monument, which

    * Dr. Reeves, in his scholarly edition of Adamnan's Life of Saint Columba, writes : — " The contents of the shrine were various relics which Adamnan himself had collected. The record of the contents of the shrine is contained in a Brussels manuscript, which enumerates 26 articles consisting of manuscripts of the Gospels, hymns, and poems ; articles of apparel belonging to the saints of Ireland ; and a few relics of St. Paul and the Virgin Mary ; the aggregate of which must have filled a large box, and been a rather heavy load to carry about."— Memoir of St. Adamnan, in Preface, page Ixiii.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 217

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Dunmoran, over the Dunmoran stream, there's a flag stone, nine feet long and nine inches broad, known as Droiched-Awnan, the Bridge of Awnan or Adamnan. It's thought to be the Leo Adamnan mentioned in the Book of Fenagh, tying the saint's name to this stretch of the landscape. Adamnan left his mark on other spots here too. Near the church, on the north side of the road, there's a well called Tubber Awnan, with a stone monument standing over it. The Book of Fenagh and other records keep his memory alive across this corner of Sligo. Dr. Reeves, in his edition of Adamnan's Life of Saint Columba, notes that the shrine of Adamnan held 26 articles, among them manuscripts of the Gospels, hymns and poems, apparel belonging to the saints of Ireland, and a few relics of St. Paul and the Virgin Mary. A large box, and what Reeves calls "a rather heavy load to carry about."

11. Grangemore stone castle ruins

    near Grangemore · street · Galway

    A small stone castle, twenty-four feet square, stood in the townland of Grangemore, with considerable ruins still remaining. It featured a triangular-headed doorway and window, and a spiral stone stairway leading to a vaulted floor, and was likely the grange serving as residence and store-house for local religious.

    Read the passage

    In the townland of Grangemore there was a small stone castle, twenty-four feet square, considerable ruins of which still remain, showing, in one of the sides, a triangular-headed doorway and a triangular-headed window, and, in the interior, a spiral stone stairway leading to a floor resting on a stone vault. Though it is nowhere stated, there can be hardly any doubt that this building was the grange, which served both as a residence and a store-house to the religious who owned the place.*

    * Father Walsh, in his Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, page 649, writes, *'Near the church of Grangemore many religious were slaughtered by the persecutors." It is to be regretted that he gives no authority for the statement, nor particulars.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 219

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere about Grangemore, a small stone castle once stood, twenty-four feet square, and considerable ruins of it still remain. One wall holds a triangular-headed doorway and a triangular-headed window, and inside, a spiral stone stairway leads to a floor resting on a stone vault. It was never stated outright, but there can be hardly any doubt that this building was the grange, serving both as a residence and a store-house to the religious who owned the place.

12. Hazelwood identified as the aenach of Carbury

    Hazelwood · street · Galway

    The aenach of Carbury, referred to in medieval sources to distinguish it from Aenach Tireoilella, is identified as the place now called Hazelwood in county Sligo.

    Read the passage

    Aenach Tireoilella is certainly the spot now called Cut na Braher, near Ballysadare, but known, less than forty years ago, as The Aenach,* where, according to local tradition, a great fair was formerly held. On this spot the religious of Ballysadare built a cell or church, which is shown on the Down Survey map, and of which the foundations still remain ; and it was from this church the old, and now forgotten, parish of Enach, or Aenach^ of Tirerrill, stretching from Beladrehid to Carrickbanagher, took its name ; the name of the barony (Tirerrill), being added to that of the parish (Aenach), to distinguish it from the aenach of Carbury, now called Hazelwood, and the annagh of Leyney, now represented by Annaghmore, the seat of the O'Hara family. Aenach Tireoilella appears in English official documents as " Enaghe in Tirrerell ; " and we find it under this form in the grant of James I. to Edward Crofton of the possessions of Ballysadare abbey. In the old Survey of 1633, etc., it is given as the parish of " Enagh Tirerrill ; '' thus clearly identifying it with the " Aenach Tireoilella " of the Four Masters, which O'Donovan mistook and misplaced.

    This rectification is the more useful, as it leads to the identification of the place called Srath-an-fherain (literally, the Srath of the land, or the great Srath), which the Synod of Rathbreasil fixed as one of the boundaries of the diocese of Killala, and which has not been correctly identified ; for, as we learn from the Four Masters, at the year 1291, that the Aenach Tiroilella and Srath-an-fherain are adjoining districts,! we are warranted in concluding that the latter is the place now called Shramore (the great Shrath), which, in fact, adjoins, on the south, Cut na hraher, or, the ancient Aenach.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 130

13. Hazelwood ownership under O'Connors, Creans, and Wynnes

    Hazelwood · street · Galway

    Hazelwood belonged under Celtic rule to the O'Connors, later passing to the Creans and then the Wynnes. The Wynne family is documented in connection with the estate.

    Read the passage

    Commands the finest views of Lough Gill, 445. Belonged under Celtic rule to the O'Connors, 449. Later to the Creans, and Wynnes, 450. The Wynne family, 451. Tillage in, 11. 464-465. Heapstown ; error of O'Donovan, II. 243. Another error of his regarding the Conmee family, 245-6. Hely, or O'Hely, family, owned large stretches of Tirerrill, including Hollybrook, or Ballyhely, II. 307. See also, II. 242. Bight Rev. Dr. Healy, a member of the family, 307. His Lordship in the pulpit of Sligo Convent, I. 308. Hickson, Miss, and her Massacres of

    1641, IL 83, 91. Higgins, O', The family of, has produced many men of note, II. 505. Donnell O'Higgins, 505. TeigeDall, 505. Maolmury O'Higgins, Archbishop of Tuam, 506. Bryan Higgins, physician and chemist, 506. William Higgins, a distinguished chemist, 506. Hill, Rev. George, mistake of, I. 143. Hogan, Rev. E., S.J., our Irish Bollan-

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 340

14. Houses of Cartron built from Knockmullen stones

    Cartron · townland · Sligo

    All the houses of Cartron near Tubberscanavin were built with stones taken from Knockmullen castle, many of them tastefully hammered and chiselled, as may still be seen.

    Read the passage

    All the houses of Cartron, near Tubberscanavin, were built with stones taken from this building, many of them having been tastefully hammered and chiselled, as may still be seen. Sir Richard Bingham occupied Knockmullen castle in 1586, while on the look out for the Scots whom he put to the sword at Ardnarea.

    7. Doonamurray, in the parish of Kilross, called in the deed of Partition of the O'Connor Sligo estate, Downamoney, alias Downamony, contained a castle of the family, which was captured by O'Donnell in 1516. No remains of this structure are now visible. It may be the building now called Drumcondra Castle.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 125

15. Kilcummin's founding saint traditions

    Kilcummin · townland · Sligo

    The name Kilcummin signifies the church of Cummin, but the identity of this saint is uncertain. The writer suggests two probable founders: Caeman of Ard Caeman, brother of Saint Attracta of Killaraght, or Saint Coemgen (Kevin) of Glendalough, who may have passed time in the district and founded a religious house there.

    Read the passage

    There are two saints of the name, one or other of whom, it would appear to the writer, may with great probability be fixed on as the founder of Kilcummin. The first is Caeman of Ard Caeman, who is stated in the Life of Saint Attracta, to be a brother of that saint ; and as Attracta had her religious establishment in Killaraght, the fact would incline one to the belief, that her brother built a church in her neighbourhood. The second would be Saint Coemgen of Glendalough, who, for reasons which shall be given later on,* may be taken to have passed some time in this district, and to have founded there a religious house.

    This may be the most suitable place to give a very old and interesting document, which is found among the Irish charters in the Book of Kells. It is a Charter whereby two townlands of Leyney are devoted to the support of pilgrims. The document is introduced by a head-line in Latin, but is written in Irish. The following is O'Donovan's translation of the Irish : —

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 69

16. Killerry parish on Lough Gill, former forest

    Killerry · townland · Sligo · 1633

    The Half-parish of Killerry stretches along the southern shore of Lough Gill and was formerly a natural forest. Slish Wood, with its naturally planted oaks, still clothes the precipitous northern side of Slieve-da-En mountain. A 1633 survey noted that the parish's timber was being daily wasted by sale to Sligo.

    Read the passage

    Killerry is picturesquely situated, stretching along the brink of Lough Gill, and forming the most striking portion of the southern shore of that lake. The district was formerly a natural forest, as is still the portion of it called Slish Wood, with its hardy oaks, all of nature's planting, rising from the water's edge and clothing the precipitous northern side of Slieve-da-En mountain up to the crest of the range. Not only Slish, but most of the parish was covered, three hundred years ago, with timber, which, as we learn from the Survey of 1633, "was daily wasted by sale to Sligo,"just as the peatbogs of the place are now being exhausted by sales of turf in the same quarter.

