The Parliamentary gazetteer of Ireland

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read it as the scan has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too. The passages are read off photographs of the page by machine, so a word here and there comes out wrong; they are kept as the reading produced them, so you can check any of them against the scan.

1. Bandon inhabitants revolt against James II's garrison, 1688

   Bandon · town · Cork · 1688

   In 1688 the inhabitants of Bandon rose against the garrison placed over them in favour of James II, overpowered and disarmed the soldiers, slew several, and incurred a fine of £1,000. The town walls were immediately afterwards destroyed by the Jacobites and have not since been rebuilt.

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   1688, the inhabitants rose against the garrison placed over them in favour of James II., overpowered and disarmed them, slew several of the soldiers, and incurred, by way of punishment, a fine of £1,000. The walls were, immediately afterwards, destroyed by the Jacobites, and have not since been rebuilt — Among distinguished natives of Bandon, mav bo named Sir Ridiard Cox and Dr. Nicholas Brady.—. The earldom of Bandon, in the Irish peerage, was created in 1800, and belongs to the fsmily of Bernard. The seat of the Earls is in the immediate vicinity of the town; and contributes features ot Iteauty and opulence to its environs. See Castls- Bkr.vard. In the vicinity are also the teats of Mayfield, Mount Pleasant, Rich mount, the Farm, and other mansions and villas.

   BANDUFF, a mansion and an ancient castle, 1 mile north-west of Rosscarbery, western division of the baronv of East Carbery, co. Cork, Munster. The mansion has been for several generations the teat of the Morris family ; and is an old but romantically situated pile. It crowns a rock which rises from a small and picturesque vale ; and attached to it it the ancient castle, formerly a stronghold of tho O'Donovans.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 160

2. Bandon's exclusion of Roman Catholics and pipers

   Bandon · town · Cork · 1700–1799

   In the 18th century, Dr. Smith noted that Bandon strictly excluded Roman Catholics from residing in the town and even forbade pipers from playing there, as it was music formerly used by the Irish in war.

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   Brid^e was, stringently in a political sense, and professedly in a religious sense, an altogether Episcopalian Protestant town. Lord Cork, in the letter to Secretary Cook already quoted, states, by way of laudation, that ** no Popish recusant or unconibrming novelist, was admitted to live in all the town." A current and generally credited story asserts that the corporation caused to be carved over the principal gate the inscription, "Jew, Turk, or Atheist may enter here, but not a Papist," and that they were induced to obliterate this disgraceful intimation only by a brief and lacerating satire on its folly ; but both the inscription and the satire — the latter of which has too strong a dash of profanity to be quoted — seem to have been apocryphal,, and were, in all likelihood, the production of one pen. The spirit of the inscription, however, so far ruled the corporation that the town, in spite of the introduction of manufactures and the working of mei»- cantile enterprise, was long of any importance chiefly as a walled place of retreat and defence for the stanch adherents, whether religious or political, of the Established Church and the principle of Protestant confornuty. Even se late as the middle of last century, when Dr. Smith published his work en " The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork," that able writer said, " In this town there is not a Popish inhabitant; nor will the townsmen suffer one to dwell in it; nor a piper to play in the place, that being the music used formerly by the Irish in their wars." Yet the inhabitants — who. Dr. Smith adds, "could raise 1,000 men fit to bear arms, and, in the last anray had a considerable number in uniform regimentals" — had already relaxed in their opposition to "unconforming novelists," and permitted the erection of meeting-houses for Dissenters and Quakers; and they soon after began to see that Roman Catholics were fellow-men and fellow- subjects, and that sound policy and all good principles of social order required the abandonment of their illiberal municipal system. So great a change has been at length effected that, in the language of Mr. and Mrs. Hall, " the bagpipes are now heard as frequently in Bandon as elsewhere ; and among its dealers and chapmen are numerous descendants of the Irish MacSweenies, and O'SuUivans, and the Anglo- Irish Coppingers and Fitzgeraids." In 1834, the two parishes in which the town stands contained 3,741 adherents of the Established Church, 125 Presbjrterians, and ll,ir>.5 Roman Catholics; and as very nearly twothirds of the entire population was resident in the borough, and the total number of Protestants in the parishes not much more than one-third of the total population of the borough, the proportion of Roman Catholit^ to Protestants in the town may po«^ibly be more, but cannot well be less than as two to one. The places of meeting for the whole

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 158

3. Lishoy identified as Goldsmith's 'Sweet Auburn'

   Lissoy · townland · Westmeath

   Lishoy is identified as the original of Goldsmith's 'Sweet Auburn' in The Deserted Village. Goldsmith himself expressed in a letter his preference for the view from the little mount before Lishoy gate over Hampstead Hill, and Auburn House, seat of John Hogan, Esq., stands nearby with plantations reaching to Lough Ree.

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   and some pictures exclusively English, have been transplanted to Lishoy. The * nicely sanded floor/ and 'varnished clock,' and * hearth' with 'flowers and fennel gay,' little resemble the Irish village alehouse with its mud floor and turf fire. Indeed, an alehouse has no existence in Ireland, because ale is not the beverage of the people. But, notwithstanding these discrepancies which are easily accounted for, Lislioy is unquestionably * Sweet Auburn ;' and Goldsmith took all his pictures of still life, and some others besides, from his favourite village, of which he says in one of his letters : * If I go to the opera, I sit and sigh for Lishoy fireside, and Johnny Armstrong's * La<*tgood night* from Peggy Golden; or if I climb up Hampstead hill, I confess it is fine ; but then, I had rather be placed on the little mount before Lishoy gate, and there take in, to me, the most pleasing horizon in nature.' " Several years ago, an effort was made to raise funds for erecting in or near Auburn a monument to the poet ; but, like many a more important attempt connected with Irish literature, it proved abortive. In the vicinity of the village stands Auburn -house, the seat of John Hogan, Esq., sending down a sheet of plantation to the margin of Lough Ree.

   AUDEON (St.). See Dublin.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 146

4. Militia ballot riot at Ballymahon, 1793

   Ballymahon · town · Longford · 1793

   In 1793, riotous opposition was made in Ballymahon to the balloting for the militia. The Earl of Granard's carriage was broken to pieces, he was expelled from the town, and order was restored only after eight days when he returned at the head of a detachment of the Monaghan militia.

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   Ballymahon is said to have derived its name from the circumstance of Mahon, king of Thomond, and the predecessor and elder brother of the celebrated Brian Boromh, having, in 960, obtained, in its vicinity, a victory over Feargal, the son of Ruarc, king of Connaught. Mahon embarked a select body of troops in small sloops and flat-bottomed boats at or near Killalloe, sailed up the Shannon, made descents and levied contributions at intervals on the Connaught 8ide of the river, and landed his whole force for a grand effort at Lough Ree. Feargal, who had narrowly watched his motions, and mustered strength to confront him, rushed to the combat on the banks of the Inny, engaged him in a sanguinary battle, suffered a total defeat, and plunged personally into the river. His shield — says the story which we have followed and abridged, and which gives as its voucher a poem preserved in the book of Munster — fell into the hands of Mahon, and was for ages afterwards carried as a trophy by his posterity in their wars with the princes of Connaught. In 1793, riotous opposition was made in Ballymahon to the ballotting for the militia : the Earl of Granard, who acted as magistrate, saw his carriage broken to pieces, was forcibly expelled from the town, left the rioters in mastery during eight days, and eventually reduced them to order only by returning at the head of a strong detachment of the Monaghan militia Goldsmith the poet was educated in Ballymahon by the Rev. Mr. Hughes, vicar of Shruel, and afterwards bad much connection with the town and some of its

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

5. Abbeyknockmoy Abbey ruins and frescoes

   Abbeyknockmoy · parish · Galway · 1180

   An abbey said to have been founded and endowed in 1180 by Cathal O'Connor, monarch of Ireland, to commemorate a victory over Almericus de St. Lawrence. Considerable ruins survive, containing frescoes on the north side of the chancel depicting six kings and the execution of Dermod M'Murrough's young son.

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   Gal way, Connaught. Length 6 miles; breadth 3: area of the whole, 12,386 acres ; of the Tjaqun section, 10,913 acres. Pop. of the whole, in l8SIt 2,866; in 1841, 3,846; of the Tyaquin section b 1841, 3,533. Houses in the whole, 704; in the Tyaquin section, 642. The surface of the parish is drained by the river Moyne ; and consists, in a nneral view, of light sheep pasture-ground, with a large interspersion of bog. What the Commissiooers on bogs in Ireland call distinctivelv the bo^ ol Abbeyknockmoy, comprehends 1,137 English acres, and was pronounced reclaimable at the cost ol £1,579 10s. It lies 121 feet above sea-level, has a mean depth of 16 feet, and is a firm black bpff, superincumbent on marl and gravel. On the north is very high ground, whose soil is chiefly the debris of limestone ; and on the south is a high hill called Knockrua, washed along its base by the Mojne* Other bog-lands of the parish are reported on jouitlj with those of Abbert and Windfield: see MoTin. Much of the district immediately upon the river is pleasant in contour, and rich in the dress of cultifation — The name * Knockmoy ' signifies * the hUl of the plain ;* and the abbey which shares with it in the designation of the parish, was anciently called * Monasterium de colle victoris.' The establishment is said to have been founded and endowed in 1180, by Cathal O'Connor, monarch of Ireland, in commemoration of a victory obtained by him at its site over Almericus de St. Lawrence. Considerable ruins of the edifice, which still exist, contain some frescoes, which, though rude in design, and faded Id colour, possess uncommon interest for the antiqusry, as the most authentic memorials anywhere to be found of ancient Irish costumes. These paintings occur on the north side of the chancel, and owe their conservation to the circumstance of that part of the fabric being vaulted with stone ; but they are now waning rapidly into decay. The figures an somewhat larger than life, and are arranged in an upper line of six kings, and a lower line representuw a youth naked, tied to a tree, and transfixed with arrows shot by two archers, while the brehon or judge, who had pronounced sentence, sits by with a roll of laws in his hand. Three of the kings appear as crowned skeletons, and are usually conjectumto be the most distinguished regal ancestors of the house of O'Connor, but seem, from the highly antique character of their crowns, a character much known in the latter ages of the Roman empire, to be patriot monarchs of very early Irish times. The other three kings are painted as in life, and represented each with the accompaniment of a fightiiig bird, in the same manner as the Anglo-Norman kings on their seals, and Harold the Norman kii^ in the Bayeux tapestries ; and they seem, firom the form of their crowns, to have belonged to the 12th or 13th century, and been among the distinguiihed native princes who defended their country agaimt the aggressions of adventurers. The opinion respecting them which has hitherto been copied bj almost every compiler, and which has the hi^h apology of being sanctioned by Dr. Ledwid, is tlwt *' the centre one is Roderick O'Connor, who waa monarch of Ireland at the period of the English introduction, supported by two vassal kings, one his grand falconer, the other his grand marshid." Btt*' Dr. Ledwich mistakes a bird in the band of the central figure for a trefoil or shamrock, and employs his blunder as a chief argument for his opini<m: ne gives in his Antiquities an utterly incorrect engraving of the frescoes ; and he destroys all confidence in his judgment by venturing the grossly improbable conjecture, that the paintings were the work of the confederate Roman Catholics of the 17th eentvy.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

6. Abbeyside Augustinian abbey and Magrath castle ruins

   Abbeyside · townland · Waterford · 1200–1400

   The ruins of an ancient castle and an Augustinian abbey at Abbeyside combine with the harbour to form a pleasant view from Dungarvan. The castle belonged to the Magraths, who gave it and adjacent lands to the monks; the abbey was founded in the 13th century, patronized by the earls of Desmond. The tomb of Donald Magrath, interred in 1400, lies near the altar on the north side of the church.

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   ABBEYSIDE, a district and town, in the barony of Decies- without- Drum, and suburban to the borough of Duiipirvan, co. Waterford, Munster. The district is described by the Commissioners on Municipal corporations as one of three parishes which compose the union, or manor of Dungarvan, as forming with Dungar van- West the parish of Dungarvan mentioned in the ancient charter of the borough, and as now a distinct parish in itself; and it is laid down in one of two maps of Dungarvan in the Report on Borough Boundaries, as '* Abbeyside parish, now part of East Dungarvan ; but, in all the other parliamentary documents before u^, both it and ' East Dungarvan ' are treated as strictly a part of Dungarvan parish. Yet in the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical division, it forms a distinct parish in the dio. of Waterford and Lismore. See Dungarvan. — The town of Abbeyside extends along the north-east or left side of Dungarvan harbour, directly opposiite to the borough ; and is included in both the municipal and the parliamentary boundaries. In 1832, it had 40 tenements of value to qualify for the franchise. A verv handtome bridge, built solely at the expense of the duke of DcTonshire, was erected in 1816 to connect it with Dungarvan ; and previous to that tim« communication could be maintained only by means of a ferry. The ruins of an ancient castle, and of the abbey whence the suburb is named, combine with the harbour to form a pleasant view from the Dungarvan side. The castle belonged to the Magraths, and, along with some adjacent lands, was given by them to the monks. I'he abbey, an Augustinian one, was founded in the ISth century, patronized by the earls of Desmond, and endowed partly by the magistrates, and partly by the O'Briens of Cummeragh. It had al^o the rectorial tithes of the parish. The cells have nearly or quite disappeared ; and, togetlier with the refectory and other monastic parts of the pile now in ruin, occupied a verv con- Mderable area. '* The walls of the church and steeple," says Dr. Smith, " still remain, and show it to have been a neat light Gothic building. The steeple is about 60 feet high ; and is supported b^ a curious Gothic vault, sustained by ogyves passing diagonally from one angle to another, forming a cross with four arches, which make the sides of the square of the building. The key-stone in the centre of the vault is ver^ exactly cut, being shaped into a union croi^s of eight branches, four of which being the diagonal ones, constitute the ogyves; the other four send members to the key-stones of the lateral arches, which are acute at the top. The key-stone of each arch sends members to the contiguous arches in the same manner, as do the imposts of the pilasters, which support the whole, each affording three branches from the same stone. "^ On the north side of the church, near the altar, is the tomb of Donald Magrath, who hus interred there in 1400. Pop. of the town, in 1831, 1,859; in 1841, returned with Dungarvan.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

7. Annual Catholic penitential rites at Balla

   Balla · town · Mayo

   Balla was the scene of extraordinary annual rites performed by Roman Catholic peasantry, in which large crowds gathered—reportedly in autumn—to perform circuits and evolutions on their knees, dropping beads to various intentions. The festival reportedly closed with eating and drinking, with as many as 300 sheep consumed according to a local resident.

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   K ALL, or Ballagh, a parish, containing a village of the same name, in the barony of Clanmorris, co. Mayo, Connaught. The village stands 7} miles east-south-east of Castlebar, on the road thence to Strokcstown. Though much spoken of by ancient chroniclers, it is now a small collection of poor houses, and continues to draw notice only by containing a round tower and some prostrate ruins of an old church, and by being the scene of some extraordinary periodical rites on the part of the Roman Catholic peasantry. The round tower has lost its upper part, and is now no more than about 50 feet high. The church ruins, in its vicinity, are small, plain, and constructed of the same kind of stones and workmanship as the tower. Dr. M* Parian, the author of the Agricultural Survey of Mayo, contends that the village received its name from, being a place where the heathen god Baal was worshipped, and notices, in the following terms, the periodical rites which it continues to witness : *' This Ball is to this day a most extraordinary place of superstitious worship. Here are a couple of small chapels vaulted over a nver, which runs through the town; and once a-year, I think in autumn, immense swarms of people crowd from all parts to perform certain circuits and evolutions on their knees, dropping, as they proceed in describing those figures, a certain number of beads to various intentions, and in expiation of various sins ; but the day closes most cheerfully in eating and drinking. Mr. Lynch, who lives just at the town, a<;sured me that not less than 300 sheep are consumed at this festival." Archdall, who must very often be read with considerable variations upon his language, says that an abbey was built and presided over in the 7th century by St. Mochua or Cronan. In 1840-41, the dispensary of Ball and Ballyglass, belonging to the Castlebar Poor-law union, received £158 19s., expended £158 9s., made 5,236 dispensations of medicine, and served for a district of 37,154 acres, with 11,888 inhabitants. Fairs are held on June 11, Sept. 4, and Nov. 7. Area of the village, 14 acres. Pop., in 1831, 343;

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 147

8. Ballintobber Augustinian abbey ruins

   Ballintober · townland · Mayo · 1216–1840

   An abbey for Augustinian canons regular was founded in 1216 in the parish of Ballintobber by Cathal O'Conor, King of Connaught. Though the great steeple is down, the grand arch and beautiful great door with five columns remain, described as a masterpiece of superior workmanship.

