By Samuel Lewis, 1837
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GAILE.--See GEALE.
GALBALLY, a town and parish, in the barony of COSTLEA, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 8 miles (S. S. W.) from Tipperary, on the road to Mitchelstown; containing 5563 inhabitants, of which number, 560 are in the town. This place, in which are the ruins of several religious establishments, appears to have been formerly of considerable importance; an abbey for Franciscan friars was founded near the town in 1204, by Donagh Cairbre O'Brien, which flourished till the dissolution, when it was granted to John of Desmond. In 1601, the Lord-President Carew summoned the chiefs of every county in this province to meet him at this place, where he appointed Lord Barry general of the whole force of Munster. The abbey being included in the forfeiture of Sir John Fitzgerald's estates, the rectory, parsonage, and vicarage of Galbally, the parsonage and prebend of Killenellig with all the glebe, and tithes, except those belonging to the vicar, and other lands belonging to the abbey were, in 1611, granted to Thomas Cantwell, Esq. The ancient town was situated at the head of the glen of Aherlow, which being the only pass into Tipperary from the northern and eastern parts of Cork, and the western parts of Limerick, was frequently contested by the rival chieftains, but remained for more than 300 years in the possession of the O'Briens and Fitzgeralds. The present town is situated near the foot of the Galtee mountains, and contains 110 houses, of which some are well built of stone and roofed with slate, but the greater number are mean thatched cabins. Fairs for black cattle and pigs are held on May l2th and October 15th, and petty sessions every alternate Wednesday. A penny post and a constabulary police force have been established in the town. The parish is mountainous, and there are large portions of waste land, which is gradually being brought into profitable cultivation; the mountains to their very summit afford good pasturage for numerous herds of cattle, and there is a considerable quantity of bog. Limestone abounds, and there are quarries of good building stone and slate, and a thin stratum of coal. The scenery is boldly diversified, and there are several handsome seats, of which the principal are Massy Lodge, the elegant residence of Lord Massy; Riversdale; of Hugh Massy, Esq.; Castlereagh, of G. Bennett, Esq.; Janeville, of the Rev. R. Lloyd; the Cottage, of W. Lewis, Esq.: Annagurra, of T. T. Adams, Esq.; and Stagdale, of W. Massy, Esq., with a fine avenue of stately beech trees. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Emly, forming part of the union of Duntrileague, and of the corps of the prebend of Killenellig in the cathedral church of Emly. The tithes amount to £600; the glebe-house is a large handsome residence, and the glebe comprises 14 acres. There are some remains of the parish church, consisting of the side walls, 121 feet in length, of rude masonry and perforated with narrow and circular-headed windows. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union, comprising also the parish of Clonbeg: the chapel, in the village of Galbally, is a spacious building, erected in 1834, at an expense of £900; and there is also a chapel at Clonbeg. A large and handsome parochial school-room, capable of holding 600 children, was erected at an expense of £300, and is chiefly supported by the Massy family; and there are three private schools, in which are about 300 children, and a dispensary. There are some remains of the ancient Franciscan friary.
GALEY, a parish, in the barony of IRAGHTICONNOR, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 8 1/2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Tarbert, on the river Gale; containing 2920 inhabitants. It comprises 12,381 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, a large portion of which is in pasture: along the river the land is of excellent quality. There are large tracts of bog in the parish, amounting to nearly two-fifths of its entire surface: about one-fifth only is under tillage. The state of agriculture is improving; a considerable portion of the bog is now being drained, and other improvements are in progress by P. Mahony, Esq., who has recently purchased the Gunsborough estate (See GUNSBOROUGH). The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe: the rectory is impropriate in A. Stoughton, Esq , and the vicarage forms part of the union of Aghavallin. The tithes, amounting to £203. 1. 6 1/2. are payable in equal portions to the impropriator and the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is partly in the district of Listowel, but chiefly in that of Lisseltin. About 220 children are educated in two private schools.
GALGORM, a village, in the parish of AHOGHILL, barony of LOWER TOOME, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 1 mile (W.) from Ballymena, on the river Maine; containing 37 houses and 226 inhabitants. The castle of Galgorm, built by the celebrated Dr. Colville, is a handsome square embattled structure, now the seat of the Earl of Mountcashel: the whole of the rooms are wainscoted with Irish oak.
GALLEN or GILLEN, a parish, in the barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (N. E.) from Banagher, on the road to Firbane; containing, with part of that town and the post-town of Cloghan (which are separately described), 5021 inhabitants. This parish formed part of the ancient possessions of the family of the McCoghlans, proprietors of the surrounding territory, who built a strong castle here, which was surrendered to Ireton in the parliamentary war; the last male representative of this family, Thomas Coghlan, Esq., M. P. for the borough of Banagher, died in 1790. A monastery was founded here in 490 by St. Canoe, or Mocanoc, which continued to flourish till 820, when it was burnt by Felim McCroimhain; and after its restoration was occupied by some monks from Wales, who founded in it a celebrated school, from which circumstance it is supposed to have derived its name. Though repeatedly plundered and destroyed by fire, it subsisted till the dissolution, when the site and lands were granted to Sir Gerald Moore. An abbey was also founded near Firbane by St. Diarmid, who died in 563, and was succeeded by St. Coemgan; it was plundered in 1041, and destroyed by fire in 1077, soon after which it appears to have been abandoned, as no notice of it occurs since 1082. The parish comprises 16,313 statute acres, of which about one-third is bog and waste; the remainder, with the exception of a small portion of woodland, is equally divided between pasture and tillage; the system of agriculture is improving, and limestone is found in abundance. The principal seats are Gallen, the residence of A. Armstrong, Esq., beautifully situated in a richly wooded demesne bordered by the river Brosna, and containing the picturesque remains of the ancient monastery; Strawberry Hill, of Major Molloy; Castle Iver, of W. B. Armstrong, Esq.; and Clonana Castle, of -- Molony, Esq. At Castle Iver are some mills for oatmeal, worked by steam. Fairs are held on May 15th, Aug. 15th, Oct. 29th, and Nov. 17th: the May and October fairs are the principal for horses, cattle, and pigs.
It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Reynagh; the rectory is impropriate. The tithes amount to £415. 7. 8., and are equally divided between the impropriator and the vicar; the glebe comprises 222 statute acres, valued at £154 per annum. The church, a small neat edifice, situated at Cloghan, was built by a gift of £600 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1813. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union of Banagher, or Reynagh, in the diocese of Ardagh; the chapel at Cloghan is a spacious plain building. About 130 children are taught in three public schools, of which the national school is endowed with a house and garden by the Hon. Frederick Ponsonby, and one at Shillestown with a house and half an acre of land by Mr. Judge. There are also seven private schools, in which are about 280 children. There are some remains of the ancient castle of Clonana.
GALLOON, a parish, partly in the baronies of KNOCKNINNY and CLONKELLY, but chiefly in that of COOLE, county of FERMANAGH, and province of ULSTER, 65 miles (S. S. E.) from Lisnaskea, on Lough Erne, and on the road from Cavan to Enniskillen; containing 10,506 inhabitants. The parish, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises (including islands) 25,287 statute acres, of which 432 1/2 are in the barony of Knockninny, 9341 1/4 in that of Clonkelly, and 15,513 1/4; in that of Coole; about two-thirds are good arable and pasture land, 1455 1/2 are in Upper-Lough Erne, 1072 in small lakes, and of the remainder a very large portion is bog, which is easily reclaimable. The system of agriculture is in a very unimproved stae; limestone is abundant, and freestone of good quality is procured for building and other purposes. The only seat of importance is Crom Castle, the residence of the Earl of Erne, about three miles from Newtown-Butler, a handsome mansion recently erected, in which is still preserved the armour worn by McCarthy Moore at the battle of Kilgarret. The lake affords considerable facility of water conveyance, and it is in contemplation to open the port of Ballyshannon by the river Erne; there is a large flour-mill at Roosky, in this parish. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Clogher, and the corps of the chancellorship of the cathedral of Clogher, in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £410, and the gross annual value of the benefice, including glebe, is £540. There is no glebe-house; the glebe comprises 128 Irish acres. The old church was burnt by an accidental fire in 1819, and the present spacious cruciform edifice was erected in 1821, by aid of a grant of £2000 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district comprising also four townlands of the parish of Drummully; there are two chapels, situated at Newtown-Butler and Donagh; the former erected in 1830, at an expense of £400, and latter in 1826, at an expense of £500. There are also places of worship for Wesleyan and Primitive Wesleyan Methodists; the latter is a fine new building, one-half of the expense of which was contributed by J. Butler Danvers, Esq. About 670 children are taught in five national and four other public schools; and there are six private schools, in which are about 540 children, and ten Sunday schools. There are several raths in the parish; and at Mulnagone is a chalybeate spa, strongly impregnated with sulphur, which has been found efficacious in chronic diseases. There are some ruins of old churches on the island of Galloon and also at Donagh. --See NEWTOWN-BUTLER.
GALLOW, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DEECE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Kilcock, on the road to Trim; containing 640 inhabitants. About one-third of it is in tillage, and the remainder is good pasture. The principal seats are Gallow, the residence of W. Maher, Esq.; Clarkstown, of T. Potterton, Esq.; and Ferrans, of I. North, Esq. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Raddonstown: the tithes amount to £129. 4. 7. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Laracor, or Summerhill. About 25 children are educated in a private school.
GALTRIM, or GAULTRIM, a parish, in the barony of LOWER DEECE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S.) from Summerhill, on the road to Navan; containing 716 inhabitants. This parish comprises 3953 statute acres, of which about two-thirds are under tillage. At Cloneymeath is a quarry of good building stone. Here is a constabulary police station. Galtrim House, a handsome residence in a well planted demesne, is the seat of J. Fox, Esq., who is descended from Magnus Nial, Monarch of Ireland, and is the representative of the Lords of Kilcourcy, to whom Queen Elizabeth granted large possessions. This district was anciently a palatinate: the parish was granted by the Irish parliament, in 1543, to the priory of St. Peter's near Trim. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of Thomas Hussey, Esq.; the rectory is impropriate in Joseph Ashe and George Fisher, Esqrs. The tithes amount to £176. 12. 3., of which £21. 12. 3. is payable to the impropriators and the remainder to the vicar: the great tithes of the townlands of Walterstown and Branganstown, amounting to £35, are payable to the incumbent of Kentstown. The glebe-house, which has a glebe of nine acres, was built by aid of a loan of £300 and a gift of £400, in 1815, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church, which is a neat edifice with a tower, was erected in 1800. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilmore, or Monalvey, and has a neat plain chapel at Boycetown-bridge. About 70 children are educated in the parochial school, which is partly supported by the vicar and W. Disney, Esq.; and there is a small private school.
GALVOLY.--See BOLY.
GALWAY (County of), a maritime county of the province of CONNAUGHT, bounded on the east by the counties of Roscommon, King's county, and Tipperary, from the former of which it is separated by the Suck, and from the two latter by the Shannon; on the north, by those of Roscommon and Mayo; on the west, by the Atlantic Ocean; and on the south, by Galway bay and the county of Clare. It extends, from 52° 57' to 53o 42' (N. Lat.), and from 7° 53' to 10° 15' (W. Lon.); and comprises an area, according to the Ordnance survey, of 1,510,592 acres, of which 955,713 are cultivated land, 476,957 are unprofitable bog and mountain, and 77,922 are under water. The population, in 1821, exclusively of the town and liberties of Galway, which forms a county of itself, was 309,599; and in 1831, 381,564.
In the time of Ptolemy, this region was inhabited by the Auteri, who spread themselves also into the adjoining counties of Mayo and Roscommon. At a later, though still a very remote, date it was thus parcelled out among tribes or families; Clanconow, or Clonmacnoon, among the Burkes; Clanfirgail, among the O'Hallorans; Hymaine, among the O'Dalys and O'Kellys; Maghullen, now Moycullen, among the O'Flahertys; Silnamchia, now Longford; and Hy-Fiacria-Aidne, afterwards Clanricarde, possessed by the Burkes, Burghs, or De Bourgos. The Burkes or De Bourgos alone were of Anglo Norman descent, and settled here in consequence of a grant made by Henry III. to Richard de Bourgo, of the whole kingdom of Connaught. A border warfare consequently ensued, and De Bourgo succeeded in securing some of the southern parts of the present county of Galway, making Meelick Castle one of his principal strong-holds. Under this family the towns of Athenry and Galway considerably increased; and in 1333, William de Bourgo, Earl of Ulster, being assassinated, this part of his possessions was seized by a younger male branch of the family, who assumed the Irish title of Mac William Eighter, which was also adopted by his successors, until their acquisition of that of Earl of Clanricarde. Sir William, or Ulick, was the first Mac William Eighter, and from his son Richard was the name of Clanricarde first given to his territory and people. ' The limits of his dominion were extended or curtailed according to the strength of arms possessed by the Anglo-Norman chieftain, but they commonly comprehended the six present baronies of Athenry, Clare, Dunkellin, Kiltartan, Leitrim, and Loughrea. The chief subinfeudators of the De Bourgos were the Birminghams. Another English colony was in the mean time planted in the north-western extremity of the county, now forming the barony of Ross, in the reign of Edward I., by Thomas Joyes or Joyce, who married the daughter of an Irish chieftain: they became tributary to the O'Flaherties, adopting the Irish language and customs; and that part of Connaught is known to the present day by the name of the Joyces' country. The last chieftain of Clanricarde, who bore the title of Mac William Eighter, was Sir William de Burgh, created Earl of Clanricarde by patent of the first of Edward VI. Until the reign of Elizabeth, the county of Galway was regarded as part of the county of Connaught, which comprised all the province of the same name except the county of Roscommon. The present county, therefore, called after the name of its chief town, has no earlier antiquity as a distinct shire than the re-division of Connaught into shire ground by the Lord-Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, in 1585. At this time, and until the middle of the 17th century, the septs and families possessing the western parts of the county were the O'Flaherties, O'Malleys, and Joyces; the north-eastern districts were held by the Mac David Burkes, and the Birminghams; in the eastern quarter were the O'Naghtens, O'Fallons, O'Kellys, O'Mullallys, O'Dalys, and a branch of the Birminghams; Clanricarde contained, besides the territories immediately held by the Earl, the lands of the O'Heynes, O'Maddens, and O'Shaughnessys; bordering on Lough Corrib were the O'Hallorans; and in the immediate neighbourhood of the town of Galway were the possessions of the Kirwans, Martins, Blakes, Skerrets, Lynches, Frenches, Brownes and Darcys, all mercantile families of that town. In the rebellion of 1641, this county took part with the confederate Catholics, notwithstanding the exertions of the Marquis of Clanricarde. At the termination of the war a great proportion of the landed property passed into the hands of new families, to whom it was confirmed after the Restoration; and the war of the Revolution served but to confirm the change. The whole western portion of the county, between Lough Corrib and the Atlantic Ocean, is frequently called Connemara, signifying, "the Bays of the Ocean;" the name, however, is strictly applicable to only one of the three subdivisions of this district; those of the other two are Iar-Connaught and Joyces' country. These, respectively, are almost conterminous with the three existing baronies of Ballynahinch, Moycullen, and Ross.
The county is partly in the diocese of Killaloe, and partly in those of Elphin, Kilmacduagh, and Clonfert, but chiefly in the archdiocese of Tuam, and contains the episcopal cities of each of the three last-named dioceses within its limits. For purposes of civil jurisdiction it is divided into the baronies of Arran, Athenry, Half Ballymoe, Ballynahinch, Clare, Clonmacnoon, Dunkellin, Dunmore, Kilconnell, Killian, Kiltartan, Leitrim, Longford, Loughrea, Moycullen, Ross, and Tyaquin. It contains, independently of the provincial capital, which forms a separate county, the corporate and market-towns of Tuam and Athenry; the market and post-towns of Loughrea, Eyrecourt, Gort, and Headford; the greater part of the market-town of Ballinasloe; the sea-port and post town of Clifden; and the post-towns of Ahascragh, Aughrim, Castleblakeney, Dunmore, Portumna, Oranmore, Craughwell, Oughterard, Kilconnell, Monivae, and Dangan. The largest among its numerous villages are Mount Bellew, Woodford, Kinvarra, and Mount-Shannon. Prior to the Union, it sent six representatives to the Irish parliament, two for the county at large, and two for each of the boroughs of Tuam and Athenry; since that period, its sole representatives, exclusive of those of the town of Galway, have been the two sent by the county to the Imperial Parliament; the members are elected at Galway. The constituency, in January 1836, was, freeholders, 364 of £50, 224 of £20, and 3053 of £10; clergymen, registering out of their respective incumbencies, 24 of £50, 5 of £20, and 3 of £10; rent-chargers, 5 of £50, and 9 of £20; making a total of 3687 registered electors. The county is included in the Connaught circuit: the assizes are held at Galway, and general sessions of the peace are held twice in the year at each of the towns of Loughrea, Tuam, Eyrecourt, and Gort. The county court-house and gaol are in Galway; and there are bridewells at Clifden, Eyrecourt, Loughrea, Tuam, Woodford, Ballinasloe, and Gort. The number of persons charged with criminal offences and committed, in 1835, was 651. The local government is vested in a lord-lieutenant, 21 deputy-lieutenants, and 157 magistrates, besides whom there are the usual county officers, including four coroners. There are 99 constabulary police stations, in which are a force consisting of 12 chief constables, 122 constables, 540 sub-constables, and 15 horses: the expense of its maintenance is defrayed partly by the county and partly by the government. There is also a peace preservation police of one magistrate, one chief constable, 13 constables, 42 sub-constables, and 4 horses. The county infirmary and fever hospital is at Galway, and there is a fever hospital at Ballinasloe, where also is the district lunatic asylum for Connaught; and there are dispensaries at Claran Bridge, Dunmore, Ballymoe, Portumna, Tuam, Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Kiltulla, Headford, Ahascragh, Clifden, Ballygar, Miltown, Killane, Monivea, Glanmodda, Oughterard, Gort, Killyan, and Eyrecourt, maintained by private subscriptions and Grand Jury presentments. The total amount of the Grand Jury presentments, for the year 1835, was £43,938. 8. 7 1/4., of which £1443. 0. 65. was for the public roads and bridges of the county at large; £11,197. 3. 1 1/4. for the public roads, being the baronial charge; £12,905. 7. 9. for public establishments, officers' salaries, buildings, &c., and £14,022. 7. 5 1/2. for the police. In the military arrangements the county is included in the western district, except Mount-Shannon, which is in the southwestern; and contains six barrack stations, three for cavalry at Loughrea, Gort, and Dunmore, two for infantry at Ballinasloe and Oughterard, and one for artillery at Mount-Shannon, affording in the whole accommodation for 21 officers and 415 men.
Lough Corrib divides the county into two unequal portions, which differ very considerably from each other in several important points; the eastern is, for the most part, fertile, and comparatively level; the western is rugged, mountainous, and barren. The former of these, with the exception of the Slievebaughta mountains, which separate it from Clare, is generally flat and uninteresting. A very fine vein of land, supposed by some to be a continuation of the Golden Vale of the south, proceeds from Gort by Loughrea to Aughrim and Ballinasloe; and in the northern part, about Dunmore, the country is exceedingly picturesque, being highly diversified with hill and dale, and mostly rich pasture or tillage. The land between Oranmore and Monivae exhibits a sterile surface, covered with short heath and fern, yet with a substratum of limestone gravel. Amongst the mountains of the western portion, those of Benabola, commonly called the Twelve Pins, are the most elevated: they lie midway between Lough Corrib and Aghris point, in a western direction, and between Birtirbuy and Killery bays, in a northern, covering a space of about six miles square, and consist of two ranges or groups connected by the elevated pass of Maam Ina. Knockenhiggeen, the highest, is 2400 feet high. The cliff on the south side of Glen Ina is particularly grand, being a naked perpendicular precipice of about 1200 feet, over which a considerable sheet of water falls. On the east of the same vale, a chain of hills proceeds along the boundary of the barony of Ross: the passes through which are known by the name of Maam, a term also used in the highlands of Scotland; they are called Maam-Turk in the north of Derbyshire. But the western district, although mountainous, is not an upland country like Wicklow. At least three-fourths of Connemara proper are less than 100 feet above the level of the sea. Great part of Iar-Connaught rises from the shore of Galway bay, by a gentle elevation to about 300 feet, at the upper edge of which there are some hills of about 700 feet, and beyond them a low limestone country, to the edge of Lough Corrib, which is but little elevated above the level of that lake. Joyces' country, on the other hand, is an elevated tract, with flat-topped mountains from 900 to 2000 feet high, and intersected by deep and narrow valleys. The entire western part of the county is justly regarded as one of the most uncultivated parts of Ireland, presenting in a general view a continuous tract of bog and mountain; the quantity of arable land not amounting to one-fiftieth of the whole; yet the greater portion of it is capable of being reclaimed, being every where covered with a surface of peat, with a declivity sufficient for drainage, and intersected by numerous layers of limestone rock, thus affording an inexhaustible supply of material for the best manure, and of that of fuel for its preparation. Of the lakes, of which there are upwards of 150 of every size, the largest and most interesting is Lough Corrib, covering a surface of upwards of 30,000 acres. It derives its origin from several streams in Joyces' country, and assuming the form and magnitude of a lake near Castlekirk island, spreads to a considerable breadth near Cong where it has a subterranean communication with Lough Mask, in the county of Mayo, from which it is about two miles distant: it narrows at the ferry of Knock, and again suddenly expands, until, about two miles from Galway, it assumes the character of a river, which it retains to the sea. It receives several large rivers, and at its outlet seems to be fully equal to the Shannon, at Athlone, but more rapid. The islands in it comprehend together about 1000 acres: they are Inchiquin, Inishrater, Inishnavoe, Island Shendela, Inishgall, and Inishdarus, inhabited; and Castlekirk, Ennisdavey, Ennisrobin, and St. Francis's, uninhabited. Its level is about fourteen feet above high water mark, and it rises about three feet in floods. This lake is navigable from its head down to Galway, and a plan for a water communication by means of lockage, between it and the sea, has been estimated at a cost of £13,000. Between the mountains of Maam and Galway bay, a line of lakes, 27 in number, extends in a westerly direction from Oughterard to Ballynahinch, a distance of 23 miles; the principal are Loughs Fuogh, Baffin, Derryclare, Uriel, Poulnagopple, and Ballynahinch, which latter empties itself into the bay of Birtirbuy. Loughrea, situated near the road from Dublin to Galway, and giving name to a barony and a large town, is remarkable as well for its extent as for its picturesque scenery. Lough Ross is in Joyces' country; it receives the waters of several rivers and numerous mountain streams, yet has no visible outlet; there are numerous small but very interesting lakes near Roundstone, scattered over various parts. Lough Mask is bounded on the whole of its western shores by the county of Galway; a high ridge of land, about three miles in breadth, separates it from Lough Corrib. A subterraneous communication between these lakes serves as a vent for the waters of the former, the whole of which, after passing through a series of extensive caverns, rises again in numerous magnificent springs near Cong; and, after turning several mills, hastens by a rapid course to mingle with the waters of Lough Corrib. Some tracts, called Turloughs, which are dry in summer, assume the appearance of lakes in winter, owing to their outlets being insufficient to discharge their accumulated water. The largest is that of Turloughmore, which covers a large tract near Tuam; the next in extent is near Rahasane; and there are several smaller. They maintain seven or eight sheep to the acre, for about four months in summer, but in wet seasons are scarcely of any value.