    The old church of Killerry, which was sixty-six feet long, and iwenty-four wide, was very solidly built. The eastern gable and two sidewalls are still standing. At about thirty-six feet from the eastern gable, a wall runs from sidewall to sidewall ; and it is clear that the western portion of the building, from this cross wall to the end, was used as a residence by the clergy of the church — an arrangement not unusual in other old

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 170

17. Kilturra estate built up by Phillips and Cooke

    Kilturra · townland · Sligo · 1745–1873

    Simon Phillips built a house at Kilturra in 1745. Bishop Phillip Phillips of Achonry built a thatched residence there, and on his translation to Tuam in 1785 made over his interest to his niece Julia Martin. The estate was sold in 1873 by the Church Temporalities Commissioners and purchased by John Ormsby Cooke, a popular landlord and magistrate.

    Read the passage

    The Phillips of Cloonmore commonly held Kilturra by lease from the archdeacon for the time being. Mr. Simon Phillips built a house on the farm in 1745, and came to reside in it. The Right Reverend Phillip Phillips, Bishop of Achonry, built a, new residence, which is the thatched house now attached to Mr. John Ormsby Cooke's pretty cottage ; and, on his transla-

    * Joyce's Irish Names of Places. — First series. — p. 28.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 103

18. Knocklane conical hill amid dreary landscape

    Knocklane · hill or hills · Sligo

    After passing Johnsport the landscape changes abruptly; Knocklane, or Broad Hill, stands out as a bright, regularly proportioned conical elevation, but the surrounding tract is described as treeless, shrubless, and among the coldest and bleakest in the county.

    Read the passage

    After passing Johnsport, or, rather, Johnes-port, so called from a family of the name of Johnes, or Jones, that resided there, the scene suddenly changes. Except Knocklane — Broad Hill — which is a bright looking and regularly proportioned conical elevation, the tract before and around the traveller is as dreary a one as could easily be found. Devoid of every element of beauty, either in contour or in colour, as w^ell as treeless and shrubless, it is about the coldest and bleakest bit of landscape in the county. The effect is all the more felt after coming through Lissadell, with its verdant undulating grass lands, its rich symmetrical tillage fields, its stone and mortar fences, and its numerous plantations, all this being in striking contrast with what appears in Ballyconnell — scraggy patches of sickly oats, potatoes, and cabbage ; scraps of yellow withered grass ; open ditches half filled with putrid w^ater ; and a string, along the road, of low thatched cabins, each of which is covered with a net-work of straw ropes, fastened to iron or wooden spikes, stuck in the gables and side- walls: all this elaborate defence against storms, suggesting to the spectator the violence with which the Atlantic gales sweep often over this bare and exposed region — violence so terrible, that a facetious jarvey,

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 19

19. Lecan M'Firbis castle at Kilglass

    Kilglass · townland · Sligo · 1604–1633

    The castle at Kilglass, associated with the Lecan M'Firbis family, was likely a plain stone house rather than a true castle. By 1604, eight persons of the name lived there, seven described as 'kerne' and one as 'husbandman,' reflecting their humble position.

    Read the passage

    structure, considering its state of ruin in 1633, that is, in less than a century after its supposed erection. Very likely it was a plain stone house, for such houses in those times were dignified with the name of castles — and the humble position of the Lecan M'Firbises in 1604, when, of the eight persons of the name who lived there, seven are described as " kerne," and one entered as " husbandman," would go far to confirm this conjecture.

    There is doubt as to the meaning of the word Kilglass. It might signify the Church of the Stream, the Church of the Green Spot, or the Green Church, but it is extremely probable, if not certain, that it means the Church of St. Molaisse. la a letter written by Thomas O'Connor to Thomas A. Larcom, and given in the Ordnance Survey Letter Book of the county Slig3, the writer observes : " Kilglass is a corruption, the people say, of Kil Molaisse;" and what would show the people to have been right is, that in the Commonwealth Rental of Bishop Lands (April 14th, 1656), Kilglass appears with the alias of Kilmolasse. The church must have been a comparatively rich one in early times, for while Dromard, Skreen, Templeboy, and Easky are valued respectively in the Taxation of 1307, for 2 marks, 4 marks, 4J marks, and 5 marks, the value of '* Killoglassa" is 100 shillings.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 227

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here stood what was called Lecan M'Firbis castle at Kilglass. By 1633 it was already in ruin, less than a century after it was built. Very likely it was a plain stone house, for such houses in those times were dignified with the name of castles. The humble position of the Lecan M'Firbises in 1604 confirms this. Of the eight persons of the name who lived there, seven are described as kerne and one as husbandman. The meaning of Kilglass is uncertain. It might signify the Church of the Stream, the Church of the Green Spot, or the Green Church. But it is extremely probable, if not certain, that it means the Church of St. Molaisse. In a letter written by Thomas O'Connor to Thomas A. Larcom, given in the Ordnance Survey Letter Book of the county Sligo, the writer observes that Kilglass is a corruption, the people say, of Kil Molaisse. What would show the people to have been right is that in the Commonwealth Rental of Bishop Lands, Kilglass appears with the alias of Kilmolasse. The church must have been a comparatively rich one in early times. In the Taxation of 1307, Dromard, Skreen, Templeboy, and Easky are valued at 2 marks, 4 marks, 4 and a half marks, and 5 marks respectively. The value of Killoglassa is 100 shillings.

20. Manus O'Donnell takes Sligo Castle

    Sligo · town · Sligo · 1538

    Manus O'Donnell led an army into Lower Connacht and captured the castle of Sligo, which had been powerfully defended with warders and cannon and had resisted his father previously.

    Read the passage

    27. An army was led by Manus O'Donnell into Lower Con-

    nanght,and he triumphantly took the castle of Sligo, which was well defended by warders and cannon, after it had been for some time out of his possession, having been powerfully defended against his father, and it could not be taken until then.- — (Four Masters, 1538.)

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 158

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Sligo, this is where Manus O'Donnell led an army into Lower Connacht in 1538 and took the castle of Sligo. It was well defended by warders and cannon, and had been powerfully defended against his father before that. It could not be taken until then.

21. Old parish church of Easky at Castletown

    Castletown · townland · Sligo · 1307–1439

    The old parish church of Easky stood at Castletown, or Imleach Isell, and appears in the 1307 Taxation as the church of Imelachiskel. The Four Masters record the death by plague of the Vicar of Imleach Iseal in 1439. In the 1615 Visitation Book it appears as Imlaghishell.

    Read the passage

    The old parish church of Easky stood at Castletown, or Imleach Isell, and is called in the Taxation of 1307, the church of Imelachiskel. Under the year 1439, the Four Masters record the death, by the plague, of the Yicar of Imleach Iseal. In the Visitation Book of 1615, it is given as " Imlaghishell als leskeagh.'^

    A somewhat notable occurrence took place in Easky in 1824. It was a controversial discussion between three Catholic clergymen and four Protestant ministers, which came about in this way. Father Devins, the Parish Priest of Easky, passing one day through the little town, and observing a knot of persons gathered around a gentleman who was addressing them vigorously, inquired what was the matter ; and learning that the speaker was an " evangelical minister " come to Easky to expound, and, as far as he could, enforce his peculiar views of

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 224

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Castletown stood the old parish church of Easky, known in earlier records as Imleach Isell. The Taxation of 1307 lists it as the church of Imelachiskel. The Four Masters record that in 1439 the plague carried off the Vicar of Imleach Iseal. By the Visitation Book of 1615, it appears as "Imlaghishell als Leskeagh."

22. Parish priest of Aghanagh registered in 1704

    Aghanagh · townland · Sligo · 1704

    Owen Conmy, also known as Keegan, was registered as the Parish Priest of Aghanagh on the List of Popish Priests of 1704, during the Penal era. From that time until the close of the eighteenth century the parish was held jointly with the parish of Boyle.

    Read the passage

    Owen Conmy, alias Knuohan, is entered on the List of Popish Priests of 1704 as the Parish Priest of Aghanagh ; and it would appear that from that time down to the close of the last century the P.P. of Boyle was always the P.P. of Aghanagh also, Rev. Dr. Brannally being the last of these incumbents. After Dr. Brannally 's death the parish was divided, Ballinafad and Cairgin Roe being detached from Boyle and given in charge to Rev. Terence Sweeny as Parish Priest. On Father Sweeny's removal in 1843 Father Egan followed as Parish Priest of Aghanagh, and was succeeded by Rev. Dominick Noone.