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   BALLINTOBBER, a parish, 7 miles northnorth-west of Ballinrobe, and partly in the barony of Burrishoole, but chieflv in that of Carra, ca Mayo, Connaught. Length, 9 miles; breadth, 5. Area of the Carra section, 22,236 acres, 1 rood, 21 perches; of which 340 acres, 1 rood, 29 perches are m Lough Carra, and 425 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches, are in small lakes. Pop., in 1831, 6,212; m 1841, 6,753. Houses 1,248. The census of 1831 does not notice the Burrishoole section. Area of that section, 730 acres, 1 rood, 19 perches. Pop., in 1841, 446. Houses 83. The sur&ce consists partly of prime land, and partlv of inferior and waste ground ; and is traversed by the road firoro Ballinrobe to Castlebar by way of Partree. 81ieve«Bohaan, on the southern boundary, has an altitude of 1,294 feet; and the river Ayle, while connected with the parish, descends from an elevation of 282 feel to toe level of Lough Carra. In 1216, an abbey for Augustinian canons regular was founded in the parish by Cathal O'Conor, King of Connaught; it received, from various persons, lar^re endowmenta in land ; and, in 1605, a lease of it in reversion for 50 i^ears was granted to Sir John King. ** It was originally a magnificent pile, the workmanship of superior excellence," says Dr. M*Parlan ; ** a good many parts of the ruins are still entire ; the great steeple is down, but the grand arch upon which it rested is entire ; I should suppose it upwards of 50 feet high, of equally curious and solid elegance. The great door is beautiful, being a pointed arch supported by five columns. It is altogether a masterpiece in its kind, and admired as such by the most refined judges, — judges even who saw the drawings and original of the Ekithala." — This parish is a rectory, and part of the benefice of Drum [which see], in the dio. of Tuam. The tithes are wholly impropriate, and belong to the vicars choral oif Christ Churdi, Dublin; and, in 1832, they were let on lease of 21 years for £13 lOs. Il^d., partly to George Clendinning, and partly to Mrs. Mary Spray. The Roman Catholic chapel has an attendance of from 500 to 600 ; and, in the Roman Catholic parochial arrangement, is grouped with the chapels of Killevalla and Burriscarra. In 1834, the Protestants amounted to 11, and the Roman Catholics to 6,6562 and 2 daily schools, held in the abbey and in the Roman Catholic chapel, had on their books 91 boys and 2d girls.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

9. Connor the King's son absurd longevity tradition

   near Aran Islands · island or archipelago · Galway

   An absurd Aran Islands tradition asserts that a native called Conhubbar-Mac-an-Migh, or Connor the King's son, killed beef in his own house every Christmas for 160 years and died in 1580 at the age of 220 years.

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   Angus, constructed of unceinented stones, great in extent, and surmounting a cliff which overhangs the sea, appears to be a very ancient stnicture, yet can hardly, as the peasantry and even graver parties crednlously allege, be the erection of some chieftain of the name of Angus, who flourished before the Christian era, during the reign of a pretended Manda, queen of Oonnaught. Eaths, druidical temples, altars, «tone pillars, sacred mounts, holy wells, holy beds, holy groves, -and kindred objects, are so numerous as to have rendered the islands, in the estimation of the Catholic peasantry, quite a region of thaumaturgy. It b quite astonishing with what enthusiasm these consecrated places by legend are still visited by thousands. These devotees shrink from no privation and hardship in thek pilgrimage; and happy is he who carries upon his person 'a holy stone' from some of the sacred places as a talisman against evil. The inhabitants long fancied that they«ould see from their coasts the Hy-Brasail, or « Enchanted Island,' the paradise of the ancient Irish; and the peasantry of the a4jaeent mainland still regard Arran itself as possessing some properties higher ftlmf>st than paradisaic, yet so intimately connected with a profession of the Roman Catholic faith as to be ibrbidden subjects of our notice. The islands have for centuries had the reputation also of being inimical to the life of mice, and the putrefaction of human bodies. • * There is in the west of Connaught," lays Giraldus Cambrensis, **an isknd placed in the sea, called Aren, to which St. Brendon had often recourse. The dead bodies neede not be graveled, for the ayre is so pure that the contagion of any carrion may not infect it : there may the son see his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, &C., &C. This island is enemy to mice ; for none is brought thither ; for either it leapeth into the sea, or else being stayed it dyeth presently." St. Enna «r St. Ende, as well as St. Brendon, is said to have made Arran a favourite resort. One very absurd tradition of the islands asserts that a native, called Conhubbar-Mac-an-Jftigh, or * Connor the King's •on,' killed beef in his own bouse every Christmas for 160 years, and that he died in 1580 at the age of 220 years.

   Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

10. Faction gathering and riot at Ballyvourney, 1813–1817

    Ballyvourney · parish · Cork · 1813–1817

    Mr. Croker witnessed 'the gathering' of two factions for battle at Ballyvourney in 1813, factions that had annually met for over 40 years to renew their feud. Four years later they rioted at Ballyvourney in such strength as to drive the sub-sheriff and a few dragoons in rapid retreat.

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    village, sends off a branch-line toward Kenmare. The chief mansion is Knight's Bridge, formerly the seat of the Colthurst fiunilv. — The village of Ballj^- vourney, **the town of toe beloved," is romanti* cally situated on an eminence which overhangs the south bank of the Sollane. Its site is 7i mUea west of Macroom ; and its population is not specially returned. Archdall says that St. Abban, who died in 650, built a nunnery at Bally vourney, '* and presented it to St. Gobnata, who was descended from Connor the Great, Monarch of Ireland. Her patron day is February the 1 4th. The church, which IS dedicated to her, is 104 feet in length, and 24 feet in breadth ; and the steeple seems nodding to its fall." But the ver^ hd of this Gobnata's existence is highly questionable; the alleged royalty of her lineage seems merely a rhetorical flourish ; and the pretended foundation of her nunnery simply served to eke out the antiquities of the ** Monasticon." The church was as Archdall describes; but is now a nearly amorphous mass of ruin. Near its altar was the tomb of the O'Hereleb^s or O'Hierleys, the quondam toparchs of the district. At m small stone -cross stood, about 30 yards from the west end of the church, the alleged image of St. Gobnatm used to be exhibited on Whit-Mondays and on patron days. Dr. Smith, who notices the debasing practice, says, '* The devotees (which are only the more simple and ruder Irish) go round it on their knees, and repeat a certain number of prayers. They also tye their handkerchiefs, &c., about its neck, which they imagine will preserve them from several diseases." And he adds, in a note, " I have been informed that the devotion used to this image haa been of late prohibited by the titular bishop of the diocese; but so strong are the ignorant Irish pre* judiced in its favour, that they still persevere in their superstition, which is not a little kept up by the gain it brings to the proprietor of this image, who, as I hear, farms it at a considerable rent to the person who exposes it to view." Near the cross was a stone fixed in the ground, and worn b^ the knees of the superstitious pilgrims ; adjacent is " m holy well," the water pure and soft ; and a little to the north of this is a circle of stones about 9 feet in diameter, appearing to be the vestige of a tower, and formerly encompassed with the knee-worn path of devotees. On the north side of the Sullane stood an old castle of the O'Hierleys ; but it was long ago reduced to a mere heap of stones. Fairs are held on Ma^ 10, Sept. 10, and Nov. 10. Bally, vourney jMinsh, owing perhaps to its sequestered position, its Highland character, and its forming a prominent portion of that huge glen-cleft mountain rampart which separates Cork and Kerry, is probably more characterized bv the barbarous system of faction-fighting — that hideous memorial of feudal times — than most other districts of Ireland. Mr. Croker narrates his having witnessed, in 181 3» "the gathering" of two factions for battle, who had annually met during upwards of 40 years to renew and perpetuate their feud ; and, he adds, thai four years aHerwaras they met, and rioted in such strength at Bally vourney, as to drive, in rapid retreat, before them the sub-sheriff and a few dragoons who had gone to preserve the peace. The following newspaper particulars of the commencement of the affray, illustrate the determination and the truculency with which faction-fights are not only conducteil, but desired. ** On Sunday, 21st July, 1816, the Lynches and Twomeys met at Bally vourney : they had been for several years unfriendly to eadb other; and, in consequence of this hostile feeling. Sir Nicbo> las Colthurst directed his under-agent to desire that they should not go to the same chapel on SundaySy-^

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 153

11. Goldsmith's 'Mistakes of a Night' at Ardagh

    Ardagh · parish · Longford

    The poet Oliver Goldsmith, while travelling between Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown, strayed from the road and found himself benighted in Ardagh. Mistakenly directed to Sir Ralph Fetherston's residence instead of an inn, the incident inspired his comedy 'Mistakes of a Night'.

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    worthstown, and 5^ south-east by east of Longford. Though a very ancient place, and the seat of a diocese, it is now a mere hamlet. No traces of architectural splendour remain. All that existed of the cathedral, even when Harris wrote his continuation of Ware, was a part of a wall so built as to indicate that the undilapidated edifice had been very small. The poet Goldsmith, when a young man, once loitered on his way between Ballymahon and Edgeworthstown, strayed from the direct road, and found himself benighted on the street of Ardagh. Wishing to find an inn, but inquiring ** for the best house in the place," he was wilfully misunderstood by a wag, and directed to the large old-fashioned residence of Sir Ralph Fetherston. The baronet, whom the poet found seated by a good fire in the parlour, immediately perceived the young man's mistake; and being a humourist and well-acquainted with Goldsmith's family, he for some time encouraged the deception. The incidents of the occasion form the ground-work of the poet's well-known comedy — * Mistakes of a Night.' Fairs are held at Ardagh on April 5 and Aug. 24. Area of the village, 14 acres. Pop., in 1831, 142; in 1841, 165. Houses 29. The Bishopric of Ardagh is generally supposed to have been founded by St. Patrick, the inde&tigable evangelist, whose labours won over the great bulk of the nation to the Catholic faith. St. Patrick, says the current story, founded both the see and an abbey about the year 454 ; and first St. Moel, and afterwards his brother St. Melchus, disciples and nephews of St. Patrick, held the joint office of bishop and abbot. The bishopric now very opportunely drops out of view of the historiographers, and does not re-appear till the commencement of the 13th century. From 1217 till 1603, a list of truly Milesian names — among which appear O'Tormaig, O'Heothy, and Magsamhradhan— is preserved in testimony of a regular succession of bishops. From 1603 till 1742, though twice in the interval made separate, and held, per te, during the life of one bishop, the see was united to that of Kilmore. From 1742 till 1833, though all lying within the province of Armagh, it was held in commendam by the archbishops of Tuam ; and by the act of 1833, it was consolidated with Elphin and Kilmore. The gross amount of episcopal revenue is £3,186 28. 6id. ; the nett amount is £2,977 Us. 3d. The diocese has a dean, an archdeacon, and 4 rural deans, but no chapter. The dean's revenues are identical with those of the benefice of Ardagh ; and the honours of the archdeacon are, in all respects, merely nominaL The diocese is 61 statute miles long, and from 5 to 18 broad ; and comprehends an area of 37]>930 acres. Reckoning its parishes as 27 in number, though ecclesiastically they are 28, twenty-two of them are in Longford, seven in Leitrim, three in Westmeath, three in Cavan, one in Roscommon, and one in Sligo. The 38 parishes are disposed in 26 benefices of one parish each, and 6 of united parishes. Gross income of the benefices, £14,028 Os. 1^. ,- nett, £12,213 Os. 4}d. Twenty-six curates are employed, one each in 11 benefices, arid two or more in 5 benefiees; and they have aggregately an income of £1,981 16s. l|d. Thirty-five churches and chapels-of-ease exist in 25 of the benefices, and have aggregately 9,151 sittings. The other places of worship, are 60 Roman Catholic, 2 Presbyterian, and 9 Wesleyan Methodist. In 1834, the population consisted of 17J02 members of the Established church, 466 Presbyterians, 12 other Protestant dissenters, and 195,056 Roman Catholics, _in all, 2 1 3,236. In the same year, 1 5 schools of the London Hibernian Society, 3 of^he Board of Erasmus Smith, 6 of the Society for Discountenancing Vice, 21 of the Ifational Board, 65 aided or supported

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

12. Irr's Rock: legendary Milesian grave in Ballinskelligs Bay

    Ballinskelligs · townland · Kerry

    A rock in Ballinskelligs Bay called Carrig Irrana, or Irr's Rock, is traditionally claimed in song as the place where the body of Irr, one of the original Milesian chiefs, was cast and his bones whitened after he drowned in the western sea.

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    blands, and several other islets, lie from 2| to 4} miles south of Hog Head, and serve to break the swell of the Atlantic, and diversify the seaward scenerv of the bay. Horse Island lies about 3 miles inward from each of the sentinel headlands, but pretty near the Iveragh shore. A rock in the bay. called Carrig Irrana, or Irr*s Rock, claims traditionally and in song to be the grave of Irr, one of the original Milesian chiefs, — or the place on which his body was cast, and his bones whitened, after he was drowned in the western main. The whole bay is much diversified and lifted to grandeur by its bold headlands ; and it laves a district so wild and magnificent in character, so intricate in outline, so noble and even sublime in contour, as to constitute quite a gallery of mountain and marine landscape. ** Though the roads in the district," says Mr. Fraser, " are in many places rugged and steep, and the only accom* modation a small public-house in the village of Waterville, yet in summer the splendid views which are obtained will amply repay those fond of marine and mountain scenery. * * The Skelligs rocks lie about 10 miles to seaward. On the Great Skellig, which is a lofty rock of slate rising several bundred feet above the level of the sea, two lighthou^jcs have been erected ; and the men appointed to the charge of them are regularly provisioned for six months. This rock, rising high above the billowy Atlantic, and crowned with its tall white towers, appears not merelv as a beacon to the mariner, but as a sentinel of the long line of iron-bound coast. The dark colour of the vast unbroken heathy surface of the headland of Iveragh, adds much to its wild and desolate character, and at the same time contrasts with the deep blue ocean which rolls along the whole extent of its rocky shores." Lady Chatterton, in 1838, says, •• The extensive bay of Ballinskelligs, peaceful as it looks, is said to be the most dangerous on this coast; and the harbour which goes by the same name, formed by a small island, has been, as a guide told us, * outlawed,' tJiat is, as he explained, declared to be unsafe." The harbour referred to by her ladyship, is on the west side of the bay, contiguous to Ballinaskellip island, and about 44 miles from Bolus Head ; and is provided with a regular pier of 172 feet in length, constructed and improved by various grants from government, from the Fishery Board, and from the Dublin Charitable Committee. Mr. Donnel, in his report on the Fishery Harbours, says, ** I place this harbour in the second class for its degree of utility in promoting the fisheries ;*' and he states that fish abound in the vicinity, and that the coast fishermen were improving in their exertions. According to an official ' Al^ stract of Reports,' in 1833, the pier is '* much used by fishing- vessels, and also for landing sea-manure, from the use of lar^e quantities of which the neighbouring country, tor a distance of about 7 miles round, is improving much." At the head of the bav stands the village of Waterville, and on a creek projecting from it stands Dbrrtnanb Abbey : see these articles.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 148

13. Repeated sackings and burnings of Armagh

    near Armagh · town · Armagh · 670

    Armagh suffered repeatedly from fire, plunder, and sword, being burnt in 670, 687, and 778, and plundered or burnt numerous times by the Danes in subsequent centuries. During the English conquest of Ulster, it was also pillaged by De Courcy, Fitz-Adelm, and De Lacy.

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    Previous to- the conquest of IreUnd by the Eng- Ti>\u and even in the various subsequent civil wars, Armagh suffered more of the horrors of fire, plunder, aiul sword, than probably any other Irish town of its size. ** From time immemorial," to adopt the words of a periodical writer, ** it has been the scene of many a deadly feud and bloody engagement, — in wars, waged at one time between the Irish chieftains themselves, — at others, between the Irish, Danet, and 0^tman9, — and afterwards between the natives of the country and the invading armies of Scotland anil England." In 670, 687, and 778, it was burnt; viihi times in the 9th century, and thirteen times ill the three folIo\^ing centunes, it was plundered, burnt, or otherwise laid waste by the Danes; during tl»e conquest of UUter by the English, it was pilk4;ed by De Courcy, Fitr-Adelm, and De Lacy; and

    during the period which intervened till the accession of James L, but especially during the civil wars in the reign of Elizabeth, it was repeatedly burnt, plundered, or otherwise strewed with the desolation of warfare. No fewer than 17 burnings of the city, either partial or total, are on record. So qntck is the repetition of warlike incident, so akin in character to each former instance which followed, and so slenderly relieved is the appalling and monotonous story with any other narrative than such literary matter as we incidentally noticed in our descriptive paragraphs, that readers, as well as ourselves, will gladly pass to other topics.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

14. Stalactitic grotto and cold spring at Ballycam bay

    Ballycam · townland · Down

    Under a hill at the extremity of Ballycam bay near Killough, co. Down, lies a beautiful stalactitic grotto containing a well 7 feet deep. The well is intensely cold, of unvarying temperature, and perpetually fed by water oozing through a limestone vein in the cave roof.

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    BALLYC AM, a small bay near Killough, barony of Lecale, co. Down, Ulster. Under a hill, at its extremity, is a beautiful stalactitic grotto, with a well at Its bottom, 7 feet deep, intensely cold, of unvarying temperature, and perpetually fed by the oozing of water through a vein of limestone in the roof of the cave.