The coast from Killery bay to the county of Clare presents a bold line of cliffs indented by numerous fine bays and inlets, many of which are adequate to receive vessels of every description. After passing Renville point, at the north of Killery, the harbour of Ballynakill presents itself, capable of accommodating large ships, and protected by Truchelaun or Heath island. The bay of Claggan, about two miles in length, is more open than the preceding, though protected in some degree by the island of Innisbofin. From Claggan to Aghris cape, the most western point of the county, the shore is low, and near it are Crua, High, and Friar islands, exhibiting only a few monastic ruins. Streamstown is a long inlet, narrow and dangerous, and, therefore, frequented only by smugglers: at some distance from it is Omey island, and within it are the cultivated islands of Tarbert and Innisturk. Ardbear harbour branches into two inlets, the northern of which terminates at the rising town of Clifden; the southern enjoys the benefit of a salmon fishery. Mannin bay, though extensive, is but little frequented by large vessels; but a good kelp shore and a valuable herring fishery bring many boats to it occasionally. Between it and Roundstone bay is the peninsula of Bunowen, terminating at Slyne Head. From Slyne Head, where two lighthouses have been erected, the coast turns eastward to Roundstone bay, the entrance to which is sheltered by the islands of Innisnee and Innislacken. Near its mouth is the new village of Roundstone: this harbour could shelter the whole navy of England. The boggy peninsula of Rosrua intervenes between Roundstone and Birtirbuy bays, which latter, though deep and with good anchorage, is little frequented: in the offing is the island of Cruanakely, used as a deer-park. The islands of Masa, Mynish, and Finish, south of this peninsula, are inhabited by a population actively engaged in the kelp trade and the fisheries. In Elanmacdara are some curious monastic remains. Kilkerran bay has a most productive kelp shore, of nearly one hundred miles in extent, including those of its islands, although the direct distance across its mouth to the western point of Costello bay is but eight miles. A series of fords, passable on foot at low water, but navigable for boats during the height of the tide, connects the islands of Garomna, Littermore, Littermullen, Knappagh, and Furrinish, which lie on its eastern coast: between Garomna and the peninsula of Killeen is Greatman's bay, a safe harbour for vessels of moderate draught. Caslah or Costello bay, to the east of Killeen, is the most eastern of the harbours of Connemara. This district, therefore, exhibits some very extraordinary features: it contains upwards of twenty safe and capacious harbours, fit for vessels of any burden, about 25 navigable lakes in the interior, each a mile or more in. length, besides more than 100 smaller, and commands a coast line, including that of its islands, of not less than 400 miles. South of the county is Galway bay, having its entrance protected by the islands of Arran, described under their own head, and including the minor harbours of Oranmore, Renville or New harbour, one of the finest stations along the coast, having a natural pier with 14 feet of water at ebb tide, improved and deepened by an artificial structure. Further south are Kilcolgan Point, whence the first Marquess of Clanrickard took his final departure from Ireland during the troubles of 1641; Kinvara harbour, protected by Edey island; and the peninsula of Duras, with which is connected that of Aghnish, a detached portion of Clare, which county forms the southern boundary of this magnificent bay.
The climate, though subject to storms and rain, is peculiarly healthful; the prevalence of disease being more attributable to the habits of the humbler classes than to the influence of the atmosphere. Frost or snow seldom lies long on the western coast, and cattle of every kind remain out during the winter; but the summers are commonly wet. The soil of the eastern portion is in general suited to every kind of crop, and produces wheat of the best description, particularly to the south of Galway. Much of the land, however, being light and rocky, is better adapted for sheep-feeding. The northern parts near Tuam improve in quality, and still further north they are all rich pasture or excellent tillage ground. On the south shore of Lough Corrib, where cultivation has made the greatest progress, the arable land is interspersed with extensive tracts of naked limestone rock, of a most desolate aspect; and it appears to be only by incessant exertions that a few patches of soil have been won from the general waste. These spots are, nevertheless, of the greatest fertility, and the pasturage among the rocks is peculiarly fine. The other parts of Connemara are for the most part barren moors, consisting of bog of various depths, upon a bottom of primitive rock of difficult decomposition, and affording little soil; but several beds of limestone run through the country, and are distinguishable by the verdure in their vicinity. For improving the lands of this district there are convenient banks of shell and coral sand on all the coast, especially in the bays of Kilkerran, Birtirbuy, Bunown, and Mannin: that of Kilkerran, Birtirbuy, and Mannin is pure coralline.
Wheat is the crop at which the farmer mostly aims, and it is always sown after potatoes, except in moory soils, when oats form the succession. The want of manure for potatoes is supplied by hiring land and paring and burning the surface: the ground is skinned, or scrawed by a spade, sharp and broad at the end, with a considerable bend in the blade to prevent the necessity of stooping. Where sea weed is used, the potatoes are planted on it after it has dried; as, when used fresh, it injures the potatoe sets. A dry spring always ensures a plentiful crop of potatoes; a wet one, on the contrary, is the usual forerunner of scarcity. On the sea coast corallines are also used for manure, the succession being potatoes, wheat, oats, and, in sandy soils, barley, and then potatoes with a fresh manuring. In many places on the sea coast, very fine early potatoes are raised in several feet of pure sea sand, manured by sea weed, and after that fine barley, which is mostly consumed by the innumerable private stills of Connemara. The small farmers or cottiers till almost exclusively with the spade. Crops of every kind on the lands of cottiers are generally carefully weeded. The chief markets for grain are Galway, Loughrea, Tuam, Ballinasloe, Gort, Eyrecourt, Mount Bellew, and Clifden; they are well supplied. The numerous flour-mills lately established have tended much to increase and improve the cultivation of wheat. Among the green crops, the use of which is daily extending, that of fiorin is peculiarly encouraged, as being found, among the most productive and congenial to the soil. Pasturage is carried on to a great extent. Heathy sheep-walks occupy a tract of dreary country ten miles square, between Monivae and Galway. A considerable quantity of pasture is obtained from the turloughs, particularly the Turloughmore: there is also an extensive range of many miles between Athenry and Ardrahan, stretching down to the sea at Kinvarra, chiefly occupied by sheep: the baronies of Ballynahinch, Ross, and Moycullen, are all under pasture, with the exception of patches of tillage in the valleys. To many farms large tracts of moory bottom are attached, which, if judiciously drained, a process as yet but ill understood and little practised, would amply repay the outlay.
Agriculture as a system is in a backward state, except in the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe, Tuam, Hollymount, and Gort, where the rotation and green crop systems have been introduced. The barony of Kiltartan has also made rapid strides in this respect since 1833, at which time the first clover and vetches were sown; they are generally cut and carried away as green fodder. The deepest and best soils in the county are around Ballymoe and Tyaquin. In most of the eastern portion of the county the iron plough and light angular harrow are generally used; but the land is never ploughed sufficiently deep, the antiquated system of merely turning up the old soil being adhered to: in most parts grain of every kind is sown too late, hence it sustains great injury in wet seasons. Hay is rarely cut till the month of September, and even then very injudiciously managed; the greater quantity of hay is produced on low meadows, here called Callows, where it is put up in large cocks in the field and suffered to remain until November; hence it is always much injured with rain and liable to be washed away by the autumnal floods. Although the iron plough is very general, the old wooden plough is retained in many places. Threshing and winnowing machines are sometimes seen, but only with the gentry. One-horse carts with spoke wheels are so general that the old solid wooden-wheeled car is now seldom seen, and the slide car never. Waggons of a very superior construction, drawn by two horses abreast, are frequent in the neighbourhood of Galway. In Connemara, Iar-Connaught, and Joyces' Country, wheeled vehicles are almost unknown; everything, even to the manure and grain, being carried upon the backs of men or horses. Dairy farms are by no means general, but a good deal of butter is made, particularly at Barna, in the neighbourhood of Galway. Farms are of every size; those of large extent are mostly in the mountains, and used for pasturing young and store cattle; they are always held in bulk. Those in the valleys and on the sea coast are mostly small, but in the plain, or eastern portions of the county, the size of the farms varies from 20 to 200 acres. The principal manure is the surface of the turbary, called black bog or moreen, carried home in baskets, spread over the yard, and mixed with dung, clay, or gravel. Another manure is ashes, produced by burning the surface sod, as already noticed. Coralline, commonly called oyster bank sand, is used in Connemara, with the best effect: wet moory land has been converted by it into rich meadow, mostly of fiorin grass, which has continued to throw up a fine sward for forty years. Lime and limestone gravel, found in the escars is much used, particularly to the south of Galway. Seaweed of every kind is applied to the soil as manure, particularly for potatoes and vegetables: its effect is powerful but transient. Irrigation is little practised. The fences are walls, formerly of dry stones rudely piled up, but latterly more carefully built, from 3 to 6 feet high, and topped with sods; the clearing of the ground generally supplies the materials. Ditches are not common. The breed of black cattle has been greatly improved within the last few years. The favourite stock is a cross between the Durham and the old long-horned native cow: the cross between the old Leicester bull and the native thrives well in hilly and exposed situations. The old Irish cow is still seen. Sheep are also a very favourite stock: the new Leicester, first introduced by Mr. Taaffe, is peculiarly prized both for carcass and fleece. The cross between the new Leicester and the native sheep, though not so large as the preceding, is celebrated for the flavour of its mutton; its wool, though short, is good. The South-down sheep have degenerated, the fleece becoming short and coarse. The fairs of Ballinasloe, which are particularly noticed in the article on that place, regulate the prices of sheep and black cattle throughout Ireland. The character of the Galway horses, both as roadsters and hunters, has been long celebrated. Connemara was famed for its breed of small hardy horses, but they have latterly lost character in consequence of an injudicious cross with large stallions; the genuine breed is now extremely scarce. Pigs are numerous, and of every variety of breed. Goats are frequently met with, but not in flocks. The old red deer is sometimes seen in the mountains of Connemara and Joyces' Country, but the race is almost extinct.
The quantity of large full-grown timber found in the bogs proves that the county, though now nearly bare, was once well wooded: the hilly districts abound more in bog timber than the plain country. The trees most usually found are oak and fir, the latter of which is manufactured into ropes, which resist damp better than those of hemp. Yew of considerable size and finely grained is frequently found. Another proof that the soil is well adapted for the growth of timber may be drawn from the fact, that in almost every dry knoll or cliff the oak, beech, and hazel may be found shooting up in abundance, when not checked by the destructive browsing of goats. The plantations at present are mostly confined to skreens round gentlemen's demesnes. Although the county now exhibits such tracts of neglected waste, several attempts on a large scale to improve its natural advantages have been made. A farming society was formerly held at Loughrea; the Farming Society of Ireland held its great annual meeting at Ballinasloe till its dissolution; and the newly formed Agricultural Society of Ireland holds one of its periodical meetings in the same town. The general fuel of the county is turf, of which the stores contained in the bogs of the western districts are deemed inexhaustible, and great quantities are taken by boats to the county of Clare, as well as to the isles of Arran, and the inner shores of Galway bay. The only parts where any scarcity of this fuel is experienced are in the districts bordering on the shores of Galway bay, and in the line from the town of Galway to Athenry and Monivae: the use of sea coal is almost confined to the town of Galway.
In a geological point of view the county may be considered as divided into two great regions, the limestone and the granite: the high road from Galway to Oughterard nearly marks the division, which is also discernible to the eye of an intelligent observer by the decline of the verdant hue that enlivens the former. The country north and east of this boundary line is limestone; that to the south and west, with a few minor exceptions, is granite. The Slievebaughta mountains are silicious; the great group of Benabola chiefly quartz: Poulacopple mountain is hornblende. Between Ballynakill bay and Ardbear is a tract of mica slate and quartz interspersed with veins of primitive limestone. The same formation runs through the hills to Oughterard; it contains very beautiful serpentine and verd antique. The largest deposit of it is in the centre of the Benabola group, where it is nearly unattainable in consequence of the difficulty of conveyance; but the most valuable quarries are at Bawnanoran and Lissouter, near the head of Birtirbuy, whence the splendid chimney-piece presented to Geo. IV., and now in the Carlton Club House, was taken. A quarry at Letterlough contains a marble of a deep green porphyritic substance, unique in character and appearance. Lead ore has been found in many places, nodules of which of very pure quality are frequently met with in the mountain streams, and along the sea shore. Iron ore was extensively worked, while timber was plentiful for smelting it. At a quarry at Dunmore, millstones are made, said to be superior to those of France. A crystalline sand, of very superior quality for scythe boards, occurs at Lough Coutra, for which mowers come from twenty miles' distance. Manganese has been found in Slieve-an-oir, near the border of Clare. The limestone, except that of Connemara, contains fossil remains in various quantities, from that of Oughterard, disfigured by sections of large shells, to the beautiful marbles of Angliham, Menlo, Renville, and Merlin Park, near Galway, which are of a fine black, nearly pure, and highly prized in England and in Dublin. At Ballyleigh, near Gort, a fine black marble has long been used; some of superior quality is found near Athenry; and a very beautiful grey marble has been discovered at Woodbrook. Near Ardfry, and in Mr. D'Arcy's demesne, in Connemara, large beds of oyster shells may be seen many feet above high water mark.
Coarse linen was formerly manufactured to some extent: it was generally of the kind called bandle linen, but the fabric was not good. The principal markets for it were Loughrea and Tuam, where also a considerable quantity of linen yarn was sold. A diaper manufacture nourished for some time, but is also extinct. In Connemara some fine linen was manufactured, and a large quantity of coarse, the latter chiefly for domestic use. Canvas for bags is in good demand; a very coarse kind is bought at Tuam, for packing wool: large quantities also are sent to Cork, Waterford, and Limerick, for packing bacon for exportation. The woollen manufacture consists chiefly of flannels and friezes for home sale. A considerable quantity of white friezes and caddow blankets is manufactured and sold at Galway and Loughrea, and in the neighbourhood of the former of these towns flannels are woven to a large extent. Knit woollen stockings are made and sold in Connemara, to the amount of nearly £10,000 per annum: the wool is peculiarly fine, and they possess a much greater degree of softness and elasticity than any woven stocking, but from being made only of a single thread, they afford but little wear. The manufacture of kelp, commenced about the year 1700, was very general, and tolerably productive: when first exported it sold from 14s. to 16s. per ton, and gradually rose in price to £13 per ton: about 10,000 tons of it were annually made in Connemara, but the removal of the duty on salt has nearly destroyed the trade, and the weed is now sold as manure. Paper is manufactured in the town of Galway, and a good deal of it sent to the Dublin market. There is also in that town a considerable manufacture of black marble chimney-pieces, much prized as being wholly free from white marks. Tobacco pipes and coarse pottery are also made there, and at Creggs and Dunsandle. Coarse felt hats and straw bonnets are made at Loughrea, and some other places. The trade in grain employs 23 flour-mills, six oatmeal-mills, and two malt-mills in Galway town alone; and there are twelve other large flour-mills in different places. After supplying the home demand, the rest of the produce is sent to Dublin, to the amount of about 12,000 tons annually, from the Galway mills.
A valuable source of employment to this county is its fisheries, which, however, notwithstanding the abundance of fish on its coasts, have heretofore scarcely sufficed to supply the home demand, owing to the want of skill and systematic industry among the fishermen. The fishery for the basking shark, commonly called the sun-fish, commences in April, and continues for about six weeks: a single fish produces from four to twelve barrels, each of 30 gallons, of oil; but the boats engaged are few, and too small to venture into deep water, yet even under this defective system the fishery produces oil of the value of several thousand pounds annually. The cod and ling fishery commences in February, when these fish approach the shore from the great bank that lies seven or eight leagues from the land; the quantity of ling exceeds that of cod, in the proportion of five to one. The herring fishery commences at a later period than formerly, and is said to be less productive: the season now begins in February or March, and during its continuance all other fishing is nearly abandoned. When it commences at Galway, almost the entire of the male population of the neighbouring villages flock to the shore to assist, and have a certain share of the profits. Five thousand herrings are reckoned a middling night's capture for one boat: all that are taken are sold to supply the home demand, which is so far from being satisfied that many cargoes are brought from the north-west coast. Sometimes several men join in a boat and nets for this fishery, many of whom are tradesmen in different branches, who at this period abandon their usual occupations. The bay of Galway abounds with every kind of fish, including shell-fish, and the white fishery might consequently be made of considerable value. There are about 500 fishing-boats belonging to the bay, besides 200 or 250 belonging to the Claddagh village, near the town. Lobsters are generally in great abundance; on some parts of the coast they are put into holes in the rocks that are covered at half ebb, and fed to a large size with fish and other food. At the falls of Ballinahinch, between the lake of that name and the bay of Roundstone, is a very valuable salmon fishery, being the most profitable in Ireland, except those of Ballina and Coleraine: there is another at Galway, between Lough Corrib and the sea, and a third at the head of the Killery; and there is in Lough Corrib abundance of trout, especially the much-esteemed gillaroo trout. Oysters of superior quality abound on the coast of Connemara, and all round the bay of Galway, and are in season nearly the whole year. Pearls of great beauty, but not very large, have been taken from the pearl muscles in. several rivers, particularly near Oughterard.
The Suck is the principal river: it receives the Shiven at Muckenagh, and near Ballinasloe the Ahascragh from the west, and joins the Shannon at Shannon bridge: its course is in general very sluggish, and it does much damage every year by overflowing its banks. The canal from Ballinasloe to the Shannon, an extension of the Grand Canal from Dublin, is chiefly fed from this river. The Shannon borders only a small portion of the eastern side of the county, between the confluence of the Suck and Mount Shannon, separating it from the King's county and Tipperary. The Black river, or Shruel, empties itself into Lough Corrib, as does also the Moyne: both these rivers are subject to inundations; and the former sinks into the ground through an aperture called a swallow, at a short distance from the town of Shruel, but soon emerges through several large springs. The Carnamart passes through the southern part of the county, and empties itself into the eastern extremity of the bay of Galway. The Ballynahinch river has a short but rapid course from the Twelve Pins mountains to Birtirbuy bay. The roads are numerous, and generally in excellent repair; the materials for making them being everywhere abundant and good. The principal lines are the mail-coach roads from Dublin to Galway, and to Tuam, Castlebar, and Westport, which intersect the county from east to west. Several new lines have been lately made through the western part. One line, commencing at Oughterard, proceeds by the lakes to Ballinahinch and Clifden, with numerous lines branching from it into the centre of the mountains. Another line passes from Clifden by Streamstown, Ballynakil, Kilmore, and Killery, into the county of Mayo, with several branch lines leading chiefly to the coast. These lines, with their several branches, extend through a distance of 127 miles, and although they are carried through the midst of the mountainous district, they seldom deviate from the level.
There are seven ancient round towers in the county; at Kilmacduagh, Ballygaddy, Kilbannon, Meelick, Roscam Murrough, and Ardrahan. Raths are numerous: a very fine ruin of this kind is to be seen in Arranmore. Cromlechs are also found in several places; one in good preservation in the demesne of Marble hill, another near Dunsandle, and another of very curious construction at Monument hill, near Loughrea. The remains of ancient monastic buildings are very numerous, and are noticed in the accounts of the places where they are respectively situated: the most celebrated is that of the Cistercian monastery at Knockmoy, about six miles from Tuam. Ancient castles are also numerous; some of them are in ruins, and others still kept in repair, as places of residence. Between Gort and Kihnacduagh are the remains of a round castle, a style of architecture uncommon in such buildings.
The seats of the opulent gentry are very numerous and well built, and are noticed in the articles on their respective parishes. Those of the farmers are of very defective construction; the floors are generally below the level of the soil; the windows small and often stopped up, so that the light enters only through the door; the offices badly constructed and arranged. The dwellings of the peasantry are still worse, often of dry stones or of sods, and thatched: this description applies more forcibly to the western part of the county, though even there and in other parts there are many laudable exceptions. In Connemara proper and Joyces' Country the population is thinly scattered along the coast, and by the sides of the old rugged roads; in Iar-Connaught it is dense, and the holders of land in better circumstances than those of the preceding districts, who combine fishing with farming; yet throughout the whole of the three districts there is scarcely a comfortable house, and the habits and appearance of the families, who have means sufficient to improve their condition, are little better than that of those of the indigent. The food is invariably the potato, with fish in Connemara, where also cows are a frequent appendage to the small farmer's homestead, as is a cabbage garden to his cottage. The clothing is of home-made frieze for the men: flannel jackets and petticoats, generally of blue and dark red, were the prevailing dress of the women, but they are giving way to cottons. The men in winter generally wear shoes and stockings, also home made; the women frequently go barefooted. Beer is now much more in demand than formerly. Unlicensed whiskey is still made in great quantities in the mountainous districts. The lower classes exhibit the strongest proofs of industry, when working for themselves, as is shewn by their care in clearing the ground of stones, and in the reclamation of bog, when they are secured in a profitable tenure. The use of the English language is daily increasing in all parts. The Irish language, however, is said to be still spoken better here than in any other part of the island, both with respect to idiom and pronunciation. The crying at funerals, the attendance at wakes, and other old customs are still preserved. The county almost everywhere abounds with springs of the purest water; those of Eyrecourt and Kilconnel abbey are peculiarly celebrated. A spring near the rocky summit of Knocknae is never dry. The most remarkable of the mineral springs, which are numerous and mostly chalybeate, are at Oughterard, Kiltulla, and Kingston; the last is pronounced by Kirwan to be one of the best in Europe: another near Dunsandle is much frequented. At the village of Quose is a well which instantly kills poultry that drink of its water. A spa between Clonfert and Laurencetown has been used with great effect in liver complaints; that at Oughterard attracts many invalids thither. Those at Athenry, Rathglass, near Kilconnel, Woodbrook, Killimor, Abbert, and Hampstead, are all of high repute in their respective neighbourhoods. The county gives the title of Viscount to a branch of the Arundel family, resident in England. The title of Marquess of Clanricarde expired with the first Marquess, who died without male issue, but the earldom descended to another branch of the family of De Burgh, which enjoys it to the present day, and to which the Marquesate was restored by patent, in 1825.
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The town, which rapidly increased in commerce, so as to surpass the rival city of Limerick, was, in 1312, strengthened by the erection of the great gate, and additional works under the superintendence of Nicholas Lynch, surnamed the "Black Marshall." On the death of William de Burgo, the third carl, who was assassinated by his own servants, a great change took place. That nobleman leaving only a daughter, the heads of the two younger branches of the family, fearing the alienation of the estates by marriage, threw off their allegiance, and, adopting the. Irish customs, assumed the native titles of Mac William Eighter and Mac William Oughter; the former took possession of the town, with the territory towards the Shannon, and led the inhabitants into revolt; but on his returning to his allegiance, tranquillity was restored. In 1375, by grant of a charter of the staple, the merchants of Galway and Connaught were permitted for three years to pay the customs due to the Crown at Galway, which was thus placed on an equality with the cities of Cork, Dublin, and Waterford. In 1396, the town, which had hitherto exercised its corporate privileges only by prescription, obtained from Rich. II. a perpetual grant of the customs for the repair of the walls, and also a charter of incorporation, confering many privileges, which charter was confirmed in 1402, by Hen. IV. A licence for coining, which had been hitherto confined to Dublin and Trim, was, about this time, granted to Galway by statute, specifying the value and character of the coins to be struck. During the reigns of Hen. VI. and Edw. IV., the commerce of the port extended to many parts of Europe, particularly to France and Spain, whence large quantities of wine were imported. In 1484, a new charter was granted to the town, vesting its government in a mayor and bailiffs, and expressly ordaining that neither the Lord Mac William of Clanricarde, nor any of his family, should exercise any authority within its limits. In 1493 occurred the melancholy execution by the mayor, James Lynch Fitzstephen, of his own son, for murder, whom, to prevent an intended rescue, he caused to be hanged from a window of his house, under which are carved a skull and cross bones in memory of the tragical event.
During the reign of Hen. VIII., frequent disputes between the inhabitants and the men of Limerick arose from a feeling of rivalry, which were eventually terminated by treaty, and to their instigation did the former attribute the revival of a claim made on them by the Earl of Ormonde for prisage of wine, from which they had been previously exempt. The question, however, was decided in favour of Galway by the court of star chamber; the decision was of the highest importance to its merchants, who at that time supplied nearly the whole kingdom with wine, for which purpose they had vaults at Athboy, of which the remains are still to be seen. A royal ordinance was issued at the same time, by which the merchants of Galway were prohibited from forestalling the markets of Limerick; and in 1545 a new charter was granted, defining the limits of the port, which were made to extend from the isles of Arran to the town, and permitting the exportation of all goods and merchandise, except woollens and linens, with exemption from prisage and a confirmation of all former privileges. Edw. VI. granted a confirmatory charter, and the town continued to increase in prosperity; but the tyranny of Sir Edw. Fitton, the first President of Connaught, having excited an insurrection, it was harassed by the incursions of the neighbouring septs, and many of the principal inhabitants were induced to seek protection from Mac William Eighter. In 1579, the inhabitants received a charter from Elizabeth, with reversionary leases of the dissolved monasteries, the fisheries, the cocket, and lands of the value of 100 marks; but a few years after the Earl of Ormonde reasserted his claim to the prisage of wine, which was allowed by the court of chancery. About the year 1594, Hugh Roe O'Donell having destroyed Enniskillen and burnt Athenry, appeared before the town, and being refused a supply of provisions, set fire to the suburbs, but retreated without doing further injury. In 1600, Lord Mountjoy erected a strong fort on the hill where the Augustinian monastery stood, which completely commanded the town and the harbour; and soon after the accession of Jas. I., the town and lands within a distance of two miles round it were by charter constituted a distinct county, of which the Earl of Clanricarde was appointed governor, with powers equal to those he exercised as President of Connaught.
Soon after the commencement of the war in 1641, the inhabitants joined the parliamentarians, and the Earl of Clanricarde invested the town and speedily reduced it to submission; but his exertions to retain it for the king were frustrated by the violence of Capt. Willoughby, commander of the fort, which induced the people to open their gates to the enemy. In the course of the war, Rinuncini, the pope's nuncio, took refuge here and embarked for Rome. From the great numbers that fled to the town for shelter during this period of intestine war, the plague broke out in July, 1649, and raged with violence till the April following, during which time 3700 of the inhabitants fell victims to its ravages. The Marquess of Clanricarde, wishing to borrow £20,000 for the king's service, offered the revenues of Galway and Limerick to the Duke of Lorraine as security, but the negociation failed. On this occasion a large and very accurate map of the town was drawn and engraved, two copies of which are still extant. In 1652, the town was invested by the parliamentary forces under Sir C. Coote, when Preston, the Irish commander of the garrison, having quitted it and embarked for France, the inhabitants surrendered on condition of retaining their privileges, the liberation of all native prisoners without ransom, and the restoration of all captured property. On the proclamation of Richard Cromwell, as protector, in 1658, so great a tumult was excited that the corporation was threatened with the loss of its charter. In 1690, the town was put into a state of defence, and garrisoned for Jas. II. by three companies of foot and a troop of horse, and in the following year three companies more were added, and the Protestant inhabitants removed into the western suburbs.