    Father Egan is interred in Aghanagh graveyard. It was intended to bury him in the old thatched chapel of Ballinafad, and with that object a new grave was dug in it; but the grave, owing to the low lying situation of the chapel filling at once with the water, which drained into it from the higher ground around, it was resolved, at the last moment, to deposit the remains in Aghanagh churchyard. There being no time, in the hurry, for searching out a more suitable spot, the coffin was lowered into the grave of John St. Barbe, King James' and King Charles' Constable of the Castle of Ballinafad. It is said an opinion prevailed that this was the tomb of an ecclesiastic, and that the interment took place in consequence of the erroneous impression. Anyhow, the Parish Priest and the Constable lie since in the same grave.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 169

23. Sir Robert Gore Booth as landlord at Lissadell

    Lissadell · street · Cork

    Sir Robert Gore Booth divided his time between London and Lissadell, where he patronized local sports, supported charities, and earned a reputation as a good landlord who let lands at their value and never pressed tenants for rent.

    Read the passage

    The more modern representatives of the family have taken no great part in public life. Though the late Sir Robert Gore Booth loved a seat in Parliament, and held one up to his death, his ambition went no further, and he left to others place and office, for which, perhaps, he felt himself but indifferently fitted. His tastes were for a private station, the duties of which no one knew better how to discharge. His time was divided betvveen London and Lissadell. While in London he was much in society, both as a generous, hospitable host, and as a favourite and honoured guest; and at Lissadell he passed the time in patronizing local sports, helping local charities, at least those of his own co-religionists, and making things pleasant for his servants, dependents, neighbours, and all round. As a landlord Sir Robert must be classed with the best ; for he let his lands at their value, and never pressed for rent, as is sometimes done by

    written by Very Rev. Dr. Russell, the late learned, accomplished, and amiable president of Maynooth College.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 10

24. Templehouse Castle: Mac William Burke or Templars?

    near Templehouse · population centre · Sligo · 1263–1307

    The author argues that Templehouse Castle is not a Templar foundation as traditionally claimed, but rather the castle erected by Mac William Burke in 1263 at Ath-angaile in Corran. The absence of any mention of Templehouse in a 1307 state inventory of Irish Templar possessions further supports this contention.

    Read the passage

    Instead, then, of the so-called castle of Teaghtempul being a work of the Templars, as Ware,* Harris,! Archdall,| AUemande, § and others maintain, the writer contends that it is the castle erected by Mac William Burke, in 1263, at Ath-angaile, in

    *De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus— in Thorn's "Tracts and Treasures," Vol. I., p. 342.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 38

25. Theft of Teeling's horse after Battle of Carricknagat

    Collooney · townland · Sligo · 1798

    On the night after the battle of Carricknagat, thieves carried off the 'gallant grey' horse on which Bartholomew Teeling had distinguished himself in battle. This was cited as evidence of theft being common in the area.

    Read the passage

    Unfortunately there are facts in abundance to show that these charges are not altogether without foundation, and that some of our countrymen were addicted to this low vice. The people of Tirerrill stole the horses of St. Patrick ;§ inhabitants of Clare made away with the horses, and mules, and asses of Cardinal Vivian, the Pope's legate, and thus, according to the Aphorismical Discovery, brought on, in penalty, the Wednesday's fast, which formerly prevailed in the country, and, according to the Leabhar Breac,|| made this country tributary to England; some wretches, on the night after the battle of Carricknagat, carried off the " gallant grey " on which Bartholomew Teeling so distinguished himself at the battle ; and the people of Leyney, if we are to rely on the character given of them one hundred years ago, in Arthur Young's Tour, were so vicious and expert

    * Sir Jolin Davis— quoted in Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia, Vol. II., note to page 1417.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 257

26. Ballygilgan church land from Drumcliff monastery to Gore Booths

    Ballygilgan · townland · Sligo

    Ballygilgan, locally known as the Seven Cartrons, contained about 800 statute acres of church land first belonging to the monastery of Drumcliff and then to the Bishop of Elphin. At the dissolution it was granted to John King, ancestor of the Kings of Rockingham, and remained in that family until it passed to the Gore Booths.

    Read the passage

    Ballygilgan was locally known as the Seven Cartrons, and contained about 800 statute acres. It was church land, belonging, first, to the monastery of Drumcliff, and next to the bishop ofElphin; and, like most of the church land of the county, was granted at the dissolution to John King, ancestor of the Kings of Bockingham, in whose family it remained, till it passed to the Gore Booths. In 1834, a lease of it, held by Mr. Martin, a middleman, having fallen in, Sir Robert arranged with him and Lord Lorton to take the tract, there being, apparently, some understanding, that Martin should get possession from the tenants in occupation, who were numerous, and who, for the most part, were fishermen as well as small land-holders.

    In Sir Robert's evidence before the Devon Commission, he states, that all the tenants, except two or three, gave possession to Martin, and that to those who acted thus, land was offered elsewhere ; but he does not tell where the land lay that was offered, or how much was offered, or whether the offer was accepted in any cases. It would appear, that the alternative was given these people of having their passages to America paid, and that they elected the alternative, which would go to show, that the offer of land was not such as it was worth their while to accept.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 19

27. Coolavin granted to Lord Kingston

    Coolavin · electoral division · Sligo · 1667

    Under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, John, Lord Kingston, was granted nearly all of Coolavin on January 9, 1667. He soon passed a good part of it to Dominick French, the ancestor of Lord de Freyne.

    Read the passage

    In the Survey of 1632, all the townlands of Killfree are given as the inheritance of Farrell O'Gara, the son of Thady, and the grandson of Irriell O'Gara, except Collemore, the inheritance of Rev. Mr. Dodwell ; and Knocknaskeagh, the inheritance of O'Connor Sligo, and part of Lady Cressy's dowry. Under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, John, Lord Kingston, was granted, on the 9th of January, 1667, nearly all Coolavin, a good part of which was passed by him, soon after, to Dominick French, the ancestor of Lord de Freyne, as assignee.

    The castle of Moygara, in which the head of the O'Gara family resided, was a spacious and strong structure of 185 feet

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 194

28. Court Abbey Franciscan foundation at Achonry

    Achonry · townland · Sligo · 1400–1622

    A Franciscan foundation known as Court or Court-Rori-Ballagh stood in the parish of Achonry, likely dating to the fifteenth century. It was granted by royal patent to Francis Edgworth in the fifteenth year of James I, described as containing a church, cemetery, dortry, and two small cabins, plus eighty acres of land.

    Read the passage

    Francis Edgworth, Esq., received, in the 15th year of James I., a royal grant of " the monastery of Court, containing a church, a cemetery, a dortry, two small cabins, and two quarters of land adjoining, called Kearoweardmore (sic), and Kearowentawny, eighty acres ; " but, in the Eental of 1692, the Earl of Corke is set down as " tenant of Court Abbey, 2 quarters." Lord Harlech is the actual owner.

    The first Parish Priest of Mulnabreena we meet with, is Kev. Charles Hara (he had dropped the 0). He was ordained in the county Galway in 1684, lived in Tullyhugh, and had Thomas Corcoran, Sligo, and Patrick Duany, Sligo, as sureties for his compliance with the requirements of the Eegistration Act.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 64

29. Curry new church, schools and presbytery improvements

    Curry · townland · Sligo · 1870–1900

    The priests of Curry built a handsome Gothic church, spacious schoolhouses, and a presbytery with fine offices and plantations sloping to the river. These improvements by Canon O'Donoghue and Father Conlon encouraged parishioners to improve their own residences.

    Read the passage

    It is obvious that the priests of Curry have been exerting themselves to improve the village and neighbourhood. The new church, which was built a few years ago, is a handsome Gothic structure ; the male and female schoolhouses are buildings at once so spacious, commodious, and ornate, that they would be a credit to any town in the province ; and the presbytery, with, till recently (when they were burned down), its fine offices, its neat lawn sloping down to the river, and its trim plantations, reflects honour on Canon O'Donoghue, who built it, and on Father Conlon, who had a good deal to do in finishing it off. The example thus set by the priests has a beneficial effect on their neighbours, by inducing them to improve their own residences. As a result, there are better houses in and around the village now than formerly, though Curry was more prosperous in the early years of the century, when it did much of the business now done by Tubbercurry, and maintained a butcher or two in flourishing trade in catering to the villagers.

    As to the succession of Parish Priests : —

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 71

30. Kildalough church identified as Kil-easpuig-Rodain

    Streamstown · townland · Sligo

    The old church of Kildalough in the townland of Streamstown near Ballysadare is identified as the long-forgotten Kil-easpuig-Rodain, associated with Bishop Rodain, St. Patrick's armentarius or herd. A local old man had called it Kil-edspuig-O'Daly, which appears to be a confusion of names.