    BALLYC ANEW, a parish, containing a village of the same name, in the barony of Gorey, co- Wexford, Leinster. Length and breadth, each 1 \ mile ; area, 3,628 acres. Pop., in 1631, 1,168; in 1641. 1 ,275. Houses 209. The surface is traversed southward by the road from Gorey to Wexford bridge ; drained northward, along the eastern boundary, by the Awin-Banna river ; and consists partly of light and hilly soil, but chiefly of good land. The village stands on the principal road, 4 miles south of Gorey, and has a mean appearance. Fairs are held on April 23, July 25, Sept. 21, Oct. 2, and Nov. 30. Area, 15 acres. Pop., in 1631, 345; in 1641, 370. Houses 61. — This parish is a rectory, and part of the benefice of Leskinferb [which see], in the dio. of Ferns. Tithe composition, £192. The church stands 2^ miles distant from that of Leskinfere ; it served by a curate, who has a stipend of £69 4s. 7j|d. ; and is so old a building that the date and cost or its erection are unknown. Sittings 250; attendance 200. In 1834, the ProtestanU amounted to 330, and the Roman Catholics to 651 ; and 2 daily schools, one of which was aided with £5 a-year from the rector, and £7 from the Association for Discountenancing Vice, had on their books 33 boys and 28 girlH.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

15. St. Brendan's monastery at Ardfert, repeatedly destroyed

    Ardfert · town · Kerry · 1040–1641

    A sumptuous monastery is said to have been founded at Ardfert by St. Brendan. The monastery and the town were reduced to ashes in 1040, 1151, and 1179, but each time rebuilt, until it was destroyed during the civil war of 1641.

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    Anlfert, holds, every three weeks within the borough, B manor court for the trial of actions of debt amounting to 40.'^. Irish ; and he exercises jurisdiction within a radius from the centre of the town of about 2} miles. Petty sessions, generally attended by two or three of the county magi:»trates, are held once afortnight. The only police are a small party of the county constabulary. A borough gaol or marshalsea formerly existed ; and a building called a bridewell, which probably was the gaol, still exists, but is not in use as a prison, and is the subject of a disputed claim between the town and the Crosbie family. Fairs are held on Whitmonday, July 9, and Aug. 15; and might also be held on St. Peter, and St. Paul's day, and on March 27. A grant by James I. to the Lord of Kerry, confers the privilege of a weekly market oh Thursday. In 1839-40, a dispensary in the town, under the Listowel Poor-law union, received £149, and expended £139 3s. 2d. A sumptuous monastery is represented, in the usual style of the ecclesiastico- political history of Ireland, as having been founded at Ardfert by St. Brendan. We are told, too, that, in common with the town, it was, at three periods, or in 10^, 1151, and 1179, reduced to ashes ; but that, at each period, it rose like a ph<rnix from the flames, and soared in beauty and magnificence till deplumed by the civil ¥rar of 1641. The cathedral, which seems to have been the church, if not of the original religious establishment, at least of a monastic successor, bears many marks of high antiquity. The west front shows four round arches with the zigxag ornament; and the eastern front shows three elegant narrow pointed windows. On the north-west side are two small f>uildings; one of which has a window curiously ornamented with fretwork, a wide Saxon doorway to the east, a smaller Saxon doorway to the west, and appears to have had at each angle a Saxon pillar. Near the west front of the cathedral stood a slated round tower, 120 feet high ; but this fine adjunct of the edifice's grandeur and interest, and noble specimen of the unique class of antiquities to which it belonged, fell in 177 1* A university, which is alleged to have existed at Ardfert, is said to hare been held in the highest esteem ; but is too obscurely known to be an ohjcct of remark.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

16. 1798 battle between Ballysadere and Collooney

    Ballysadare · townland · Sligo · 1798

    On September 5, 1798, between Ballysadere and Collooney, the future Viscount Gort opposed a small body of militia and yeomanry to the French who had landed at Killalla, conducting a gallant but unsuccessful attack. He received special marks of honour from George III in acknowledgement of his bravery.

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    OLA88. A conspicuous feature in the seaward landscape, and in most groupings of the coast-scenery both within and far beyond the parish, is the isolated and singularly outhned hill of Knocknara, situated at the entrance of Ardnaglass Harbour, and rising to an altitude of 1,078 feet. On Sept. 5, 1798, between Ballysadere and Collooney, the present Viscount Gort, who succeeded the first viscount in 1817> opposed a small body of militia and yeomanry to the French who had landed at Killalla, and conducted a gallant but unsuccessful attack ; and, in acknowledgment of his bravery in the action, he received some special marks of honour

    from George III This parish is a vicarage, and a

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

17. Athlone magazine explosion devastates the town

    Athlone · town · Westmeath

    A massive magazine explosion blew musket and pistol balls, pick-axes, and other debris into the air, covering the town and neighbouring fields. The town-gates were thrown open and inhabitants were buried in ruins, blown from beds into streets, or killed by falling stones and grenades.

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    musket and pistol ballti, great quantities of pick-axes, spades, shovels, horse-shoes, and nails, all which blew up into the air, and covered the whole town and neighbouring fields, by the violence of which the town-gates were all thrown open : the poor inhabitants, who were generally asleep when this tragical scene began, awakened with the different surprising misfortunes that befel them, some finding themselves buried in the ruins of their own houses, others finding their houses in a flame over their heads, others blown from their beds into the streets, others having their brains knocked out with the fall of great stones, and breaking of hand-grenades in their houses. These stupifying disasters within doors made most of these poor amaxed mortals fly to the streets for shelter!'* — Athlone gives the title of Earl in the Irish peerage to the Dutch family of De Ginckle, the descendants of William's heroic general. Bafx>ns De Reede and Ginckle, in the Netherlands. Godard De Ginckle, the general, was created Earl of Athlone and Baron of Aughrim in 169U2; and he received in 1693 a grant of the forfeited estates of William Dongan, Earl of Limerick, comprising about 26,480 acres. The grant being reversed by parliament in 1695, the family retired to Holland, and no Earl of them sat in the Irish House of Peers till 1795. George, the ninth Earl, was born in 1820, and when 3 years old, succeeded his father Reinhardt-Diederick-Jacob, the eighth Earl. The family-seat is Amerongen-castle, Utrecht — A presbytery of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland has its seat in Athlone, iiis^pects 8 congregations, and meets on the fir»t WediiesdHy of Feb., May, Aug., and Nov.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 146

18. Forty years of tithe resistance at Ballinaboy, Cork

    Ballinaboy · townland · Cork

    The parish of Ballinaboy in Cork saw parishioners resist paying tithes to the Earl of Shannon for approximately forty years, occasionally engaging in active resistance. The parishioners disputed the legal validity of the claim.

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    BAL LIN ABO Y, a parish in the four baronies of Cork, Kerrycurrihy, Kinnalea, and Muskerry-East, CO. Cork, Munster. The Kerrycurrihy and the Muskerry i^ections, contain respectively the villages of Ballinassio and Ballttrooleen : which see. Length, 3^ miles; breadth, 2|. Pop., in 1831, 2,888; in 1841, 2,749. Houses 460. Area of the Cork section, 650 acres ; of the Kerrycurrihy section, 2.834 acres; of the Kinnalea section, 2,961 acres ; of the Muskerry section, 1,528 acres. Pop. of the Cork section, in 1831, 196; in 1841, 211. Houses 32. Pop. of the Kerrycurrihy section, in 1831, 1.045; in 1841, 1,003. Houses 173. Pop. of the Kinnalea section, in 1831, 973; in 1841, 936. Hou<>es 144. Pop. of the Muskerry section, in 1831, 674; in 1841, 599. Houses 109. The surface is drained eastward by the Annabouy river ; and lies at about equal distances from Cork, Bandon, and Kinsale. Six townlands are remarkable for their fertility ; but the other districts contain a considerable extent of waste land, and can scarcely be reckoned more than tolerable. ~ This parish is a perpetual curacy, and a separate benefice in the dio. of Cork. Gross income, £G9 5s. e^d, ; nett, .£44 5s. ty\d. Patron, the Earl of Shannon. The tithes are compouTided for £500, and are wholly impropriate in the Earl of Shamion. " But it is reported," say the Ecclesiastical Revenue Commissioners, ** that for the last 40 years, the parish has not paid tithes i the parishioners' having occasionally, during that period, been engaged in giving resistance to his lordship; and alleging that they are at present ready to do so should he act on the suit still pending ; conceiving that there exists, on his lordship's part, no legal claim. " The church was built upwards of a cental v ago. Sittings lUO ; attendance 90. The Ro-

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 148

19. French landing at Killala Bay, August 1798

    Killala · town · Mayo · 1798

    Three French frigates from Rochelle arrived in Killala Bay on 22 August 1798 carrying 1,100 troops including 70 officers. They chased a garrison of 50 yeomen and fencibles from Killala before advancing on Ballina two days later.

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    In 1798, the French, under the command of General Humbert, were, for a brief period, in possession of Ballina. They arrived in Killalla bay, in 3 frigates from Rochelle, oil the 2*2d of Aufrust ; they consisted of 1,100, of whom 70 were officers; and having chased a garrison of 50 yeomen and fencibles of the Prince of Wales's regiment from Killalla, they advanced, on the 24th, toward Balliua, defeated tb«

    BAL

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 148

20. General Naper's mansion and tenant ejections near Lishoy

    Lissoy · townland · Westmeath · 1730–1738

    A mansion near Lishoy belonged to General Naper, who after 1730 enclosed a domain and ejected the tenantry, an event echoed in Goldsmith's poem 'The Deserted Village.'

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    AUBURN, LisHOY, or L^ssut, a hamlet or decayed village, in the parish and barony of Kilkenny- West, CO. VVestmeath, Leinster. It stands in a picturesque tract of country, not far from the beautiful arm of Lough Ree, called Killymore Lough, about 6 miles north-east of Athlone, and 3 southwest of Ballymahon, on the direct road between these towns. Lishoy is the proper name of the place ; and Auburn a name, first imposed by Goldsmith, and now generally adopted from admiration of his poetry. Both the village, and various places in its vicinity, are celebrated in connection with the family, nativity, history, and writings of the poet. See Ardach, Ballymahon, and Kilkenny- West. Topographists, tourists, and critics seem all to agree with the belief of the local populace, that Lissoy is Goldsmith's Auburn. *• I do not," says Mr. Inglis in 1834. whom we quote in preference to other writers, on account of his being more pleasingly minute, " I do not entertain the least doubt that the village of Lishoy is the Auburn of Goldsmith, though it in equally certiin that he has grafted upon its scenery English pictures of rural things and country life. Here are still the remains of *the busy mill ;' there the decent church still tops the neighbouring hill ; here is the village preacher's * modest mansion ;* and there the arch of stones within which stood the * hawthorn bush.' Lishoy was Goldsmith's favourite village ; he mentions it often, and always with enthusiasm, in his letters ; he passed his early years in it, or in its immediate neighbourhood, and could therefore say, 'Scenes of my youth.* All the scenery of the poem connects it with this village ; for although the perishable has perished, yet all is remembered to have l>een as Goldsmith painted it. The preacher's man&ion, now a roofless and windowless tenement, is known to have been the minister's hou<e ; and that minister is known to have been the poet's brother, and to have been, not the rector, but the curate,* on a small salary — perhaps £40 a-year, and, moreover, to have been loved and respected. The church— not in the viiWe, or its immediate neighbourhood, where a church generally is — but topping * the neighbouring hill,' is t>till seen as it it described. It is otdy a few years since the hawthorn bush was in its place ; and opposite, ' near yonder thorn,* stands the alehouse, though not the identical house with the ' nicely sanded floor' of which Goldsmith speaks. At some little distance from the village rises a mansion which belonged to a General Naper, who, some time after 1730, [1738?^ is known to have enclosed a domain, and to have ejected the tenantry. I had nearly omitted to observe, that in the name of the house where * news much older tbaii the ale went round,' there is strong evidence in favour of the claim of Lishoy. The alehouse is, and always has been, called the * Three Pigeons.' Now, Goldsmith has shown on more than one occasion, great fondness for this name. There is no doubt, however, that Goldsmith has grafted English life upon Irish scenery, and that rural life in an English village,

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 146

21. Hy-Brasail the enchanted island seen from Aran

    near Aran Islands · island or archipelago · Galway

    Inhabitants of the Aran Islands long believed they could see from their coasts the Hy-Brasail, or Enchanted Island, considered the paradise of the ancient Irish. Adjacent mainland peasantry still regard Arran itself as possessing almost paradisaic properties.

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    Angus, constructed of unceinented stones, great in extent, and surmounting a cliff which overhangs the sea, appears to be a very ancient stnicture, yet can hardly, as the peasantry and even graver parties crednlously allege, be the erection of some chieftain of the name of Angus, who flourished before the Christian era, during the reign of a pretended Manda, queen of Oonnaught. Eaths, druidical temples, altars, «tone pillars, sacred mounts, holy wells, holy beds, holy groves, -and kindred objects, are so numerous as to have rendered the islands, in the estimation of the Catholic peasantry, quite a region of thaumaturgy. It b quite astonishing with what enthusiasm these consecrated places by legend are still visited by thousands. These devotees shrink from no privation and hardship in thek pilgrimage; and happy is he who carries upon his person 'a holy stone' from some of the sacred places as a talisman against evil. The inhabitants long fancied that they«ould see from their coasts the Hy-Brasail, or « Enchanted Island,' the paradise of the ancient Irish; and the peasantry of the a4jaeent mainland still regard Arran itself as possessing some properties higher ftlmf>st than paradisaic, yet so intimately connected with a profession of the Roman Catholic faith as to be ibrbidden subjects of our notice. The islands have for centuries had the reputation also of being inimical to the life of mice, and the putrefaction of human bodies. • * There is in the west of Connaught," lays Giraldus Cambrensis, **an isknd placed in the sea, called Aren, to which St. Brendon had often recourse. The dead bodies neede not be graveled, for the ayre is so pure that the contagion of any carrion may not infect it : there may the son see his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, &C., &C. This island is enemy to mice ; for none is brought thither ; for either it leapeth into the sea, or else being stayed it dyeth presently." St. Enna «r St. Ende, as well as St. Brendon, is said to have made Arran a favourite resort. One very absurd tradition of the islands asserts that a native, called Conhubbar-Mac-an-Jftigh, or * Connor the King's •on,' killed beef in his own bouse every Christmas for 160 years, and that he died in 1580 at the age of 220 years.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

22. Mashanaglass tower built by the MacSwineys

    Mashanaglass · townland · Cork · 1612–1642

    South of Glin-Caum glen stands the high tower of Mashanaglass, called 'the strong fortress,' built by the MacSwiney family. Owen MacSwiney received a royal letter from King James I in 1612 to restore his lands, but his son was attainted in 1642 for involvement in the Irish rebellion and forfeited the estate.

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    of 1()41, and, as well as the castle, was often taken and retaken by the contending forces. A deep, gloomy, mural-faced glen, called Glin-Caum, or * the crooked Glen,' conducts the highway hence toward Macroom. On each side is almost a sheer precipice of craggy rock, booked, in a few places, with oak, ash, and birch, and offering some contributions to the herbarium of the botanist. South of this glen stands the high tower of Mashanaglass, * the strong fortress,' built by the MacSwineys. " King James I., on the 13th of April, 1612,^* says Dr. Smith, " directed a letter to Sir Arthur Chichester. Lorddeputy of Ireland, in behalf of Owen MacSwiney, alias Owen Hogg, of Mashanaglass, to accept the surrender of his lands, and to grant a patent to restore them to him This Owen was particularly recommended to that prince by the Lord Dan vers. President of Munster, and Sir Richard Morison, Vice-president, for having performed many ^thful services in that king's reign and iu Queen Elizabeth's, Owen MacSwiney, son to the above Owen, was attainted, anno 1642, for being concerned in the Irish rebellion, and forfeited his estate." — This parish is a rectory and a separate benefiee in the dio. of Cloyne. Tithe composition, £738 ds. lid. Gross income, £776 8s. lid.; nett, £630 7s. 3d. Patron, the diocesan. The church was built in 1791, by means of a grant of £461 10s. 9J-d. from the late Board of First Fruits. Sittings 120; average attendance 70. The Roman Catholic chapel is attended by 460, and has two officiates, who officiate ^ also at a chapel in the parish of Macroom. In 1834, the Protestants amounted to 119, and the Roman Catholics to 2,362 ; and an infJEUit-school, aided with £16 from subscription, and a week-day school, and a Sunday school, both superintended by the Protestant clergyman, and the former aided with £23 from subscription, had aggregately on their books 28 boys and 46 girls.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

23. Tradition of the Earl of Kildare and the Savages

    Ardglass · townland · Down

    A tradition held that when the Savage sept gathered a strong force to oppress the Magenisses and other Irish families of Lecale, the Earl of Kildare was called in as protector, received the submission of the Savages at Ballykinler, and then seized Ardglass and the surrounding country for himself.