After the battle of Aughrim, Gen. De Ginkell, with 14,000 of William's army, laid siege to it; after holding out for some time it surrendered on the 20th of July, 1691, on condition of a safe conduct for the garrison to Limerick, and a free pardon for the inhabitants, with preservation of their property and privileges. The works raised by both armies were levelled, the fort near the town was repaired, and a new one erected on Mutton Island, in the bay, for the protection of the harbour. Previously to the disturbances of 1798, 400 of the inhabitants formed themselves into eight companies of volunteers, for the preservation of the peace of the town; and on the landing of the French at Kilcummin bay, the merchants supplied Gen. Hutchinson with money, which enabled him to join Gen. Lake with the garrison and yeomanry of the town, who consequently shared in the defeat at Castlebar.
The town is most advantageously situated at the head of the spacious bay to which it gives name, and at the mouth of a river issuing from Lough Corrib, which, after a winding course from that lake through the town, falls into the bay. It consists of several streets, in general narrow, and it is in contemplation to appropriate, under parliamentary sanction, a portion of the municipal revenue for its improvement. A gas company has lately been formed to light the town, and the works are in progress. Early in the present century the greater portion of the town walls was levelled and built upon, and streets were continued into the suburbs to such an extent as to give to that part the name of the New Town. The total number of houses, in 1831, was 2683. The more ancient part is built on the plan of a Spanish town; many of the older houses are quadrangular, with an open court and an arched gateway towards the street. Two bridges connect the town with the western district of Iar-Connaught; one built in 1342, which is still in good repair; and the other higher up the stream, a handsome structure built in 1831, and connecting the county court-house and prison. From the latter is a highly interesting view, embracing up the river the fine Elizabethan structure of Menlough castle, on its right bank, and downwards the shipping in the harbour, with the suburbs and the lofty mountains of Clare. The Castle or Upper Citadel barracks, near William's gate, are a handsome range of building for 6 officers and 136 non-commissioned officers and privates, with an hospital for 60 patients; the Shambles barracks, near the river, which are also well built, are for 15 officers and 326 noncommissioned officers and privates, with stabling for six horses. There are two subscription news-rooms, belonging respectively to the Amicable and Commercial societies; and two newspapers are published in the town. Races for some years past have been held on a course about three miles distant. Several flour-mills have been erected on the banks of the river, which has a very rapid fall, and great quantities of flour are made here from the wheat grown in the. neighbourhood, which is of very fine quality. The manufacture of paper is extensively carried on; the works are impelled by water, and a steam-engine has been lately erected for greater efficiency. A portion of the fine black marble found in the vicinity is made into mantel-pieces, and a turning and polishing machine and a patent saw wheel are now being constructed, which will be set in motion by the treadmill in the county gaol: a large brewery and three distilleries are in full operation, and near the town is a bleach-mill. The linen manufacture was introduced, but never flourished here; and the linen-hall erected in the western suburbs has long since fallen into decay.
The commerce, for which the port was formerly so much distinguished, has very much declined; wine is no longer imported in large quantities, and the trade in provisions is much diminished. The principal exports are corn, flour, kelp, marble, wool, and provisions; and the imports, timber, wine, salt, coal, hemp, tallow, and Swedish and British iron. In the year ending Jan. 5th, 1835, 15 British ships of the aggregate burden of 2273 tons, and 3 foreign ships of 421 tons aggregate burden, entered inwards; and 6 British ships of 1044 tons and 2 foreign ships of 301 tons cleared outwards, in the foreign trade. From British ports, 119 ships, of an aggregate burden of 12,215 tons, entered inwards; and 126 of 14,492 tons cleared outwards; and from the Irish ports, 16 ships of 700 tons entered inwards; and 19 of 1039 tons cleared outwards. The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port is 7, of the aggregate burden of 272 tons. The gross amount of customs' duties for 1835 was £31,133. 2. 5., and for 1836, £31,769. 2. 5.; and of excise duties of the district, for the former year, £50,145 12. 5. The custom-house, a small plain building, was erected in 1807. The entrances to Galway bay are, through the north sound, between the most western of the Arran isles, which are situated in the centre of its mouth, and Gulin head to the north, on which is a watch tower; and through the south sound between Dunmacfelin and Innishere island. About a mile south of Galway is Mutton island, connected with the mainland by a ridge of sand, dry at low water; a light has been erected on it, and between it and the town is the ordinary roadstead, affording good anchorage ground, though exposed to a heavy swell during winds from the south and south-south-west. There are two feet of water on the bar: the best shelter for ships of war is along the southern shore; and at the head of the bay, to the east and south of the town, are several creeks and inlets, affording good shelter to small vessels from every wind. A navigable canal from Lough Corrib to the sea at this place was recommended by the late Mr. Nimmo: some new docks planned by him are in progress, towards the completion of which the Commissioners of Public Works have granted a loan of £17,000. The docks will comprise about 9 acres, and be of sufficient depth for vessels of 500 tons' burden, and the canal will cross the town in a direction nearly parallel with the river; the level of the lake being only 14 feet above that of the sea, two locks only will be requisite in the whole distance, which is about 30 miles. The quays will be entirely of hewn limestone and 75 feet in width; the lake also will be deepened and rendered navigable for boats. The whole work, when completed, will add much to the improvement of the trade, which is now under the direction of several of the principal merchants, who have formed themselves into a chamber of commerce: A branch of the Bank of Ireland has been opened here, in a house in Eyre-square. The salmon fishery, for which there is a weir on the river, between the two bridges, has been a source of great profit from an early period, and since 1800, has frequently produced more than £500 per annum. The fishery in the bay, which is more lucrative, is wholly under the direction of the fishermen of Claddagh, which see. This is the head station of the Galway district coast-guard, and the residence of the inspecting commander; it comprises the subordinate stations of Ballyvaughan, Kilcolgan, Barna, Casleh Bay, Isles of Arran, Fairhill, and Kilkerran, comprehending a force of 6 officers and 51 men. The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday, the former principally for corn, and the latter also for corn, provisions of every kind, and for pigs. Fairs are held May 31st, and Sept. 21st. The com market is held at the Little Green; that for butchers' meat and provisions in a well-arranged market-place, near William's-gate, erected in 1802.
By charter of the 29th of Chas. II., the corporation consists of a mayor, two sheriffs, an indefinite number of free burgesses, a recorder, town-clerk, mayor and two constables of the staple, sword-bearer, chamberlain, water-bailiff, and other officers. The mayor is elected annually from the free burgesses, and may appoint a deputy; the mayor, sheriffs (who are similarly elected), and free burgesses form the common council, by whom all the other officers of the corporation are elected and freemen admitted, the latter by favour only. The mayor and recorder are justices of the peace for the county of the town and also for the county at large, and there are three charter magistrates, to whom five have been recently added by an order of council. The borough appears to have first sent members to a parliament held at Tristledermot, now Castledermot, in 1377, and notices of the provost and bailiffs being summoned to subsequent parliaments till 1559 are on record. The right is recognised in the charters of Jas. I. and Chas. II., and the corporation continued to send two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, from which period they returned one member to the Imperial parliament, till, by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, the original number was restored. By that act the right of election, previously vested in freeholders of 40s. and upwards within the county of the town, and in all freemen, was extended to £10 householders, and to £20 leaseholders for 14 years, and £10 leaseholders for £20 years; the non-resident freemen, except within seven miles, were disfranchised, and the 40s. freeholders allowed to retain the franchise only for life. The number of electors registered to vote at the last general election was 2062, and the number that actually voted, 1795: the sheriffs are the returning officers. The mayor and recorder hold a court of record every Tuesday and Friday, for the recovery of debts to any amount, arising within the limits of the county of the town; the mesne process is by arrest of the person or attachment of the goods of the defendant, on an affidavit of the debt. They are also empowered to hold a criminal court, which they transfer to the general quarter sessions for the county. The assizes for the county are held here, and the quarter sessions in April and October; those for the county of the town are held in January, April, July, and October. The court-houses for the county and the borough are both handsome buildings; the former was erected in 1815, in the northern suburb, and contains two spacious court-rooms, and other requisite apartments; the front is embellished with a handsome portico of four fluted Doric columns supporting a pediment, in the tympanum of which are the royal arms. The county gaol is built in the form of a crescent, vaulted throughout, and without any timber; it contains six wards for male, and two for female criminals, with two for debtors, separated by walls converging towards the centre, in which is the governor's house; there is a tread wheel, and the prisoners are also employed in breaking stones; it will contain 300 prisoners, placing two in each cell; the whole is surrounded by a boundary wall, between which and the building is a wide gravel walk. In an open situation near it is the borough gaol, erected in 1810, but not adapted either for classification or for the maintenance of discipline; another on the improved system is in course of erection.
The county of the town comprehends an extensive rural district, comprising 23,000 statute acres. The surface is studded with lakes, and the scenery strikingly diversified; the soil is fertile and in several parts peculiarly favourable to the growth of wheat, of which large quantities are raised. The system of agriculture is improved, and there is abundance of limestone, which is quarried for building and for agricultural purposes. Black marble of a very fine quality is found at Men-lough, and also at Merlin Park; both veins have been worked, but the former more extensively, from the greater facility of water carriage at that place. At Men-lough is also an apparently inexhaustible vein of fine grey marble. There are strong indications of iron ore, but no attempt, has yet been made to explore it; granite is also found, and in some parts, contrary to the usual order, beneath the limestone formation. After sinking a depth of six feet through the limestone stratum, a white sand of granitic quality, without a pebble, and fine enough for plaistering, has lately been discovered; its depth has not been ascertained, but in some places it is coloured as if by water running from the iron ore. The name of the lake, called by the ancient inhabitants Mine-lough, and which has both a subterranean source and outlet, tends to confirm the opinion that the townland abounds with various minerals. About 40 persons are employed in the marble quarries, and about 1300 in preparing peat for fuel. The principal seats are Menlough Castle, the residence of Sir V. Blake, Bart., a venerable castellated mansion in the Elizabethan style, beautifully situated; Villa House, the residence of the Warden of Galway; Leneboy, of J. O' Hara, Esq., recorder; Nile Lodge, of J. O'Hara, Esq.; Sea View, of Mrs. Browne; Vicar's Croft, of the Rev. J. D'Arcy; St. Helen's, of Mrs. Hynes; Renmore Lodge, of P. M. Lynch, Esq.; Merlin Park, of C. Blake, Esq.; Merview, of W. Joyce, Esq.; Rahoon, of R. O'Connor, Esq.; and Barna, of N. Lynch, Esq. The Grand Jury presentments for the county of the town, in 1835, amounted to £5701. 8. 3., of which £1035. 14. 6. was for the repairs of roads, bridges, &c.; £3568. 10. 10. for public buildings and charities, officers' salaries, and miscellaneous expenses; £453. 19. 11. for police; and £643. 3. in repayment of a loan by Government.
This district originally formed part of the diocese of Enachdune, an ancient bishoprick, annexed in 1324 to the archiepiscopal see of Tuam. It consists of the parish of St. Nicholas, the greater part of that of Rahoon, and part of Oranmore. The parish of St. Nicholas comprises 3046 statute acres in cultivation, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory, united to the rectories of Rahoon, Oranmore, Clare-Galway, Moycullin, Kilcommin, Ballinacourty, and Shruel, together constituting the Wardenship of Galway, instituted by the Archbishop in 1484, when the church was made collegiate, and exercising an ecclesiastical jurisdiction distinct from that of the diocese, and exempt from that of the Archbishop, with the exception only of triennial visitation. The warden is annually elected (the same person has of late been successively re-elected), and three vicars appointed for life, by the corporation under their charter. The tithes amount to £130, wholly payable to the warden, who also receives three-fourths of the tithes of the other parishes of the union, amounting, with the rent of houses and two glebes, to £1268. 15. 10 1/2. The vicars receive each an annual stipend of £75, payable by the warden. The church, which, by letters patent granted by Edw. VI., was constituted the "Royal College of Galway," and in the reign of Elizabeth endowed with the dissolved monasteries of Annaghdown and Ballintubber, in the county of Mayo, is a spacious cruciform structure, in the decorated English style, with a tower rising from the centre. It was built in 1320, and is nearly in the centre of the town; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £1385 towards its repair. In the R. C. divisions Galway is the head of a see, comprising 12 parochial unions or districts, and containing 14 chapels, served by 24 clergymen, of whom 12 are parish priests and 12 coadjutors or curates. It is one of the six sees suffragan to Tuam, and the parish of St. Nicholas is the benefice and residence of the R. C. bishop; the chapel is a spacious edifice. There are friaries and nunneries of the orders of St. Francis, St. Augustine, and St. Dominick, to each of which is attached a chapel; there is also a convent for nuns of the order of the Presentation, and a place of worship for Presbyterians. In the east suburbs stands one of the four classical schools founded in Ireland by the munificent bequest of Erasmus Smith; it is a handsome building, erected at an expense of £8000 by the trustees, who allow the master a salary of £100 per ann., with the privilege of taking boarders. The parochial schools are also aided by the trustees, who allow the master a salary of £40 and the mistress £27, 13. 10. per annum; a new school-room has been built on ground given by the trustees, towards defraying the expense of which the inhabitants subscribed £300 and £250 was granted by Government. A school is conducted by the ladies of the Presentation Convent, in which 80 of the girls are maintained and clothed; and there is a large national school on the site of the barrack in Lombard-street for which two good school-rooms have been built at an expense of £600, raised by subscriptions. There are also 16 private schools, in which are about 660 children. The house of industry and the dispensary, to the latter of which the English Relief Committee of 1832 gave £700, vested in the Archbishop of Tuam as trustee, and government £500, vested in four trustees chosen by the subscribers, are supported in the customary manner. A widows' and orphans' asylum was founded by the Rev. Mr. Fynn, P.P. of St. Nicholas, and is supported under his patronage by subscription. A Protestant poor-house, in which are 20 inmates, is supported by the parochial clergy and the interest of £500, bequeathed to the Warden in trust for the Protestant poor, by the late Mr. Kirwan, of London, a native of Galway. A Magdalen asylum is supported by two R. C. ladies, who devote their time and their fortune to its management. No vestiges can be traced of the Franciscan friary without the north gate, founded in 1296 by Sir W. De Burgo; of a Dominican friary near the west gate, previously a cell to the Premonstratensian abbey of Tuam; an Augustinian friary, founded in 1508 by Stephen Lynch and Margaret his wife; a Carmelite friary, a nunnery on an island in Lough Corrib, or an hospital of Knight Templars. There are numerous ruins of ancient castles in the neighbourhood. Among the more distinguished natives of Galway may be noticed Patrick D'Arcy, author of the celebrated "Argument on the Independence of Ireland," in 1641; John Lynch, author of "Cambrensis Eversus," "Alithinologia," and other tracts; Roderick O'Flaherty, author of the "Ogygia"; Sir G. L. Staunton, secretary to Lord Macartney, and writer of the account of that nobleman's embassy to Pekin; Walter Blake Kirwan, celebrated as a popular preacher in Dublin; and Richard Kirwan, an eminent chymist and mineralogist. James Hardiman, Esq., author of the History of Galway, has a villa near the town. Galway gives the title of Viscount to the family of Monckton.
GARE.--See BALLINGARRY, county of TIPPERARY.
GARFINAGH, or GARFINEY, a parish, in the barony of CORKAGUINEY, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (N. E.) from Dingle, on the road to Tralee; containing 938 inhabitants. It comprises 4652 1/2 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, a large portion of which consists of mountain pasture; the arable portion is well manured with sea-weed and sand, brought from the strand at Bunbawn, and the state of agriculture is gradually improving. At Flemingstown is a small boulting-mill. Balintagart, the newly erected mansion of S. Murray Hickson, Esq., is finely situated on an eminence commanding an extensive view of Dingle bay and the surrounding mountains. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the rectory is impropriate in Lord Ventry. The tithes, amounting to £138. 9. 25., are payable in the proportion of two-thirds to the impropriator and one-third to the vicar: the glebe belongs to Lord Ventry. In the R. C. divisions the parish is included in the district of Dingle. At Balintagart is an ancient, burial-ground, now used for children only: it is surrounded by a circular fosse or ditch, and contains several gravestones with Ogham inscriptions. On clearing some ground in the vicinity, several small circular cells were discovered, constructed of stone work and communicating with each other: they are supposed to have formed an ancient reservoir, to which there was a descent of several steps. Near the ruins of the church is a very narrow bridge over the small river Garfinagh, on the old road from Dingle to Tralee; from its high arched form it has been termed the Rainbow bridge, and is evidently of great antiquity.
GAROMNA, an island, in the parish of KILLANIN, barony of MOYCULLEN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 20 miles (W.) from Galway, on the North side of Galway bay: the population is returned with the parish. This island forms the western side of Greatman's bay, and between it and the island of Arranmore is the North Sound, or entrance to the bay of Galway. It contains 1427 statute acres, of which about one-third consists of arable land and the remainder of mountain pasture and bog. The inhabitants depend for support chiefly on the fishery, which is here extremely precarious; and in 1831, when the famine desolated this part of the coast, they were driven to the utmost state of destitution until relieved by the London Committee. On the north-east side of the island is a small pier, originally erected by the late Fishery Board, but having been destroyed, it was subsequently rebuilt with funds from the charitable societies, and is now of great utility. The sounds between this island and the adjoining ones are dry or fordable at low water: about half a mile from the south side is Englishman's Rock, which is dry at 3/4 ebb. In the R. C. divisions it forms a parish or district of itself, and has two chapels, one of which is a small thatched building. In its immediate vicinity is Innisbaraher, an island containing 32 acres of arable land and 30 of bog and mountain pasture.
GARRANAMANA, a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER; containing, with the merged parish of Mocktown or Rathbin, 158 inhabitants and 834 statute acres. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Burnchurch: the tithes amount to £38. 19. 11. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Freshford.
GARRANEKENEFICK, a parish, in the barony of IMOKILLY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER; 2 1/2 miles (W. by S.) from Cloyne, on the harbour of Cork; containing 1033 inhabitants. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Cloyne, appropriated from time immemorial to the bishop's mensal: the tithes amount to £79. 3. 4. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Aghada, or Saleen. About 80 children are educated in two private schools. Rathcourcey, built on an inlet of the harbour, is occasionally visited for sea-bathing. The village of Saleen contains about 30 neat white-washed cottages and a R. C. chapel.
GARRANGIBBON, a parish, in the barony of SLIEVARDAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER; containing 1468 inhabitants. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Lismore, entirely impropriate in Caesar Sutton, Esq., and the Marquess of Ormonde: the tithes amount to £180. About 130 children are educated in two private schools.
GARRISON, a village, partly in the parish of INNISMACSAINT, and partly in that of DEVENISH, barony of MAGHERABOY, county of FERMANAGH, and province of ULSTER, 7 miles (W.) from Churchhill, on the road from Ballyshannon to Manorhamilton; containing 69 inhabitants. Here are a chapel of ease to the parish church of Devenish, a R. C. chapel, and a school. It is a constabulary police station, and fairs are held on May 21st, July 19th, Oct. 21st. and Dec. 21st, besides which fairs have lately been established every alternate month.
GARRISTOWN, a parish, in the barony of BALROTHERY, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W.) from Ashbourne; containing 2081 inhabitants, of which number, 741 are in the village of Garristown, and 218 in that of Baldwinstown. It is a constabulary police station, and has a dispensary. There is a windmill on a hill near the village, from which is an extensive prospect, commanding a view over fourteen counties. Good building stone and turf are obtained in the parish; and fairs are held on May 5th, Aug. 15th, and Nov. 1st. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the gift of Lord Trimleston, in whom the rectory is impropriate: the vicarial tithes were valued at £50, and there is a glebe of 25 acres. The church is a plain building: the glebe-house, which was built in 1791, is in ruins. In the R. C. divisions the parish is united to Ballymadun; there is a chapel in each parish: that of Garristown was erected in 1828, and galleries were added to the chapel of Ballymadun in 1833. There is a national school, in which about 100 boys are instructed, and there are also two private schools.
GARRYCLOYNE, a parish, partly in the barony of BARRETTS, but chiefly in that of EAST MUSKERRY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N. W.) from Cork, on the road to Kanturk; containing, with the village of Blarney (which is described under its own head), 2027 inhabitants. It comprises 3530 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £1870 per annum. There are several extensive dairy farms, and the butter is held in high repute: the cattle are well stalled and fed with clover, turnips, and tares. Agriculture has much improved within the last few years, and the farms, particularly those belonging to the gentry, are well cultivated: the principal manure is lime. A large quantity of limestone is procured on the demesne of Blarney, the only place abounding with it from Cork to Mallow: good manure is also obtained from the cattle stalls. The establishment of a farming society, excellent roads, and other advantages have combined to improve the system of farming, hut in some instances the old method is still pursued. There is neither mountain nor bog in the parish. The line of the intended canal from Cork to Limerick passes through it; and there are boulting-mills capable of producing 6000 barrels of flour annually. In the parish are several gentlemen's seats: Blarney Castle is described in the account of that village, to the north of which is Putland's Glen, the residence of George Jeffreys, Esq., by whom it was planted, and who holds a lease of it from Mr. Putland, whose ancestor was a member of the Hollow Sword Blade Company, and a large portion of this parish was allotted to him; it originally formed part of the Clan-earthy estate, which being confiscated in 1692, was purchased from the Government by the company. To the north of the parish is the manor-house and castle of Garrycloyne, the property of John Travers, Esq., whose ancestor obtained a grant of it in 1604: the castle is a lofty square tower, built in 1535 by the Clancarthys; the house is spacious and well built on rising ground looking over a fine lawn of more than 100 acres, surrounded by fine plantations. Abbeyville is the seat of the Rev. W. Stopford. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, united at a very early period to the rectory and vicarage of Grenaugh, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £512, and of the whole benefice to £1562; there is a glebe of 21 acres. The glebe-house was erected in 1807, by aid of a gift of £100 and a loan of £800 from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is a handsome building of the Doric order, situated on rising ground commanding a view of the village and plains. In the R. C. divisions the parish is united with Whitechurch: the chapel, a neat Gothic structure, towards the erection of which Mr. Putland contributed £200, is situated at the northern extremity of Putland's Glen. The male and female parochial schools are in the village of Blarney, and are supported entirely by the rector, who provides a house rent-free for the master and mistress; he also supports a Sunday school. Adjoining the R. C. chapel is a national school, a large building recently erected.
GARRYNOE, or GARRYVOE, a parish, in the Eastern Division of the barony of EAST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 3/4 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bandon; the population is returned with the parish of Desertserges, into which Garrynoe is considered to have merged. It is situated on the river Bandon, and comprises 8027 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3365 per annum. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of Lord Kinsale: the tithes amount to £315.
GARRYVOE, or GARRYBOVE, a parish, in the barony of IMOKILLY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (S. E. by S.) from Castlemartyr; containing 813 inhabitants. It comprises 1657 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, about three-fourths of which are under tillage, the remainder being pasture and furze brakes. The soil is generally poor, but is well manured with sea-weed and sand; the substratum is clay-slate. Being situated on the shore of the Atlantic, many of the inhabitants are engaged in fishing. The principal seat is Garryvoe Lodge, the residence of J. O'Neil, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, and forms part of the union of Kilcredan; the rectory is impropriate in A. Maun, Esq., M.D. The tithes amount to £232. 10. 10., of which £155. 0. 6 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and £77. 10. 3 1/2. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Ladiesbridge, or Ballymacoda. The parochial schools are supported by Capt. Hoare, Mrs. Fitzgerald, and the vicar; and there is a private school. The old church is in ruins, and near it is a small square tower, called Garryvoe Castle.
GARTAN, a parish, in the barony of KILMACRENAN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (N. W.) from Letterkenny, on the road to Dunfanaghy; containing 2109 inhabitants. St. Columb founded a monastery here in 521, of which the ruins still remain. The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 44,124 statute acres, including 1590 under water; there is a considerable extent of heathy mountain and bog. A silver and lead mine was worked here in 1835, in the townland of Warrenstown, but has been discontinued. Gartan is the residence of Capt. Chambers. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £150. The glebe-house was erected in 1828 by a gift of £400 and a loan of £380 from the late Board of First Fruits: the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church, which is a small plain building, was erected in 1819. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also part of Kilmacrenan, in each of which is a chapel. The parochial school, in which about 50 children are educated, is aided by an endowment from Col. Robertson's fund, and subscriptions from the rector; there is also a Sunday school.