    Read the passage

    name Rodain, and familiar with that of O'Daly, would soon confound with Kil-easpuig-0'Daly. To say nothing here of other arguments, the above reasons seem to prove that Kildalough is the long forgotten church, Kil-easpuig-Rodain, of which Bishop Rodain, St. Patrick's armentarius, or herd, is the Patron.

    Poor old Ballydrehid — rede, Beul-an-droiched, the mouth of the bridge — must not be passed over without a word or two of notice, though it has lost much of what made it interesting and important in the olden time. In the past it was a place of great strength from a military point of view, and contained a castle to guard the passage of the river which flows through it to Ballysadare bay. This fortress, environed by woods, by natural escarpments, and by an impassable morass, was deemed impregnable, so that the O'Connors Sligo retired occasionally to it as a place of greater security than the castle of Sligo.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 181

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here is the old church of Kildalough, which has been identified as the long-forgotten Kil-easpuig-Rodain. The patron was Bishop Rodain, who was Saint Patrick's armentarius, or herd. A local old man had called it Kil-edspuig-O'Daly, but that seems to have been a confusion of names, since the names Rodain and O'Daly were easy to mix up.

31. Abbey of Aughris and the Benan land endowment

    Aughris · townland · Sligo · 1584–1666

    The Indenture of Composition between Sir John Perrot and the Sligo chiefs records four quarters of land called the "Benan" in the barony of Carbury belonging to the abbey of Aghrosse (Aughris). Later grants, including King Charles II's 1666 grant to Lord William Strafford and Thomas Radcliffe, consistently conjoin the rectories of Aughris and Ahamlish.

    Read the passage

    In the Indenture of Composition between Sir John Perrot and the Sligo chiefs, it is stated that there is in the barony of Carbury a quantity of land called the " Benan, 4 quarters, belonging to her Msiiesty in right of the abbey of Aghrosse;" and in several public instruments of a later date, as in King Charles the Second's grant in 1666 to Lord William Strafiford and Thomas Radcliffe ; and in the Tripartite Indenture between Lord Strafford, Joshua Wilson, and Dr. Leslie, the rectories of Aughris and Ahamlish are always conjoined and disposed of together. From what has been said, then, it appears sufficiently certain that the Muredach and Molaise of Inismurray came from Tireragh, and not, as some would have it, from Devenish ; and now, to go a step further, it is probable that these two names belong to one and the same person — Muredach having the second name of Molaise, as Fechin had the second name of Moecca ; as Carthagus had the second name of Mochuda; and as other old Irish saints had similar second names. The incidence, in the Martyrologies, of the festival of Muredach and that of Molaise on one and the same day, the 12th of August, goes far to establish this probability ; and the identity of the saints would explain a fact, otherwise rather unaccountable, namely, the neglect by the islanders, of Muredach, of whom they never think or speak, though, apparently, the founder of their monastic establishment, and therefore their natural patron, while they are always talking of, and magnifying, Molaise, who can have no such claims on their remembrance, unless he is Muredach, honoured by them under the name of Molaise. Whether, however, they are two

    * Exchequer inquisition taken at Sligo by John Crofton, on the 17th March, 1584. The words of the inquisition are, " quod vicaria de ecclesia de Aghuralya in barronia de CarbriaB cum 1 qur terroe ut gleba diet vicariae ac 1 parva insula ibi in alto mare spectant ad dictum prioratum de Acheras."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 18

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere around here once stood the abbey of Aughris, written in old records as Aghrosse. An indenture of composition between Sir John Perrot and the Sligo chiefs records four quarters of land called the Benan in the barony of Carbury, belonging to the abbey. That was in the 1580s, and the connection held for decades. In King Charles the Second's grant of 1666 to Lord William Strafford and Thomas Radcliffe, and again in a tripartite indenture between Lord Strafford, Joshua Wilson, and Doctor Leslie, the rectories of Aughris and Ahamlish were always conjoined and disposed of together. The book then turns to a long argument about saints. It says Muredach and Molaise of Inismurray likely came from Tireragh, not Devenish, and that they may be one and the same person, Muredach having the second name of Molaise. Both saints share a festival on the 12th of August in the Martyrologies, which the author says goes far to establish the probability. The identity would explain why the islanders of Inismurray never speak of Muredach, the apparent founder, while always magnifying Molaise.

32. Abraham Martin's milling and distillery enterprises in Sligo

    Sligo · town · Sligo

    Abraham Martin operated a flour mill, distillery, bakery, and the Sligo fishery, producing nearly all the flour used in the province. His enterprises kept milling concerns in Collooney and Ballysadare in constant movement and furnished most of the breakfast tables of Sligo.

    Read the passage

    "With his distillery, his flour mill, his bakery, and the Sligo fishery which he owned, Abraham Martin throve apace. In his case, as in others, prosperity begat ambition, and he resolved to run his son in the election of 1837 for the parliamentary seat of the borough of Sligo ; though antipathy to the Wynnes had

    probably as much to do with the resolution as mere ambition

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 287

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Sligo, this is the town where Abraham Martin built a flour mill, a distillery, a bakery, and owned the Sligo fishery. His enterprises kept mills in Collooney and Ballysadare busy and supplied most of Sligo's breakfast tables. Prosperity led him to run his son for parliament in 1837, driven by ambition and, as the record says, "antipathy to the Wynnes."

33. Annagh Iveanaghan renamed Kingsborough at the Restoration

    Kingsborough · townland · Sligo

    At the Restoration, the Ballindoon lands were granted to the Kings family, who changed the name of Annagh Iveanaghan to Kingsborough. The lands subsequently passed to the Gethins, the owners at the time of writing.

    Read the passage

    The Survey of 1633 states in regard to this place : " Andrew Crean has Moore (the townland on which the convent stands), both abbey and land ; it is worth £7 per annum, by reason of the burialls in the abbey and the mill." At the Restoration it was granted to the Kings, who changed the name of Annagh Iveanaghan to Kingsborough, and from whom it passed to the Gethins, the present owners. The interior is still a burying place, but kept by Catholics for their exclusive use ; and, some time ago, when a son of the late Mr. John Gethin was drowned in Lough Arrow, and his family tried to bury him within the walls of the church, the people of the neighbourhood assembled in great numbers, and resisted the efforts of the family, so that the deceased had to be interred outside the walls, where the monument to his memory now stands. It is the chief burying place of the M'Donoughs of Terrerrill, whose names appear on the greater number of the tombstones. The other leading names commemorated being CMullany, M'Tiernan, Conellan, and Davey.

    Miss Eliza M'Donough, the last of the family that inhabited Coolmeen, died in 1883, and was buried in Ballindoon. She

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 145

34. Annaghmore as O'Hara seat and the annagh of Leyney

    Annaghmore · townland · Sligo

    The annagh of Leyney mentioned in medieval sources is identified as Annaghmore, which served as the seat of the O'Hara family.

    Read the passage

    Aenach Tireoilella is certainly the spot now called Cut na Braher, near Ballysadare, but known, less than forty years ago, as The Aenach,* where, according to local tradition, a great fair was formerly held. On this spot the religious of Ballysadare built a cell or church, which is shown on the Down Survey map, and of which the foundations still remain ; and it was from this church the old, and now forgotten, parish of Enach, or Aenach^ of Tirerrill, stretching from Beladrehid to Carrickbanagher, took its name ; the name of the barony (Tirerrill), being added to that of the parish (Aenach), to distinguish it from the aenach of Carbury, now called Hazelwood, and the annagh of Leyney, now represented by Annaghmore, the seat of the O'Hara family. Aenach Tireoilella appears in English official documents as " Enaghe in Tirrerell ; " and we find it under this form in the grant of James I. to Edward Crofton of the possessions of Ballysadare abbey. In the old Survey of 1633, etc., it is given as the parish of " Enagh Tirerrill ; '' thus clearly identifying it with the " Aenach Tireoilella " of the Four Masters, which O'Donovan mistook and misplaced.

    This rectification is the more useful, as it leads to the identification of the place called Srath-an-fherain (literally, the Srath of the land, or the great Srath), which the Synod of Rathbreasil fixed as one of the boundaries of the diocese of Killala, and which has not been correctly identified ; for, as we learn from the Four Masters, at the year 1291, that the Aenach Tiroilella and Srath-an-fherain are adjoining districts,! we are warranted in concluding that the latter is the place now called Shramore (the great Shrath), which, in fact, adjoins, on the south, Cut na hraher, or, the ancient Aenach.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 130

35. Ardnaglass Castle ruins in Skreen parish

    Ardnaglass · townland · Sligo

    The old castle of Ardnaglass in Skreen parish was judged from its ruins and O'Donovan's account to have been an imposing structure. The townland name means 'Height of the Fetters' and is also called Ardabrone or written Ardglass.