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    he had marched as far as Ballykinler, he received the submission of the Savages; and that, having both parties now in his power, he grasped as his own and transmitted to his posterity the object of their contention,— Ardglass and the circumjacent country. Such history, while so far as we know the whole of what is authentic, rather obscures than enlightens the questions of the town's ancient importance, and the origin of its fortalices. Nor, after the place is viewed apart from its antiquity and early connections, is there much real history to be told. All the grand and petty customs of the ports of Ardglass and Strangford were granted by Henry VIH. in fee-farm to Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare ; and, excepting during the period of the family's attainder, they contin«ed in the possession of the Earl's descendants till 1637, when they were sold to Charles I., and said to be worth £5,000 a-year to the king ; and, by a clause in the Act of Explanation 17 and 16 Charles II., they were confirmed to Charles II. and bis successors. In the reign of Henry VIII., one of the castles of Ardglass, being garrisoned by the Crown, was so galling a check to Con O'Neil, that, in 1537, he sent a force under the command of his son into Lecale to besiege it ; but on learning that the Lord-deputy Gray was m^ng preparations to Hiarch against him, he desisted from his attempt, and caused the force to be disbanded. About the year 1578, a strong garrison was placed in some of the castles by Sir Nicholas Bagnal, marshal of Ireland ; but they were besieged by the O'Neils, and, after a stout resistance, were obliged to surrender. During three years of the Tyrone rebellion preceding June 1601, Simon Jordan valiantly defended Jordancastle against all assailants; and, when eventually relieved by the Lord-deputy Mountjoy, was rewarded for his service both out of the private bounty of the deputy, and by a concordatum from the queen. In the memorable rebellion of 1641, the castles were for some time in possession of the Irish. So greatly and rapidly did the town decline after the close of that rebellion, and the rise of Belfast as a sea-port and the seat of a chief custom-house, that a century later the historian of Down describes it as ** now in a mean condition, consisting only of a few ordinary cabins, and 4 or 5 old decayed castles." This description has been copied or imitated in most topographical notices down to the present <Iay. Yet the town has revived, experiencea great improvement, and become at once a favourite summer retreat of sea-bathers, the rendezvous of an extensive coastline of fisheries, and the scene of considerable bustle and trade.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 122

24. Athcarne Castle: Elizabethan mansion on the Nanny Water

    Athcarne · townland · Meath · 1590

    Athcarne Castle is an Elizabethan-style mansion on the Nanny Water in co. Meath, built in 1590 for William Bathe and Janet Dowdall. It features a lofty battlemented and turreted tower and retains armorial bearings with the initials and date 'W. B. J. D., 1590' on one of its walls.

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    ATHCARNE, or Abdcabms Casti^, an inter, esting old mansion on the Nanny Water, co. Meath, Leinster. It stands about 5 miles from Drogheda, cm tiie new road from that town to Dublin, by way of Duleek and Ashbourne. The structure is one of the best Irish specimens of the Elizabethan style of architecture, and, till lately, preserved unchanged its original character and form. It consists, not only of an extensive dwelling-house, numerous in parts, and various in breadth, height, and position, but of a lofty, massive, very broad, battlemented, and turreted tower; and presents, from ewery point of view, a picturesque variety of outline rarely if ever to be found in modem domestic architecture. On one of the walls are remains of armorial bearings, and the initials and date, *< W. B. J. D., 1590 ;" the latter indicating that the structure was erected, ui 1590 for William Bathe and Janet DowdaL William Bathe was a descendant of the Knightstown family, a person of much distinction, and the ancestor of the De Bathes, Baronets, who, for some time, figured prominently in Meath. Athcarne-castle is now the residence of G. J. Gernon, Esq.

    ATHEA, or Attba, a Highland village in the parish of Rathronan, barony of Shanid, eo. Limerick, Munster. It is washed by the nascent Galy river, and stands on the direct or mountain road between Rathkeale and Listowel, about 7 miles west of Newcastle. It has a branch of the Abbeyfeale dispensary. Area of the village, 21 acres. Pop., in 1641,215. Houses 34.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

25. Ballincollig gunpowder mills and 1802 explosion

    near Ballincollig · town · Cork · 1802–1846

    Ballincollig had the only gunpowder manufactory in the south of Ireland, standing on low ground on the outskirts of the town. In 1802, when it was government property, it suffered a frightful explosion; by 1846 it was operated by the Royal Mills Gunpowder Company, paying about £200 a week in wages.

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    BALLINCOLLIG, a post-town in the parish of Carrigrohane, barony of East Muskerry, co. Cork, Munster. It stands on the river Bride, about a mile above that stream *s confluence with the Lee, and on the road from Cork to Inchegeelagh, 5 miles westsouth- west of Cork, and 130 south-west «f Dublin. The country which intervenes to Cork is not only rich, well-cultivated, and agreeably varied, but so studded and adorned with numerous villas, that Ballincollig mav be regarded as part of the city's environs. In the town, or adjacent to it, are the •nly gunpowder manufactory in the south, the depot for the police of the province of Munster, and a small barrack for cavalry. Even the private edifices •f the town, and the manner in which they are arranged in street alignment, give it a neat and pleasant appearance; but the various houses and offices connected with the public establishments, the mansion of Leemount, and several villas and villa-grounds in its neighbourhood, environ it with at once cheerfulness, comfort, and beauty. The gunpowder manufactory stands on low ground on the outskirts of the town ; is very extensive ; and pays about £200 a-week in wages to workmen. In 1802, when it was the property of government, it suffered a frightful explosion : it is now conducted by ** the Royal Mills Gunpowder Company.** A little southwest of the town stands Ballincollig-castle, said to have been built in the reign of Edward IIL The Barret fiunily, from whom apparently the barony has its name, resided in this fortaliee and in that of Castlemorc, in the northern extremity of the barony, as their chief strongholds. In 1600, William Barret of Ballincollig, submitted to the Queen*s mercy, he having been concerned in the rebellion of Desmond ; and in 1665, William Barret, of the same place, was honoured with a baronetcy which has long been extinct. Ballincollig-castle was garrisoned by Cromwell in the wars of the Commonwealth, and by James II. in the war of the Revolution. '* Thb building.- says Mr. Windell in 1639, " forms an irregular quadrangle. It is based on an isolated limestone rock, which rises to no very considerable height, in the midst of a gently undulating plain, and consists of a large fortified bawn or enclosure, and a slender keep or tower, of about 40 feet in height. The latter stands at the east side of the bawn, and is vaulted inside. The chambers are of uncommonly small dimensions, measuring in length 5 feet, and breadth 4, each occupying the entire internal space. The ascent is by a narrow and difficult stone staircase, which, as it approaches the upper apartment, becomes spiral and more inconvenient. Of the eo-

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 151

26. Black Abbey of Ballyhalbert founded by de Courcy

    Ballyhalbert · townland · Down · 1200–1639

    A Benedictine monastery, popularly called the Black Abbey, stood near the village of Ballyhalbert and was founded about the commencement of the 13th century by Sir John de Courcy. Its property was seized by the O'Neils, passed to the crown at their rebellion, was granted by James I to Viscount Claneboys, then to Lord Ardes, and in 1639 was awarded to the see of Armagh.

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    BALLYHALBERT, a parish, containing a village of the same name, about the middle of the east coast of the barony of Ardes, co. Down, Ulster. Length, 3 miles; breadth, 2; area, 4,011 acres, 3 roods, 39 perches. Pop., in 1841, 2,656. Houses 502. The land is generally of good quality. The principal mansion is Echlinville. The village of Ballybalbert is situated on the coast, 9 miles south by east of Donaghadee. Area, 16 acres. Pop., in 1831, 322; in 1841, 361. Houses 68. The villagers are actively engaged in the herring.fishery ; and, several vears ago, had 5 carrying sloops and bounty vessels, 14 smacks and wherries, and 12 yawls. A bay, of no great extent of indentation, sweeps from the alternately dry and submerged ledge of Wallace Rock on the north, round bv the site of the village, to a headland and the small isle called Bur Island on the south. During summer, the tishing.vessels anchor in this bay, in front of the village; but during winter, they require to lie haulea up. ** Near the north end of the village," says Mr. Nimmo, "are some rocks on the shore, at a place called Ballyhemlan. A sm.ill boat harbour was attempted here lately by the inhabitants, but is now ifl total ruin. It might be replaced for about £250; or rather a better one, in my opinion, might be formed, with the opening on the south side of the rock, for about £300, and would be a harbour to leeward for a few boats, when the road of Ballybalbert was unsafe. * * On the other side of the town, the point of Bur Isle running out makes a little bay, called Sandyland, which is rather more inviting; and here a tolerable pier may be made: the cost, in rough stone, will be about £2,000, to cover an extent of 1 J acre." Near the village stood a Benedictine monastery, founded about the commencement of the 13th century, by Sir John de Courcy, and popularly called the Black Abljey. The property of the monastery, consisting of three

    BAL

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

27. Corcomroe Abbey ruins and Cistercian foundation

    near Corcomroe Abbey · monument · Clare · 1194–1267

    The splendid ruin of Corcomroe Abbey stands in a lonely winding vale near the northern boundary of the parish of Abbey in Co. Clare. Founded around 1194–1200 for Cistercian monks, it features a fine groined arch in the choir and contains the mutilated remains of a grand monument to Donogh O'Brien, king of Thomond, killed at the battle of Sindaine in 1267 and interred in the abbey.

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    ABBEY, or Corcomrob-.^bet, a parish in the iHNth-weat corner of the barony of Burren, and on the north border of co. CUre, Monster. It lies 8^ nilet west-north-west of Gort; and partly skirts Ga] way-bay, directly opposite the town of Gal way. Area, 4,714 acres. Pop., in 1631, 2,493; in 1841, 1,442.* Houses 223. The surface, in a general view, H green and pastoral, boldly tumulated, much diversified ia outline, and not a little prominent among the features of the rich southern hill-screen of the brilliaiit and far-expanding ba^. A rocky mountain which overhangs the sea exhibits some curious marks cf ancient and unrecorded mining operations. At its foot it a large chasm, which appears to have been partly formed by the quarrier, and whence local traditioD asserts the stones to have been taken for the coMtniction of the well-known monastic pile of the parish ; and on the mountain's side are two miningshaflf, one of which is computed to be about 9^ feet deep, exclusive of an unknown depth of water at the bottom — In a lonely winding vale, near the northern boundary of the parish, stands the splendid ruin of the abbey of Corcomrob. A spectator who stations himseu near one of the angles at the west end of the nave, immediately under the square steeple or belfry, commands an interesting view of the mterior, and one which forms a fine subject for the pencil. The choir, in front, exhibits a groined arch, inferior, perhaps, to none in Ireland, except those of Holycroas; the north and south transepts, on the right and left, open by large plain circular arches, and show two small pointed-arched chapels, immediately flanking the choir; and the foreground, or open area, is an impressive and almost chaotic assemblage of human bones, rugged monumental stones, andearthless fra^euts of rock. A square plot of ground, about six acres in extent, and with the abbev in its centre, was enclosed with a wall ten feet high, and entered b^ an arched gateway opposite the west end of the pile. Corcomroe, the present dciiignation of the ruin, is a corruption of * Corcamrumdh,' the confluence of the three Erse words. Cor, Catm, and Ruadk, which mean, respectively, ' a dis-

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

28. Legend of monks slain at Bangor Abbey

    near Bangor · town · Down · 555–607

    Tradition held that up to 4,000 monks inhabited Bangor Abbey, and St. Bernard narrated that 900 were slain by pirates in one day. The author disputes this, suggesting the story was borrowed from the destruction of 1,150 monks of Bangor in North Wales by King Ethelfrid in 607.

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    f>rior to the date of English interference. The foU owing are specimens : — St. Congal was born in Ulster of noble parentage, was educated in Clonenagh under St. Fintan, and, about the year 555, founded the abbey under a particular rule arawn up and established by himself ; — Cormac, king of South Leinster, immediately became one of the cowled inmates, and continued to be of their number till his death in 567 ; — St. Columbanus received his education in the abbey; — some say that 2,000 monks inhabited the bouse, some even say 3,000, some boldly stretch the number to 4,000 ; and St. Bernard narrates that 900 of them were slain by pirates in one day. The occurrence of Columbanus' name as that of a pupil it hint enough, even though reasons of an hundredfold more force did not exist, that whatever religioui establishment existed was Culdean. The alleged multitudinousness of the inmates seems doubly apocryphal,— the legend of a legend ; for ** it is probable,'* says an author of last century, that *'the credulous St. Bernard was deceived in this account by the Abbot Congan, who furnished him with memoirs for writing the life of Malachy O'Morgair, and that Congan extracted this story from the British history, wherein we are told that Ethelfrid, king of Northumberland, destroyed in one day 1,150 of the monks of Bangor, in North Wales, in the year 007* being instigated thereto by Austin the monk, because they would not submit to the authority of the pope and Austin, although the slaughter was committed two years after Austin's death. ' In 1 120, the abbey was refounded,— or, as seems more probable, a really monastic institution in Bangor, was for the first time established — by some one currently called St. Maiachy ; and, as then organized, its community appear to have been of the Augustinian order. In 1380, an enactment was made in parliament that no mere Irishman should be allowed to make his profession in this abbev. '* The abbot," says ArchdalL, *' en« joyed a towniand in the Isle of Man, called Clenanoy, on condition that he should attend on the king oif that island at certain times. The abbey of Bangor was so gone to ruin in the year 1469, through the neglect of the abbot, that Pope Paul II. commanded that the friars of the third order of St. Francis should immediately take possession of it, which was accordiugly done, says Wadding, by Father Nicholas of that order." This abbey very nearly, if not quite, equalled

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 162

29. St Patrick's Cathedral on Drumsailech, Armagh

    near Armagh · town · Armagh · 445–1675

    A cathedral is alleged to have been erected in Armagh in 445 by St. Patrick, on a hill called Drumsailech, said to derive its name from an earlier wattle structure. Successor churches on the site were repeatedly pillaged, burnt and restored over centuries before being reduced to ruin by Sir Phelim O'Neil in 1642; the present cathedral was built in 1675 and later improved by Archbishop Robinson.

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    The Cathedral,'] — A cathedral is alleged to have been erected, in Armagh, in the year 445 by St. Patrick ; and is said, in the tripartite life of the saint, to have been an oblong edifice, 140 feet in length, and divided into nave and choir. Even an earlier structure is asserted to have occupied the site, to have been constructed of willows or wattles^ and to have, in consequence, given to the hill the name of Dniirasailech. An ecdesiastical structure claiming to be the cathedral of St. Patrick, or a successor to it, was pillaged and burnt in 839 and 850; partly broken down by the Danes of Dublin in 890; burnt by lightnmg or accidental conflagration in 995 and lO'iO; repaired and tile-roofed in 1125; more thoroughly restored in I145-; and reduced by fire to irretrievable ruin by Sir Phelim O'Neil in 1642. In this edifice were buried the bodies of the celebrated Brian Boromh and his son Murchard, and the heads of his nephew Conan, and his ally Methlin, prince of the Decies of Waterford. These remains of the heroes of Clontarf, after being 5 years sepultured in the monastery of Swords, were conveyed hither by the clergy, and laid in state during twelve nights' performance of funeral obsequies. The present cathedral was built in 1675; renovated and greatly improved by Archbishop Robinson ; and, a few years ago, repaired at a great cost, X10,000 of which was contributed by Archbishop Beresford. The Commissioners on Ecclesiastical Revenue and Patronage said respecting it in 1834, that it was in a dilapidated state from age; that the provincial

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 134

30. Achonry: ancient abbey founded by St. Finiard

    Achonry · townland · Sligo · 500–874

    The hamlet of Achonry, though poor and small, claims high connection with antiquity. Its ancient names were Achad-Conaire and Achad-Chaoin. The dynast of Luigne granted the land to St. Finiard of Clonard, who erected an abbey and appointed his disciple St. Nathy as first abbot. The abbot Robertagh MacNaserda became bishop of Kildare and died in 874 AD.

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    ACHONRY, a parish in the south-east of the barony of Leney ; 5 miles west-south-west of Ballymote, CO. Sligo, Connaught. It contains the hamlets of Achonry, Corrowntubber, and Kilcummin, and the villages of Curry, Bellaoht, and Tub- BERCURRT *. See thcse articles. Length, 8 miles ; hreadth, 7 ; area, of the whole, 60,896 acres,.-of the rural districts, 60,831. Pop., in 1831, 15,357; in 1841, 17,986. Houses 3,186. Pop. of the rural districts, in 1841, 16,803. Houses 2,977. About one half of the area is arable and pasture land; and the remainder is bog, moor, and barren mountain. The surface is drained southward by the nascent river Moy. Limestone abounds. The hamlet of Achonry, though poor and small, claims high connection with antiquity. Its ancient or uncorrupted names were Achad-Conaire and Achad- Chaom. •* The dynast of the territory of Luign^,** savs Dr. James M* Parian, " granted Achad-Conaire, called also Achad-Chaoin, to St. Finiard of Clonard, where he erected an abbey, and appointed his disciple St. Nathy, commonly called Cruimther Nathy, or Nathy the priest, to be the first abbot, whose feast is celebrated August the 9th. The abbot Robertagh MacNaserda, who was made bishop of Kildare, died a. d. 874." Some fine monastic ruins stand 3 miles west of Achonry, at Court : which

    tee This parish is a rectory in the dio. of Achonry ;

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

31. Angus ancient stone structure on Aran cliff

    Inishmore · electoral division · Galway

    A large ancient structure called Angus, built of uncemented stones, sits atop a cliff overlooking the sea on the Aran Islands. Local peasantry credulously attribute it to a chieftain named Angus who supposedly lived before the Christian era under a legendary queen of Connacht.