GARVAGH, a market and post-town, in the parish of ERRIGAL, barony of COLERAINE, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of ULSTER, 8 miles (S.) from Coleraine, and 110 1/2 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Armagh to Coleraine: the population is returned with the parish. It appears to have been a place of some importance soon after the plantation of Ulster. In 1641, Col. Rowley raised a regiment of foot and marched into the town for its protection. After keeping possession of it for some time, he was attacked by a party of forces commanded by Sir Phelim O'Nial, who, making themselves masters of the place, put the Colonel and many of the inhabitants to death, burnt the town, and plundered the country to the very gates of Coleraine. The town consists of one long spacious street intersected at right angles by two smaller streets; many of the houses are large and handsomely built, and the whole has an appearance of great respectability. Adjoining it is Garvagh House, the seat of Lord Garvagh, a spacious mansion with a well-planted demesne and an extensive park; and there are several other gentlemen's seats, which are noticed in the article on the parish. The trade of the place is considerable, and with the town owes its prosperity to the Canning family. The market is on Friday and is well supplied; and on the third Friday in every month a fair is held for the sale of brown linen, horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs, each of which is numerously attended. Petty sessions are held in a court-house on the last Monday of every month. Adjoining the town is the parish church, a small neat edifice; and there is a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class, built in 1746, rebuilt in 1790, and enlarged in 1830; another in connection with the Seceding Synod, and a third for Separatists from that synod.
GARVAGHY, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER, but chiefly in that of UPPER, IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (S. E.) from Dromore, on the western branch of the river Lagan, and on the road from Banbridge to Downpatrick; containing 5036 inhabitants. This parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 10,256 3/4 statute acres, which with the exception of about 50 acres of bog and 26 of water, are wholly under tillage; the system of agriculture is greatly improved, and the lands are well fenced and generally in a high state of cultivation. There are some quarries of stone of good quality, which is extensively worked for building, repairing the roads, and other purposes. The principal seats are Carniew, the residence of R. D. Macredy, Esq.; the Cottage, of W. Cosby, Esq.; Ballyely, of R. Maginnis, Esq.; Lion Hill, of H. Waugh, Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. H. S. Hamilton, Esq.; and Waringsford, the property of J. Heron, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dromore, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is partly appropriate to the see, and partly constitutes the corps of the prebend of Dromeragh in the cathedral of Dromore. The tithes amount to £514, of which £185 is payable to the bishop, £129 to the prebendary, and £200 to the vicar. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recommended the re-annexation of the rectorial tithes to the vicarage on the next avoidance of the prebend. The glebe-house, a handsome residence, was built by aid of a gift of £400, and a loan of £400, from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1820; the glebe comprises 74 acres. The church, a small edifice in the Grecian style, built in 1699, was thoroughly repaired in 1780, when the chancel was taken down. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Dromore; the chapel at Ballineybeg is a small edifice, erected in 1822. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Seceding Synod (of the first class), and Antiburghers. The parochial school is on the glebe, near the church; at Carniew is a school, with a residence for the master attached, to which the Rev. C. Hamilton, in 1814, gave an acre of land; there are also a national and five other public schools. About 250 children are taught in four private schools, and there are six Sunday schools. At Ballineybeg, and also at Knockgorman, are some remains of cromlechs.
GAULSKILL, a parish, in the barony of IDA, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. by W.) from Waterford, on the road to Thomastown; containing 322 inhabitants. It is also called Kiltokegan and Kilskegan, and comprises 1225 acres, including a lake of 100 acres. The ancient castle appears, from a monument in the church, to have formerly belonged to the De Burgo family. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Dunkitt: the tithes amount to £75; near the church is a small glebe. The church was built in 1792, by aid of a gift of £500 from the late Board of First Fruits, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £176 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilmacow.
GEALE, or GAILE, a parieh, in the barony of MIDDLETHIRD, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (S. by W.) from Thurles, on the road to Cashel; containing 707 inhabitants. . It comprises 2494 statute acres, valued at £1757 per annum, which is all arable and pasture with the exception of about 30 acres of rock on Killough Hill, which, being surrounded by a flat country, is a very conspicuous object. Near it is Killough Castle, the occasional residence of the Hon. Mrs. Plunkett; and the south-west side of the hill, which is planted, forms part of the demesne of Gaile, the residence of S. Phillips, Esq. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cashel, and in the patronage of the Archbishop: the tithes amount to £185. There is no church, glebe-house, or glebe; the Protestant parishioners attend divine service at the church of Holy Cross, about three miles distant. On the demesne of Gaile are some remains of the old church.
GEASHILL, a post-town and parish, partly in the barony of UPPER PHILIPSTOWN, but chiefly in that of GEASHILL, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S.) from Philipstown, and 51 (S. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Portarlington to Tullamore; containing 13,253 inhabitants, of which number, 467 are in the town. The castle, of which there are some remains, anciently belonging to the O'Dempseys, from whom, with the surrounding territory, it passed to the Fitzgeralds, and in 1620, by marriage, to Sir Robert Digby, whose lady surviving him was besieged in it for several months, but was relieved in 1642. The town contains 87 houses arranged in a triangular form, most of which are thatched. It is a constabulary police station, has a dispensary, a patent for a market which is not held, and fairs on May 1st, Oct. 6th, and Dec. 26th, which last is one of the largest pig fairs in the kingdom; fairs are also held at Killeigh. The parish comprises 34,630 statute acres, and is the property of the Earl Digby; the soil is a deep clay, with a substratum of limestone gravel: there is a large extent of bog and some building stone, and the Earl Digby has large nurseries of forest trees; agriculture is but little improved. Sir W. Cusack Smith, Bart., has a seat at Newtown. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kildare, forming the corps of the prebend of Geashill in the cathedral of Kildare, and in the patronage of Earl Digby: the tithes amount to £1292. 6. l 3/4. The glebe-house is a quarter of a mile from the church, and there are two glebes, comprising 82 acres. The parochial church is a plain neat edifice, rebuilt in 1814 by aid of a loan of £1500 from the late Board of First Fruits, and for the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £182. At Killeigh and Cloneyhork are chapels of ease; the former, to which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £196 for repairs, is built on the site of the old monastery, part of which is incorporated with the present building. In the R. C. divisions the parish is partly in the union or district of Ballykeane, and partly in that of Portarlington, and has chapels at Killeigh and Ballinagar, belonging to the former union, and at Kilmalogue for the latter. There are two places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. The parochial school is aided by an annual donation of £15 from Earl Digby; the school-house was built at the expense of the late R. E. Digby, Esq.; and there are a national and six other public schools; altogether affording instruction to about 670 children; and 15 private schools, in which are about 660 children: there are also 11 Sunday schools. Vestiges of the castle yet exist, and near Ballinagar are the ruins of a church. Geashill gives the inferior title of Baron to Earl Digby.--See BALLINAGAR and KILLEIGH.
GEEVAGH.--See KILMACTRANY.
GENEVA, NEW.--See CROOK.
GERNONSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of ARDEE, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, on the river Glyde and on the road from Drogheda to Dundalk; the population, including that of the post-town of Castle-Bellingham, is returned with the parish of Kilsaran. This parish, which for all civil purposes is considered a part of Kilsaran, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1302 statute acres, of which 17 are in the river Glyde; the soil is principally clay, with some loam and gravel; the system of agriculture is greatly improved, and the land generally in a good state of cultivation. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, and part of the union of Kilsaran; the tithes amount to £146. 15. 4. The church of the union is in this parish, and is situated close to the town of Castle-Bellingham. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilsaran.
GERNONSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/4 miles (W.) from Slane, on the road from Slane to Kingscourt; containing 925 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2394 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is of good quality and is nearly equally divided between tillage and pasture. The principal seats are Tankardstown, the residence of Mrs. Hopkins, situated in an extensive demesne surrounded by thriving plantations: and Rochestown, of J. Blakeney, Esq. The mail coach road from Dublin to Londonderry skirts the parish on the east. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, and part of the union of Stack-allen: the tithes amount to £230. 15. 4., and the glebe comprises 20 acres of profitable land. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Slane; the chapel at Rushwee is a small plain building. A R. C. school is about to be placed under the New Board of Education, and about 50 children are taught in a private school.
GIANTS' CAUSEWAY.--See BILLY.
GILBERTSTOWN, or BENDENSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of FORTH, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Tullow, on the road to Leighlin; containing 567 inhabitants. Building stone is found, and there is some bog. Prior to 1830 the parish formed part of the union of Aghade. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £250. 0. 8. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, also called Ballon and Ratoe, comprising the parishes of Gilbertstown, Ballon, Kellistown, Templepetre, Aghade, and parts of Fennagh and Urglin, in which union are two chapels, situated at Ballon and Ratoe. About 180 children are educated in a national school.
GILFORD, a post-town, in the parish of TULLYLISH, barony of LOWER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 11 miles (N.) from Newry, and 65 1/2 (N.) from Dublin, on the river Bann, and the road from Loughbrickland to Tanderagee and Portadown; containing 529 inhabitants. In 1772, a body of insurgents, calling themselves "Hearts of Oak," committed frequent outrages in this neighbourhood, and on the 6th of March attacked Gilford Castle, the residence of Sir R. Johnston, Bart., and in the assault the Rev. S. Morell, Presbyterian minister, was shot while attempting to reason with the assailants from a window of the castle; it is now the residence of Sir W. Johnston, Bart. The town is situated on both sides of the river, over which is a handsome stone bridge of two arches, and in the vicinity are a large spinning establishment, some extensive bleach-greens, flour-mills, and chemical works. The canal from Lough Neagh to Newry passes within a mile of the town, and on its banks at that place is a wharf with some good warehouses. Fairs are held on the 21st of June and November; they are toll free and well attended. There is a constabulary police station, and petty sessions are held on alternate Wednesdays. There is a chalybeate spring, the water of which has the same properties as those of Pyrmont. Several gentlemen's seats in the neighbourhood are noticed in the account of Tullylish, which see.
GILTOWN, a parish, in the barony of SOUTH NAAS, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. E. by S.) from Kilcullen; containing 981 inhabitants. This parish is situated on a small mountain stream, and comprises 4335 statute acres, of which about 120 are woodland, 70 roads, and the remainder good arable and pasture land, the former noted for the growth of wheat; the system of agriculture is improved. Fuel is very scarce, turf being drawn from a distance of 7 or 8 miles. Giltown House is the residence of the Rev. J. Borrowes. It is a curacy, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the perpetual curacy of Kilcullen; the rectory is impropriate in Cramer Roberts, Esq. The tithes amount to £69. 4. 7 1/2., there is neither church, glebe-house, nor glebe. About 18 children are taught in a private school. There are some ruins of the old church, and in the demesne of Giltown is a Danish rath.
GIRLEY, a parish, in the barony of UPPER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N.) from Athboy, on the road from Mullingar to Navan; containing 1480 inhabitants. This parish comprises 4637 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: about two-thirds are grass land of excellent quality, and the remainder under good cultivation, with the exception of a considerable tract of bog extending into the neighbouring parish of Burry; there are some thriving plantations. The principal seats are Drewstown, the residence of F. McVeigh, Esq., a handsome house in a highly improved demesne; Johnsbrook, of J. Tandy, Esq., pleasantly situated in grounds tastefully embellished; and Triermore, of T. Rotheram, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Athboy; the rectory is impropriate in Dominick O'Reilly, Esq. The tithes amount to £207. 1. 7., one-half payable to the impropriator and the other to the vicar; there is no glebe-house; the glebe comprises 1 1/2 acre. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kells; the chapel at Fordstown is a handsome modern building, erected in 1800. About 60 children are taught in a private school, of which the school-house is occupied rent-free. There are some remains of the ancient parish church.
GLANBANE, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from Tipperary. It consists of only a single farm, and is a rectory, in the diocese of Emly, forming part of the union of Ballyscadane and of the corps of the deanery of Emly: the tithes amount to £47. 11. 6.
GLANBARAHANE.--See CASTLEHAVEN.
GLANBEHY.--See GLENBEGH.
GLANDELAGH.--See GLENDALOUGH.
GLANDORE, a small but rising village, in the parish of KILFAUGHNABEG, Western Division of the barony of EAST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Rosscarbery; containing about 200 inhabitants. This seems to have been a place of some importance at an early period, as appears from the erection of the castles of Glandore and Kilfinnan; for many years it continued in a very impoverished state, but it has again become a place of considerable note through the spirited exertions of its present proprietor, J. Redmond Barry, Esq., who has within the last few years expended upwards of £10,000 in various improvements. It is situated on the eastern side of Glandore harbour, which affords secure anchorage to vessels of large size; and is navigable to Leap, a village on the Cork and Skibbereen mail road. The scenery at the entrance of the harbour is extremely picturesque, and is remarkable as having formed the subject, of a Latin poem, called "Carberiae Rupes," written by Dean Swift, who spent some time in the neighbourhood. A pier has been recently constructed near the village, which affords protection to about 20 fishing yawls of three tons each; fish of every kind is abundant in the bay. Many elegant houses and a comfortable hotel have been erected, and from the beauty of its situation and the salubrity of the climate, the village has become a favourite place of residence, and much frequented during the bathing season; baths have been erected and every accommodation afforded for the convenience of visiters. The principal residences are Glandore Castle, the seat of P. Morris, Esq.; Glandore House, of J. Redmond Barry, Esq.; Glandore Cottage, of H. Townsend, Esq.; Glandore Lodge, of R. Adams, Esq.; Stone Hall, of Major T. Allen; Westview House, of Major Edw. Allen; Chateau Maria, of F. Allen, Esq.; Kilfrieman Castle, of T. Raneland, Esq.; Prospect House, of John Morris, Esq.; Glenville, of Capt. E. Hart; Union Cottage, of Mrs. Donovan; and Cliff Cottage, of the Rev. Mr. Walker. A temporary church and the R. C. chapel for the parish of Kilfaughnabeg are in the village. A school-house capable of containing 600 children, has been lately erected by Mr. Barry, with the aid of the National Board of Education; the boys receive instruction in agriculture and trades from competent teachers, and a model farm and carpenters' workshop are connected with it. The management of the girls' school reflects the highest credit on Miss Adams, the acting patroness, who most benevolently devotes her time to its superintendence: an infants' school has also been established.
GLANEALY, a parish, partly in the barony of ARKLOW, but chiefly in that of NEWCASTLE, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (W. S. W.) from Wicklow, on the road from Ashford to Rathdrum; containing 1531 inhabitants, of which number, 193 are in the village. It comprises 4855 statute acres, including some waste land and bog. The scenery is pleasingly diversified and enriched with timber of luxuriant growth, and there are several handsome villas; the principal are Hollywood, the residence of A. S. Broomfield, Esq., Ballyfrea, of J. Dickson, Esq.; Glencarrig, of H. J Segrave, Esq.; Favorita, of the Rev. Leek McDonnell; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. C. Armstrong. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Wicklow; the tithes amount to £283. 10. 5., and there is a glebe of 3 acres and a glebe-house. The church, which is in the later English style, was erected in 1783, by aid of a grant from the late Board of First Fruits, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £111 for its repairs. In the R. C. divisions also it is in the union of Wicklow; there is a small chapel in the village. Besides the parochial school, ahout 60 children are instructed in a national school, and there are two private schools.
GLANINAGH, a parish, in the barony of BURREN, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 7 1/2 miles (W.) from Burren, on the southern shore of Galway bay; containing 545 inhabitants, of which number, 220 are in the village. It comprises about 4200 statute acres, which chiefly consist of rocky mountain pasture; the portion in tillage is manured with sea-weed, an abundance of which is procured in the bay. It comprehends the lofty headland called Blackhead, in lat. 53° 9' 20" and lon. 9° 13', along the north-eastern shore of which is deep water and shelter for large vessels. Several boats belonging to this parish are engaged in the fishery of Galway bay. A new line of road, about four miles in length, is now in progress along the coast round Blackhead, which will nearly complete the line of communication round the coast of the county. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kilfenora, forming part of the union and corps of the treasurership of the cathedral of Kilfenora: the tithes amount to £32. 10. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Glyn, or Glenarraha. The ruins of the church still exist in the burial-ground.
GLANKEEN, a parish, in the barony of KILNEMANAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, on the road from Thurles to Nenagh; containing, with the post-town of Burris-o'-leagh 6585 inhabitants. It comprises 14,215 statute acres, of which 230 are re-claimable mountain. Limestone is quarried for manure, and coal is supposed to exist in the mountains. Summer Hill, the residence of J. H. Harden, Esq., and Callohill Castle are in the parish. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, and in the patronage of the Archbishop; the rectory forms the corps of the prebend of Glankeen in the cathedral of Cashel, and in the gift of the Crown. The tithes amount to £600, of which £400 is paid to the archbishop, as prebendary of Glankeen, and £200 to the vicar. There is a glebe-house, with a glebe of 11 acres. The church is a plain building, erected about 1776, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £147 for its repairs. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and is called Burris-o'-leagh; the chapel is at that place, and there is another at Heigh. The parochial school, to which the late Lady Caroline Damer gave 1 1/2 acre of land, is aided by the rector; and there are three national schools; they afford instruction to about 350 children. About 280 children are taught in seven private schools. Large horns of an elk have been dug up here. There are the ruins of an ancient church, partly covered with ivy, and containing a monument to the family of Burke; and at Kilcuilawn, situated in the mountains, the celebrated relic called Barnaan-Cuilawn was found in a hollow tree many years since. It is composed of iron and brass inlaid with gold and silver, having some resemblance in shape to a mitre, and is supposed to have been the top of a censer belonging to St. Cuilen, who founded a church here in the 10th century; it is now in the possession of Mr. Cooke, of Parsonstown, and forms the subject of an article in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1821 the remains of an ancient mill were discovered near the church.--See BURRIS-O'-LEAGH.
GLANMIRE, a village, in the parish of RATHCOONEY, North Liberties of the county and city of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Cork, on the road to Dublin; containing, in 1821, 558 inhabitants; at the last census the population was returned with the parish. The village is situated on both sides of the river Glanmire, which, after meandering through a beautiful glen, empties itself under a drawbridge of cast iron into the river Lee. The vicinity is enlivened with many plantations, hanging woods, and the number of gentlemen's seats and villas with which it is adorned. The principal residences are Lota House, that of W. H. Greene, Esq.; Lotabeg, of D. Callaghan, Esq.; Lotamore, of the Hon. C. L. Bernard; Dunkittle, of A. Morris, Esq.; Sun Lodge, of W. Oliver, Esq.; Lota Lodge, of J. S. Barry, Esq.; Fort William, of Mrs. Baker; Glentown, of Mrs. McCall; Glanville, of E. Newsome, Esq.; Woodville, of N. M. Cummins, Esq.; Lota Park, lately purchased by J. J. Murphy, Esq.; Jane Mount, of W. Hickie, jun., Esq.; Lake Lodge, of John Martin, Esq.; Castle Jane House, of R. Martin, Esq.; Castle Jane, of H. Lawton, Esq.; Mina Villa, of J. Hardy, Esq.; Glanmire House, of Ed. Morrogh, Esq.: North Esk, of J. Carnegie, Esq.; Park Farm, of H. Morrogh, Esq,; Spring Hill, of G. Waters, Esq.; Glen View, of R. Young, Esq.; and Sallybrook, of J. Hodnett, Esq. In the village are extensive flour-mills, belonging to Mr. Shaw, and in the vicinity are those of Messrs. Thorley and Son, for finishing calico and linen, upwards of 1000 pieces being the weekly average; these gentlemen have also an establishment for bleaching and dyeing, and employ upwards of 200 persons; about the same number are engaged in the Glanmire woollen factory, higher up the river, by Messrs. Lyons and Hanly. The river is navigable for lighters up to the village at high water, which bring up coal, culm, sea-sand for manure, and other articles for the supply of the neighbourhood. The parochial church, a plain neat building with a tower and spire, is in the village, and was erected in 1784, on a site given by R. Rogers, Esq.; and at a short distance is the R. C. chapel for the union of Glanmire. Here are also male and female schools, supported by the rector; and a female school was built and is supported by Mr. Hickie. A dispensary is open for the relief of the poor, and a clothing society has been established.
GLANMIRE, NEW.--See CAHERLOG.
GLANWORTH, a parish, partly in the barony of CONDONS, and CLOKGIBBONS, but chiefly in that of FERMOY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 1/2 miles (S. by W.) from Mitchelstown, on the new road to Cork; containing 4455 inhabitants, of which number, 1098 are in the village. This place, which is situated on the river Funcheon, and also on the road from Fermoy to Limerick, was anciently called Glanore, or "the golden glen," from its great fertility. During the parliamentary war it was the scene of several conflicts, and was among the last garrisons in the south of Ireland that held out for the king; till the castle being besieged by Ireton ultimately surrendered. The village is said to have been formerly a corporate and market-town, but no existing records afford any evidence of the fact, though probably its inhabitants may have obtained extensive privileges from the founder of the castle, and continued to enjoy them under several of the succeeding lords. In 1831 it contained 215 houses, mostly thatched; it is pleasantly situated on the south-western bank of the river, over which is an ancient narrow stone bridge of twelve arches; and as seen in the approach from the Fermoy road, with the thriving plantations around the glebe-house half concealing the spire of the church, presents a beautifully picturesque scene, of which the most interesting features are thrown into bold relief by the chain of mountains in its rear, on the confines of the county of Limerick. Near the bridge are two large flour-mills, the property of Messrs. Murphy and Killeher, producing on an average 10,000 barrels of fine flour annually. The Funcheon is remarkable for the abundance and excellence of its trout; it also affords some salmon. A constabulary police force is stationed in the village, and fairs are held on Jan. 15th, March 16th, May 13th, Aug. 10th, Sept. 24th, and Nov. 30th, for live stock, but chiefly for pigs. The parish comprises 11,232 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £9878. 11. 7. per annum; the land is in general good, and chiefly under tillage; the system of agriculture is gradually improving, and there is abundance of limestone, which is quarried principally for agricultural purposes. The seats are Ballyclough, the residence of Gen. Barry, a handsome mansion, in the Elizabethan style, situated in a fine and well-planted demesne; and Glanworth Glebe, of the Rev. John Brinkley, Prebendary, a large and handsome mansion adjoining the village, and commanding a picturesque view of the bridge and ruined castle. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cloyne, united by act of council, at a period unknown, to the vicarages of Ballydeloughy and Derryvillane, the rectory and vicarage of Kilgullane, together with the particle of Legane (which has long since merged into the parish), constituting the union and the corps of the prebend of Glanore in the cathedral of Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £729. 16. 11 1/4., and of the whole benefice, to £1107. 13. 11 1/2. The glebe-house was built by the late incumbent, at an expense of about £2000, aided by a gift of £100 and a loan of £1000 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1809: the glebe comprised nearly seven acres, but it is all lost except one acre, which has been given to the master of the parochial school by the incumbent. The church is a plain edifice with a low tower and spire. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Derryvillane, Kilgullane, Downmahon, and Killenemor: the chapel in the village was built on a site given by Carden Terry, Esq., of Prospect, near Cork; and there is also a chapel at Ballydangan, in the parish of Ballydeloughy. About 30 children are taught in the parochial school, which is wholly supported by the rector; and there are seven private schools, in which are about 350 children, and a Sunday school. The late Rev. J. Killeher, P.P., bequeathed £100, one-half towards the erection of a school-house and the other for repairing the chapel. On a rocky eminence on the western side of the Funcheon are the extensive and interesting ruins of Glanworth castle, an ancient seat of the Roche family, and occupied in 1601 by Lord Fermoy, by whose descendant it was forfeited in 1641. They consist of an ancient square tower of considerable strength, supposed to be the keep, and the remains of another building of more recent date and superior construction, apparently containing the state apartments; they are within a quadrilateral area, enclosed by strong walls, nearly six feet in thickness, and defended at each angle by a round tower. To the north-west are the ruins of an abbey, said to have been founded by the Roches, in 1227, for Dominican friars, and dedicated to the Holy Cross; they consist of the nave and chancel of the church, between which rises a low square tower supported on four finely pointed arches; the windows are square-headed on the outside, but finely arched in the interior. Beneath the castle, and near the margin of the river, is a well dedicated to St. Dominick, which is held in great veneration by the peasantry. On a conspicuous mountain in the Kilworth range, and on the border of the adjoining parish of Kilgullane, is a solitary tower, the sole remains of Caherdriny castle, said to have been built by the Roche family; it commands a great extent of country, and is surrounded at a short distance by a wall of loose stones. Between Glanworth and Fermoy is Labacally, or "the Witches' Bed," an ancient druidical altar, one of the covering stones of which is 17 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 3 feet thick, supported on each side by double rows of large flags fixed in the ground; the whole appears to have been nearly 30 feet long and proportionably wide, and was enclosed by a circle of flagstones of 14 feet radius; its position is nearly due east and west. About half a mile north-west of the village is a stone pillar, about 12 feet high, supposed to have been an ancient boundary, and at a short distance to the east is a similar pillar of smaller dimensions, forming part of a series between the Awbeg and Funcheon. Several brass coins bearing the date 1565, with the inscription "Paul Maylor, mayor of the city of Cork,' have been found in this parish.