    Read the passage

    Skreen parish contains the old castle of Ardnaglass, which, judging by the ruins, and by what O'Donovan says of it, must have been an imposing structure. The townland of Ardnaglass, — the Height of the Fetters — is sometimes called Ardabrone, and sometimes written Ardglass. Near the old castle is the well known " stand-house," the scene of many a carouse, not to say orgie, in the beginning of the present century, and through the most of the last. This was the case more especially in the summer months, when the buckeens of the county came here, professedly for sea-bathing, but in reality to glut themselves with oysters during the day, and to surfeit themselves with poteen whiskey at night, as Arthur Young informs us.

    Under the Commonwealth, Lewis Jones and Jeremy Jones were Tituladoes of Ardnaglass, and resided in the castle ; and at the Restoration, the place, with the greater part of the parish, was granted to the same persons. The Reverend Mr. Hill, the talented author of the Plantation in Ulster ^ talks of the *^ numerous and hungry swarm of adventurers, bearing the name of Jones, that invaded Ireland from Wales in the seventeenth century." Leaving to Mr. Hill his responsibility for the adjective '* hungry," it is certain that immigrants of the name were particularly '* numerous," and that a goodly proportion of them were quartered in the county Sligo. To say nothing of Sir Roger Jones, who came to the county before the troubles of the seventeenth century began, large debentures were granted to Sir Theophilus Jones, brother of the bishop of Meath, the notorious scout-master general of Oliver Cromwell ; to another brother, Oliver Jones; to Jeremy Jones; to his son, Lewis Jones ; and to the troopers Corporal John Jones, Christopher Jones, and Richard Jones. Jeremy Jones and his son Lewis intermarried both with the Loftuses, Lewis being married to his

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 217

36. Aughris castellated church belfry

    Aughris · townland · Sligo · 1584

    An Exchequer Inquisition of 1584 taken at Sligo stated that the belfry of Aughris church had a castellated finish, causing it to appear as a castle from a distance. This made Aughris one of at least two examples of fortified or castellated churches in Ireland.

    Read the passage

    Some affirm and some deny that there was a castle at Aughris; opinions which an Exchequer Inquisition of 158i, taken at Sligo before John Crofton, enables us to reconcile, as it states that the belfry of the church had a castellated finish,! which caused it to appear as a castle to an observer at a

    * See Chapter — Parish of Aiiamlish. t Campanile in forma castri cedificatum.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 220

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Aughris, people long argued over whether there was a castle here. An Exchequer Inquisition of 1584, taken at Sligo before John Crofton, settled the matter. It stated that the belfry of the church had a castellated finish, which caused it to appear as a castle to an observer at a distance.

37. Ballintemple church and the Beolan family

    Ballintemple · townland · Sligo

    A church site at Ballintemple, properly Ballintemplebeolan, was named from the ecclesiastical family of Beolan, a name modernized into Boylan in some places and Boland in others such as Tireragh.

    Read the passage

    As might be expected of a parish where there was sucli an extent of church land, there have been many churches in it. To say nothing of Drumcliff monastery, the sites of various places of worship are still pointed out in other districts — one at Keelty, on the side of Benbulben ; one in Ballynagalliagh ; one at Kilcregan, on the road to Rosses Point ; two in the Rosses ; one at Kilmacanon, which, with its cemetery, has been wiped out by the blowing sand; one at Ballintemple, recte, Ballintemplebeolan, which was so called from the ecclesiastical family named Beolan, modernized, in some places, into Boylan ; and in others, as Tireragh, into Boland ; and one in Lissadell, which, according to John O'Donovan, stood near the sea, just on the site of the old stables.

    The present churches of Magherow and Rathcormac are not the first that rose on their respective sites. About a hundred years ago a nice chapel was erected at Magherow, which was repaired and much improved, in 1845, by Father O'Gara. An idea, however, had got abroad, that it was shaky ; and a cry, " The chapel is falling," having been raised, on Christmas Day, 1856, when the floor and galleries were filled to overflowing, numbers had bones broken, or received other severe injuries, in a wild attempt to get clear of the building. Father Moraghan, who was then curate in the parish, acted towards the injured the parts, at once, of surgeon, physician, and priest, resembling, in this, not a little, the great and good Archbishop Fenelon, who, after the battle of Malplaquet, moved about among the wounded soldiers, ministering surgical and medical, as well as spiritual aid — a scene immortalized in a noble painting by a great French Artist.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 21

38. Ballygawley Lake groves admired by Dr. Petrie

    Ballygawley · town · Sligo · 1884–1900

    The sheltered groves around Ballygawley Lake weathered the 1884 storm well and form thriving picturesque plantations. Dr. Petrie admired them from the Sligo-Ballyfarnon road, praising the scenery of Lough Gill and the wood-embosomed lake of Ballygawley.

    Read the passage

    The groves round Ballygawley lake, owiag to the sheltered situation, weathered the storm of 1884 with comparative impunity, and form as thriving and picturesque plantations as can be found in the country. Even when they were much fewer and thinner than they are now, they struck the artist'eye of Dr. Petrie, who, after seeing them from the Sligo and Ballyfarnon road, records his impressions in these strong words : — " I was in raptures with the scenery along the shore of Lough Gill, and the sweet little wood-embosomed lake of Ballygawley, and, if I had been in better spirits, and less absorbed by the spirit of antiquarian research, I should have felt great delight in transferring some of their beauties to my portfolio."*

    A ramble through the place increases one's admiration, as it

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 116

39. Ballymote Castle of the Red Earl of Ulster

    Ballymote · town · Sligo

    At Ballymote, the railway drops the tourist beside one of the finest ruins in Ireland—the castle of the renowned Red Earl of Ulster. The site is presented as a major antiquarian attraction in County Sligo.

    Read the passage

    At Ballymote the train drops the tourist under the shadow of as fine a ruin as there is in Ireland, the castle of the renowned Red Earl of Ulster, and brings him within a couple of miles, on one side, of the mysterious coves of Keash, and, on the other, of the much-admired Templehouse, so striking for its antiquities and for its natural beauties.

    At Collooney and Ballysadare the visitor will be at a loss which most to admire, the castle and church ruins of the district, its corn and flour mills — the largest in Europe — or the beautiful river Owen more, as admired by the utilitarian as by the lover of the picturesque — by the former for its wonderful water power, capable of working all the machinery in Ireland, and by the latter for what Frazer, in his " Handbook for Ireland," styles " the finest rapid in the kingdom."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 304

40. Banada demesne timber and parkland

    Banada · townland · Sligo

    The demesne of Banada, nourished by the winding River Moy, became richly stocked with fine timber through the care of the Jones family and earlier planting referenced by Rev. Nelligan. By the time of writing few English parks were better wooded.

    Read the passage

    in other places ; while the trees, to which Mr. Nelligan makes such pleasant reference, have so increased and multiplied since his day, owing, partly, to the nursing, care, and taste of Mr. Jones and his cultivated family, and, partly, to the exuberant nourishment supplied by the Moy in its windings, that few English parks are better stocked, at the present moment, with fine timber than the demesne of Banada.

    The parish is traversed by excellent and commodious roads. The two leading respectively towards Foxford and Ballina from Tubbercurry are all that can be desired for width, and sole, and level; the same may be said of that which runs by Sessu towards Sligo ; and a cross road lately made through Cloonreusk and Kilvernin townlands, and passing the Kilvernin stream or river by a fine metal bridge, the only public bridge of that material in the county, reflects credit on all who had a hand in its construction. Even the two mountain roads, one through the Gap, and the other at right angles from it, running to Lough Esk, are better than mountain roads generally are elsewhere, and, what deserves special notice, they are the works of two private individuals : the first being made by a Captain O'Dowd in the closing years of the last century,* and the other, about sixteen years later, by the eccentric Jack TaafFe, who had purchased more ^than 7,000 acres of the mountain, which go still by the name of '* Taafife's Mountain."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 75

41. Barony of Tirerrill meeting called at Balladeravin (Riverstown)

    Riverstown · town · Sligo · 1795

    A meeting of the gentlemen and inhabitants of the Barony of Tirerrill was called at Balladeravin (Riverstown) on 13th instant to consider matters of importance. The advertisement was signed by order of Roger Dodd and was judged to be of a party and sectarian character.

    Read the passage

    5. "Notice. A meeting of the gentlemen and inhabitants of the Barony of Tirerrill is requested at Balladeravin (Riverstown) on Tuesday the 13th inst., for the purpose of considering some matters of importance. Signed by order. — Boger Dodd."