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    Angus, constructed of unceinented stones, great in extent, and surmounting a cliff which overhangs the sea, appears to be a very ancient stnicture, yet can hardly, as the peasantry and even graver parties crednlously allege, be the erection of some chieftain of the name of Angus, who flourished before the Christian era, during the reign of a pretended Manda, queen of Oonnaught. Eaths, druidical temples, altars, «tone pillars, sacred mounts, holy wells, holy beds, holy groves, -and kindred objects, are so numerous as to have rendered the islands, in the estimation of the Catholic peasantry, quite a region of thaumaturgy. It b quite astonishing with what enthusiasm these consecrated places by legend are still visited by thousands. These devotees shrink from no privation and hardship in thek pilgrimage; and happy is he who carries upon his person 'a holy stone' from some of the sacred places as a talisman against evil. The inhabitants long fancied that they«ould see from their coasts the Hy-Brasail, or « Enchanted Island,' the paradise of the ancient Irish; and the peasantry of the a4jaeent mainland still regard Arran itself as possessing some properties higher ftlmf>st than paradisaic, yet so intimately connected with a profession of the Roman Catholic faith as to be ibrbidden subjects of our notice. The islands have for centuries had the reputation also of being inimical to the life of mice, and the putrefaction of human bodies. • * There is in the west of Connaught," lays Giraldus Cambrensis, **an isknd placed in the sea, called Aren, to which St. Brendon had often recourse. The dead bodies neede not be graveled, for the ayre is so pure that the contagion of any carrion may not infect it : there may the son see his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, &C., &C. This island is enemy to mice ; for none is brought thither ; for either it leapeth into the sea, or else being stayed it dyeth presently." St. Enna «r St. Ende, as well as St. Brendon, is said to have made Arran a favourite resort. One very absurd tradition of the islands asserts that a native, called Conhubbar-Mac-an-Jftigh, or * Connor the King's •on,' killed beef in his own bouse every Christmas for 160 years, and that he died in 1580 at the age of 220 years.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

32. Castles and fortifications of Ardglass

    Ardglass · townland · Down · 1570

    Ardglass possesses several castles of uncertain origin, including the King's Castle, Coud-castle, Horn-castle, and Jordan's Castle, the latter an elegant citadel in the town centre built by the Jordan family. A range of castellated houses called the New Works, said to have been erected about 1570 by Shane O'Neil, stretches 234 feet along the rocky shore with arched shop doorways and flanking towers.

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    possessed ^ome importance as a fortalice. A third 18 called Coud-castle, — a name which the natives, even a century ago, could neither account for nor explain. A fourth, plun and strong, stands detached from a long range of castellated houses which we have yet to notice, and seems as if it had been designed to flank it in correspondence with a flanking strength attached to the other end of the range. A fifth, called Jordan's Castle, though inferior in size to the King's Castle, is constructed with greater elegance than either it or any of the other castles, and was B place of considerable strength. It stands in the centre of the town, and appears to have been the citadel. The range of castellated houses to which we alluded, is called, by the inhabitants, the New Works, and is said to have been erected about the year 1570 by Shane O'Neil. It is 234 feet long, 20 feet broad in the clear, and 3 feet thick in the walls ; and it presents a bold appearance along the margin of a rocky shore of the bay. Its design is uniform, and, in a certain degree, elegant. A battlement breast-high surmounts the inland side; a platform, broad enough for a promenade, runs all round, immediately below the battlement; three equidistant towers ri^e in the centre, and at the ends of the inland side, each containing three apartments 10 feet Kquare ; and the intermediate spaces are occupied by 15 arched doorways of cut stone, and 16 square windows, — each door and window being so uniformly alternated as to leave no doubt that the apartments within were shops, and that the fortifications of the range were erected to defend merchants from the insults of the neighbouring septs. In the story over the shops are apartments exactly commensurate with those below, and each accessible by a separate stone staircase ; but they have no fire-place, and the merchants appear to have used Horn-castle as their kitchen and dining-hall.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 122

33. 1641 capture and relief of Ardee

    Ardee · town · Louth · 1641

    In 1641, Ardee was captured by the troops of Sir Phelim O'Niel and disaffected forces from the north of Leinster. Sir Henry Tichburne marched to the town's relief and succeeded in expelling the enemy after a skirmish at the bridge.

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    Lords of Athirdee; they were not only wealthy, but greatly distinguished in Leinster and in several of the midland counties of England ; and having adopted Athirdee as their chief residence, and made it the site of two monastic establishments, they could hardly fail to attract to it a large population. The manor was surrendered by Ralph de Pipard to Edward I., and was granted by Edward II. to Sir John Birmingham, whom he created Earl of Louth. The town severely suffered, in common with its Carmelite friary, from the sanguinary assault of the Scotn and Irish under Edward Bruce ; and, owing to it* position on the northern frontier of the English pale, it was exposed to frequent and fierce attacks froin the northern Irish. In 1538, it was burned by an invading force from Ulster under O'Niel ; ana in 1641, it was captured by the joint force of the troops of Sir Phelim O'Niel, and the disaffected in the north of Leinster. On the latter occasion. Sir Henry Tiehburne marched to its relief, and after a sharp contest about a mile from the town, and a skirmish at the foot of the bridge, succeeded in expelling the enemy. Ardee gives the title of Baron m the Irish peerage to the family of Brabazaii, EarU of Meath.

    ARDEE, CO. Kildare. See Ardree.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

34. Abbeymahon Abbey ruins and Bernardine foundation

    Abbeymahon · townland · Cork

    The ruins of Abbeymahon stand close to the shore of Courtmacsherry bay. The Bernardine monks founded the abbey at their own expense, and Lord Barry gave them 18 plough-lands constituting the parish, but the lands were seized by the crown at the dissolution of monasteries before building was finished. The church walls remain standing, with a house built on part of the ruins.

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    macsherry ; and contains the small village of LiSLl- VANE : which see. The general quality of the land is good arable. *' On the west side, as you so down the bay of Courtmacsherry,** says Dr. Smith in his History of Cork. ** is a good honse^ in a grove of trees, inhabited by Mr. Arundel ; and about half-way down, close to the shore, stand the nrins of Abbeymahon. It was founded by the Bernardine monki^ at their own expense; who were a very rich order. The Lord Barry gave them 18 plough-lands, which constitute the parish of Abbeymahon ; but this estate was only given them till the building was finished, which never happened ; for, soon after, the dissolv* tion of monasteries took place, and these lands were seized into the hands of the crown. The walls of the church are standing, and an house is built on part of the ruins, round which is a grove.** — This parish is a perpetual curacy in the dia of Ross. Gross income, £50; nett, £34. Patron, the earl ©f Shannon. The tithes are wholly impropriate In the earl of Shannon, and are compounded tor £699. A licensed school-house, capable of accommodating about 40 persons, is the only parochial place of worship. The Roman Catholic chapel has an avenge attendance of 1,500. The parishioners were stated, in 1834, to consist of 63 Churchmen, and 3,596 Roman Catholics. There were, in 1834, a da?- sehool. attended by 23; a hedge-school, by 80; and a Protestant Sabbath-school, by 14.

    ABBEY-0*DORNET. See Abbetdornbt.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

35. Aghaboe: 6th-century Culdee seat of St. Canice

    Aghaboe · townland · Laois · 500–1170

    Aghaboe was the seat of a Culdee establishment under St. Canice in the 6th century, mentioned in Adamnan's Life of Columba as 'Acheb-bou.' It rose into a town under St. Canice, was favoured by the princes of Ossory as a royal residence, and served as the ecclesiastical metropolis of the Ossory territory for over 600 years until the see of Kilkenny was erected under Henry II.

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    AGHABOE, or Auohavoe,* a parish in the baronies of Clandonagh and Clarmallagh, Queen's CO., Leinster. The Clandonagh section contains the town of Borris-in-Ossory, and the Clarmallagh section the village of Balltcolla : see these articles. Length and breadth, each 8 miles. Area of the whole, 18,702 acres ; of the rural districts of Clandonagh section, 6,460 acres ; of the rural districts of the Clarmallagh section, 12,182 acres. Pop. of the whole, in 1831,6,198; in 1841,6,310. Houses, 1,031. Pop. of the rural districts of the Clandonagh section, in 1841, 2,132. Houses, 351. Pop. of the rural districts of the Clarmallagh section, in 1841, 3,189. Houses, 519. The surface gently undulates, and is part of a very rich valley which is screened or flanked at some distance by two ranges of hills. The soil is in general excellent, yet consists partly of reclaimed moor and bog. The streamlet Gully separates the parish and its diocese, on the east, from the diocese of Ferns ; the river Nore separates them on the north-west from the diocese of Killaloe ; and the river Arcany or Erkennv separates the southern border from the parishes of Aughmacart and Durrow. Granite rocks occur at Carrig and Carrigeen ; bro\vn slate occurs at Knockaruadh, or the red hill, and has been quarried ; and limestone underlies by far the greater part of the parish, and has been extensively worked for manure. The only villages are poor and tiny hamlets. Aghaboe, 5 miles south-east of Borris-in* Ossory, though now a small and humble cluster of cabins, comes into notice in the 6th century, as the seat of a Culdee establishment under St. Canice, and is mentioned in Adamnan's Life of Columba, under the name of Acheb-bou. It rose, under St. Canice, into a town ; was favoured, and probably adopted at the seat of a royal residence bv the princes of Ossorv; and firom the death of St. Canice in 598, till the erection of the see of Kilkenny in the reign of Henry IL, or during upwards of 600 years, was the ecclesiastical metropolis of the Ossory territory. Even subsequent to this period, an episcopal palace at Aghaboe was repaired and beautified; and in 1234, *a great church' was built, the chancel of which was thought by Dr. Ledwich, the well-known Irish antiquary, and long the incumbent of this benefice, to constitute the parochial place of worship in which he oflSciated, and which continued to be in use some time after the commencement of the present century. ** The belfry," says he, " is a small hexagonal structure, closed with a cap of masonry, and is on a line with the roof of the church. Round the fabric are buttresses, except to the south : on that side is a door, the arches are concentric, enriched with carving and foliage. There are three

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

36. Ancient battle at the ford of Athy

    Athy · town · Kildare · 100–300

    Keating records a battle fought in the 2nd or 3rd century on the site of Athy between the people of Munster and those of Leix under Lavighseagh Cean Mordha. A ford at the place was an ancient frequented passage between Leix and Caelian in Kildare, giving rise to names Ath-Trodain ('the ford of conflict') and Ath-Bhiedhbha ('the ford of the adversary').

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    Hiatory.] — A battle is said by Keating to have been fought in the 2d or 3d century, on the site of Athy, between the people of Munster and those of Leix, under Lavighseagh Cean Mordha ; and a ford at the place was anciently a practicable and frequented passage between the principality of Leix or Lavighseagh in Queen's co., and that of Celleagh or Caelian in CO Kildare. These two circumstances may account for two ancient names of the place, — Ath- Trodain, * the ford of conflict,' and Ath-Bhiedhbha, •the ford of the adversary.' The latter of these names, as pronounced in the Erse fashion, though looking in Roman letters as if unpronounceable, is ▼ery nearly the short modern Athv. But. a name by which — in the corrupted form ot Bla-Theag, pronounced Blahai, the town continues to be known — is Bally-da-Dhae, * the town of the two houses;' and seems evidently to refer to the two monasteries built in the !3th century. The founding of these establishments is asserted to have been the origin of the town ; and as they were founded by English settlers, not only the monks, but the inhabitants of the town, were principally of that nation. In 1308, the town was burnt by the Irish. In the following year. Lord John de Bonnerille, slain near the town of ArdskuU, was interred in the church of the Athy abbey of crouched friars. In 1315, the town was plundered by the Scots under Bruce ; and Haymond le Grace and Sir William Pendergrist on the English side, and Sir Fergus Andrissan and Sir Walter Murray on the Scots side, were slain at the battle of ArdskuU, and all interred in the Athy abbey of Dominican friars. See Ardskull : see also Ardree. About the year 1424, Thomas, seventh Earl of Kildare, then Lord Offaly, obtained, by marriage with Dorothea, daughter of Anthony O'More of Leix, th«* manors of Woodstock and Rheban, including the town of Athy, and established within them a courtbaron and court-leet. Various historical passages are connected with the castle of Woodstock : which see. Athy, from the gradual contraction of the English pale, became a ifrontier and garrison town, commanding an important passage over the Barrow, and, in this connection, it received the accession of the fortalice, the remaining tower of which is called White's Castle. In 1642, the Earl of Ormond arrived at the town with 3,000 foot and 500 horse ; and sent out from it parties to relieve the garrisons of Carlow, Ballinakill, Berte, Cloghgrennan, and

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 146

37. Ardbraccan House, episcopal palace of Meath

    Ardbraccan · townland · Meath · 1766–1846

    Ardbraccan House, the successor of an earlier episcopal castle, was built since 1766 from designs by James Wyatt and is regarded as the second edifice of its class in Ireland for beauty and splendour. It is composed of Ardbraccan limestone and combines magnificence of a palace with comfort of an English mansion. The demesne contains cedars of Lebanon and other exotics planted by the oriental traveller Bishop Pococke.

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    liter. It contains part of the village of Booermeen: whirli SCO. Length, 5J miles ; breadth, 4 ; area, 6,491 acres. Pop., in 1831. 3,799; in 1841, 4,596. Houses 678. Pop. of the rural districts in 1841. 3,884. Houses 536. The land is. for the most part, arable and good. The surface, in common with that of five contiguous parishes with which it is ecclesiastically united, is a luxuriant plain, skirted along the west with bog, and relieved in its flatness principally by a richly wooded and conspicirous hill, having somewhat the form of an obtruncated cone. A white limestone, quarried on the lands of Ardbraccan. is peculiarly suitable for embellished architecture : it is purely white when chiselled, and assumes a dark greyish tint when polished ; it becomes blackish when long exposed to the air, but can be restored by chi-ielling ; and, unlike much of the building-stone in Ireland, it neither absorbs water, nor contracts a green hue from nurturing the growth of lichens. Ardbraccan, *'the knoll ot' Braccan," is Raid to have been, in 650, made the site of a religious establishment by St. Braccan. The saint, whether Culdee or whatever else, is in the u^iial style represented as having made the affair both a see and an abbey ; and he currently figures in story as the first of a line of local bishops and abbots. The religious house, whether cathedral or abbey, or both, or neither, was often plundered and burned by hostile dymists and by Danes ; and is said to have partly fallen to the ground in 1170. The see was one of several small bishoprics which became consolidated into the see of Meath. A " strong castle" — at least an edifice designated such in a scarce pamphlet which details many events of the rebellion of 1641 — was, from an early period, the episcopal residence of this great diocese. Ardbraccan-house, the successor of the castle, and the present episcopal palace of Meath, was built since 1766 from designs by James Wyatt, Esq., and is regarded, for beauty and splendour, as the second edifice of its class in Ireland. It is composed of the Ardbraccan limestone; consists of a main building and two wings, connected by circular walls and niches ; and combines the magnificence of the palace with the comfort of the English mansion. The circumjacent demesne is extensive, and highly as well as tastefully embellished ; and. among various beautiful trees and shrubs, it contains some cedars of Lebanon and other exotics, planted bjr the oriental traveller Pococke during the time of his being bishop of Meath. A small, ill-designed, and ill-sculptured slab in the churchyard of the parish does burlesqueing duty as a monument to Bishop Pococke. The tomb of George Montgomery, bishop of Meath and Clogher, stands on the north side of the slab ; and strongly fixes attention by its minglement of pretension, barbarousness. and absurdity. Figures which it exhibits of the bishop, his wife, and his daughter, are the rudest productions of the chisel that can well be conceived. Beneath the figures are the words. *' Surges morieris. judicaberis." On the east side is a bust, with three plumes surmounted by a mitre ; above the mitre is a cup. with a representation of the Roman Catholic sacramental wafer; ami beneath the bust are two swords, laid across each other, and intersprinkled with fleurs-de-lis. On the west side is an angel blowing a trumpet, and a shield charged with armorial bearings, and surmounted also with a cup and the Roman Catholic wafer. An old square tower near this masterpiece of absunlity is surmounted by a spire and a vane, and forms a noticeable object in the plain.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

38. Arigadeen river and its pearl-bearing mussels

    Timoleague · town · Cork

    The Arigadeen (Silver Streak) rivulet flows eastward past Timoleague to Courtmacsherry Bay, abounding with many kinds of fish including salmon, bass, and trout with white scales. Pearl-bearing shellfish called 'a-clotheen' by the Irish were found in the river, with the Rev. Mr. Bleigh of Timoleague showing Dr. Smith one as large as a pea.

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    ARIG ADEEN (The), or the Silver Streak,* rivulet in the southern division ofco. Cork, Munster. It rises near the centre of the district of Carbery ; and flows eastward, past Timoleague, to the northwest comer of Courtmacsherry bay. Its length, as a stream, is about 12 miles ; and, afterwards, as an estuary, is about 3 miles. " This river,*' says Dip. Smith, **^ abounds with many kinds of fish,, which come up with the tide, particulariy a trout with white scales, that boils red like a salmon ; there are also plenty of salmon, bass, and molTet, smelts, sprats, fluke, dabs, &c. ; there are likewise pearl Ash taken up^, which are found in a Targe kind of shell, resembling a muscle, but bigger, called here by the Irish, a-cTotheen. The Rev. Mr. BUgh, the present incumbent of Timoleague, showed me one that he bought from a poor man as large as a pea." Salmon begin to ascend the Arigadeen in July, and continue till about the middle of January.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 122

39. Askeaton Abbey founded 1420 by Earl of Desmond

    Askeaton · townland · Limerick · 1420

    Askeaton Abbey was founded in 1420 by James, the seventh Earl of Desmond, for Franciscan friars. The cloisters, the chief part now remaining, form a square arcade of about 100 feet, entirely composed of black marble, exhibiting beautiful and richly ornate chisellings.