GLASCARRICK, or GLASCARRIG, an ecclesiastical district, recently formed out of the parishes of DONAGHMORE and KILTRISK, the former in the barony of BALLAGHKEEN, and the latter in that of GOREY, county of WEXFORD, and province of MUNSTER. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Ferns, and in the patronage of the Impropriator of Donaghmore and the Incumbent of Kiltrisk, which forms part of the union of Leskinfere. The stipend of £66. 3. per annum is payable in the proportion of £20 from the incumbent, £23. 1. 6. from the impropriator, and a similar sum from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The tithes of seven townlands in Donaghmore, called the "Ballymonies," amounting to £40, payable to the Crown, have been petitioned for in augmentation of the perpetual curacy, and application has been made to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to aid a subscription already entered into for building a church on the border of Donaghmore parish, adjoining that of Kiltrisk; also to grant funds for the erection of a glebe-house.--See DONAGHMORE and KILTRISK.
GLASDRUMMOND.--See KILCLUNEY.
GLASH, or GLASS, an island, in the parish of KILBELFAD, barony of TYRAWLEY, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 6 miles (S. W.) from Ballina: the population is returned with the parish. This small island, which is situated in Lough Conn, about a mile from the mainland, comprises some good arable land, with a portion of rocky pasture. It is remarkable chiefly as the asylum of Bishop Balefadda, who took refuge here during the times of early persecution; there are still the remains of a church, and the burial-place in which he was interred.
GLASHARE, a parish, in the barony of GALMOY, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/4 miles (S. by E.) from Rathdowney; containing 619 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2703 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £1824. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ossory, and forms part of the union of Rathdowney. The tithes amount to £100. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Eirke. About 50 children are educated in a private school.
GLASNEVIN, a parish and village, in the barony of COOLOCK, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N.) from Dublin, on the road to Naul; containing 1001 inhabitants, of which number, 559 are in the village. This place, which is pleasantly situated on the northern bank of the river Tolka, was, early in the last century, the residence of many families of distinction, and of several of the most eminent literary characters of that age; and from its proximity to the metropolis it is still the residence of many highly respectable families. Among the more distinguished of its earlier inhabitants were the poet Tickell, Addison, Swift, Delany, Steele, Sheridan, and Parnell. The demesne of the first-named is now the site of the botanical gardens of the Royal Dublin Society, and a large apartment of the house is appropriated as the lecture-room of that institution. Delville, formerly the seat of the Rev. Dr. Delany, Dean of Down, and now the residence of S. Gordon, Esq., was the frequent resort of Dean Swift and other distinguished literary men of that day. It is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Tolka; on an eminence in the grounds is a temple decorated with paintings by Mrs. Delany, and a medallion bust of Mrs. Johnson, the "Stella" of Swift; beneath this building were found by a former proprietor the remains of a printing press, used by Swift in printing his satires on the Irish Parliament; the house and domestic chapel still retain their original character. On the opposite side of the Tolka is the celebrated seat and demesne of Mitchel, now the residence of the Bishop of Kildare; a little beyond it is Hampstead, formerly the residence of Sir Richard Steele, subsequently that of the late Judge Parsons, and now the seat of B. O'Gorman, Esq.; and in the contiguous parish of Finglas, was the residence of Parnell, formerly vicar of that parish. In the village are many handsome houses, of which the principal are those of Capt. J. A. Crawford, the Rev. W. C. Roberts, the Rev. R. Walsh (one of the editors of the History of Dublin), Capt. R. Smyth, W. Marrable, Esq., T. Howard, Esq., G. Alker, Esq., and Fairfield, the residence of the Rev. J. Hutton. The botanical gardens occupy more than 27 statute acres, laid out with great skill and a due regard to the illustration of that interesting study. The botanical department contains an extensive range of hothouses, occupying the summit of the higher ground in the centre of the garden, and including extensive collections of beautiful and rare plants, of which the various species of each large genus are appropriated as much as possible to separate houses. In front of the hothouses is the arboretum, in which herbaceous plants trees and shrubs are arranged according to the Linnaean system, and to the north arrangements are being made for a classification of similar plants according to their natural orders, on the system of Jussieu, with a division for medical plants, and for such as are peculiar to Ireland. The horticultural department occupies the western side of the garden, and contains divisions for exhibiting the rotatory system of cropping in the cultivation of culinary vegetables; collections of the most useful grasses, clovers, grain, &c., &c.; a selection of hardy fruits, and a collection of choice fruits, to illustrate the methods of pruning and training them. The ornamental department, including the aquarium and the banks of the Tolka, is being laid out as an American garden, with a view to exhibit the various features of landscape gardening, and also contains a division for the culture of specimens of all the agricultural roots. The gardens are under the superintendence of a professor, a curator, and a foreman; and the establishment consists of eight pupils, three apprentices, three labourers, and a porter. The professor's house and lecture-room are near the entrance of the gardens, and during the season from June to September, lectures are given three times every week, and are in general numerously attended; the gardens are also open to the public two days in the week from 12 o'clock till 4. A public cemetery was opened here in 1832, comprising 6 Irish acres, neatly laid out; in the centre is a chapel for the funeral service, and the area is enclosed with walls, having at each angle a castellated watch tower: the profit of this cemetery will be appropriated to the education of poor children.
The parish, which comprises 983 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4499 per annum, is the head of an extensive manor belonging to the cathedral establishment of Christ-Church, Dublin, and frequently called Grangegorman, from its courts having been held formerly in a village of that name: courts leet and baron are regularly held, the former at Easter and Michaelmas, and the latter, in which debts to the amount of £2 are recoverable, every Friday. There is also a constabulary police station. The living is a rectory and curacy, in the diocese of Dublin, the rectory partly forming the corps of the precentorship, and partly that of the chancellorship of the cathedral of Christ-Church, and the curacy in the alternate patronage of the precentor and chancellor. The tithes amount to £184, half of which is payable to the curate. The church is a small structure, rebuilt in 1707, with the exception of the tower, which is overspread with ivy; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £207 for its repair: in the churchyard is a mural tablet to the memory of Dr. Delany. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Clontarf: a branch from the Carmelite convent of Clondalkin was established here in 1829, attached to which is a school. About 80 children are taught in two public schools, of which one, under the patronage of the Bishop of Kildare, was founded by Dr. Delany, who built the school-house; and there is an infants' school, founded in 1834. Claremont, an extensive institution for deaf and dumb children, was founded in 1816, under the patronage of her present Majesty and the late Duke of Gloucester; the buildings are extensive, and the grounds comprise 18 1/2 acres, subject to a rent of £220. 10. 9. The establishment contains school-rooms and dormitories for 100 children, as poor boarders and pupils, who must be not less than 8 nor more than 12 years old at their admission; it is under the management of a committee of subscribers, and is supported by donations and annual subscriptions, entitling the contributors to the nomination of children in proportion to their subscriptions; the master has accommodations also for children of the richer class, who pay £50 per annum. The Very Rev. Dr. Barret, Vice-Provost of Trinity College, bequeathed £70,000, and Sir Gilbert King, Bart., £7000, to trustees for charitable uses; from the former this institution received £2166. 6. 10. three and a half per cent, stock, and from the latter £332. 6. 1. There is also a private lunatic asylum, under the superintendence of Dr. Eustace, well arranged for the reception of patients. An almshouse for four poor Protestants was founded and endowed by Lord Forbes, in 1723; and there is a dispensary. A field, called the "Bloody Acre," is supposed to have been part of the site of the memorable battle of Clontarf.
GLASSLOUGH, a post-town, in the parish of DONAGH, barony of TROUGH, county of MONAGHAN, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Monaghan, and 70 3/4 (N. W.) from Dublin; containing 812 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Monaghan to Caledon, on the margin of a beautiful lake, whence the town derives its name, signifying "the green lake." It has a striking and attractive appearance, and contains excellent slated houses. It is favourably situated with regard to commerce and agriculture, but until a very late period had little or no trade. In consequence of the judicious modes which have been adopted by the present owner, Mrs. Leslie, its capabilities have been developed and it has shown decided symptoms of rapid improvement. It has now a weekly market for wheat and flax, and a fair on the third Friday in every month for cattle, sheep, pigs, and other agricultural produce. An extensive flour-mill has been lately built in the neighbourhood, for which an ample supply of wheat is obtained from Glasslough market; and mills are now being built for scutching and spinning flax, also a factory on a large scale for weaving linens by hand and power looms; the whole, when completed, will afford permanent employment to between eight and nine hundred individuals. The beautiful and extensive park and castle of Mrs. Leslie, which adjoins the town and contains upwards of 1000 acres of fine land well planted, adds much to the natural beauty of the situation. The mansion was originally of considerable grandeur, but in consequence of repeated alterations has lost all its antique features. The ancient castle was situated opposite to the town gate of the present house, and was a building of considerable strength, flanked with circular towers and defended by a moat and drawbridge, possessing also those indispensable requisites of feudal power, a keep and donjon. The site had been a place of strength long before its erection, and was granted to O'Bear McKenna by O'Nial of Ulster, on the conditions that he and his descendants should pay "Bonaghty," or tribute, and furnish white meat and oats to the Gallow-glasses of O'Nial on certain days when they visited the holy well of Tubber Phadrick, near Glennan, and never to wage war with the O'Nials. This tribute was paid at stated periods in a house built of wood and osiers, at Anaghroe, or the "Red River," now the seat of William Murdoch, Esq. Near the town is the hill and rath of Drumbanagher, where, on the 13th of March, 1688, a battle was fought between a detachment of the Irish army, on its way to join the besiegers of Londonderry, and the native Protestant forces of the district, in which the latter gained a complete victory, but with the loss of their gallant colonel, Matthew Anketell, to whose memory a monument was erected in the parish church, which is still preserved. In the town is the parish church, with a tower 130 feet high: it has nothing in architectural beauty to attract notice; the interior arrangements are plain, neat, and commodious. During the erection of the tower a workman fell from the top, but escaped without suffering any material injury.
GLASSON, a village, partly in the parish of BENOWEN, but chiefly in that of KILKENNY WEST, barony of KILKENNY WEST, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. E.) from Athlone, on the road to Ballymahon; containing 33 houses and 154 inhabitants. Here are two corn-mills, one of which is also used for thickening frieze. It is a constabulary police station, and petty sessions for the barony are held on alternate Wednesdays. A patent for a market and fair exists, but they are not held. There is a dispensary, and a penny post to Athlone and Ballymahon has been established.--See BENOWEN.
GLAUNTANE.--See CAHERLOG.
GLENARM, a post-town, in the parish of TICKMACREVAN, barony of UPPER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 17 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Carrickfergus, and 105 3/4 (N. by E..) from Dublin; containing 880 inhabitants. This town, which has a sub-post-oflice to Larne and Cushendall, is situated in a deep glen, which opens to the sea, and on the Glenarm river, which here empties itself into the bay of that name, and over which are two bridges. It contains 145 houses, and is said to have been incorporated by a charter of King John, in the 4th year of his reign; but since the conquest of Ulster it has not exercised any municipal privileges. Glenarm castle was for many years the residence of the MacDonnels, Earls of Antrim, of whom Randal MacDonnel, Marquess of Antrim, was attainted during the protectorate. It was originally built in 1639, and is now the seat of Edmund McDonnel, Esq., by whom, since his marriage with the Countess of Antrim, the present castle was erected on the site of the former structure, of which very little remains. It is a noble quadrangular pile, flanked at the angles with four large towers embellished with minarets terminating in vanes, and surmounted with stately domes; the entrance is under a large massive gateway; the hall is of large dimensions and noble appearance, and the state apartments are spacious, lofty, and magnificent. The demesne is richly planted and beautifully embellished with myrtles and other delicate shrubs; at a small distance to the south is the great deer-park, formerly enriched with stately timber, and watered by a mountain torrent, which afterwards flows through the lawn; and on the left of the road to Larne is the little park, bounded by a succession of precipitous rocks rising from the shore, and forming a bold headland, round which has been carried the Antrim coast road from Larne to Ballycastle, cut through the solid rock, and 10 feet above high water mark at spring tides, of which a detailed account is given in the article on the county. The town is much resorted to for sea-bathing; the harbour is small and chiefly frequented by vessels from the opposite coast of Scotland, which bring coal and take back grain, limestone, and other produce. Vessels may ride in safety in the bay within a quarter of a mile from the shore, in five or six fathoms of water. Fairs are held on the 26th of May and October, a chief constabulary police force has been stationed here, and there is also a coast-guard station belonging to the district of Carrickfergus. A court leet and baron for the manor of Glenarm, which is co-extensive with the barony, is held every third week, for the recovery of debts to the amount of £10, in which the proceedings are by attachment and civil bill process. Here is a handsome R. C. chapel, and a good school-house was built in 1829 from the lord-lieutenant's fund. Near the castle are some remains of an ancient Franciscan monastery, founded in 1465 by Sir Robert Bisset, and of which the site and revenues were, after the dissolution, granted to Alexander Mac Donnel, ancestor of the Earls of Antrim. Between Larne and Glenarm are the ruins of Cairn castle, situated on a rock in the sea; and near them are the remains of a castle, built by the family of Shaw in 1625.
GLENAVY, or LYNAVY, a post-town and parish, in the barony of UPPER MASSAREENE, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 7 1/2 miles (S.) from Lurgan, on the road to Antrim; containing 3390 inhabitants, of which number, 399 are in the town. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 16,786 statute acres, 9219 1/2 of which are in Lough Neagh and 342 1/2 in Lough Portmore. The soil is well cultivated, and there is very little waste land or bog; there is some basalt. The town contains 68 houses, and is divided into two equal parts by the river Glenavy. It has four quarterly fairs, principally for horned cattle and pigs. Here is a large cotton-mill, and much flax is spun and woven in the cottages. At Glenconway is an extensive bleach-green. From its situation on Lough Neagh, this parish has a communication by water with Belfast and Newry. The principal seats are Goremount, the residence of Mrs. Gore; Ballyminimore, of W. Oakman, Esq.; and Glenconway, of Mrs. Dickson. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, united to the vicarages of Camlin and Tullyrusk, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Hertford, who is impropriator of the rectory and proprietor of the parish: the tithes amount to £221. 19. 4., of which £172. 17. 4. is payable to the vicar, and £49. 2. 2. to the impropriator; and the gross value of the benefice is £380 per annum. The glebe-house, in the parish of Camlin, was built in 1819, on a site given by the Marquess of Hertford, at an expense of £1072, of which £500 was a loan and £300 a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. The church was rebuilt in 1814;. it is a handsome edifice with a square tower, for the erection of which the Marquess of Hertford subscribed £100 and the late Board gave £200 and lent £250. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also Camlin, and Killead, and containing two chapels, one of which is a large building near Glenavy. There is also a place of worship for Primitive Methodists. There are schools at Ballynacoy, Crew, Fourscore Ballyvanen, and Old Park. On Ram's island, in Lough Neagh, are the remains of a round tower; and in the parish are several raths and tumuli. From Crew hill a fine view is obtained of Lough Neagh and of parts of six counties, with several towns and seats.
GLENBEGH, or GLENBEHY, a parish, partly in the barony of IVERAGH, but chiefly in that of DUNKERRON, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 13 miles (S. W.) from Milltown; containing 2449 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the southeastern shore of the bay of Dingle, derives its name from its deep seclusion and from the small river Birchen, or Begh, which rises in the mountain lakes and intersects it in its rapid course into the sea. It comprises 25,686 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which nearly two-thirds are mountain pasture, bog, and rock; and forms an extremely wild and romantic glen surrounded by steep and rugged mountains on all sides except towards the sea, where it is enclosed by a range of low but steep hills, forming a sheltered vale, through which the river Begh pursues the whole of its impetuous course. The highest of the mountains are the Drung and Cahir-Canaway, over which the old road passed into the remoter parts of the baronies of Iveragh and Dunkerron, along a range of precipitous cliffs overhanging the bay. The situation is picturesque and romantic, but its aspect is wild and savage in the extreme; and previously to the commencement of the present improvements, the glen was the inaccessible and secure retreat of lawless violence and the abode of misery and destitution. With the exception of a small detached portion, called the West Fraction, nearly the whole of the parish is the property of Lord Headley, who, in 1807, began a series of improvements, which, though gradual in their progress, have completely changed the appearance of the district and the moral and social habits of its population. The first step was the employment of the people, at his lordship's expense, in providing a facility of communication between the several farms on the estate; and many miles of good road were made, affording easy access to every part of this extensive district; a new line of mail coach road has been constructed, avoiding the steep and dangerous pass over the mountains, and preserving an easy level throughout the whole of this previously impenetrable and isolated part of the country. Since the formation of these roads, the old heavy hurdles or drags have been discontinued, and carts and wheel carriages have been brought into general use, by which great facilities have been afforded for procuring sea-sand as manure, which has greatly increased the fertility of the soil. The wretched huts, which scarcely afforded shelter to the labourers, have given place to neat and comfortable cottages, generally built of stone, most of them containing two rooms and a dairy, and several having two chambers with a dwelling-room and offices, and gardens enclosed and well planted; the old hovels have been converted into sheds for cows and pigs, and every requisite for domestic cleanliness and comfort has been provided. These houses have been erected on an economical plan, at the joint expense of his lordship and the tenants, who being regularly employed in profitable labour, derive from their industry not only the means of present support but a provision for old age. The enclosure, draining, and cultivation of waste land on the mountains and bogs have been greatly promoted, by granting to the tenants stipulated allowances for those purposes. Plantations also have been made by his lordship with very great success, and more than 350 acres have been covered with thriving trees. A spacious chapel has been erected, at the joint expense of his lordship and the tenantry; and a school, in which some hundreds of children have been taught, is partly supported by his lordship. All these improvements were effected within little more than seven years, and the tenantry were in a prosperous and thriving condition, and paid their rents with punctuality till the great depression in the prices of produce in 1815 and 1816. In 1820 his lordship undertook the embankment of 650 acres of land from the sea, which was effected by the labour of the tenantry in liquidation of their arrears: this tract has been permanently secured by a sea wall of great strength, which effectually excludes the tide, and now produces excellent crops of potatoes, oats, and hay. In 1826 a survey of the whole estate was made and further improvements undertaken and carried into effect; 80 farms were laid out varying in extent from land sufficient for 10 to what is sufficient for 40 cows; the various houses were surveyed, and proportionate allowances granted for additions or new buildings; all the best lines of road completed, and the whole regulated upon a plan of mutual benefit to landlord and tenant, and operating powerfully to their reciprocal advantage. The air of this coast is highly salubrious, and several pretty sea-bathing lodges and cottages have been built at Rossbegh, and furnished under the auspices of Lady Headley for the reception of visiters, for whose accommodation a comfortable inn has also been established; the plantations have now attained considerable maturity, and afford an abundant supply of timber; and a steep bank of about 160 acres, previously considered impracticable for planting, is universally admired for the richness and beauty of its foliage. Glencare, the seat of R. Newton, Esq., is situated on Lough Cara, on the borders of the parish. The scenery of this secluded lake is extremely beautiful and romantic, and has been rendered still more picturesque from the recent plantations on its shores. The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and is a rectory and vicarage, forming part of the union of Cahir: the tithes amount to £130. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising also part of the parish of Killorglin, and containing a chapel here and another at Glencare, on the border of Killorglin parish. A school held in the R. C. chapel of Glenbegh is principally supported by Lord Headley; and there is a private school, in which about 100 children are educated.
GLENBROHANE, a village, in the parish of BALLINGARY, barony of COSTLEA, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (E.) from Kilfinane, on the road to Galbally; containing 44 houses and 233 inhabitants. Here is the R. C. chapel for the district, 659 which was built in 1819, at an expense of £600; also a constabulary police station.
GLENCAR.--See GLENLOUGH.
GLENCOLLUMBKILLE, a parish, in the barony of BANNAGH, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 11 1/2 miles (N. W. by W.) from Killybegs; containing 3752 inhabitants. This parish, which is on the northwest coast, includes within its limits Tellen head and Malin bay, and, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises 32,243 3/4 statute acres, of which 329 are water, and 61 3/4 are in Rathlin O'Birne islands, belonging to Kilbarron parish. Agriculture is backward; the waste land consists of large tracts of sand, bog, and mountain, among the last of which are Malin Beg, rising 1415, Glenlough 1513, and Slieve league 1964, feet above the level of the sea. Four fairs are held at Carrick annually. The living is a consolidated rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £115. The glebe-house was erected by a gift of £369. 4., and a loan of the same amount from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1828. The glebe comprises 40 acres, of which 15 are cultivated land, and the remainder bog, rock, and pasture. The church is a plain building, erected by aid of a gift of £553. 16. from the late Board, in 1828. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and contains two chapels. About 220 children are educated in three public schools, of which the parochial school is aided by an endowment from Col. Robertson's fund. On the summit of Slieve league are the remains of a religious house: here are also some ruins of a castle. On the site of the present church formerly stood a monastery, of which scarcely a vestige is left, except a subterraneous passage, which was discovered a few years since on digging a grave. A ruin is pointed out as having been the residence of St. Columb, and a cavity in an adjoining rock is called his bed. There is a well, dedicated to St. Columb, at which a patron is held, with twelve ancient stone crosses, placed a quarter of a mile apart, as preparatory stations to visiting the well. There is a remarkable echo in the mountains.
GLENDALIGAN, a village, in the parish of KILROSANTY, barony of DECIES-WITHOUT-DRUM, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (S. W.) from Kilmacthomas; containing 178 inhabitants.
GLENDALOUGH, a manor, in the parish of DERRALOSSORY, barony of BALLYNACOR, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (N. W.) from Rathdrum; containing 1819 inhabitants. This place, originally called Gleande, or "the town of the glen," and also Glandelagh and the Seven Churches, derives its present appellation, Glendalough, or "the glen of the two lakes," from the name of the valley in which it is situated. This valley, which abounds with the most picturesque and romantic scenery, was part of the district of Imayle which, extending widely towards the south and west, formed the ancient territory of the powerful sept of the Otothils or O'Tooles, who maintamed possession of it with uncontrolled authority till the 17th century. From the numerous remains of its ancient religious foundations, from which probably it derived the name of the Seven Churches, and from the existence of one of those ancient round towers so frequently found in similar situations, it appears to have been a place of religious retreat prior to the introduction of Christianity; and from its early importance and secluded situation, it has long been regarded with feelings of veneration, as one of the most celebrated seats of ancient ecclesiastical institutions. The first Christian church established here was founded by St. Kevin, who was born of a noble family about the year 498, but choosing a monastic life retired to these solitudes, and founded an abbey in the lower part of the vale. So great was the reputation of St. Kevin, that St. Mochuorog, a Briton, also fixed his residence here; and a school was soon established, which concentrated a great portion of the learning of the times and produced some of the most eminent men of that period. A city soon arose around this monastery, which became the seat of a diocese, including the present see of Dublin, and of which St. Kevin, who also held the abbacy of Glendalough, was the first bishop. Having presided over the see till 612, he resigned the care of the bishop-rick, attending solely to the duties of the abbacy, and died on the 3rd of June, 618, in the 120th year of his age. The see of Glendalough, after the resignation of St. Kevin, continued under a regular succession of bishops to flourish for 600 years, when, on the death of William Piro, in 1214, it was united to the see of Dublin, at the suggestion of Cardinal Paparo, who had delivered one of the palls to the metropolitan bishop, and this union was confirmed by Pope Honorius in 1216. The sept of the O'Tooles, however, could never be induced to acknowledge the authority of the English Archbishops of Dublin, but was still governed by Irish bishops of Glendalough for many years, till 1497, when Friar Dennis White, the last bishop, formally surrendered possession of the see of Glendalough, and the authority of the Archbishops of Dublin was fully acknowledged. It appears from the records of the see, that Glendalough, which was the depository of the wealth of the neighbouring septs, was frequently plundered by the Danes, and also by the English, after whose invasion the city was never able to preserve the importance it had previously maintained. In 1309, Piers Gavestone defeated the sept of the O'Byrnes at this place, and having rebuilt the castle of Kevin and opened the pass between it and Glendalough, presented an offering at the shrine of St. Kevin. In 1398, the English forces burnt the city, which never afterwards recovered its prosperity. In 1580, one of the Fitzgeralds, uniting with Lord Baltinglass and a chieftain of the O'Byrnes, occupied this valley in open hostility to the government, and the Lord-Deputy Grey, who had just arrived from England and was totally unacquainted with the country, gave orders for their immediate dislodgement. The officers, who had assembled to congratulate him on his arrival, accordingly led their troops to the valley; but as they began to explore its recesses, perplexed with bogs and overhung by rocks, a volley was poured in among them from an unseen enemy, and repeated with dreadful execution. Audley, Moore, Crosby, and Sir Peter Carew, all distinguished officers, fell in this rash adventure; and Lord Grey, who had awaited the result on an eminence in the vicinity, returned with the remainder of his troops to Dublin. On the suppression of the disturbances of 1798, Dwyer and his followers took refuge among the fastnesses of Glendalough, and remained in perfect security in the mountains till they procured an amnesty from the government.