    There can be little doubt that the last two advertisements are of a party and sectarian character. About that time society was in a ferment, and wherever there were good numbers of Protestants and Catholics together in a neighbourhood, as in the north of Ireland, they were living in constant expectation of mutual attack — a state of things which, here and there, led to actual conflict, as happened at Lurgan, according to the following communication from that place, which is found in the Sligo Journal of October 2nd, 1795 : — ''On Monday, the 28th, the Protestant farmers and decent manufacturers turned out well armed, and in a few hours came to close quarters with the Roman Catholics, killing sixty, and wounding above one hundred of the Defenders."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 296

42. Bishop Aengus O'Clumain died at Boyle Abbey

    Boyle · town · Roscommon · 1238–1264

    Aengus O'Clumain, bishop of Leyney, was consecrated in 1238, resigned his see in 1250, and died in the abbey of Boyle in 1264, described as 'worn out with age and infirmities.' He came from a poetic family long settled in Lower Leyney.

    Read the passage

    Aengus O'Clumain. — The name of this bishop is now made Coleman. He was consecrated in 1238, resigned his see in 1250, and died in the abbey of Boyle in^l264, " worn out with age and infirmities." The bishop came of a poetic family, long settled in Lower Leyney. In the Four Masters, under the year 1143, we read of Gilla Aengus O'Clumhain Ollamh of Connaught in poetry ; under the year 1170, of Andileas O'Clumhain, poet; and, under the year 1438, of O'Clumhain, chief poet to O'Hara.

    Thomas CMeehak—Ho succeeded in 1251, on the resignation of Aengus O'Clumhain, and died in 1265, The authority of England being well established in Lower Connaught at this time,

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 50

43. Brian Dearg O'Dowd dies on pilgrimage to Boyle Abbey

    Boyle · town · Roscommon · 1242

    In 1242, Brian Dearg O'Dowd lost his life while on a pilgrimage to the abbey of Boyle, reflecting the family's noted devotion to religious interests.

    Read the passage

    It is clear from our old annals, that the O'Dowds were devoted to the interests of religion. It was while on a pilgrimage to the abbey of Boyle, in 1242, that Brian Dearg lost his life ; Donnell, after expelling the English in 1380, occupied himself with the erection of churches and monasteries ; E-ory, who died in 1417, was not only a church builder, but remarkable for his works of charity and mercy ; and Teige Riavach, Donnell's son, founded the abbey of Ardnarea, and was a great benefactor of the abbey of Boyle, as may be inferred from the lines addressed to him by Giolla losa More MacFirbis : —

    *' Oft is carried from thy palace In the company of poets and saints, Cattle from the fort near Leamhach, By the fraternity of arborous Buill."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 210

44. Canon Cahill's chapel of ease near Ballinagar

    Ballinagar · town · Offaly · 1881–1900

    Canon Cahill erected a fine chapel of ease up the mountain from Ballinagar to relieve overcrowding in the parish church and to save mountain-district inhabitants the long journey. He also built parochial houses at Ballinagar and Ballintogher.

    Read the passage

    As is said above, it was Father George Gearty that built the parish church of Ballinagar. Though a large house, it was too small for the immense congregation that flocked to it ; and to meet the requirements of the case, Canon Cahill has erected a fine chapel of ease up the mountain, which, along with putting a stop to the inconvenient crowding in the parish church, is « great accommodation to the inhabitants of the mountain district, by saving them the long journey to Ballinagar. The zealous Canon has also erected two fine parochial houses, one at Ballinagar and the other at Ballintogher, — Father Hourican

    * We read on the front of the vault this inscription : —

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 176

45. Carny village name etymology corrected

    Carney · town · Sligo · 1711–1813

    Locals erroneously believed the village of Carny derived its name from a vanished sepulchral cairn. Old maps and official documents show it comes instead from a family named Carny who owned the land, as confirmed by Petty's maps and depositions from 1711.

    Read the passage

    In passing on to LissADELL, through the village of Carny, we may pause a moment to correct a common error regarding the name of this village. The people of the neighbourhood take the name to come from some sepulchral earn, which they suppose to have existed there in the olden time, but which, they say,has long since disappeared ; and a recent writer or two,deceived by the local opinion, have adopted the error, and given it the dignity of print. The denomination, however, is more commonplace, being merely the name of a family called Carny, who owned the land in the past.

    This is quite clear from old maps and official documents. In Potty's printed maps, the place is called Farrencarny, which signifies the land of Carny, as Farrenduany, near Sligo, signifies the land of Duany, or Devanny, and Farrenimaly, the land of Maly, or O'Maly ; it has the same name in the depositions regarding non-juring priests, taken before Sligo magistrates, in 1711, when two witnesses, Hugh Gallagher, of Farrencarny — ancestor probably of John Gallagher, relieving officer— and Thomas Ward, of Farrencarny, were deponents ; and in the Grand Jury books of the county, where we find a presentment passed at the Lent Assizes, of 1813, to Sir G. Booth, Bart., and John Jones, Esq., " To build two battlements at the north and south sides of the bridge of Farrencarny." The earn then must be given up, and we can afford to part with it, as there are more cams still remaining in the county Sligo, than in any other county of Ireland.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 7

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through the village of Carney in Sligo, you might hear locals say the name comes from an old burial cairn that once stood here and has since vanished. That story has even made it into print, but it is wrong. The name actually comes from a family called Carny who owned this land in the past. Petty's printed maps call the place Farrencarny, meaning the land of Carny, and the same name appears in depositions taken before Sligo magistrates in 1711, when two witnesses, Hugh Gallagher and Thomas Ward, both of Farrencarny, gave evidence regarding non-juring priests. The Grand Jury books of the county carry a presentment passed at the Lent Assizes of 1813 to build two battlements at the north and south sides of the bridge of Farrencarny. So the vanished cairn must be given up. The author notes there are more cairns still remaining in County Sligo than in any other county of Ireland, so the loss of this one is not so great.

46. Cashel in MacDermot's demesne at Monasteraden

    near Monasterredan · population centre · Sligo

    A cashel of ninety feet interior diameter, possibly the Rath-Clochair mentioned by the Four Masters at a.m. 4328, stands within the MacDermot's demesne. Built of local sandstone, it contains a spacious cave running through the wall, and its original height was about twelve feet, though now much dilapidated.

    Read the passage

    In the same townland, and within the MacDermot*s demesne, stands a fine example of the cashel, which may be the Rath- Clochair mentioned by the Four Masters, a.m. 4328. It has a diameter of ninety feet interior measurement, is constructed of the stone of the district — sandstone for the most part — and contains in the thickness of the wall a spacious cave, which runs a good way round, if not the whole way. At present the structure is much dilapidated, but one may judge from some parts of it, that the original height was about twelve feet. The planting, in and round this interesting piece of antiquity, mars not a little its appearance and effect.

    Monasteredan new church is one of the prettiest and best finished in the county. It consists of a nave and chancel, with a handsome sacristy and beautiful belfry. The high altar is a presentation of the late Mr. Thomas MacDermot. The church was erected by Very Reverend Denis O'Hara, and will rest a memorial of his taste and zeal. Mr. James MacDonogh of Ballysadare, who was the contractor and builder, executed his office in a way that does him the highest credit.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 207

47. Castle of Bricklieve between Lough na Leihy and Keash

    Bricklieve · townland · Sligo · 1593

    The castle of Bricklieve, lying between Lough na Leihy and Keash, belonged to the McDonoghs and passed to Gilbert Green, who occupied it in 1593. Only a small fragment now remains.

    Read the passage

    5. The castle of Bricklieve, lying between Lough na Leihy and Keash, belonged to the McDonoghs,t and passed from them to Gilbert Green, by whom it was occupied in 1593. A small fragment remains.

    6. The castle of Knockmullen, in the parish of Ballysadare, was a McDonogh castle, and according to an inquisition of James I., held in 1606, was then occupied by Rory Ballagh McCarbery McDonough.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 125

48. Cholera epidemics strike Sligo in 1832 and 1849

    Sligo · town · Sligo · 1832–1849

    Sligo was struck by cholera epidemics in 1832 and again in 1849. These outbreaks are noted among the major events affecting the town.

    Read the passage

    Cholera, of 1832, I. 379, 384. Of 1849, L 405.

    Chronicle, The Sligo, II. 547.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 336

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up through Sligo now. This town was hit by cholera twice, once in 1832 and again in 1849. The records note these outbreaks among the major events in the town's history, but give no further detail of how bad they were or who suffered most.