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    its pinnacled site on the rock, and its encinetarcment with the divided stream of the Deel, it was surrounded by a lofty wall, and accessible only by a drawbridge. During the last E}irl of Desmond's rebellion in 1580, when the King's forces, under Sir George Carew, were approaching Askeaton, the garrison of the castle, being unpronded to sustain a siege, placed a train «f gunpowder within the walls, evacuated the place, fired the train, and blew up a considerable part of the building. The Earl, after three years of ceaseless warfare and various success, was driven from his castles, spoiled of his army, chased to the fastnesses of Kerry, and compelled to Ke perdu in mean apparel, much distress, and almost total unattendance. Kelly of Morierta eventually tracked the footsteps of a few kerns who had Tentnred to seize some cattle for the Earl's subsistence ; he found the hunted and fallen noble lying languidly before a fire in a ruined house ; he assailed him, wounded him, and drew from him the faint cry, '* Spare me, I am the Earl of De$>mond ;" and, heedless of theappeal, he struck off the Ekirl's head, and carried it to the Earl of Ormond, to be sent to Queen Elizabeth, and impaled on London bridge. Thus perished a family who, for four centuries, had flung rude splendour and magnificence around them, and frequently measured swords with the supreme civil power of the country. The EarFs forfeited lands amounted to 574,628 Irish acres. — About 30 yards from the castle, the Deel is spanned by an old bridge of 9 arches. About ^ of a mile from the town, and on the east brink of the river, stand the ruins of Askeaton abbey. This pile was founded in 1420, b3r James, the seventh Earl of Desmond, for friars roinorets ; and, long after its dilapidation, it ranked as one of the finest ecclesiastical ruins in Ireland. The cloisters, which are the chief part now remaining, form a square arcade of about ICO feet ; they are entirely composed of black marble; and they exhibit some beautiful and richly ornate chisellings. Askeaton was constituted a borough by charter of 11 James I. The limits included only a small space round the edificed area. The charter directed that the corporation should consist of a provost and 12 free burgesses ; that the free burgesses should hold their office for life, and annually elect from among their own number the provost ; that vacancies in the free burgess-ship should be filled up by the corporation from among ** the better and more honest of the inhabitants ;** that the provost might hold every Monday a court of record for the trial of all actions personal to the amount of 5 marks ; and that the corporation, in prosecution of the chief object of their beuig constituted, should return two members to parliament. The borough, owing to the prindple of self-election in its constitution, became at once a close borough ; it continued to act as such till it was disfranchised at the Union ; and it was then under " the patronage " of Lords Carrick and Massey. Of the sum of £15,000, which was awarded as compensation for the loss of its franchise, £6,580 was given to the Earl of Carrick, £6,580 to the trustees of the will of Hugh, Lord Massey, £1,100 to Sir Vere Hunt, Bart., and £200 to Sir Joseph Hoare, Bart. So extinct did the corporation become after the borough's disfranchisement, that the Commissioners on Municipal Corporations, when making inquiry a few years ago on the spot, could with difficulty obtain any evidence of its former existence. Power was given by James I. to Sir Francis Berkeley to hold in Askeaton weekly markets on Wednesday and Saturday, and a fiur on 20th and 21st July. Fairs are now held on dOth July and 9th Oct. Some tolls which are collected are private property. A seneschal's court, whose

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

40. Aughrim Castle at the 1691 battle

    Aughrim · parish · Galway · 1691

    The old castle of Aghrim occupied a pass on the left of the Irish army's position during the 1691 battle. It was situated between a bog and a tract of hills and morasses, serving as a strategic point in the engagement.

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    view from the Dublin and Galway road, and now disposed in a series of green pasture-fields, is celebrated as the scene of the last of the great Irish battles between the forces of James II. and those of William IIL The battle was fought on the 12th of July, 1691, and was an immediate sequent of the expulsion of James's troops from Athlone : see that article. " Having repaired the fortifications of Athlone," savs Gordon, ** De Ginckle marched, on the 10th of July, toward the enemy, and encamped along the river Suck, 3 miles north-eastward from the Irish forces, who occupied a post of great strength at the village of Aghrim. The army of St. Ruth, consisting of 25,000 men, was encamped along the heights of Kilcommeden, behind a bog, near a mile in breaBth, which, extending all along the front, left only two passes for the approach of an enemy ; the one on the right, through a range of hills opening into wider ground ; the other on the left, occupied by the old castle of Aghrim, and intrenchments filled with soldiers, between the bog and a tract of hills and morasses. The whole slope of Kilcommeden, down to the edge of the bog, was intersected with hedges and ditches, which formed lines of communication, guarded by Irish infantry. With only 18,000 men, and even these not otherwise collected than by draining his garrisons to a degree of danger, Ginckle advanced on the 12th of July at noon, after a foggy morning, to attack an army so superior in number, so strongly posted, but without sufficient artillery, encouraged by every argument of the general in his harangues, and by the priests who ran through the ranks, and are said to have sworn the men on the sacrament not to desert their colours. A part of Ginckle's army, consisting of Danes, supported afterwards by English dragoons, and these again by other detachments, began the battle by forcing the pass on the right of the enemy, which, after a variety of fortune, they accomplished in an hour, gaining a position beyond the bog. After a pause, in consequence of a consultation among Ginckle's officers, the entire left wing of the English army, according to a plan recommended by Mackay, advanced at 5 o'clock in the evening through the acquired pass, and furiously attacked the right of the Irish, who obstinately defended their ditches, not giving way till the muskets of the combatants mutually touched, when they retired by their lines of communication, flanked their assailants, and charged with double fury. When the engagennent bad thus continued on that side for an hour and a half, St. Ruth drew great part of hia cavalry from his left wing to support his right. Mackay, who had waited for this incident, immediately ordered the cavalry in the right wing of the English to force their way through the pass of Aghrim-castle on the left of the enemy ; and some regiments of infiintry in the centre were ordered to march through the bog, and to take post on the lowest ditches beyond it, until the cavalry should gain the pass by the castle, and wheel from the right to support their attack. The infantry, plunging to the middle in the bog, made their way, with great labour, to the opposite side, where the enemy, after a furious fire, poured on them from the hedges, designedly retired. Transported with ardour, forgetting their orders, and pursuing almost to the main body of the Irish, they were overpowered by a charge in front and flank, driven back to the bog, many of them slain, and many taken, of whom some were persons of distinction ; while the French general, too easily elated, exclaimed, in an ecstacy of joy, — * Now will I drive the English to the very walls of Dublin I' But in the meantime, the English cavalry, commanded by Talmash, rushed through the narrow and dangerous pass on the enemy's left, closm

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 147

41. Balleen Castle: Ormonde stronghold and imposing ruin

    Balleen · parish · Kilkenny · 1300–1650

    Balleen Castle, on a hill overlooking rich countryside near Freshford, was a principal stronghold of the Earls of Ormonde. The north-west tower dates from the 14th century; the other tower was built in 1453 by the fifth Earl of Ormonde. Tradition attributes additions to Margaret Fitzgerald, wife of the eighth Earl, and the castle was eventually dismantled by Cromwell's soldiers.

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    Spa h on the west border. See Ballt8PEU.an. The castle of Balleen, an imposing ruin, and once a phiee of considerable extent and strength, crowns a slowly ascending yet rather lofty hill, and overlooks a richly cultivated and beautifully diversified expanse of country. The edifice is of various dates ; it is said by tradition never to have been completed, and it consisted, when in its prime, of two towers, an intervening large hall, a fine eastern wing, an inner and outer ballium, and the several offices of a large castle, the whole surrounded by a deep fosse, which was tilled from an adjoining stream. The walls of the ballium are partly overthrown, and lie in large prostrate masses ; and where they are in any degree preserved, they exhibit large square loop* holes, suitable to small early artillery. Excepting these and the two towers, all the castle, its halls and vaulted chambers, are now a confused mass of rubl)ish ; and ** as if to mock at the departed grandeur of the place, a hovel has arisen within its fallen courts, and includes the ancient portal through which often passed with goodly retinue many a noble chieftain of the ButlA* race." The north-west tower, now in a very dilapidated condition, seems to have been erected in the 14th century; it was the keep of tiie original ibrtalice, and it consisted of four stories, one of which was vaulted. The other tower i<i, as to its mere masonry, in a state of tolerable preservation ; it was built in the year [453 by the fifth Eurl of Ormonde, a powerful noble, and a favourite of Henr^" VI. ; and its windows, with graceful label-mouhhiig^i, mullions, and transoms, partly overhung and interlacx'd with ivy. are of elegant construction. The castle was a principal stronghold of the Earls of Ormonde, and was probably designed by the fifth Eiirl to be extended and beautified into a reMdence befitting his high rank and power. Margaret Fitzgerald, the lady of the eighth Earl, and a person of extraordinary encTgy of character, is traditionally said to have made additions to the edifice; and the neighbouring peasantry still point out the * chair' of * Peg G.irrct,' or * Maugluid ni Gearodh,' the names by which they designate the lady. In ]t>UO, the castle, along with the fortalices of Athnaorlar and Mountgarret, was taken by Thomas, Earl of Oimonde, from the Count Mountgarret, then in rebellion; and it eventually suffered dismantling and dilapidation from the soldiers of Cromwell. — Balleen i» a vicarage and a component part of the benefice of Au(;H(>urk [which see], in the dio. of Ossory. Its vicarial tithes, jointly with those of Coolcashin, are compounded for £54 1 6s. 8d. ; and its rectorial tithes — the rtnitorial tithes of * Clontubrit'-— jointly with those of Coolcashin, are compounded for £109 13>. 4^(1, and appropriated to the dean and chapter of Sl Canice, Kilkenny. The Roman Catholic c!iapi>l has an attendance of '200; and in the Roman Catholic parochial arrangement is grou|)ed with the chapels ui Coolcashin and Lisdowney. In 1834, the parishioners were all Roman C-atholics, and there was no school.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 147

42. Ballycastle harbour recovery plan by Nimmo

    near Ballycastle · town · Antrim · 1835

    Mr. Nimmo proposed recovering Ballycastle harbour in Co. Antrim by building a breakwater from the east pier to West Head rock, turning in the river, and creating a pent above the Salmon-house. He estimated the cost at about £5,000 Irish and predicted a bar harbour with safe entrance under the lee of a north-west ledge.

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    trance. " It appears to me," says Mr. Nimmo, " that the harbour ot Ballycastle may he recovered and retained at no great expense. The mouth or entrance was originally laid too near the sands ; and the river being turned off, the sand carried down thereby to the entrance was necessarily deposited by the sea in the still water within the harbour. To obviate this, we should build a breakwater, with paved face, from the head of the present east pier obliquely, to the rock at tail of West Head, finish that head, turn in the river, and make a pent of all above the Salmonhouse, or even the lime-kiln ; and, after some scouring, the sand will certainly lower greatly. I do not promise more than a bar harbour ; though there it good reascm to expect the same or greater depth than at first. The ledge on the north-west keeps off the ocean swell ; and, under its lee, a safe entrance will be obtained. It will also afford a place for warping rings. The expense nuiy be about £5,000 Irish. * " It may not be amiss," says the Guide to the Giant** Causeway, " to mention why Ballycastle claimed the advantage of a pier, erected at the public charge, and therefore whether a second effort should be made to accomplish its construction. The exports of Ballycastle were coal ; earth used in China manufactories, equivalent to kaolin; this was procured on Fair Head ; granite from Ballypatrick Mountain, resembling petunse, also used in the composition of china; potters' clay, brick clay, and excellent fire stones ; sand for glass making ; kelp^ and manganese. To these may be added freestone, limestone, and flints. From this enumeration it is obvious that the wealth of Ballycastle is of an inexhaustible, imperishable nature, and such as to render it a matter of public benefit to re-establish this harbour, upon sucn improved principles that the biUows of the ocean shall roar against it in vain." The trade of the town was not quite extinguished by the ruin of the harbour ; and, in 1835, amounted, in the estimated value of exports and imports, to respectively £1,791, and ^£2,030 13s. 3d. The exports consisted of 109 tona of kelp, 179 tons of corn and meal, 201 tons of potatoes, 35 head of cattle, and 96 untanned calf skini ; and the imports consisted of coals, culm, cinders, iron, slates, oak-bark, salt, tinned plates, and other articles. The total estimated inland carriage from the town amounted to TOO tons, — and to the town, to 9,950 tons ; and the latter consisted of 500 tons for exportation, 1,350 for local consumpt as food, 150 of exciseable shop and imported articles net received by direct importation, and 7,950 of stone, lime, turf, flic. In 1838, the public conveyances were a mail car to Cushendall, and 2 caravans to Coleraine. Fairs are held on July 15, Aug. 29, Nov. 3, and Dec. 1.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

43. Battle of Ballymacarthy, 1798

    near Ballinascarty · population centre · Cork · 1798

    In 1798, a stiffly contested engagement occurred at the village of Ballymacarthy (or Ballinascarthy) between insurgents and the Westmeath militia. The village stands about 2½ miles north-north-east of Clonakilty on the road to Bandon.

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    It stands 2^ miles north-north-cast of Clonakilty, on the road thence to Bandon. In its vicinity are very extensive corn-mills. In 1798» a stiffly contested engagement occurred at the village between the insurgents and the Westmeath militia. Area of the village, 12 acres. Pop., in 1831, lG7i in 1841, J54. Houses 28.

    BALLYMACDUN, or Ballymadun, a parish on the western border of the barony of West Balrothery and of the county of Dublin, 3 miles northnorth-east of Ratoath, Leinster. Length, 2^ miles; breadth, 2 ; area, 3,438 acres. Pop., in 1831, 795 ; in 1841, d22. Houses 79. The land is all profitable for tillage and pasture ; and, though nowhere high, lies near the water-sheds between the basins resp>ectively of the Boync, the Nanny Water, and the small streams which run eastwarcl through the northern half of Dublin county. The village of Ballymacdun is situated 13 miles north hy west of Dublin. An anchoress, or succession oi anchoresses, is said to have dwelt here in a cell, and to have claimed a rent-charge from the prioress of Grace- Dieu. Some ruins of an ancient chapel still exist. — 7'his parish is an impropriate curacy, and part of the benefice of Clonmethan, in the dio. of Dublin. See Clonmethan. A glebe is let for £40, and belongs to the incumbent ; and the tithes are compounded for £1G2 9s. 3d., and are wholly impropriate in R. W. Netterville, Esq. The Roman Catholic chapel has an attendance of 400 ; and, in the Roman Catholic parochial arrangement, is united to the chapel of Oarristown. In 1834, the parishioners were all Roman Catholics ; and there was no school.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

44. Carrigadrohid Castle on a rock in the River Lee

    Carrigadrohid · townland · Cork · 1641

    Carrigadrohid Castle stands on a steep rock in the middle of the River Lee in the parish of Aghinagh. A bridge at this place, communicating with the village of Killinardish, formed a noted pass during the wars of 1641 and was repeatedly taken and retaken by contending forces.

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    AHINAGH, or Aghinah, a parish in the barony of. East Muskerry, 2^ miles south-soutb-east of Macroom, co. Cork, Munster. Length, 5 miles; breadth, 4; area, 9,420 acres. Pop., in 1831, 2,442; in 1841, 2,699. Houses 429. The surfiue is part of the vale and screens of the river Lee. About 800 acres are waste and mountainous, but for the most part reclaimable, and the rest of the area is good land. Several large plantations, demesnes of numsions, and shrubberies of villas, fling warmth and covering over the scenery of the Lee. On a steep rock, in the middle of the river, stands the castle of Carrigadrohid : see that article. A bridge at this place, which communicates with the neat small village of Killinardish, formed a noted pass in the wars

    AHO

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

45. District Lunatic Asylum for the five counties of Connaught

    Ballinasloe · town · Galway · 1841–1842

    The district Lunatic Asylum for the five counties of Connaught stood at the extremity of the Roscommon section of Ballinasloe on low, often-flooded ground. Built for 152 patients, it had expanded to house 265 inmates by 1841, with 14 Irish acres of attached land employing many patients, and was praised for its humane management despite concerns over its damp site and overcrowding.