The ancient city is now only a heap of scattered ruins, imparting a venerable and solitary grandeur to that part of the valley in which they are situated. The vale is about two miles in length, and about three-quarters of a mile in breadth, enclosed on the north by the mountains of Brockagh and Comaderry, and on the south by those of Derrybawn and Lugduff; it is entirely inaccessible from the west, but opens towards the east, where its waters are discharged by a powerful stream into the river Avonmore. About halfway up the valley, and at the farthest extremity to which cultivation has been extended, are the principal remains of the city, occupying a gentle eminence projecting from the base of the mountain of Comaderry, beyond which the two lakes, overshadowed by the vast precipices of the mountains of Derrybawn and Lugduff, present a scene of sombre magnificence, rendered still more impressive by the opposite heights of Comaderry, whose summit is 1567 feet above their surface. In the mountain of Derrybawn, which is composed of mica slate, is a break in the strata, where one part has sunk many feet below the other, and which is called the "Giants' Cut; " and a little farther between it and Lugduff the Glaneola brook, falling into the upper lake over some richly wooded rocks, forms several picturesque cascades. On the same side of the glen, under the gloomy brow of Lugduff, and in a precipice rising perpendicularly to the height of 30 feet from the surface of the lake, is the remarkable excavation called St. Kevin's bed, said to have been the retreat of that saint; it is large enough only for one person in a recumbent position, and is surrounded by a zone of rocky mountains encircling the lake, of which the waters, though perfectly limpid, have an appearance of sombre darkness. In storms the lake is violently agitated and sometimes overflows the meadows which separate it from the lower lake; and in calm weather an echo of surprising distinctness is formed between the rocks near the Giants' Cut and the opposite side of the valley. Amidst these scenes, to which the genius of Moore has given a high degree of celebrity, are to be found numerous vestiges of antiquity, and many objects which are intimately associated with the most pleasing and interesting periods of Irish history. These venerable remains form a group of diversified appearance, and above them rises in isolated grandeur one of those ancient round towers, the origin of which has so much excited the researches of the antiquary. The approach to these interesting relics is across the mountain torrent of Glendhasane, which descends from the back of Comaderry, on the near side of which are the traces of a paved road, leading out by Wicklow Gap, in the direction of Hollywood, and called St. Kevin's Road; also of a small paved area, said to have been the marketplace of the ancient city. On the other side of the road is a gateway, the arches of which are still entire. The most conspicuous of these ruins is the ancient cathedral, of which the nave and choir were connected by a circular arch, which has fallen down; three narrow windows in the south wall of the nave, and the east window of the chancel, enriched with mouldings and allegorical sculpture on the inside, are still remaining; as is also the western doorway, which is formed of blocks of granite. Nearly adjacent are vestiges of a small building, probably the sacristy, around which are numerous crosses, mostly mutilated; one is formed of a single block of granite, 11 feet high and very neatly worked, which it is said stood on a base of masonry now visible in the marketplace. There are foundations of various extensive buildings, the arrangement and design of which it is now impossible to ascertain; and beyond these is a church, with a stone roof, of very remote antiquity, called St. Kevin's Kitchen, and by far the most perfect of all the churches of which there are any remains. The interior is 22 feet 9 inches long and 15 feet wide; the vaulting of the ceiling is circular, and the roof rises to a very high pitch in horizontal courses of mica slate; in the ceiling is an opening to a circular turret at the west end, with a conical roof, built in exact resemblance of the ancient round towers; the church is lighted by one narrow window only, and at the west end is a small chapel of more recent date, similarly lighted and having a roof of lower pitch; this building was used as a R. C. chapel within the last ten years. To the west of these remains, and on the same side of the vale, are the ruins now called the Church of our Lady, the architecture of which was evidently of more ornamental character; it is very small and thickly mantled with ivy, from which it is sometimes called the Ivy Church. On the south side of the valley, near the influx of the Glaneola brook into the upper lake, are the interesting remains of Rhefeart church, or "the sepulchre of kings," so called from its being the mausoleum of the O'Tooles; and on the south side of it is a monumental stone to one of those ancient kings, who was interred here in 1010; these remains are covered with ivy and deeply embosomed in groves of hazel and other trees, and within the cemetery are some fragments of ancient crosses. On a spot of ground projecting from the base of Lugduff into the upper lake, are the ruins of the church of Teampulnaskellig, "the temple of the desert or the rock," also called the priory of the rock and St. Kevin's cell. Lower in the valley are two other churches, both enclosed in grounds that have been greatly improved; the one on the north side is called Trinity Church, and that on the south side, the Abbey or Monastery Church, but by Archdall and Ledwich, the priory of St. Saviour. Trinity Church consists of a nave and chancel, separated by a fine arch, similar in design to that which forms the entrance to the city, and has some remains of a round tower. The abbey originally consisted of two parallel ranges of building, of a style far exceeding in elegance of design and in architectural embellishment any of the other buildings of this interesting valley; there are still some portions of a very fine arch, and numerous stones richly sculptured with allegorical devices, that have formed part of the eastern window, and other ornamental portions of the building. On the summit of the gentle eminence on which the cathedral stood, and within the limits of its cemetery, is an ancient round tower, 110 feet high, with a band round its summit, from which rose a roof of conical form; it is built of the mica slate with which this place abounds, and also of granite. The cemetery of the cathedral continued for many ages to be a favourite place of interment, and monumental stones are consequently very numerous; the tomb of St. Kevin is said to have been found in a small crypt, or oratory, near the Abbey or Monastery Church, some few years since; and various relics of antiquity are scattered throughout the valley. A range of stone crosses appears to have extended along a road across the valley, and there are numerous blocks of granite with circular basins formed in them, concerning which are various traditionary legends.
The inhabitants of the valley live chiefly in cottages dispersed along the southern side; and near Derrybawn bridge the streams from the lakes of Glendalough meet the Annamoe river, which thence takes the name of Avonmore. At the base of the mountain of that name is Derrybawn, the seat of W. Bookey, Esq., pleasantly situated in the midst of natural woods and thriving plantations. From this point the road to Rathdrum runs parallel with the Avonmore, through the richly wooded and picturesque vale of Clara; the military road from Dublin crosses the mountains into Glenrnalur. Near its junction with the road to Roundwood, and at the foot of Laragh hill, are the Laragh barracks, at present occupied only by a party of police, though constituting an important and formidable military station in case of need. A new road has been made leading up Glendhasane to Hollywood; and near it, at the back of Comaderry mountain, are the lead mines of Glendhasane, held under the Archbishop of Dublin by the Mining Company of Ireland. The vein of ore completely intersects the mountain, from the summit of which the view towards the east is peculiarly fine; the ore, when dressed, is conveyed to the smelting-houses of Ballycorus, in the county of Dublin, and the works employ on an average about 100 men. Lead ore is also supposed to exist in other parts, and in 1835 a search was made for it at the head of the lake in Glendalough. In the vicinity is a quarry of fine talc slate of excellent quality for making mantel-pieces. Between Comaderry and the mountain of Tonelagee, towards the north-east, and at the base of an impending precipice, is Lough Nahanaghan, about half a mile long and a quarter of a mile broad, abounding with excellent trout. In the vale of Glenmacanass, through which the military road passes, is an enormous basin formed by a curvature in the mountain's slope, down the perpendicular side of which descends a considerable stream, forming a cascade. The contiguous rocks present various interesting mineralogical specimens: and about half a mile farther is a small circular lake, called Lough Outer, overshadowed by the towering precipices of the mountain of Tonelagee, which rises to the height of 2696 feet above the level of the sea, and near which is a Danish rath. Near the village is a small rivulet, called St. Kevin's Keeve, the water of which is supposed to have peculiar efficacy in promoting the health of weakly children, who are immersed in the stream for that purpose; and on the lands of Derrybawn, on the opposite side of the river, and near St. Kevin's Kitchen, is St. Kevin's Well, which is much resorted to by the peasantry of the surrounding neighbourhood. St. Kevin's national school was built in 1832, at an expense of £140.
GLENDERMOT, or CLONDERMOT, a parish, in the barony of TIRKEERAN, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the town of Waterside, which is one of the suburbs of Londonderry, 10,338 inhabitants. This parish, which is separated from the city of Londonderry by the river Foyle, over which is a fine wooden bridge, 1068 feet long, comprises 22,495 acres, of which 987 are water. A religious house is said to have been founded here by St. Patrick, which was probably the church of Kil Ard, of which the foundations are still traceable. St. Columbkill founded a monastery here in 588, at the place which still bears his name; and Ailid O'Dermit founded a nunnery at Rossnagalliagh, in 879, of which some traces remain. The founder of the extensive building, of which the ruins are on Lough Enagh, is unknown; it probably belonged to the Knights Hospitallers, and was afterwards a chapel of ease to Clondermot, and as such was confirmed to the Dean of Derry in 1609, under the name of Annagh. In the Earl of Tyrone's rebellion the church of St. Columb and the parish church were destroyed; the former was not rebuilt, but some of its ruins are visible. The soil in the northern portion of the parish is rich and well cultivated, but there is a considerable quantity of moorland in the southern part. Quarries of slate and blue limestone exist. At Ardmore is a bleach-green, the first established in this part of the country, where 25,000 pieces of linen are finished annually; there is also one at the Oaks, and a large distillery at Waterside. The water for the supply of the city of Londonderry is obtained from an elevated spot near Prehen, and conveyed in cast-iron pipes over the bridge across the Foyle into the city. Besides that bridge, there is a handsome one over the Faughan, near Enagh; another on the Coleraine road, a little lower down, and a third at Drumahoe. The Bishop's, the Goldsmiths', and the Grocers' manors extend over parts of this parish, but no manorial courts are held. The principal seats are Prehen, the residence of Col. Knox; Beech Hill, of Conolly Skipton, Esq.; Ashbrook, of W. H. Ashe, Esq.; Ardmore, of J. A. Smith, Esq.; Larchmount, of C. McClelland, Esq.; Lisdillon, of W. J. Smith, Esq.; Berryburn, of Capt. Reynolds; Ardkill, of R. Stephenson, Esq.; Bellevue, of the Rev. J. D. Maughan; Bonds Hill, of J. Murray, Esq.; St. Columbs, of G. Hill, Esq.; Glendermot glebe, of the Rev. A. G. Cary; Caw, of A. Harvey, Esq.; Lower Caw, of J. Alexander, Esq.; and Coolkeragh, of R. Young, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Derry, and in the gift of the Dean of Derry; the rectory was united by patent in 1609, to Temple-more and Faughanvale, the three forming the union of Templemore and the corps of the deanery of Derry, which is in the patronage of the Crown; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners recommend the dissolution of the union. The tithes amount to £920. 11. 8., and the perpetual curate is paid by the dean. The church is a large handsome building, in the Grecian style, erected in 1753, and for the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £509. The glebe-house is situated on a glebe of 12 acres, purchased by the late Board of First Fruits in 1824, and is occupied by the perpetual curate. The rector's glebe comprises 407 acres, and the deanery lands in Clondermot consist of 1284 acres. In the R. C. divisions the parish is united to part of Lower Cumber; there is a small neat chapel at Curryneirin. At Altnagelirn are two meeting-houses for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, one of the first, the other of the third, class; and at Drumahoe is one connected with the Seceding Synod. There are parochial schools at Clondermot, on the glebe, and at the new church, aided by the dean; there are also schools at Salem, Ardmore, Lisdillon, and Drumahoe; the Grocers' Company have built and maintain a school at Gortnessey; a school at Prehen is supported by Col. Knox and the perpetual curate; there is a national school at Curryneirin, and female work schools at Ardmore and Bellevue; also four Sunday schools. Col. Mitchelburne, who was a native of this place, and many of the other defenders of Londonderry, are interred in the burial-ground of Clondermot, in which are considerable remains of the old church.
GLENFIN.--See KILTEEVOCK.
GLENFLESK.--See KILLAHA.
GLENGARIFF.--See KILMOCOMOGUE.
GLENLOUGH, or GLENCAR, an ecclesiastical district, in the barony of ROSSCLOGHER, county of LEITRIM, and province of CONNAUGHT; containing 1524 inhabitants. It was constituted in 1810, by separating 28 townlands from the parish of Killasnet, and comprises 3612 statute acres, chiefly under pasture. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Kilmore, and in the patronage of the Incumbent of Killasnet: the income of the perpetual curate is £69. 5., of which £46. 3. is paid by the vicar of Killasnet, and £23. 2. from the augmentation funds at the disposal of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The church is a plain neat building, erected in 1821., at an expense of £553. 16. 11., being a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the district of Killasnet, and contains a chapel.
GLENOGRA, a parish, in the barony of SMALL COUNTY, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N. W.) from Bruff, on the road to Croom; containing 1278 inhabitants. The parish comprises 4237 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, about a fourth of which, though very productive, is under an unimproved system of tillage; the remainder consists principally of dairy farms. There is a patent for fairs to be held on May 11th, and Oct. 28th. The seats of Cahir Guillamore and Rockbarton form the most interesting features in the parish; the former, standing in the midst of an extensive, fertile, and well planted demesne, is the residence of the Hon. Lieut.-Col. O'Grady; and the latter is the splendid residence of his father, Viscount Guillamore, who, having for several years presided as Chief Baron of the Exchequer, was raised to the peerage in 1831, by the titles of Baron O'Grady, of Rockbarton, and Viscount Guillamore, of Cahir Guillamore. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Limerick, forming part of the union of Fedamore; the rectory is appropriate to the vicars choral of Christ-Church cathedral, Dublin. The tithes amount to £285, of which the vicar has one-third, and two-thirds are paid to the lessee of the vicars choral. Five small glebes belong to this parish, comprising together 29 1/2 acres: they were originally the endowments of chantries connected with the abbey church founded here by the De Lacys, which at the Reformation contained nine amply endowed chantries, and was governed by a prior. Four of the chantries can still be traced in the ruins of the church, which was a large cruciform building, and contained tombs of the De Lacys, Roches, Bourkes, O'Gradys, and Fitzgeralds. In the R. C. divisions the parish is included partly in the district of Drenin, but chiefly in that of Bruff, and has a small chapel at Meanus. On the banks of the Commogue, and near the site of the abbey, are the ruins of the castle of Glenogra. It is supposed to have been built in the 13th century by the Fitzharrises, or the De Lacys, and subsequently belonged to the Earl of Desmond, who was unsuccessfully besieged in it by Lord Thurles, in 1536; the latter, however, captured the castle of Lough Gur, commanded by the Earl's brother, which he repaired and garrisoned. Glenogra castle was a large pile of building, and some of its walls, cellars, and underground stairs are still moderately perfect. In the demesne of Cahir are traces of some buildings which are supposed to be the ruins of an ancient city, and in their vicinity are remains of druidical structures.
GLENROE.--See DARAGH.
GLENVILLE, a village, in the parish of ARDNAGEEHY, barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER; the population is returned with the parish. This village, which is situated on a hill, and is remarkable , for the neatness of the houses, contains the parish church, R. C. chapel, the parochial schools, a constabulary police station, and a dispensary.
GLENWHIRRY, an extra-parochial district, in the barony of LOWER ANTRIM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (W. by S.) from Larne, on the road to Broughshane; containing 1358 inhabitants. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 11,368 1/4 statute acres. There is a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class. About 80 children are educated in two private schools, and there is a Sunday school.
GLIN, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the Shanid Division of the barony of LOWER CONNELLO, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 12 miles (W.) from Askeaton, and 117 (S. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road from Askeaton to Tarbert; containing 4790 inhabitants, of which number, 1030 are in the town. This place, with the adjacent territory, was granted by Hen. II. to John Fitz-Thomas Fitz-Gerald, lord of Decies and Desmond, whose descendants, the Earls of Desmond, were by succeeding kings of England created princes palatine in Ireland, with the power of making tenures in capite and creating barons (by which authority they created the Knight of Glin and others) and were entitled to royal services and escheats. The manor, with all its honours and privileges, though forfeited for a short time in the 18th of Hen. VIII., and also in the 11th of Elizabeth, was restored in 1603, and has since descended through an uninterrupted succession in the male line, for more than 600 years, to John Fraunceis Fitzgerald, the 19th Knight of Glin, its present proprietor. During the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond in the reign of Elizabeth, the castle was besieged by Sir George Carew, Lord-President of Munster, assisted by the Earl of Thomond, and after two days' resolute defence by the Knight, of Glin, was taken by the English. The besiegers having obtained possession of the lower part, ascended to the battlements, where the remnant of the garrison, about 80 in number, made their last desperate stand. A sanguinary conflict took place on the staircase, every step of which was fiercely contested; but the English were successful, and the Knight and his gallant band were either put to the sword, or leaped into the river and were drowned. The town, which owes much of its improvement to its present proprietor, is beautifully situated on the southern bank of the river Shannon, which is here nearly three miles in breadth; and contains about 280 houses, several of which are well built and of handsome appearance. Among the more recent improvements is a handsome terrace, built by John Hamilton, Esq., and commanding some fine views over the Shannon, which abounds with beautiful and interesting scenery; a new line of road from Askeaton to Tarbert, completed at a very great expense; and a road through the mountains to Abbeyfeale, a distance of 12 miles, which was opened in 1836. In summer the town is much resorted to for the benefit of pure air and the advantages of sea-bathing, and is admirably situated for carrying on a very extensive trade, the river affording great facilities of intercourse, and secure anchorage for vessels of any burden. The surrounding scenery is richly diversified, embracing a fine view of the opposite coast of Clare, the island of Scattery, and the fertile promontory of Tarbert, with its lofty and handsome lighthouse. This place is the great depot of the salmon fishery of the Shannon and its tributary rivers, of which large quantities are annually shipped for England; oysters of very superior flavour and other fish are also taken in abundance. The manufacture of linen and cotton checks is carried on to some extent, and there is a considerable trade in corn and butter, which are shipped to Cork and Limerick. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are held on June 8th, the first Wednesday in Sept. (O. S.), and Dec. 3rd, for cattle and pigs. A constabulary police force is stationed here; a manorial court is held every third week, for the recovery of debts to any amount, with extensive jurisdiction; and petty sessions are held every alternate Saturday. There is a substantial bridewell, containing six cells, two day-rooms, and two spacious airing-yards.
The parish, also called Kilfergus, comprises 14,637 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which about one-third is under tillage, one-third mountain and bog, and the remainder pasture and demesne land. The land around the town is very fertile, and in several parts of the mountains, which everywhere afford good pasturage for young cattle, very good crops of wheat are raised. There are several large dairy farms; a large butter market is held in the town, and great quantities of butter are made here and sent to Limerick and Cork for exportation. The system of agriculture is rapidly improving; an abundance of shell manure of excellent quality is either raised in the Shannon or brought from the opposite coast; and limestone is sometimes brought from Foynes island and burnt for manure. There are some quarries of hard compact clay-slate, used for building; and flag-stones of superior quality and of very large size are found in several parts of the parish. The mountains are of silicious grit and indurated black clay, in which are several strata of coal: of these, only the upper stratum has been worked, and in a very inefficient manner; the only workings now in progress are at Cloghgough. Ironstone of very good quality is also plentiful, but has hitherto been applied solely to the making of roads. The principal seats are Glin Castle, the spacious and elegant mansion of the Knight of Glin, finely situated in a richly planted and highly embellished demesne; Westwood, of Lieut. Hyde, R. N.; Shannon View, of the Rev. R. Fitzgerald; Shannon Lawn, of D. Harnett, Esq.; Fort Shannon, of J. Evans, Esq.; Ballydonohoe, of T. Fitzgerald, Esq.; Eastwood of the Rev.E. Ashe; Cahara Lodge, of Mrs. Johnston; Villa, of J. Hamilton, Esq.; Glin Lodge, of Mrs. Standish; Clare View, of the Rev. R. Fitzgerald; Gardenville, of Miss Sargent: and Cahara House, of R. Q,. Sleeman, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Limerick, and in the patronage of the Vicars Choral of the cathedral of Limerick, to whom the rectory is appropriate; the tithes amount to £337. 10., of which £225 is payable to the appropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. There is neither glebe-house nor glebe. The church, a very neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, was erected on an eminence close to the town, in 1815, by a gift of £600 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Loughill; the chapel, near the church, is a large plain building, and there is a chapel at Loughill. About 70 children are taught in a school to which the R. C. clergyman annually contributes; and there are six private schools, in which are about 250 children; a Sunday school, and a dispensary. About half a mile to the east of the town are the ruins of the ancient church of Kilfergus, or Glin, situated within the parish of Loughill, to which that and the adjoining townland continue to pay tithes; within the ruined walls is the family vault of the Knights of Glin. The old castle, with the exception of the roof, is still nearly entire; it consists of a massive square tower on a rock, in the bed of a small river, close to its junction with the Shannon. Near it is an ancient bridge, where was the only pass over the river, which the castle was most probably built to protect. There are numerous ancient forts in various parts of the parish, five of which are within the demesne of Castle Glin; and at Flean, in the mountains, are the remains of a very ancient church, of which the history is unknown.
GLYNN, a parish, in the barony of LOWER BELFAST, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 1 1/2 mile (S.) from Larne; containing 1668 inhabitants, of which number, 379 are in the village. This parish, anciently called Glinus, and also Gleno or Glenco, is beautifully situated in a pleasant glen, through which a mountain stream takes its course into Lough Larne, which forms the entire eastern boundary of the parish; and also on the royal military coast road. The harbour of Larne is very capacious, and may be entered at all times of the tide. In 1597, Sorley Mac Donnel, having assaulted the garrison of Carrickfergus and taken the governor, Sir John Chichester, prisoner, brought him to this place, and beheaded him on a stone that had formed the plinth of an ancient cross, and which then pointed out the boundary of North Clandeboy. The parish comprises 4484 1/2 statute acres, which are generally in a state of high cultivation; the system of agriculture is greatly improved, and there is neither bog nor waste land. Here are some very extensive lime-works, called the Maghramorne Lime Works, the property of John Irving, Esq., from which large quantities of lime are exported to Scotland and the northern parts of England. These are the largest lime-works in the united kingdom: in 1836, there were 459 vessels, of the aggregate burden of 18,040 tons, exclusively employed in the trade; the average export is 16,228 tons, and the demand is annually increasing; the sum paid weekly for labour amounts to £1804. On a chymical analysis by Dr. Thomson, of Glasgow, the stone is found to contain 99 per cent, of pure lime, and it has been ascertained by experience that, whether employed as a manure or a cement for building, it will go twice as far as lime of the ordinary quality. Rail and tram roads have been laid down, which greatly facilitate the operations; there are also convenient wharfs, so that any quantity of the article can be furnished without delay or detention of the shipping. The principal seats are Maghramorne House, a modern mansion, beautifully situated on the bay of Larne, the residence of Mr. Irving, who is also the chief proprietor of the lands in the barony; Glynn House, that of Randall W. Johnston, Esq.; and the Cottage, of Miss McClaverty. The village is pleasantly situated and contains 75 houses neatly built. One of the first bleach-greens established in Ireland was at this place; it was subsequently the site of a cotton-mill, and in 1830 the machinery was applied to the spinning of fine linen yarn, in which about 120 persons are at present employed. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Donegal, in whom the rectory is impropriate: the vicarial tithes amount to £52. There is no glebe-house or glebe, and the church is a picturesque ruin; the Protestant parishioners attend the different places of worship in Larne. About 35 children are taught in the parochial school, for which a house was built by R. W. Johnston, Esq.; and there are two private schools, in which are about 100 children. A nunnery was founded here at a very remote period, of which St. Darerca, sister of St. Patrick, was abbess; it was called Linn, and is supposed to have been situated at Glynn, near Larne, where some traces of a chapel still exist; the site, with all its possessions, was granted by Jas. I. to Sir Arthur Chichester, by the designation of the "Chapel of Glynn." Here is a powerful vitriolic spring, in which the star stone is found in great perfection.
GLYNN, county of WEXFORD.--See KILLURIN.
GOLDEN, a village and post-town, in the parish of RELICKMURRY, barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 3 1/2 miles (W.) from Cashel (to which it has a sub-post-office), and 82 (S.) from Dublin, on the road from Cashel to Tipperary; containing 114 houses and 648 inhabitants. It is a neat and improving village, situated in what is called "the Golden Vale," and is divided into two parts by the river Suir, over which is a stone bridge, on which King William signed the charter of Cashel; and near it is an old circular stone tower. Here are flour and oatmeal-mills, and a constabulary police station; fairs are held on May 18th, Aug. 26th, Oct. 26th, and Dec. 15th, and petty sessions once a fortnight. The parochial church was erected here in 1808, and a tower was added by aid of a loan of £700 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1812. There is also a large R. C. chapel.-- See RELICKMURRY.