49. Cloonacool landscape and ecclesiastical antiquity

    Cloonacool · townland · Sligo · 1309

    Cloonacool, possibly the 'Cloonochulli' of the 1309 Taxation, lies between the Ox Mountains and Knocknashee, forming the valley through which the young Moy flows toward Killala Bay. The tract is largely void of timber, with hard-working inhabitants gradually extending tillage up the mountain slopes.

    Read the passage

    The quasi-parish of CloonACOOL seems to be a very old ecclesiastical denomination, as, most probably, it is the " CloonochuUi " of the Taxation of 1309. It is possible, however, though not very likely, that the name in the Taxation may stand for Cloonoghill, so that its identity with Cloonacool is not absolutely certain. Cloonacool lies, in part, between the Ox Mountain and Knocknashee, where it forms the valley through which the young Moy starts on his journey to Killalla bay. The tract is void of timber, except a bush here and there near the sites of houses which have disappeared, a few trees at Carnaloch and Branchfield, and a thriving plantation at Lavagh, where Mr. O'Hara has a shooting lodge. The tract is, for the most part, in tillage, which the hard-working inhabitants are carrying gradually up the mountain slopes.

    The most interesting spot in the parish of Cloonacool is the rising town of Tubbercurry. Tubbercurry is modern when compared with Ballysadare, Collooney, or Ballymote. The first time it comes under notice is in 1397, when the O'Conor Don of the day having, with the aid of the Anglo-Irish, gained a victory over the O'Connors Sligo, MacDonoghs, and O'Dowds, erected a fortress at Toher-an-chohr. ; " facto'' says Mac Firbis, '' apwd Tober an choire in Liiignia propugnaculo.''*

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 65

50. Cromwellian Census of Ballinafad, 1659

    Ballinafad · townland · Sligo · 1659

    The Cromwellian Census of 1659 records Henry Hughes as Titulado of Ballinafad, with a village population of thirty-two (nine English, twenty-three Irish) and twenty-four soldiers and soldiers' wives in the castle (eleven English, thirteen Irish).

    Read the passage

    The castle, being a recent erection, continued habitable after the other old castles of the county — except that of Ballymote, which was in private hands — had fall-en into ruins, so that all the county Sligo Chancery inquisitions of Charles I. were held either in this castle or in the abbey of Sligo, the number held in each of these places being about equal. We learn from the Cromwellian Census of 1659, that in that year Henry Hughes, gent., was the Titulado of Ballinafad, that the population of the

    * Ordnance Survey Letter Book of county Sligo.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror

51. Curry district landscape and poverty

    Curry · townland · Sligo

    The district of Curry is described as flat, barren, and bleak, with poor soil yielding scanty crops and almost no trees or hedges. Open dykes and bare earth banks fence the highways instead of the whitethorn hedges found elsewhere in the county.

    Read the passage

    level to the horizon ; the second is the evident poverty, not to say barrenness, of the soil ; and the third characteristic, which is a consequence of the preceding, is scanty crops. There is little meadow; and even where Italian grass seed or other grass seeds are sown, the return is so miserable that one can almost count the blades of the growing crop. There are hardly any trees in view, and, in general, you look in vain for bushes or hedges. In most other parts of the county whitethorn hedges line the road-sides, but in the district of Curry open dykes or bare banks of earth fence the highways. Potatoes are the only root crops ; for, as to turnips, mangolds, parsnips, or carrots, you might as well look for a vineyard or orange grove in that cold, bleak, spongy soil. The neighbourhood of the village of Curry, with its fenced and tilled fields, has an improved appearance, but this is evidently due to superior cultivation, the land itself being of the same inferior quality as is to be found throughout the parish.

    The family of O'Higgins held the district, in pre-Reformation times, from the nunnery of Kilcreunat in Gal way, which was founded about the year 1200 by Cathal Croderg O'Conor, and richly endowed by him ; Curry and other tracts of Leyney being among the endowments. The chief residence of the O'Higgins Avas at Doughorne, a name which is now obsolete, but we see in Potty's Printed Maps that the place lay between Carrowreagh and Leitrim. A Chancery inquisition taken at Sligo by John Crofton, on the 27th July, 1590, tells, that Matheus O'Higin died 9th January, 1585, " seised in fee of the town, village, or hamlet of Doughorne, in barony of Leyney, and four quarters of land ; and also two other quarters called Leghbally Meylogh, which six quarters are subject to the charges of the country ; that he held the aforesaid from the Queen, but by what services they know not ; that Thady, commonly called Teagdall O'Higgin, is the next heir of aforesaid, who is now forty years of age, and married."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 70

52. Donough, Lord of Carbury, killed at Skreen Adamnan

    Skreen · parish · Sligo · 1030

    In 1030, Donough, Lord of Carbury, was killed by the Hy Fiachrach Muirisce in the doorway of the house of Serin Adamnan at Skreen. The event is recorded by the Four Masters.

    Read the passage

    died. 1030. Donougb, Lord of Carbury, was killed by the Hy

    Fiachrach Muirisce, in the doorway of the house of

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 218

    As the companion tells it

    As you travel through the parish of Skreen here in Sligo, the Four Masters record that in 1030 Donough, Lord of Carbury, was killed by the Hy Fiachrach Muirisce in the doorway of the house of Serin Adamnan.

53. Drumcolumb parish: Mass during the Penal days

    Drumcolumb · townland · Sligo

    Drumcolumb was a fragmentary parish where Mass was celebrated during the Penal days. This indicates the persistence of Catholic worship under restrictive laws.

    Read the passage

    Bucks, II. 493. Drumard, Parish of, II. 385. Meaning of name, 391. Longford, 392. Buninna, 397. St. Patrick and Drumard, 398. Drumcliff, Parish of, I. 478. Origin of the name, 487. Saints associated with, 495. A place of importance in the past, 497. Drumcliff monastery a foundation of St. Columba, 498-9. Annals of the monastery, 500. Antiquarian remains in, 503. Castletown in this parish, 504. Lands at foot of Benbulben, 511. Cooldruman, IL 1. Lissadell, 9. Ballycounell, 20. Parish Priests of Drumcliff, 22. Protestant Rectors, 26. Protestant church of, 28. Drumcolumb, Parish of, II. 249. A fragmentary parish, 250. Mass in, during the Penal days, 258. Drumrat, Parish of, II. 201. A grantee in, 202. Drumrat and Toomour separate parishes in 1704, 215. Parish Priests of, 215, 216.

    2r

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 337

54. Edmund Conane, last separate incumbent of Kilmorgan

    Kilmorgan · townland · Sligo · 1704

    Edmund Conane was the last incumbent of Kilmorgan as a separate living before its union with Emlaghfad. In the 1704 clergy registration he was aged thirty and resided at Dunmeegan, with sureties from Ballindune and Roscrib.

    Read the passage

    This parish has been united to that of Emlaghfad for more than one hundred and fifty years, and administered all that time by the Parish Priest of Emlaghfad. The last incumbent of Kilmorgan, as a separate living, was Edmund Conane, who is stated in the list of the clergy registered in 1704^, to be then thirty years of age, and to reside at Dunmeegan. Miles Philips, Ballindune, and Morgan McDonnagh of Roscrib, were the sureties that entered into recognizances for his good behaviour, as required by the Eegistration Act of 1704.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 98

55. Edward Cooper buried at Ballysadare

    Ballysadare · townland · Sligo · 1862–1863

    Edward Joshua Cooper died on 23 April 1863 and was buried at Ballysadare in the same grave as his wife, who had died on 29 December 1862. Sir John Benson, also a native of Ballysadare parish, is noted alongside Cooper.

    Read the passage

    His indefatigable labour would be creditable even to a drudge toiling for his daily bread, but is honourable in the extreme to Mr. Cooper, who, born to a great fortune, loved science purely for its own sake, and who, to gratify this ennobling passion, had to forego, which he did cheerfully, many of those social and domestic enjoyments in which less finely attempered natures place all their happiness. Mr. Cooper's death occurred on the 28rd April, 1863. He is buried at Ballysadare, in the same grave with his wife, who died on the 29th Dec. 1862.*

    Sir John Benson, a native like Mr. Cooper of the parish of Ballysadare, is not unworthy of a place near him in this series.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 289

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Ballysadare, Edward Joshua Cooper is buried. He died on 23 April 1863, and was laid in the same grave as his wife, who had died on 29 December 1862. Cooper was born to a great fortune but loved science for its own sake, giving up many social and domestic enjoyments to pursue it. The book calls his labour "creditable even to a drudge toiling for his daily bread," yet honourable in him because he did it cheerfully, out of passion. Sir John Benson, also a native of Ballysadare parish, is mentioned alongside Cooper as not unworthy of a place near him.