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    eddyinf^ carrent, have a very pleasing effect: the height of the walls and towers, however, is inconsiderable.** The Roscommon section of the town has the appearance of an extended vilhige ; and consists of 9 or 10 tolerablv good houses, 6 or 7 thatched cabins, and a large mill and malt houses on one of the islands, and of about 40 or 50 cabins and small houses, scattered along the road toward Athlone. At its extremity, on the north side of the road, and on low ground which is often overflown by the adjoining river, stands the district Lunatic Asylum for the 5 counties of Coimaught. It was originally built to accommodate 152 patients ; it has acquired additional accommodation, without building, for 98, — and, with building, for 16 ; and it has at present 140 single cells. Of 265 patients who were inmates on Ist Jan., 1841, 47 were discharged in the course of the year cured or relieved, 3 were discharged incurable, and 34 died ; and of 26*2 who were inmates on 1st Jan., 1842, 6 males and 33 females were employed at trades, 54 males and 27 females were employed at other works, and 120 of both sexes were unemployed, 20 from want of work, and 100 from want of ability. Throughout 1841, the outlay on works and land amounted to £66 10:^. 8d. ; the produce from works and land, to £232 6s. 7Ad. ; the total expenditure, including salaries, to £3,733 17s. 7d. ; and the average cost of each patient, to £13 16^. 8Jd. An area of 14 Irish acres of land is attached, and employs many of the patients. The asylum is kept in excellent order, and conducted on such judicious principles, and with such predominant kindness, that little more than moral restraint is ever required. But the official reports uniformly bewail the lowness and humidity of the site ; and that published in 1842 says, ** There is not near sufficient room in this valuable asylum for the lonatic poor of so large a district, especially since the demands for admission of patients confined in the county gaols under the late act of parliament. It is expected that the Poor Houses will give some relief in this respect ; but nothing short of a large addition, or what would be better, another asylum being erected in the north part of the district, about Ballina, will answer the purpose of providing fully for the demands for admittance."

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 150

46. Rathdrum's extinct flannel trade

    Rathdrum · town · Wicklow · 1816–1830

    Rathdrum once hosted a flourishing flannel manufacture, with 12 fairs held annually and as many as 1,200 pieces of flannel offered at a single fair before 1816. After 1818 the trade declined rapidly, and in 1830 the Flannel Hall was closed and the fairs came to an end.

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    The woollen manufacture is succinctly and luminously exhibited by i^Ir. Otway, in the Handloom Weavers' Commissioners* Report of 1 840. " It appears," says he, " that the woollen manu- &cture8 in Ireland, previous to the present century, were treated as an exotic, artificially nurtured, and not naturally developed. Bounties, protecting duties, and monopolies, invited a host of minor manufacturers, with small capitals, to enter the business ; and their competition, for a time, kept up the nominal rate of wages. Monopolies in Ireland, as elsewhere, were injurious not only to the community, but to the very party they were designed to benefit. The manufacturer, lulled by the false security of what seemed a sure demand, over-rated his profits. Acting on this miscalculation, he g^ve the workmen almost any sum they pleased to ask, when it was necessary to secure a lucrative conti*act ; in fact, he was paying wages out of his capital. Nor was this system so profitable to the workmen as some of the witnesses have represented. If the nominal rate of wages was higher in Ireland, employment was more steady in Yorkshire ; and it is not improbable that at the end of a year the total earnings of the English operative would have been the larger sum." " Mr. Willans has shown that the prosperity of the woollen trade, previous to the removal of the protecting duties in 1823, was greatly exaggerated, and that they did not afiford to the manufacturers the advantages intended. There can be no doubt that considerable benefit resulted from the substitution of large capitalists for the smaller manufacturers, so numerous previous to 1810, — a change which took place about the year 1812. The panic of 1825, the results of which were not fully developed until the following year, produced, as fully stated and explained by Mr. Willans, great distress among the Dublin operatives, but not greater than was felt at the same time in the manufacturing districts of England. I am, however, led to believe that this crisis produced many beneficial effects : it swept away all the establishments supported by a system of fictitious credit, and it led to the examination of the rate of wages, and a comparison of the amount with the actual instead of the nominal profits. Wages were consequently reduced ; but had the old system been retained, the crash would have been eventually more ruinous, and employment would have ceased altogether. Thus, what the woollen trade lost in extent it gained in real stability ; it is now in a healthy and progressive condition, especially as the advancement of steam navigation has opened new markets for Irish woollen goods in the south and west of England." " At Rathdrum, my attention was directed to a branch of the woollen trade, once very ilourishing and extensive, but now I may say wholly extinct, the manufacture of flannels. There were 12 fairs held annually at Rathdrum, and it was stated that previous to 1816 so many as 1,200 pieces of flannel were offered for sale at a single fair. After the year 1818 the trade declined so rapidly, that in 1830 the Flannel Hall was closed and the feirs were at an end." " I have now only to repeat my opinion that the woollen trade of Ireland is in a more sound and healthy condition than it ever has been, and that its yearly advance may be confidently expected. But in this, above all other trades, the agriculturist must lend his aid to the improvement of the manufacture ; the breeding of sheep, with a view to the improvement of the fleece, has hitherto received very little attention in Ireland ; the wool is at present only suited for the manufacture of the coarser cloths and friezes for domestic manufacture amongst the peasantry, and hence that branch of the woollen trade has received considerable extension."

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 50

47. Sir Robert Savage's slaughter of Irish near Antrim

    near Antrim · town · Antrim

    Sir Robert Savage, at the head of a small party of English, is said to have slain 3,000 of the Irish near Antrim in a single day. He prepared his soldiers with wine and ale and spread out a banquet for the victors.

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    tons Sir Robert Savage, at the head of a small

    party of English, is said to have slain in one day near Antrim 3,000 of the Irish ; and, according U> CUrkson, he prepared for the engagement by priming each of his soldiers with wine and ale, and spreading out a profuse banquet of mutton, beef, and venison for the refection of the party who should conquer, — a rather notable instance, if true, of Englishmen fighting best with Dutch courage, and amid the steam of savoury viands! In 1649, the town was bamt by General Monroe ; and, in fact, from 1600 till near the close of last rebellion, it Mras the scene of a doleful series of burnings, murders, and battles. As the Ust action of its sanguinary celebrity is usually called **a dreadful engagement," and *' one of the severe contests which occurred during the unhappy civil disturbances of 1798," we choose to iiarmte it in the words of Gordon: — "The disaffected," says he, ** remained quiet in the noith till news arrived of a feditious commotion in the county of Wexford, v *'*

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

48. South cliffs of Inishmore and puffin colonies

    Inishmore · electoral division · Galway

    The south side of Inishmore features a precipitous, grandly bold line of unindented mural limestone cliffs frequented by vast numbers of puffins. The cliffs are curiously perforated with holes where puffins nestle, and islanders gather their eggs for food in times of scarcity.

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    ARRANMORE, or Ivkumorb, the largest of the islands, «nd a parish, in the insular barony of Arran, ^ust described, co. Galway, Connaught. It contains the villages of Killant and Kilronan : see these articles. Length, Similes; breadth, U; area, 7,635 acres. Pop., in 1831. 2,315; in 1841, 2,592. Houses 451. Pop. of the rural districts in 1841, 1,364. Houses 224. The island extends from east-south-east to west-north-west. Its south side is precipitous, grandly bold, an almost straight line of unindented mural limestone bulwark. The north side is low, fringed with a shingly beach, and deepjhr indented by two bays or natural harbours. The elms of the south are not more bold than romantic, are frequented by clouds of the sea-fowl called puffins, and are curiously perforated >vith holes, in which the puffins nestle, and whence the islanders supply themselves in seasons of scarcity with the eggs of the fowls for food. Other curiosities are Kilmurr^^ fort. Great Kevin's Head, and the objects noticed in the preceding article. The highest ground in the island appears to rise less than 400 feet above sea-leveL Good oats are raised ; sheep are pastured ; and oxen of an esteemed kind are reared. The chief residence is the seat of John W. Digbv, Esq. A lighthouse in the centre of the island exhibits a revolving li^ht of a bright colour; and, including the iCost of building stores, occasioned in 1640 an expense of £680 18s. 4d. On the island are 2 vilkiges, 8 hamlets, and a station of the coast-guard. The bay north from the village of Killany, named After it, separated by a peninsuU from St. Gregory's Sound, and partly covered by an islet called Straw Island, is the principal harbour, not only in Arranmore, hut in the whole Arran groi^). Outward-bound ships, from Liverpool to the West Indies and America, are frequently driven toward this harbour, and would find it a valuable retreat were the entrance to the sheltering oart of it widened, and a pier suitable for large vessels provided. The entrance is by the west side of^ Straw Island^ and though deep, is exceedingly narrow and somewhat dangerous ; yet could, it is said, be widened for the trivial expense of £300 — This parish is a vicarage in the dio. of Tuam ; and forms part of the benefice of Ballinakill : which see. The vicarial tithes are compounded for £6 13s. 8Jd., jmd the rectorial for £20 is. 0^ ; And the latter are in^roipriate, and belong to the Rev. John Cdgbj. The Roman Catholic cnapel is attended by from 400 to 600, and has one officiate. In 1834, the Protestants amounted to 28, and the Roman Catholics to 2,077; an4 4 pay- schools, at Killany, Kilronan, Kilmurvey, and Coorough, were attended by from 160 to 230 scholars.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

49. Ardclinis ruined chapel and vanishing stream

    Ardclinis · townland · Antrim

    The ruin of a small chapel on a pleasant eminence between mountain and sea is the only memorial of Ardclinis's ancient importance. Near the ruin, a stream leaps down the mountain face then dives underground through a natural tunnel beneath the hill and highway into the sea.

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    and impressive scenery. Close to the road at Drumnasole, and crowning an eminence, stands an extraordinary edifice, used as a school-house, two stories high, and surmounted by a belfry cupola. At a short distance onward, are Knappau Lodge, peeping out from a mass of wood and foliage ; rising grounds carrying, over all their sides and their summits, sheets of forest to the mountains ; and a little ruined chapel, ensconced among trees beneath the dark impending basaltic cliff. Farther on, are the grand natural fortalice of Dunmaul, and the conspicuous pinnacled headland of Gerron Point. See Dunmaul and Gerron. After passing Gerron Point, the tourist had formerly to proceed by a road called Foaran Path, which was so declivitous as to be nearly impracticable for a vehicle, and is thus described by the statist of 24 years ago: *' The road lies through limestone rocks* that have fallen from the hills upwards of 800 feet high ; so that, in a winter storm, a traveller is exposed to stones from above, the spray of the sea beneath, and the risk of slipping, in some spots of the road, from pressure of the clav under his feet. It is not forty years since this souto entrance to the low glens was impassable for any thing but a single horse, and even that with difficulty." Through the seal and liberality of Francis Turnly, Esq., an excellent road, cut at great expense and with great labour out of the side of the mountain, now curves along the coast, and offers every facility of progress. The enormous blocks of chalk which lie on each side of the road, and appear sprinkled and agglomerated in the wildest confusion, contain nodules of flint so loosened from the cavities in which they seem once to hare been firmly embedded, that they can easily be disengaged without aid of tool or fracture. On the shore, a few yards from the Foaran Path, stands a singular mass, somewhat resembling a colossal figure seated on a ledge of rock. This curious object, popularly called 'Clocken Stooken,' was formerly regarded as the most northerly spot in Ireland, and seems now as anciently to be regarded with superstitious feeling. Further on, the precipitous heights of Carrig-Murphy and Slieve-Bamghad, rise murally from the road, and soar sublimely to the clouds. Arddinis proper, or the snrall townland which gives name to the parish, speedily comes into view. The ruin of a small chapel, surmounting a pleasant eminence between the base of a lofty mountain and ike sea, is the only memorial of its ancient importance. Near this ruin, a stream leaps down the face of the mountain ; and, just when it has drawn attention to its beautiful frolics, it dives mto the earth and trots along a natural tunnel beneath the hill and the highway into the sea. Farther descriptieit belongs to the articles on Red Bay and Glenariff.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

50. Ballybay linen market and town improvement

    Ballybay · town · Monaghan · 1801–1841

    Ballybay in County Monaghan improved greatly after the establishment of its linen market, with new slated two-story houses and a market-house replacing older crumbling dwellings. Sir Charles Coote described the transformation in 1801, noting the town's prior miserable appearance.

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    Mooaghan, 11 north-north- west of Ctrrickmacroii, and 51 north-north-west of Dublin. Sir Charles Cootes, describing it in 1801, says, ** The town of Ballibay of late years, since the establishment of its linen market, is greatly improved ; and several new bouses are building, two stories high and slated. There is also a market-house ; and the weekly market is held on Saturdays. * * Before these new houses were erected, this town mu«t have had a ver^ miserable appearance, as all the old houses are fallmg to pieces, and threaten destruction to passengers.' As it now exists, the town, aggregately viewed, is comparatively well-built and laid out, and contains a fair proportion of good houses. Its progress in population, general trade, and provincial influence, has been both considerable and rapid. In its neighbourhood are the extensive bleach-greens and piills of Grieve ; and all around it, as well as within itself, are the numerous appliances of a large aggregate of linen manufacture. At its weekly markets are sold great numbers of linen vrebs, a large quantity of flax, and the surplus produce of the farm and the dairy over a wide extent of circumiacent country. Fairs are held on Jan. 1, Thursday before Easter, July 5, and Oct. 2 ; and are well attended for the sale and purchase of horses, homed cattle, and pigs. Yet, in spite of all its trade, the town does not seem to have either a banking-office, or a stated public conveyance. The streets are clean and orderly. The church and one of the Presbvterian meeting-houses are neat structures. A public library contains nearly 1,000 volumes. A dispensary in the town is within the Castleblaney Poor-law union, and has a district of 20,000 acres, with 12,500 inhabiUnts ; and in 1839-40, it received £180, expended £128 ISs., and administered to 1,680 patients. A presbytery of the General Assembly has its seat in the town ; inspects 1 1 congregations ; and meets on the 2d Tuesday of &Iay, and the 1st Tuesday of Feb., Aug., and Oct. Pop., in 1831, 1,947; in 184l,],7(». Houses 287.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

51. Ballycastle exports: coal, china earth, granite

    near Ballycastle · town · Antrim

    The Guide to the Giant's Causeway enumerated Ballycastle's exports as coal, kaolin-equivalent earth from Fair Head, granite from Ballypatrick Mountain resembling petunse for china manufacture, potters' clay, brick clay, fire stones, glass-making sand, kelp, and manganese, arguing the town's wealth was inexhaustible.

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    trance. " It appears to me," says Mr. Nimmo, " that the harbour ot Ballycastle may he recovered and retained at no great expense. The mouth or entrance was originally laid too near the sands ; and the river being turned off, the sand carried down thereby to the entrance was necessarily deposited by the sea in the still water within the harbour. To obviate this, we should build a breakwater, with paved face, from the head of the present east pier obliquely, to the rock at tail of West Head, finish that head, turn in the river, and make a pent of all above the Salmonhouse, or even the lime-kiln ; and, after some scouring, the sand will certainly lower greatly. I do not promise more than a bar harbour ; though there it good reascm to expect the same or greater depth than at first. The ledge on the north-west keeps off the ocean swell ; and, under its lee, a safe entrance will be obtained. It will also afford a place for warping rings. The expense nuiy be about £5,000 Irish. * " It may not be amiss," says the Guide to the Giant** Causeway, " to mention why Ballycastle claimed the advantage of a pier, erected at the public charge, and therefore whether a second effort should be made to accomplish its construction. The exports of Ballycastle were coal ; earth used in China manufactories, equivalent to kaolin; this was procured on Fair Head ; granite from Ballypatrick Mountain, resembling petunse, also used in the composition of china; potters' clay, brick clay, and excellent fire stones ; sand for glass making ; kelp^ and manganese. To these may be added freestone, limestone, and flints. From this enumeration it is obvious that the wealth of Ballycastle is of an inexhaustible, imperishable nature, and such as to render it a matter of public benefit to re-establish this harbour, upon sucn improved principles that the biUows of the ocean shall roar against it in vain." The trade of the town was not quite extinguished by the ruin of the harbour ; and, in 1835, amounted, in the estimated value of exports and imports, to respectively £1,791, and ^£2,030 13s. 3d. The exports consisted of 109 tona of kelp, 179 tons of corn and meal, 201 tons of potatoes, 35 head of cattle, and 96 untanned calf skini ; and the imports consisted of coals, culm, cinders, iron, slates, oak-bark, salt, tinned plates, and other articles. The total estimated inland carriage from the town amounted to TOO tons, — and to the town, to 9,950 tons ; and the latter consisted of 500 tons for exportation, 1,350 for local consumpt as food, 150 of exciseable shop and imported articles net received by direct importation, and 7,950 of stone, lime, turf, flic. In 1838, the public conveyances were a mail car to Cushendall, and 2 caravans to Coleraine. Fairs are held on July 15, Aug. 29, Nov. 3, and Dec. 1.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

52. Ballymore-Eustace town and Eustace Castle ruins

    Ballymore Eustace · town · Kildare

    The town of Ballymore-Eustace was founded by the Eustace family shortly after the arrival of the English under Henry II. Eustace-castle, formerly a place of uncommon and surprising strength, survives in ruin. The town's prosperity was damaged when the great south road was rerouted through Kilcullen.