GOLDENBRIDGE, a village, in the parish of ST. JAMES, barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (W.) from Dublin, on the road to Naas: the population is included in the return for the parish. The Grand Canal passes close to the village, in which are paper, flour, and pearl barley mills. Near it, in an elevated and healthy situation, are the Richmond Infantry Barracks, consisting of two fronts with extensive courts open to the north and south; these are connected by a row of light and elegant houses, 300 yards in length. On the east and west fronts are two spacious areas, and in the centre a communication through a large portal surmounted by a cupola and spire. They occupy 14 Irish acres, and afford accommodation for 76 officers and 1600 privates; there is also stabling for 25 horses, and an hospital for 100 patients. A school-house was erected here in 1827 by subscription, aided by a grant of £250 from Government, which is used on Sundays as a chapel for the troops and the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Near it is a Wesleyan Methodist meeting-house, and an infants' school was erected by subscription in 1835. Here is a cemetery, principally for Roman Catholics, which was purchased and enclosed by the late Catholic Association, at a cost of £1000; the first stone was laid in 1829. It contains about two Irish acres tastefully laid out, with an Ionic temple in the centre, in which the burial service may be performed for persons of every denomination. In two years from the time of its being opened it was nearly filled, about 12,000 persons having been interred within that period, and several handsome monuments erected. Waterloo Spa is in this village: the waters consist principally of sulphuretted hydrogen gas united with carbonic acid and magnesia, and are said to be beneficial in bilious and liver complaints, scrofula, and several other diseases.
GOOGANE-BARRA.--See INCHEGEELA.
GORESBRIDGE, a post-town, in the parish of GRANGE-SILVAE, barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (E.) from Gowran, and 52 (S. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Kilkenny to Enniscorthy; containing 634 inhabitants. This town takes its name from the family of its former chief proprietor, Col. Gore, and from the bridge over the Barrow, which here connects the counties of Kilkenny and Carlow. A patent for a market is extant, but none is held. It is a constabulary and a revenue police station, and has petty sessions every fortnight, and fairs on the 18th of January and December. The cattle fairs for Barrowmount are also held here on April 13th, June 15th, Aug. 1st, and Oct. 15th. A handsome church was erected in 1811, and here is a large R. C. chapel.--See GRANGE-SILVAE.
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The inhabitants were incorporated by Jas. I., in the 17th of his reign, under the designation of the "Sovereign, burgesses, and free commons of the borough and town of Newborough;" they also received a new charter from Jas. II., which never came into operation. The corporation, under the former, consists of a sovereign, 12 burgesses, and an unlimited number of free commoners, assisted by a recorder, a town-clerk, and other officers. The sovereign, who is also coroner and clerk of the market, is elected by the burgesses; he is, with his predecessor, justice of the peace, and may appoint a deputy. The burgesses, as vacancies occur, are chosen by the sovereign and burgesses from the free commoners, and these are admitted by the sovereign and burgesses; the recorder, who is also town-clerk, is appointed by the corporation. The borough returned members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when it was disfranchised, and the sum of £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to Stephen Ram, Esq. The corporation was empowered to levy tolls, and to hold courts for the recovery of debts to the amount of £20 late currency; but neither of these privileges is now exercised. Epiphany and Midsummer quarter sessions for the county are held here, and petty sessions on alternate Fridays, which latter are said to have been the first of that kind regularly held in Ireland. The court-house, a neat and appropriate building, was erected in 1819, at the expense of the county, on a site given by the late Stephen Ram, Esq. A chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town.
The parish, called also Christ-Church-Newborough, or Kilmichaelogue, comprises 5052 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the soil is good, and the system of agriculture improving; much benefit has been derived from the introduction of a better system of draining, and other improvements, under the auspices of the Agricultural Association. Great quantities of poultry are reared in the parish and neighbourhood, and bought by dealers for the Dublin market; the butter also is in very high repute, and forms a material article in the exports from Enniscorthy The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Ferns, united from time immemorial to the rectories of Kilnehue, Kilkevan, and Maglass, together constituting the corps of the deanery of Ferns, in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes amount to £234. 3., and of the whole benefice to £1254. 12. 1 1/2. The glebe-house is a neat building, and the glebe comprises 16 acres; there is also a glebe of 24 1/2 acres in Kilkevan, and another of 6 acres in Kilnehue, which last has been allotted to the perpetual curate. The church, a spacious structure, in which the Norman and English styles are blended, was erected in 1819, on a site in the principal street given by the late Stephen Ram, Esq., and at an expense of £2200, of which £200 was a gift from Mr. Ram, and £2000 a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Kilkevan and Killinor, and part of Kilnehue; the chapel is a spacious edifice at the eastern extremity of the town; there are chapels also at Killanearin in Kilkevan, and at Ballyfad in Killinor. A meeting-house for Wesleyan Methodists, a neat building, has been lately erected in the town. About 90 children are taught in two public schools, of which the parochial school is partly supported by Stephen Ram, Esq., and another by the Rev. A. J. Ram; and there are five private schools, in which are about 250 children, and a Sunday school. A fever hospital and dispensary were established in 1828; the building, which is just without the town, is of an octagonal form, and comprises four wards, capable of containing 16 beds. A charitable loan fund was formed in 1833, for lending to poor tradesmen sums not exceeding £5, to be repaid by weekly instalments of one shilling in the pound: the issues of the loans average upwards of £130 weekly. The late Hon. and Rt. Rev. Thos. Stopford, D. D., successively Dean of Ferns and Bishop of Cork, bequeathed £200; and the late Joseph Allen, Esq., also left £200, the interest to be annually divided among poor Protestants attending the Established Church. At Clonatin are the ruins of a small ecclesiastical structure, in the Norman style of architecture, supposed to have been a cell to the abbey of Ferns, founded by St. Edan; and it is supposed that the name of the place may be a modification of Cluain-Edan, signifying "the retreat or cell of Edan." Dr. Thomas Ram, Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, was interred in the cemetery of the old church of Gorey, where is an altar-tomb to his memory, with a very curious inscription written by himself.
GORT, a market and post-town, partly in the parishes of KILTARTAN and BEAGH, but chiefly in that of KILMACDUAGH, barony of KILTARTAN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 17 miles (S. S. E.) from Galway, and 98 1/2 (W. by S.) from Dublin, on the road from Galway to Ennis; containing 3627 inhabitants. This town consists of 563 houses, most of which are neat stone buildings, three or four stories high, held under perpetual leases from Viscount Gort. It is built on an eminence on the main road from Connaught to Munster, with a large square in the centre, and is in a very healthy situation on the bank of a river, which works a very large flour-mill built in 1806, and enlarged in 1836, the property of J. Mangan, Esq., in which 7000 barrels of flour may be annually made. There is a market on Saturday, for agricultural produce, at which much business is transacted; and fairs for cattle and sheep are held on May 10th, Aug. 11th, and Nov. 7th; there is also a very large pig fair on March 17th and on the Saturday preceding Easter-Sunday. The roads in the vicinity are kept in excellent order. Two mail coaches come into the town; one from Dublin, which arrives at 10 A. M. and returns at 4 P. M.; the other passes through daily from Galway to Limerick, and from Limerick to Galway. Here are an hotel, a revenue police and a chief constabulary police station, which has dependent stations at Ardrahan, Ballytiven, Granagh, Maryville, Noggira, Normongrove, Tubber, Tiernevan, and Killafin. Petty sessions are held every Saturday, and the October quarter sessions for the county are held in the court-house, which was erected in the square in 1815, and comprises a court-hall, grand and petty jury rooms, and keepers' rooms. Here is also a bridewell, built in 1814, and containing two cells, a magistrates' room, and keepers' apartments; but being now too small, is about to be rebuilt. Barracks have existed at Gort for a very long period, and £7000 have been lately expended in building houses for officers and store-rooms; they will now accommodate 8 officers, 88 men, and 116 horses. The church, which is the parish church of Kilmacduagh, was erected in 1810, by a loan of £1400 from the late Board of First Fruits, on land given by the first Lord Gort. It is an elegant cruciform building with a conical spire, and was repaired by a loan of £600 from the same Board, in 1828: the interior is handsomely fitted up with galleries and pews. A new street will be opened from Bridge-street to the church, from which a fine view of it will be obtained. The R. C. chapel was built in 1825, on a site given by Lord Gort, and at an expense of £1300, defrayed by subscription: it is a substantial cruciform building, and contains a fine paintng of the Holy Trinity, presented by Lord Gort. The infirmary, which has been recently built, contains two wards, a keeper's room, and a surgery.
The scenery in the vicinity of the town is very beautiful, comprising on the west the Burren mountains in the county of Clare, and on the east the Derrybrien, Castle Daly, and Roxborough mountains. The chief seat is Loughcooter Castle, the residence of Viscount Gort, proprietor of the town, from which he takes his title. It is a noble castellated building, erected at an immense expense, in a well-planted demesne abounding with game, by the present peer, from designs by Mr. Nash, and commanding very fine woodland, lake, and mountain views. In front of the castle is Lough Cooter, a beautiful lake three miles long, containing seven well-wooded islands, and abundance of pike, trout, perch, and eels. Besides this magnificent residence, there are many other seats near the town, which are enumerated in the articles on the surrounding parishes. In its vicinity is a river that has a subterraneous course for a considerable distance: it rises in Lough Cooter, passes through a deep ravine till it reaches "the Ladle," a precipitous hollow clothed to the water's edge with large trees, where it sinks under a perpendicular rock. About 100 yards from this spot it re-appears in "the Punch-bowl," a circular basin about thirty yards in diameter and at least fifty deep: a pathway leads down the sides of this pit, which are very steep and clothed with trees. After flowing about 300 yards from the Punch-bowl it emerges, takes the name of the Black-water, and after running rapidly for a short distance again disappears. At the "Beggarman's Hole," a smaller circular basin than the Punch-bowl, it is again visible, and soon afterwards enters the "Churn," which is like an extremely deep well, ten feet in diameter. A quarter of a mile from the Churn it re-appears from under a beautiful arch formed by nature in the rock, passes through the town, and about a mile from it sinks again, and after alternately appearing and disappearing, once more flows by a subterraneous channel into the bay of Kinvarra.
GORTIN, a village, in the parish of LOWER BADONY, barony of STRABANE, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (E.) from Newtown-Stewart, on the road to Cookstown; containing 441 inhabitants. This place is situated in a deep valley watered by the river Nagle, and in the district of the Mounterloney mountains, of which it may be considered the chief town. It consists of one irregular street, containing 82 houses indifferently built; the surrounding scenery, though boldly picturesque, is destitute of embellishment from the want of wood, which is found only in the demesne of Beltrim, the handsome residence of A. W. C. Hamilton, Esq., which is surrounded by young and thriving plantations. There is a small distillery in the village; and fairs are held on the first Wednesday in every month, for cattle, sheep, and pigs, and a pleasure fair on Easter-Monday. It has a penny post to Omagh, and is a constabulary police station; a court baron for the manor of Eliston, in which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable, is held here on the first Tuesday in every month; and petty sessions every second Friday. The parish church, a neat small edifice, is situated here, also the parochial school, and a dispensary.
GORTROE, a parish, in the barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2 1/4 miles (S. by E.) from Rathcormac, on the road to Midleton; containing, with the parish of Desert, 2856 inhabitants; and comprising 8885 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £6046 per annum: about 1500 acres are bog and mountain waste, the remainder arable and pasture; the soil is in general poor. The principal seats are Ballinterry, the residence of the Rev. Archdeacon, Ryder; and Holly Hill, of S. Croker, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, united from an early period to the rectory and vicarage of Desert, forming the corps of the archdeaconry of Cloyne, in the gift of the bishop: the tithes of the united parishes amount to £415. 7. 8. There is neither glebe-house nor glebe. The church was built in 1826. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Rathcormac, and contains a chapel. There is a parochial school of about 20 children, to which the rector contributes £5 annually, and a private school of about 60 children.
GOWRAN, an incorporated post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough) and a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (E.) from Kilkenny, and 52 (S. W. by S.) from Dublin, on the road to Waterford; containing 2783 inhabitants. This place, though now comparatively insignificant, was formerly of considerable importance. In the 14th century a strong castle was built here by James, third Earl of Ormonde, who made it his principal residence till 1391, when he purchased the castle of Kilkenny. In 1399, Teigue O'Carrol, dynast of Ely, when in arms against the royal forces under the Lord-Deputy Scrope, was taken prisoner and confined in the castle of this place, from which in the following year he made his escape. Hen. V., in the second year of his reign, by charter alleging that "the town of Ballygaueran was situated far from the aid of the English, and surrounded by Irish enemies who had lately burnt it," granted the inhabitants certain customs for murage and pavage for 40 years, to enable them to build walls for its protection. The castle was subsequently repaired by Margaret, the celebrated Countess of Ormonde; and Edw. VI. granted the portreeve, burgesses, and commons an exemption from county cess, which was confirmed by Elizabeth in . 1566. Jas. I., in the sixth year of his reign, made the town a parliamentary borough, and incorporated the inhabitants under the designation of the "Portreeve, Chief Burgesses, and Freemen of the Town and Borough of Gowran," by charter setting forth that the inhabitants had always been loyal, but were then greatly reduced by the war and the late plague. In 1650, the castle was besieged by the forces of Cromwell under Sankey and Hewson, to whom, after an obstinate defence by Col. Hammond, it ultimately surrendered, when the commander and the garrison were inhumanly massacred and the castle destroyed by fire. The united forces of Cromwell and Ireton soon after assembled here, where they were joined by those of Hewson, on their march to besiege Kilkenny. The town, which is the joint property of Viscount Clifden and W. Bayly, Esq., contains 193 houses, many of which have been recently rebuilt, and other improvements have also taken place. There is a flour-mill; a constabulary police force has been established here; and fairs are held on March 8th, May 9th, Aug. 10th, Oct. 6th, and Dec. 8th, but the market has been discontinued. By the charter of Jas. I. the corporation consists of a portreeve, 12 chief burgesses, and an indefinite number of freemen, assisted by a recorder, town-clerk, a serjeant-at-mace, and other officers. The portreeve, who is also coroner, clerk of the market, and master of the assay, is chosen annually from the chief burgesses, and may appoint a deputy, who with himself is justice of the peace and of the quorum. The chief burgesses, as vacancies occur, are chosen from the freemen by the portreeve and a majority of their own body, by whom also all the officers of the corporation are chosen during pleasure, and the freemen admitted. The borough continued to send two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when it was disfranchised, and the £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to Henry Welbore, Viscount Clifden. The corporation has power to hold a court of record, with jurisdiction extending to debts of £6. 13. 4., but no court has been held for many years; and since the Union, although a portreeve is still elected and other officers appointed, the corporation has been little more than nominal. Petty sessions are held every alternate week, and the chartered fairs are held, but the market is discontinued.
The parish comprises 7682 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £7417 per ann.; the land is chiefly under tillage, and the system of agriculture improving. Limestone is plentiful and is quarried for building and for agricultural uses. Adjoining the town is Gowran House, the seat of Viscount Clifden, finely situated in a richly wooded demesne, with a deer-park attached. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, and in the patronage of Viscount Clifden: the tithes amount to £507. 13. 10 1/4. The glebe-house, a new and handsome residence, was built by the present incumbent under the provisions of Primate Robinson's act; the glebe comprises 10 acres. The church, for the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £130, is part of a very ancient cruciform structure, which was restored and fitted up for divine service in 1826; the remainder, which is still a ruin, has some very interesting details in the early English style, among which are a finely pointed arch of black marble leading into the chancel; a series of similar arches supported by circular and octagonal columns; some windows of elegant design, delicately ornamented in quatrefoil, and several interior chapels; the doorways and the baptismal font are of black marble curiously sculptured; there are several ancient monuments, three of which are traditionally ascribed to the Earl of Gowran and his two sons: the founder of the castle was interred here, as were also Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, and his eldest son, James, first Earl of Ormonde; there is also a monument with a bust of James Agar, Viscount Clifden, who died in 1789. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Dungarvan, Blanchfieldskill, Dunbell, Blackrath, Templemartin, Clara, and Tascoffin: the chapel is a neat modern edifice, to which a school-room for 300 children is now being added; and there are three other chapels situated respectively at Pitts, Dungarvan, and Freneystown. About 30 children are taught in the parochial school, supported by the rector; a female school is supported by Lady Dover; there is an infants' school, and also six private schools, in which are about 320 children. An alms-house was founded by Miss Diana Agar, for four poor women, who have each £5 per annum; and there is a dispensary. Gowran formerly gave the title of Baron to the family of Fitzpatrick, Earls of Upper Ossory.
GRACEHILL.--See BALLYKENNEDY.
GRAIG, or GRAIGNAMANAGH, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (S.) from Goresbridge (to which it has a sub-post-office), and 58 (S. S. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Carlow to New Ross; containing 4745 inhabitants, of which number, 2130 are in the town. William Marshal, the elder, Earl of Pembroke, founded an abbey here for Cistertian monks in 1212, the abbot of which was a lord of parliament until the Reformation, when it was granted to Sir E. Butler, and is now the property of Viscount Clifden: there are considerable remains of the building. The town contains 417 houses, and is improving in appearance; it has a handsome bridge over the Barrow, on which river it has between 40 and 50 boats of about 40 tons' burden each. Markets are held on Monday and Thursday in a market-house built by Lord Clifden; and fairs on Jan. 27th, March 4th, April 7th, May 11th, June 11th, Oct. 28th, and Nov. 26th. In or near the town are a brewery and malthouse, and a flour and three grist-mills. Petty sessions and a manorial court are held occasionally, and it is a constabulary police station, and has a dispensary. The parish comprises 11,879 statute acres: there is a considerable quantity of mountain land, including Brandon Hill, and Lord Clifden has planted 300 or 400 acres. Brandon dale, the residence of D. Burtchaell, Esq., commands fine views of the river Barrow and the Blackstairs mountains. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £440. The church is a plain edifice. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish, Ullard, and Powerstown, and has two chapels, of which that at Graig is a very commodious building. There are two national schools, in which about 500 children are educated. Towards the erection of one of these Lord Clifden gave £50 and subscribes £10. 10. annually for its support, and it is further aided by an annual donation from D. Burtchaell, Esq. There are some remains of a castle near the river.
GRAIGUE, a suburb of the town of CARLOW, in the parish of KILLESHIN, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER; containing 1976 inhabitants. It is situated on the right bank of the river Barrow, over which there is a bridge into the town of Carlow, but is entirely exempt from the jurisdiction of the sovereign of that borough, although included within its limits for electoral purposes by the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William IV., cap. 89. It comprises 114 acres, and includes 234 houses, a large flour-mill, two tanyards, and a distillery which manufactures more than 36,000 gallons of whiskey annually. It is a constabulary police station, and has fairs on Jan. 6th, Feb. 18th, April 1st, and Oct. 6th. The parochial church (a handsome new building with a curious arched roof of stone), the R. C. chapel, and the parochial and national schools, are in the village; near which about 600 of the men who were killed in the attack upon Carlow, in 1798, were buried.--See KILLESHIN.
GRALLAGH, a parish, in the barony of BALROTHERY, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 12 miles (N.) from Dublin; containing 236 inhabitants. The only seat is Tralee Lodge, the residence of R. Hy-land, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Hollywood: the rectory is impropriate in W. Dutton Pollard, Esq.; the tithes are included in the composition for Hollywood. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Naul or Damestown. There are some remains of the church and in the churchyard is a holy well.
GRANAGH.--See GRENAUGH.
GRANARD, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), and a parish, partly in the barony of ARDAGH, but chiefly in that of GRANARD, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 12 miles (N. E. by E.) from Longford, and 59 (W. N. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Edgeworthstown to Virginia; containing 10,315 inhabitants. This place, of which the name is a compound of the Irish words Grian, the "sun," and Ard, an "eminence," is supposed to have been at a remote period one of the stations appropriated to the celebration of idolatrous worship. In 1315 it was burned by the Scots under Edward Brace, and appears to have first risen to importance as a town in the reign of Jas. I., who, in 1612, granted to Sir Francis Shaen some annual fairs, to which were added a grant of a market to Sir Francis Aungier, and also of a second market in 1619. A charter of Chas. II. to the Earl of Longford in 1678, erecting the lands of Ballynelack and Longford into manors, granted that, for the better plantation, the freeholders of the market-town of Granard, which was also the property of his lordship, should have the privilege of returning two members to the Irish parliament, which they continued to do until the Union, when the £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to G. Fulk Littleton and W. Fulk Greville, Esqrs. The town consists chiefly of one regular street, about half a mile in length, and contains 458 houses, of which several are well built and of handsome appearance. It was formerly celebrated for an institution established in 1784, by Mr. Dungan, a native of the place, for awarding annual prizes to the best performers on the Irish harp. Near one extremity of the principal street is an artificial mount, called the Moat of Granard, commanding from its summit a view into several counties; the surrounding scenery is finely diversified. The market, in which corn, provisions, and coarse linens are sold, is on Monday; and fairs are held on May 3rd, and Oct. 1st. Petty sessions are held every Thursday, and a chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town. The market-house, over which is a court-room, is a large building in the centre of the town.
The parish comprises 15,756 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is chiefly under tillage, the system of agriculture improving, there are some small tracts of bog, and limestone of the best description is quarried for agricultural uses. In the neighbourhood are several lakes, of which the principal are Lough Gawnagh, Lough Sheelin, and Lough Kenale, all embellished with pleasing and picturesque features. Lough Gawnagh is more than 10 miles in length and from 2 to 3 miles broad; its shores, which are abruptly steep, are richly wooded. On an island called Inchmory are the remains of an abbey, founded by St. Columb, to which a cemetery is attached; there is also another island, which, from specimens of jasper having been found in it, has obtained the name of Jasper Island. This lake is also called Erne Head Lake, being regarded as the source of Lough Erne, into which it discharges its superfluous waters. Finely situated on its shores are Erne Head, the handsome seat of J. Dopping, Esq.; Woodville, of R. Lambert, Esq., a pleasing residence commanding rich and extensive views; Frankfort, of E. McEvoy, Esq.; and Kilrea, of H. Dopping, Esq. There are also in the parish, Clonfin, the handsome residence of J. Thompson, Esq., pleasantly situated in a well-cultivated demesne; Mossvale, of J. Barton, Esq.; Cartron Card, of J. W. Bond, Esq.; Moorhill, of R. Blackall, Esq.; Bessville, of C. Helden, Esq.; Castle Nugent, of W. Webb, Esq.; Furry Park, of R. R. McCally, Esq.; Creevy House, of A. Bell, Esq.; and Higginstown, of F. Tuite, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardagh, episcopally united to the vicarages of Drumloman, Cullumkill, Ballymacue, and Scrabby, and in the patronage of the Impropriator. The rectory is impropriate in W. Fulk Greville, Esq.: the tithes amount to £890, of which £400 is payable to the impropriator and £490 to the vicar; and those of the whole benefice, including glebe, to £1647. 10. 9. The glebe-house was built in 1825, by a gift of £100 and a loan of £900 from the late Board of First Fruits. Attached to it is a glebe of four acres, and there are also, in this parish, a glebe of 25 acres, valued together at £56 per annum; in the parish of Ballymacue, a glebe of 11 acres, valued at £20. 13. per annum; and in the parish of Drumloman, a glebe of 150 acres valued at £234. 0. 8. per annum. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners recommend that the union be dissolved on the next avoidance, and that each parish become a separate benefice. The church is a plain ancient structure. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church; there are two chapels, one in the town and one at Granard kill. About 130 children are taught in four public schools, of which the parochial school is supported by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity and a donation from the vicar; and there are 15 private schools, in which are about 930 children, and a dispensary. At Granard kill are the remains of the ancient town.
GRANEY, a parish, in the barony of KILKEA and MOONE, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (E. by S.) from Castledermot, on the road from Baltinglass to Carlow; containing 1135 inhabitants. A nunnery was founded here in the year 1200 by Walter de Riddlesford, which with the manor was granted by Hen. VIII. to Sir A. St. Leger, the principal seat of whose descendants was for a long period at Grangemellon, now the property of the Rev. Sir Erasmus Burrowes, Bart., near which are the gateway and some other remains of the nunnery. It comprises 4974 statute acres, as applotted tinder the tithe act, and valued at £3019 per annum, and is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Castledermot and of the corps of the prebend of Monmohennock; the rectory is impropriate in -- Bunbury, Esq. The tithes amount to £212. 6. 2. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Baltinglass.