56. Enclosing wall at Innismurray monastery

    Inishmurray · townland · Sligo

    The island of Innismurray retains the enclosing wall of its early ecclesiastical establishment, a defensive circumvallation built for security in a lawless age. Similar defences, though mostly dilapidated, could still be traced at Ballysadare, Cloonmacduff, and many other early church sites.

    Read the passage

    for the time, and transferred them to other places, when the animals, having consumed the herbage of the tract, were moved on to "pastures new/' At first these huts were raised in forests, where they were sheltered and protected by the trees. Later, when erected in the open, they were surrounded, with a view to security, by a rampart of earth and a fosse, forming thus the raths or forts with which the county is still studded, and which, till recently, were supposed to be the work of the Danes. Without such protection there would be little security in the lawless society of the time for any structure, whether ecclesiastical or lay ; and accordingly these circa mvallations were run round not only private residences, such as most of the raths contained, but also monasteries or churches, as at Innismurray, where the enclosing wall still remains ; and at Ballysadare, Cloonmacduff, and a hundred other sites of early ecclesiastical establishments, where the defences, though for the most part dilapidated, may still be traced. It was the same in other places, and even at the head-quarters of religion, in Armagh, where the Primate, after establishing the Friars Minors, " cut a broad and deep trench round their church." — Four Masters, 1266.

    Some antiquaries would judge the age of these forts by the material of which they consist, assigning for those of stone a different period from that which they would fix on for those of earth — though, as far as the county Sligo is concerned, the material seems to have nothing to do with their age, but to depend solely on their respective localities, stone being employed where stone alone was to hand, as at Larkhill and Largan, in the parish of Ballysadare ; Cappagh, in Killoran ; the northern shore of Lough Gara, in Killaraght ; the island of Innismurray, in Ahamlish ; and Cashelore, in Killerry — earth being used in those places where the soil is deep, as through the most of Leyney — and stone and earth mixed where these materials were found together on the site, as in a hundred different places up and down the county.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 249

57. Father Malachi's Popularity with Mullaghmore Fishermen

    Mullaghmore · town · Sligo

    Father Malachi Brennan was beloved by the simple fishermen of Mullaghmore and Inismurray, who continually discovered new perfections in their pastor. He also enjoyed the unreserved affection of Lord and Lady Palmerston, who came to treat him with great warmth.

    Read the passage

    esteem and love in which his friends held him. And this effect was manifested in persons of very different conditions — in the simple fishermen of Mullaghmore and Inismurray, who were daily discovering new perfections in their beloved pastor, as well as in Lord and Lady Palmerston, who, after showing him from the beginning great attention and consideration, came in the end, when they knew him well, to treat him with unreserved affection.

    It would be hard to tell which of Father Malachi's many fascinating talents counted for most in bis rare popularity. Even apart from his characteristics as a priest — which were zeal for religion and love for his people — his social qualities were singularly engaging and entertaining, more especially his wit and quiet humour, which lightened the hearts and brightened the faces of all who came near him, without ever hurting anyone; his unfailing store of interesting anecdote and inimitable tact in drawing on it ; and above all, that hoiihomraie, that " simplicity and gaiety of childhood," which, according to an able obituary notice in the Champion, he retained to the end, and which, more perhaps than anything else, helped to gain him all hearts.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 28

    As the companion tells it

    You're coming through Mullaghmore in Sligo. Father Malachi Brennan was beloved here, and on Inismurray too, where the simple fishermen were daily discovering new perfections in their pastor. Lord and Lady Palmerston also came to treat him with unreserved affection, after knowing him well. It would be hard to say which of his many talents counted most in his popularity. Apart from his zeal for religion and love for his people, his social qualities were engaging. His wit and quiet humour lightened the hearts and brightened the faces of all who came near him, without ever hurting anyone. He had an unfailing store of interesting anecdote and inimitable tact in drawing on it. Above all, he kept what an obituary in the Champion called his "simplicity and gaiety of childhood," which he retained to the end, and which more than anything else helped to gain him all hearts.

58. Geevagh union: Moytura, Ballindoon Abbey, and Shancoe

    near Geevagh · population centre · Sligo

    The union of Geevagh included Moytura, Kilmactrany and Killadoon, Ballindoon Abbey, and Shancoe. Parish priests of Geevagh and notable clerics are recorded.

    Read the passage

    Geevagh, Union of, II. 260. Moytura, 261-269. Kilmactrany and Killadoon, 270. Ballindoon Abbey, 271, 273. Shancoe, 274. Parish Priests of Geevagh, 276. Monsignor M'Manus, 277. Very Rev. H. F. Parke, 278.

    Gilbert's edition of "An Aphorismi-

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 339

59. Gore Booths transform demesne stream into ornamental watercourse

    Sligo · town · Sligo

    The Gore Booth family extensively altered a stream in their demesne by diverting additional water into it, constructing small cascades, and planting its banks with fragrant shrubs and flowers. The deep glen's sheltered microclimate allowed delicate exotic plants to thrive year-round, earning the stream the name "Sparkling Sweet-scented Streamlet."

    Read the passage

    channel ; by turning into it an additional supply of water ; by making several small cascades where the levels admitted them ; and by planting its banks with fragrant shrubs and flowers; the Gore Booths have so altered its character, that it is now the gem of the demesne, and deserves the name of the Sparkling Sweet-scented Streamlet. Owing to the shelter and warmth of the deep glen, and to the running water, delicate exotics that would hardly live a day in most other parts of the neighbourhood, thrive here the whole year round, as in their native habitat.

    A fine view is had from the Court of the mountains of Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Mayo, and more especially Sligo. As the Sligo ranges all stretch out and dip towards the South, they are comparatively tame when looked at in that direction, but the northern sides being bold, precipitous, and soaring, awaken in the spectator ideas and sensations of the sublime ; " for in no district of the Britis'h Isles," writes Professor Hull, in his Geology of Ireland, p. 32, " are there grander escarpments and terraces than in that which lies between Sligo Bay and Lough Erne, overlooking the southern shores of Donegal Bay."

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 9

    As the companion tells it

    Coming through Sligo, the Gore Booth family transformed a stream in their demesne by diverting additional water into it, building small cascades, and planting its banks with fragrant shrubs and flowers. It earned the name "Sparkling Sweet-scented Streamlet." The deep glen's shelter and warmth let delicate exotic plants thrive year-round, plants that would barely survive a day elsewhere in the neighbourhood. From the Court there is a fine view of the mountains of Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Mayo, and especially Sligo, the northern sides bold and precipitous. Professor Hull wrote in his Geology of Ireland that "in no district of the British Isles are there grander escarpments and terraces than in that which lies between Sligo Bay and Lough Erne."

60. Grangebeg kistraen or giant's grave

    Grangebeg · townland · Kildare

    A kistraen, or giant's grave, bounded by large stones and measuring twenty-one feet by ten, stands in Grangebeg. It has no local tradition concerning its age or purpose, but features a rude door formed by two large stones set as jambs.

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    In Grangebeg there is a kistraen, or "giant's grave," bounded by large stones, and measuring twenty-one feet by ten, interior measurement. There is no local tradition concerning the age or object of this structure. As often happens in similar megalithic remains, there is in one end of the enclosure a rude door formed by two large stones, set up as jambs on each side of an open about two feet wide. 0' Donovan states, that in an old map in the State Paper Office a castle or large house is shown on this townland, the structure, no doubt, having the same destination as that in Grangemore. The remains of Grangebeg old church are said to have been greatly dilapidated by the late Captain King, who used the materials for fencing.

    Near Donaghintraine are Ballykillcaish and Dunnycoffie, or Dunycoy, the former having its name from a family named Mac- Gillichais, that once owned it ; and Dunnycoffie, from old occupants named O'Coffey. In 1G17 James I. granted to Owen M' James M'Sweeny, of Dunnycoffie, half of the " castle, town, and lands" of Dunnycoffie; half of the "town, lands, and quarter" of Ballymacgillicais ; and half of the " castle, town, and lands " of Donaghintraine; and to three other MacSweenys the remaining halves of these various possessions.

    Internet Archive historyofsligoto00oror, Chapter 219

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Grangebeg there's a kistraen, what people called a giant's grave. It's bounded by large stones and measures 21 feet by 10 inside. Nobody round here remembers how old it is or what it was for. Like a lot of these megalithic structures, it has a rude door at one end, two big stones set up as jambs with an opening about 2 feet wide. O'Donovan noted that an old map in the State Paper Office shows a castle or large house on this land, likely connected to a similar structure over in Grangemore. The remains of Grangebeg old church were greatly damaged by the late Captain King, who used the stone for fencing.