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    tude of 935 feet. The principal seats are Ballymore, Wellfield, Seasons, and Ardenode, — the last the scat of William Brownrigg, Esq. About a mile above the town occurs the celebrated waterfall on the Liffey, called Poul-a-Phooka : see that article. Within the parish are the commons of Brodlaise, covered with Druidical remains. The town of Ballymore- Eustace is pleasantly situated on the Liffey, and on the old great south road from Dublin, 3| miles south-west of Blessington, and 18 south-west of Dublin. A very handsome bridge carries the highway acrosii the Liffey. The town — whose name means the Great Town of Eustace — was founded by the family of Eustace, shortly aft^r the introduction of the English under Henry II. Eustace-castle, formerly a place of uncommon and even surprising strength, still survives in ruin. The town has suffered severe damage to its prosperity by the adoption of the new line of the great south road through KilcuUen. Fairs are held on Aug. 26, and 8ept. 29. Area of the town. 76 acres. Pop., in 1831, 841 ; in 1841, 936. Houses 162 Ballymore-Eustace is a vicarage in the dio. of Dublin. The vicarial tithes are compounded for £78 17s. lid. ; and the rectorial for £66 ids. 2d. ; and the latter are appropriated, in the proportions of £S9 28. 7d., and i:27 10s. 7d. respectively to the treasurer and to the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's cathedral, Dublin. This vicarage, the vicarages of Balltbougut and St. Jago, and the curacy of Cotlandstown [see these articles], constitute the benefice of Ballymore-Eustace. Length, 5 miles ; breadth, 4^. Pop., in 1831, 2.696. Gross income, £137 28. 3d. ; nett. Jt*92 3s. l^d. Patron, the diocesan. The church is situated in the town, and was built in 1810, by means of a gift of ^830 I5s. 4|d. from the late Board of First Fruits. Sittings 100 ; attendance 58. The Roman Catholic chapel has an attendance of 2,000 ; and, in the Roman Catholic parochial arrangement, is united to a chapel in the benefice of Hollywood. In 1834, the Protestants of the union amounted to 1 14, the Roman Catholics of the parish to 2,000. and the Roman Catholics of the union to 2,535 ; and 3 daily schools, all in the parish and supported wholly by fees, had on their books 62 bovs and 42 girls. In 1840, a boys* school and a girls school in the town had on their books respectively 144 boys and 132 girls, and were aided, the former with £15 a-year, and the latter with £16, from the National Board.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

53. Ballyragget Castle garrisoned by Sir George Carew, 1600

    Ballyragget · town · Kilkenny · 1600

    In 1600, while the sons of the third Viscount Mountgarret were in rebellion against the crown and plotting with O'More to arrest the Earl of Ormond, the castle was strongly garrisoned by Sir George Carew, governor of Munster. It was later converted into a barracks for military employed in repressing Whiteboy insurrections.

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    residence of the Viscounts Mountgarret, was probably the nucleus of the town, or the occasion ot the place becoming a seat of population. The celebrated Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, usually styled ** Momia Gheroda,' Countess of Orroond, and mother to the first Viscount, used this castle as her favourite residence ; and, if history fairly represent her, she often indulged in the turbulent and freebooting practices more suitable to an unprincipled Amazon than to a lady, and often issued from the castle, at the head of her retainers, and plundered the cattle and other property of neighbouring families whom she was pleased to view as not belonging to the circle of her friends. In 1600, while the sons of the third Viscount Mountgarret were in rebellion against the crown, and plotters with O'More in the scheme to arrest the Earl of Ormond, the castle was strongly garrisoned by Sir George Carew, governor of Munster ; and, at a comparatively recent period, it was converted into a barrack, for the use of military employed in repressing the frequent insurrections of the

    Whiteboys. Ballyragget Hall, in the immediate vicinity of the village, succeeded the castle as the noble abode of the ' Butlers of Ballyragget,' the main branch of the Mountgarret family ; and it Is now the property and seat of Mr. Kavanagh of Borris, in co. Carlow, who acquired it by descent from the Butlers. The male line of the Butlers of Ballyragget terminated, a generation or two ago. in the persons of Dr. James Butler, titular, or Roman Catholic, archbishop of Cashel. and George Butler, Esq., his brother. A little above the village is Ballyconra, the seat of the Earl of Kilkenny; and in the neighbourhood are Mount Deland and Grange, the seats of Mr. Messom and Mr. Stennard. Area of the town, 68 acres. Pop., in 1831, 1,629; in 1841, 1,577. Houses 280.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 152

54. Owen Roe O'Niel occupies Athy, 1648

    Athy · town · Kildare · 1648

    In 1648 Owen Roe O'Niel took possession of Athy at the head of his Irish force, but hard pressed by the parliamentary general Jones, he offered to surrender Athy, Rheban, and Maryborough and lay down his arms on condition of enjoying privileges as in the time of King James.

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    Biillylinen. In 1648, Owen Roe O'Niel, at the head of his Irish force, took possession of the town ; but, being hard pressed by Jones, the parliamentary general, he offered to surrender Athy. Rheban, ancl Maryborough, and to lay down his arms, on condition of his confederates and himself enjoying the same privileges as in the time of King James. In 1650, the town and castle were captured by Cols. Hewson and Reynolds.

    ATHY, or Nicholastowk, an ecclesiastical union of parishes, and a benefice, partly in Queen's CO., but chiefly in co. Kildare, Leinster. It consists of the parishes of Athy St John, Athy St. Michael, Churchtown, Tankardstown, and Ardree: see these articles. Excepting part of Tankardstown. and a pendicle of Athy St. John, which are in Queen's co., all the union is on the south-west border of co. Kildare. Length, 6 miles ;

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 146

55. Richard the Red, Earl of Ulster, dies at Athassel Priory

    Relickmurry and Athassel · parish · Tipperary · 1326

    Richard the Red, Earl of Ulster, retired to Athassel Priory after entertaining nobility at Kilkenny in 1326 and died shortly afterwards within its walls. The De Burkes, his descendants, enriched the priory with possessions and decorations.

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    Houses 28. Pop. of the rural districts of the ClanwiUiam section, in 1841, 4,490. Houses 650. The land is in general good, and in some places prime. The surface lies along the bottom of the luxuriant valley of the Suir, and is traversed westward by the road from Cashel to Tipporarv. About the year J '200, a priory was founded at the hamlet of Atiiassel by William Fits Adelm de Burke, for canons regular of the order of St. Augustine, and dedicated to Eiimund the Martyr. The founder was steward to Henry II. ; after the king's return from Ireland, he was intrusted with the managefnent of Irish affairs ; and dying about the year 1204, he was buried at Athassel. The De Burgos, who were his lineal -tlescendants, bestowed ample possessions upon his favourite priory, and contributed to it many decorations. Richard the Red, Earl of Ulster, after entertaining the assembly of nobility at Kilkenny in 1326, retired to this priory, and shortly afterwards died within its walls. The ruins of the edifice are still extensive, and indicate its former magnitude -and splendour. The choir measured 44 feet by 26 ; the nave, of the same breadth as the choir, and supported by lateral aisles, was externally 117 feet in length; the tower was square and lofty ; and the cloisters were extensive. A tolerable view of the ruins from the north-west, and exhibiting the dilapidated tower, the roofless nave, the cloisters, and a roofless chapel in the south-west corner, is given by Dr. Ledwich, in his Antiquities of Ireland. ** We cannot," savs that antiquary, ** behold the numerous arches, walls, windows, and heaps of masonry promiscuously mixed in one common ruin, without saying with Ovid —

    ' Omnia sunt hominxun tcnui pendeirtia filo : fit subito casu, quae Toluere, ru\mt' "

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 138

56. St. Finnan's monastery and castle at Ardfinnan

    Ardfinnan · town · Tipperary · 1184

    St. Finnan is alleged to have founded a monastic establishment at Ardfinnan, and MacCuillinan, monarch and archbishop of Munster, is said to have bequeathed gold, silver, horse and armour to it. A ruin still exists locally believed to be St. Finnan's, beside the picturesque ruin of a castle built by King John in 1184 and eventually destroyed by Cromwell.

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    ARDFINNAN, a parish, containing a village of the same name, in the barony of Iff* and Offa West, CO. Tipperary, Munster. Length, 2 miles ; breadth, 1 ; area, 1.813 acres. Pop , in 1881, 878 ; in 1841, 1,214. Houses 197. The surface forms part of the immediate banks of the Suir ; lies G^ miles westsouth-west of Clonmel, and is trayersed by the great road from Dublin to Cork. The land is arable, wheat-bearing, and fertile. The landscape consists of a noble sweep in the vale of the Suir, — a band of luxuriant low ground, striped with a brilliant river, and flanked by picturesque heights. The public road, in passing along, curves between the Galtee mountains on the one hand, and the Knockmeledown mountains on the other, and opens at every turn on some charming novelty of a rich series of scenery. Ardiinnan village, though an ancient and once important place, is now a poor, small village. Area. 31 acres. Pop., in 1831, 316; in 1841, 530. Houses 93. St. Finnan, from whom it takes its name, is alleged to have founded at it a monastic establishment ; and MacCuillinan, the noted monarch and archbishop of Munster, is said to have bequeathed to this establishment, at the beginning of the 12th century, an ounce of gold, an ounce of silver, and his horse and armour. The monastery eventually belonged to canons regular ; and another monastery was subsequently erected for Franciscan friars. A ruin which still exists is, of course, regarded by the credulous as the actual and undoubted edifice of" St. Finnan. Beside it stands the conspicuous and picturesque ruin of a castle which was built, in 1184, by King John, and eventually destroyed by Cromwell. An extant dec<l of 4° Edward II., or the year 1311, grants pontage for three years to *' the bailiffs and good men of Ardfynan," and seems to imply that the place was then a cor- |)orate town. From a point of junction with the Cork line of railway, 6 miles off, near Cahir, Ardfinnan will be brought within 5 liours and 10 minutes travelling of Dublin, from which it is distant

    by the highway 113 miles This parish is a rectory

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

57. Achill Protestant mission and printing-press

    near Achill · parish · Mayo · 1832

    A Protestant mission to Achill and the islands commenced around 1832, propagating evangelical doctrine and Protestant education. A printing-press was in operation at the seat of the mission.

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    ACHILL, a parish in the barony of Burrishoole, on the west coast of co. Mayo, Connaught. Length, 22 miles; breadth, 14; area, 51,522 acres. Pop., in 1831, 5,277; in 1841, 6,392. Houses 1,158. It consists of the islands of Achill and Achillbeg, and the peninsula of Coraan Achill, each of which will be noticed below. — This parish is a rectory in the dio. of Tuam* Tithe composition £100; nett income £89 Is. Patron, the diocesan. There is no parish-church. Two clergymen of the Established church reside and officiate as missionaries. '* The Mission to Achill and the Islands " was commenced about 1832 ; and, while it has for its grand object the propagation of those doctrines which are maintained by the evangelical section of the Established clergy, it has, from the outset, included and propelled moral mechanism for diffusing Protestant education, disseminating general knowledge, improving the useful arts, and conducting georgic operations. The missionary clergymen preach or expound daily in Erse and English ; and, in 1834, had an attendance of from 15 to 35. A printing-press has for some time been in operation at the seat of the mission. A Roman Catholic chapel at Dookenella is attended, on the average, by from 350 to 500 persons ; and another at Kildevnett, by from 350 to 400. In 1834, the Protestant parishioners were stated to amount to 156 ; and the Roman Catholics computed at 5,583. Ill the same year, there were 4 free schools, under the mission, each salaried with £20 ; 3 free schools, each salaried with £8 b^ the Roman Catholic parish priest, pending on apphcation to the National Board ; and 2 hedge-schools, — the whole having aggregately on their books 261 scholars. In 18^0, the National Board made a grant of £107 lOs. to each of 3 schools.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 112

58. Arboe monastery founded by St. Colman

    near Arboe · parish · Tyrone · 1166–1846

    A monastery in the parish of Arboe is said to have been founded by St. Colman and to have contained his mortal remains before being destroyed by fire in 1166. The walls of the church and a cross bearing several inscriptions were still standing, supporting the tradition that the monastery was great and opulent.

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    ARBOE^ a parish, 5 males north-east of Stewarts- . town, and partly in the barony of Lough insholin^ co. Londonderry, but chiefly in that of Dungannon, co. Tyrone, Ulster. Length, 4 miles; breadth, 3; area« 12,504 acres. But the Ordnance Survey assigns to it 21 ,000 acres in Lough Neagh, so as to make the nominal area amount to 33,504 acres. Area of the Londonderry section, 1,356 acres; of the Tyrone section, 32,146 acres. Pop., in 1831, 8,146; in I64U 8,005. Houses 1,467. Pop. of the Londonderry section, in 1831, 765; in 1841, 775. Houses 129. Pop. of the Tyrone section, in 1831,7,383; iit 1841, 7f230. Houses 1 ,338. The sur&ce is low ground alonp^ the west shore of Lough Neagh, and slowly dechnes to the lake. The general quality of the land is good. A monastery in the parish is said to have been founded by St. Colman, to have afterwards contained his mort-al remains, and to have been destroyed by five in 1166. The wallis of the churdi, and a cross bearing several inscriptions, are still standing ; and the forn>er are sufficiently pictofesmie to apologize for the traditional assertion that the monastery was great and opulent. — This pariah is a rectory and a separate benefice in the dio. oif Armagh. Tithe composition. £507 12s. Id.; glebe,. £276. Gross income, £773 12s. Id.; nett, £675 I2s. 7d. Patron, Trinitv college,. Dublin. A eurate is employed at a salary of £75. The church was built about the year 1710. Sittings 250; attendance 175. A meeting-house, formerly Secessional, but now belonging to the General Assembly, is attended by from 150 to 300. A Roman Catholic chapel, and two alternately used altars in the open air, have two officiates, and are attended, the former by from 1,000 to 1,200^ and the latter by from 300 to iOfk la

    ARC

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

59. Ardfert Cathedral and round tower antiquities

    Ardfert · town · Kerry

    Ardfert Cathedral bears marks of high antiquity, with a west front showing four round arches with zigzag ornament and an eastern front with three elegant narrow pointed windows. A slated round tower, 120 feet high, once stood near the west front but fell in 1771.

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    Anlfert, holds, every three weeks within the borough, B manor court for the trial of actions of debt amounting to 40.'^. Irish ; and he exercises jurisdiction within a radius from the centre of the town of about 2} miles. Petty sessions, generally attended by two or three of the county magi:»trates, are held once afortnight. The only police are a small party of the county constabulary. A borough gaol or marshalsea formerly existed ; and a building called a bridewell, which probably was the gaol, still exists, but is not in use as a prison, and is the subject of a disputed claim between the town and the Crosbie family. Fairs are held on Whitmonday, July 9, and Aug. 15; and might also be held on St. Peter, and St. Paul's day, and on March 27. A grant by James I. to the Lord of Kerry, confers the privilege of a weekly market oh Thursday. In 1839-40, a dispensary in the town, under the Listowel Poor-law union, received £149, and expended £139 3s. 2d. A sumptuous monastery is represented, in the usual style of the ecclesiastico- political history of Ireland, as having been founded at Ardfert by St. Brendan. We are told, too, that, in common with the town, it was, at three periods, or in 10^, 1151, and 1179, reduced to ashes ; but that, at each period, it rose like a ph<rnix from the flames, and soared in beauty and magnificence till deplumed by the civil ¥rar of 1641. The cathedral, which seems to have been the church, if not of the original religious establishment, at least of a monastic successor, bears many marks of high antiquity. The west front shows four round arches with the zigxag ornament; and the eastern front shows three elegant narrow pointed windows. On the north-west side are two small f>uildings; one of which has a window curiously ornamented with fretwork, a wide Saxon doorway to the east, a smaller Saxon doorway to the west, and appears to have had at each angle a Saxon pillar. Near the west front of the cathedral stood a slated round tower, 120 feet high ; but this fine adjunct of the edifice's grandeur and interest, and noble specimen of the unique class of antiquities to which it belonged, fell in 177 1* A university, which is alleged to have existed at Ardfert, is said to hare been held in the highest esteem ; but is too obscurely known to be an ohjcct of remark.

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 121

60. Ardglass as a corporate town and royal borough

    Ardglass · townland · Down

    By the reign of Henry VI, Ardglass was a corporate town and royal borough governed by a portreeve and returning members to parliament. Before Elizabeth's reign it ranked with Newry and Downpatrick as one of the three principal towns of County Down and was second in Ulster only to Carrickfergus as a seat of trade.

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    These buildings would seem to indicate a prolonged, eventful, and perspicuous history ; yet, in a great degree, they are compelled to tell their own fctory and the town's with the pantomime of silent ruins, unaided by the memoranda of record. Ardglass, as a matter of course, claims to be the site of an tocclesiastical edifice founded by St. Patrick. But its religious antiquities, whatever they were, have quite or very nearly perished. In the reign of Henry VI., as appears by a deed or charter made in that reign by its corporation, was a corporate town and royal borough, governed by a portreeve, and returning members to parliament. Previous to the reign of Elizabeth, it ranked with Newry and Downpatrick a.-* one of the three principal towns of the county, and was second in the province of Ulster only to Carrickfergus as a seat of trade ; and so late as the Wgiiining of the reign of Charles I., the duties of its port were let to farm. But its castles, which so highly provoke curio>ity by their strength and number, are, in some instances at least, of altogether unasctTtained origin and design. Jordan's Castle may be interred, froni the ariuorial bearings of a cross and throe hoir'ie->l»oes in a stone near the top, to have [.ten built by one of the family whose name it bears. Thou^'h the ancient English sept of Savages [see Ardks], are supi¥)5jed to have built some of the other ca>tles, and are even regarded by some writers as the founders of the town, they appear to have been intruders in Lecale, and not to have attempted any ^ettleme^t in it till after their expulsion from northern and central Ardes. A tradition exists, or at lea>t was current a century ago, that when the Savages hud embodied a strong force to oppress the Magenisses and other lri>.h families to whom Lecale originally l>elonged, the Earl of Kildare was called ill by the latter us a protector or an ally; that, wheu

    Internet Archive parliamentaryga00unkngoog, Chapter 122