GRANEY, a village, in the parish of KILMACOW, barony of IVERK, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (N. W.) from Waterford, on the road to Clonmel; containing 12 houses and 77 inhabitants. Fairs are held here on Jan. 6th, April 12th, May 14th, Sept. 4th, and Dec. 11th.
GRANGE, a parish, partly in the barony of O'NEILLAND WEST, but chiefly in that of ARMAGH, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, 2 miles (N.) from Armagh, on the road to Belfast; containing 4132 inhabitants. This parish, which was formed out of the parish of Armagh in 1777, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 6795 1/4 statute acres, of which 2411 1/2 are in O'Neilland West, and 4383 3/4 in Armagh. The land is generally good, and well cultivated; there is a considerable quantity of bog. There are quarries of excellent limestone and freestone, from which latter the stone is raised for the restoration of Armagh cathedral. A considerable quantity of linen cloth is woven here, and there is an extensive bleach-green at Alistragh. The principal seat is Castle-Dillon, the splendid residence of Sir Thomas Molyneux, Bart., near whose extensive and richly wooded demesne is an obelisk, 60 feet high, erected by the Right Hon. Sir. Capel Molyneux, Bart., in 1782, to commemorate the passing of some acts securing the independence of the Irish parliament. Here are also Drumsill, the residence of the Misses Mc Geough; Alistragh, of R. McBride, Esq.; the Grange, of M. Pringle, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. C. W. Lyne. The living is a perpetual cure, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Dean of Armagh. The curate has a stipend of £100, paid by the dean, with the glebe-house, a large and commodious building surrounded by a fine plantation, and a glebe comprising 37 3/4 acres, the two latter valued at £100 per annum. The church is a handsome edifice, built in 1779, of compact limestone, with a square tower and octagonal spire. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Armagh, and has a small plain chapel. The parochial school is situated near the church, and is aided by an annual donation from the incumbent; two schools for females are aided by the dean, the incumbent, and Miss McGeough; and a national school is aided by an annual donation of £20 from Lord Charlemont, who also built the school-house: they afford instruction to about 270 children. The late Rt. Hon. Sir Capel Molyneux, Bart, bequeathed a rent-charge of £30, on the Castle Dillon estate, to the poor Protestant housekeepers of this parish, which is distributed by the incumbent.
GRANGE, a tithe-free district, in the barony of SHILLELOGHER, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Kilkenny, on the road to Callan; the population is returned with the parish of Inchiolaghan. Grange House is the property of Major Shearman. There is a national school at Coppenna, in which are about 150 children.
GRANGE, or GRANSHAW, a parish, in the Glenquin Division of the barony of UPPER CONNELLO, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (N. E.) from Newcastle, on the road to Ballingarry; containing 721 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2828 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The land is very good, and much of it is under an excellent system of tillage; the remainder is rich meadow and pasture, principally in large dairy farms. The river Deel, over which there is a curious old bridge, passes through the parish, the entire of which was formerly the property of the Courtenay family, but the greater part was sold during the life of the late Earl of Devon. The seats are Knockaderry, the residence of J. D. Evans, Esq.; Chesterfield, of Major Sullivan; and Dromin House, of Nicholas Meade, Esq. It is a rectory, in the gift of the Earl of Devon: the tithes amount to £180, and there is a glebe of five acres. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Knockaderry. The ruins of the old church are beautifully situated on the river Deel.
GRANGE, or MANISTER GRANGE, a parish, or district, in the barony of SMALL COUNTY, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (N.) from Bruff, on the road to Limerick: the population is included in the return for Manister. It comprises 1224 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and consists of very good land, which is generally based on limestone, and chiefly in large dairy farms. From an inquisition taken in the reign of Elizabeth, this district appears to have belonged to the parish of Manister, of which it still forms a part for civil purposes. The village of Six-mile-bridge is within its limits. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Limerick, entirely impropriate in Lord Southwell: the tithes amount to £83. 6. 2. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Bruff. Here are three druidical circles, the largest of which is 44 1/2 yards in diameter, and consists of 65 upright stones; they are principally of limestone, sandstone, and clay-slate, but. the largest, which is thirteen feet high, seven broad, and four thick, is formed of breccia. The second circle is 49 yards in diameter and consists of 72 smaller stones; and the third, which consists of 15 large shapeless blocks, is 17 yards in diameter. On the summit of Knockfinnell, which overhangs Lough Gur, are two extensive earthen forts.
GRANGE, or GRANGEMONK, also called MONKSGRANGE, a parish, in the barony of BALLYADAMS, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N.) from Carlow, on the river Barrow; containing 240 inhabitants. This parish comprises 841 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £490 per annum. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, .and in the gift of G. Hartpole, Esq., in whom the rectory is impropriate. The tithes amount to £55. 7. 8 1/4., of which £36. 18. 5 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. There is neither church, glebe-house, nor glebe. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Mayo, or Aries and Ballylinan. There is an old churchyard, which is the burial-place of the Hartpole family, also the ruins of a castle.
GRANGE, a village, in the parish of AHAMPLISH, barony of LOWER CARBERY, county of SLIGO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 8 miles (N.) from Sligo, on the road to Ballyshannon; containing 221 inhabitants. It comprises 40 houses, and has two bridges over the river Banduff, which were erected at the close of the last century. It is a revenue and a constabulary police station, and has fairs, on June 2nd and 28th, July 25th, Aug. 25th, Sept. 29th, Oct. 28th, and Dec. 10th.
GRANGE (ST. JOHN BAPTIST), a parish, in the barony of MIDDLETHIRD, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (S. E.) from Fethard, on the road to Clonmel; containing 771 inhabitants. It comprises about 2754 statute acres and is well cultivated. The principal seats are Clonacody, that of E. Kellett, Esq.; and Lakefield, of W. Pennefather, Esq.; both handsome residences. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, forming part of the union of Cahir; the rectory is impropriate in the representatives of W. Netterville, Esq. The tithes amount to £160, of which £100 is payable to the impropriators and £60 to the vicar.
GRANGE, a village, in the parish of DESERTCREIGHT, barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 2 1/2 miles (E) from Cookstown, on the road from Stewartstown to Moneymore containing 147 inhabitants. It comprises 32 houses, generally well built, and has a fair on Nov. 12th. Here is a meeting-house for Covenanters of the third class, and a school; and near the village is Killymoon, the elegant residence of Col. Stewart.
GRANGE, county of WATERFORD.--See LISGENNAN.
GRANGE CLARE, an extra-parochial district, in the barony of EAST OPHALY, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER; containing 39 inhabitants.
GRANGECLOVAN, or GRANGELORAN, a parish, in the barony of FASSADINING, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (S. W.) from Ballyragget, on the river Nore; containing 949 inhabitants, and comprising 5611 1/2 statute acres. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Burnchurch: the tithes amount to £247. 14. 11. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, called Conahy, which includes this parish and Maine, and part of the parishes of Kilmocar, Coolcraheen, Three Castles, and Burnchurch; and has a chapel at Conahy.
GRANGEFORTH, a parish, in the barony and county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Tullow, on the road to Carlow; containing 926 inhabitants. By inquisition taken in 1601 it appears that it belonged to Fferdoroghe O'Gormogane, but it was granted to Sir John Ponsonby in 1669. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Urglin: the tithes amount to £264. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Tullow, and contains a chapel. There is a public school, in which about 150 children are educated.
GRANGEGEETH, a parish, in the barony of UPPER SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N.) from Slane; containing 1304 inhabitants. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, entirely impropriate in the Marquess of Drogheda, but it is tithe-free, from having formed part of the possessions of the abbey of Mellifont. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and Monknewtown, in each of which is a chapel. There is a national school, in which about 110 children are educated, and for which the school-house and an acre and a half of land were given by Sir J. Witchett; also a private school of about 120 children.
GRANGEGORMAN.--See City of DUBLIN.
GRANGE-KILREE, a parish, in the barony of SHILLELOGHER, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S.) from Kilkenny, on the road to West Jerpoint; containing 145 inhabitants and 1052 statute acres. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Burn-church: the tithes amount to £114. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Donemagan.
GRANGE-MOCKLER, or NINE-MILE-HOUSE, a parish, in the barony of SLIEVARDAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 7 miles (S. by W.) from Callan, on the road to Clonmel; containing 666 inhabitants. Fairs are held here on March 25th, May 20th, Aug. 10th, Sept. 19th, Oct. 8th, Nov. 1st, and Dec. 12th. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Lismore, entirely impropriate in Caesar Sutton, Esq.: the tithes amount to £80, and the impropriator allows £4 per ann. to the rector of Kilvemnon for the performance of the occasional duties. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Kilmurry, and has a chapel. There are three private schools, in which about 160 children are educated.
GRANGE O'NEILL, an extra-parochial district, locally in the parish of KILMORE, barony of LOWER ORIOR, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER; containing 903 inhabitants, and more than 800 acres of excellent land. In ecclesiastical concerns it belongs to the lordship of Newry, and is under the jurisdiction of Lord Kilmorey, as abbot of Newry.
GRANGEROSNOLVIN, a parish, in the barony of KILKEA and MOONE, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Ballytore, on the road from Kilcullen to Castledermot; containing 114 inhabitants. It comprises 1377 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £615 per annum. A nunnery is traditionally stated to have existed here, but there are no traces of it. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Castledermot: the tithes amount to £75. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Castledermot.
GRANGE SILVAE, a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER; containing, with the post-town of Goresbridge, 2313 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the road from Carlow to Ross, and on the confines of the county of Carlow, is bounded on the east by the river Barrow, and comprises 7661 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4566 per annum. The land is generally of good quality and principally under tillage, and the system of agriculture is improved. Limestone is found almost in every part of the parish, and worked for agricultural purposes, except towards the southern extremity, where the strata alternate with granite. The surface, except on the demesnes, is destitute of wood, with which, from its name, it would appear to have formerly abounded. The principal gentlemen's seats are Barrowmount, formerly the residence of the late Col. Gore; Doninga, of T. T. Bookey, Esq.; and Barraghcore, of J. Handy, Esq., all handsome residences, with well-planted and improved demesnes. There are two large flour-mills, the property of Mr. Handy, worked by water and capable of producing 40,000 barrels of flour annually. The Barrow navigation, which commences at St. Mullins, about three miles below this parish, bounds it on the east and joins the Grand canal at Athy. Fairs are held at Goresbridge for cattle and pigs, and are numerously attended. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £500. The glebe-house was purchased for £184. 12., a gift from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises eight acres. The church at Goresbridge, for the repair of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £168, is a neat edifice with a tower, and contains a handsome marble monument to Col. Gore, who fell at Bergen-op-Zoom while leading his men to the attack of that place on the 8th of March, 1814; it was erected by the officers of the 33rd regiment of foot, as a tribute to his memory. The R. C. the chapel, a neat edifice, is at Goresbridge. About 300 children arc taught in the parochial and two national schools, of which the first is aided by Mrs. Bookey with £14 per annum; there is also a private school, in which are about 50 boys.
GRANGOOLY.--See KILLALOE.
GRAYSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of SLIEVARDAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 1 1/4 mile (S. W.) from Killenaule; containing 2190 inhabitants. It comprises 5957 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3229 per annum. Here is Noan, the seat of the Taylor family. Fairs are held in July and Nov. The Killenaule coal field, which is described in the article on the county, is in this parish. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, forming part of the union of Templeneiry and corps of the precentorship of Cashel cathedral: the tithes amount to £260. There is a public school of 130 children, also two private schools, in which 180 children are educated.
GREANE, a parish, partly in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, but chiefly in that of COONAGH, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, on the new line of road from Limerick to Tipperary; containing, with the post-town of Pallasgreane, 4923 inhabitants. At Sulchoi pass, near Pallas, an important battle was fought in 960 between the Irish and the Danes, in which the latter were defeated and pursued to Limerick. It was formerly an incorporated town, and had a collegiate church. The parish comprises 4207 statute acres, about one-fifth of which is under tillage, three-fifths are meadow, and the remainder principally pasturage on Knock-na-greine, or the "hill of the sun." Basalt is found in Knock-na-greine, where it rises to the height of 864 feet, and appears to have been forced up by a violent convulsion, as the limestone on which it is based is very much shattered and dislocated. Near this hill is Lynfield, the fine mansion of D. O'Grady, Esq., through a wood in the neighbourhood of which is seen a magnificent facade of basaltic rock, consisting of numerous lofty columns closely joined, and forming a miniature resemblance of Fair Head, in Antrim. Dork, the handsome residence of Heffernan Considine, Esq., commands a charming view of a rich and undulating country as far as the celebrated rock of Cashel. Near the house passes the old road by which Wm. III. marched from Golden-Bridge to the siege of Limerick. The other principal mansions are Mount Catherine, the seat of H. Smithwick, Esq.; Pallas, of T. Abjohn, Esq.; Sunville, of T. Kearney, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. W. Scott. Petty sessions are held on alternate Mondays at New Pallas. There is a constabulary police station in the village of Nicker. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Emly, and in the patronage of the Archbishop of Cashel: the tithes amount to £450. There is a glebe-house, with a glebe of seven acres and another of 32 acres, which is subject to a rent of £30. The church, which was built in 1808, is in a dilapidated state. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, called Pallasgreane, including the parishes of Greane and Ballyclough, and part of Drumkeen, and containing a large plain chapel at Nicker. The parochial school, for which there is a large and handsome house at New Pallas, are on the foundation of Erasmus Smith, and endowed with £30 per ann. and two acres of land. There is also a private school of 100 children. Eastward of the church is a moat, and about a mile from it is the ancient castle of Kilduff. Near Lynfield are the remains of Kilcolman church, which was founded in the 7th century.
GREAT ISLAND, or BARRYMORE ISLAND, in the harbour of CORK, barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER; containing, with the post-town of Cove, (which is described under its own head), 11,089 inhabitants. It was anciently called Ard-Neimheidh, and is one of the first places mentioned in Irish history whose locality can be fixed with precision. A battle was fought here in 125 between Aengus, king of Ireland, and Niadh Nuaget, a tributary prince, in which the latter recovered the crown of Munster; and in the 12th century the island maintained its independence against the English for some time after they had acquired possession of Cork and the adjacent country. In 1329 it was the property of Lord Philip Hodnet, who resided at Clonmel, where he was besieged by the Barrys and Roches, and all his adherents put to death. The Barrys having obtained possession, it was called Barrymore Island. During the war of 1641, a party of Lord Castlehaven's troops coming here to plunder, were attacked by Major Power with 30 horse and two companies of foot, and about 500 of them were slain. In 1666 it was described by the Earl of Orrery as very fertile, and a place of such consequence as, were he an enemy about to invade Ireland, to be the first he would endeavour to secure. Most of the islands and headlands in its neighbourhood have since been strongly fortified.
It extends five miles from east to west, and two from north to south, comprising 221 gneeves, or 13,149 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £9758 per ann., and is most advantageously situated. To the south is the magnificent harbour of Cove; on the west is the deep channel, half a mile wide, which separates it from the mainland at Passage; on the north it is bounded by the noble estuary of the Lee, and on the east by a shallow channel which separates it from Foaty Island, over which is a lofty bridge, from the extremity of which branch two roads, one leading by way of Passage to Cove, the other crossing the island to the same port. The shores are generally bold, and the interior has a pleasing variety of hill and dale, watered by several small streams that flow into the Eastern Channel. It is composed of clay-slate covered with a light productive soil, but intermingled with fragments of the substratum: two-thirds are under tillage, and the remainder in pasture or included in demesnes. Two ferries afford communication between the island and the mainland, the western ferry to Passage, the eastern to Midleton. There is also a communication by land from Belvelly, where a stone bridge and causeway connect it with Foaty island, whence is another causeway communicating with the mainland; a direct communication is thus opened by land with Cork. The beauty of its situation and salubrity of the climate have induced many genteel families to settle here. Among the principal seats are Marino, the residence of T. G. French, Esq.; Ballymore House, of J. H. Bennett, Esq.; Cuskinny, of Savage T. W. French, Esq.; Eastgrove, of J. Bagwell, Esq.; Ballymore, of R. B. Shaw, Esq.; Ashgrove, of R. Frankland, Esq.; Ballymore Cottage, of W. J. Coppinger, Esq.; Belgrove, of the Rev. G. Gumbleton; Whitepoint House, of H. H. O'Brien, Esq.; Spy Hill, of the Rev. T. L. Coghlan; the Retreat, of Mrs. O'Grady; Merton, of R. Morrison, Esq.; East Hill, of Capt. Stubbs; Bellevue, of Dr. Crotty, R. C. Bishop of Cloyne; and Ballynoe House, of A. Hargreave, Esq. Besides these are many lodges and cottages ornée for the accommodation of visitors during the bathing season.
The island is divided into the Eastern and Western parishes, which together form the union of Clonmel, or Cove, in the diocese of Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The Eastern parish, called also Templerobin, includes, in addition to the eastern part of Great Island, part of Foaty, and the whole of Hawlbowling, Spike, and Rocky islands (each of which is described under its own head); it is a rectory and vicarage, and the tithes amount to £323. The Western parish, called Clonmel, besides the western part of the island, includes the remaining portion of Foaty island; it is a vicarage, and was anciently called Templelyra, from having belonged to the Knights Templars; the entire tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2, of which two-thirds are payable to the lessee of the economy estate of the cathedral of Cloyne, and one-third to the vicar: the tithes of the benefice amount to £415. 7. 8. A third parish was erected in 1762, by the Rev. Downes Conron, the incumbent, on a dispute between him and the Dean and Chapter of Cloyne relative to tithes; but a compromise was effected and the incumbent has to pay £100 annually to the economy estate. There is no tradition of Kilgarvan as a parish, and it is mentioned only in one of the county records; but 20 acres of arable land in Kilgarvan, with their tithes, &c., were granted by patent to Sir Richard Boyle, Knt., in 1605. The glebe-house is about to be rebuilt; there is a glebe of 18 acres belonging to the incumbent, and one of 30 acres belonging to the economy estate. The church, which is in Cove, is a large and handsome edifice. In the R. C. divisions the island forms the district of Cove, and has a chapel in that town, and one at Funnah. There is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. There are four public schools, in which about 380, and eleven private schools in which about 370, children are educated: also a Sunday school, supported by the curates: most of them are in or near Cove. The most interesting relics of antiquity are the remains of Belvelly castle, built by one of the Hodnets, formerly a potent family, and of Templerobin and Clonmel churches; within the walls of the latter are interred Tobin, the author of the "Honeymoon" and other dramatic productions; and the Rev. C. Wolfe, who wrote the ballad "Not a drum was heard," on the death of Gen. Sir John Moore.
GREAT ISLAND, in the parish of ARDCOLME, barony of SHELMALIER, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N. E.) from Wexford, on the north side of Wexford harbour; containing, in 1835, five families. It comprises SO statute acres, and to the east is a smaller island, called Breast Island.
GREENAN, or GREENANNE, a small village, in the constablewick of BALLINACOR, a sub-denomination of the parish of RATHDRUM, barony of BALLINACOR, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER. 2 miles (W. by S.) from Rathdrum; containing 61 inhabitants. This place is situated on the river Avonbeg, over which is a bridge leading to Glenmalur, and to the "Meeting of the Waters:" it contains the chapel of the R. C. district of Rathdrum, and a school under the patronage of W. Kemmis, Esq., by whom it is supported.
GREENISH, an island, in the parish of DROMDEELEY, barony of LOWER CONNELLO EAST, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 1/2 miles (N.) from Askeaton; the population is returned with the parish. The ancient name of this island was Inis Grein, in the Irish language, signifying "the Island of the Sun," and derived from a very large heathen temple erected on its highest point, probably appropriated to the worship of that pagan divinity, and of which there are still some slight vestiges. It is situated off the southern bank of the Shannon, near the mouth of the river Deel, and comprises about 45 acres of land, being the principal of a group of islands in the bay of Tramorel.
GREENMOUNT, or DROMKEATH, a village, in the parish of KILSARAN, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (S.) from Castle-Bellingham, on the road from Drogheda to Dundalk; containing 44 houses and 243 inhabitants. Here is an extensive camp, consisting of a high mound with a hollow area at the top, and partly encompassed by a single trench. At one extremity is a tumulus, on the side of which is an embanked area with a circular end, in which local tradition states that the first parliament ever assembled in Ireland was held.
GREENOGUE, a parish, in the barony of RATOATH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 9 1/2 miles (N. E. by N.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road to Londonderry and Belfast; containing 291 inhabitants, of which number, 195 are in the village, which in the reign of Hen. VI. was one of the borough towns of Meath. By a clause in an enrolment, dated July 28th, 1423, "The Provost and Commonalty of the town of Grenoke are ordered to be at Trim, with all their power for its defence;" it consists of 36 houses. The parish, which is on the confines of the county of Dublin, comprises 1443 acres. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Rat-oath: the tithes amount to £90. 5. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Creekstown. There are considerable remains of the old church.
GRENAUGH, or GRANAGH, a parish, in the barony of BARRETTS (except the ploughland of Ballymartin, which is in the barony of East Muskerry), county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 7 1/2 miles (N. N. W.) from Cork, on the new lines of road to Kanturk and Mallow; containing 5043 inhabitants. It comprises 13,250 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act and valued at £5466 per annum. The surface is very uneven, and the substratum is entirely clay-slate. Agriculture is gradually improving under the spirited example of St. John Jefferyes, Esq., but the old heavy wooden plough is still in use in many parts, particularly towards the mountains. Here are more than 400 acres of bog, and 600 of barren mountain. Here is a woollen factory, which was built in 1806, and is worked by a mountain stream. Grenagh is the residence of H. Low, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, forming part of the union of Garrycloyne: the tithes amount to £1050; there is a glebe of 15 acres. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Mourne, or Ballinamona, and has a large plain chapel at South Grenagh. The parochial schools are supported by the rector, and there are three private schools, at which about 240 children attend during the summer. At Dawestown is an extraordinary flowering lime tree, with 16 very large and wide-spreading branches. The gables and side walls of the church are nearly entire; and there are remains of druidical altars at Lyradan, Knockantoha, and Glauncoum, and several forts and raths.
GREY-ABBEY, a post-town and parish, in the barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (S. E.) from Newtownards (to which it has a sub-post-office), and 95 (N. N. E.) from Dublin, on the road from Newtownards to Portaferry; containing 3700 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a monastery founded here in 1192, by Afric, wife of John de Courcy, and daughter of Godred, King of Man, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, for monks of the Cistertian order, who were brought hither from the Abbey of Holme-Cultram, in Cumberland. The establishment continued to flourish till the dissolution, and had ample possessions in Great and Little Ardes. Towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth it was nearly destroyed, in the rebellion raised by Tyrone; and in the 3rd of Jas. I. the site and precincts, together with all its possessions, were granted to Sir James Hamilton. The village is pleasantly situated on Lough Strangford, and on the road from Portaferry to Belfast; and the neighbourhood is embellished with some elegant seats and beautiful scenery. Mount Stewart, the splendid residence of the Marquess of Londonderry, is a spacious mansion, situated in an extensive demesne richly wooded and pleasingly diversified with water. On the summit of an eminence in the grounds is an elegant building, a model of the Temple of the Winds at Athens, erected under the personal superintendence of J. Stewart, Esq., whose skill and taste in Grecian architecture have procured for him the appellation of the Athenian Stewart; it is built of stone from the quarries of Scrabo, and the floors, which are of bog fir found in the peat moss on the estate, are, for beauty of material and elegance of design, unequalled by any thing of the kind in the country; nearly adjoining the village is Rosemount, the residence of Mrs. Montgomery. According to the Ordnance survey the parish, with some small islands in Strangford Lough, comprises 7689 statute acres, nearly equally divided between tillage and pasture, the land on the shore being good, but in the interior boggy and rocky; very little improvement has been made in agriculture. Excellent slate is found in the townland of Tullycaven, but the quarry is not judiciously worked. There is a very extensive bog, which supplies the inhabitants with abundance of fuel, and beneath the surface are found large oak and fir trees lying horizontally at a depth of 15 and 20 feet; the fir is in a fine state of preservation, exceedingly hard, and susceptible of a very high polish. A great quantity of calico and muslin is woven here by the peasantry at their own dwellings, and many of the females are employed in tambour-work. It is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Down, and in the patronage of W. Montgomery, Esq., in whom the rectory is impropriate: the tithes are included in the rent, and the perpetual curate's stipend amounts to £96. 19. 10 1/2., of which £13. 16. 11. is paid by the impropriator, £9. 4. 7 1/2. by the Marquess of Londonderry, £4. 12. 4. by A. Auchinleck, Esq., and £69. 6. by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners out of Primate Boulter's fund. The church is a small neat building, erected in 1778, and contains some handsome monuments of the Montgomery family. Here is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class. There is a school on Erasmus Smith's foundation, for which the school-house was built by the late Marchioness of Londonderry, and 60 of the children are supported and clothed by the present Marchioness; and a male, female, and an infants' school, to which Mrs. Montgomery annually contributes £6, £12, and £6 respectively. In these and six other schools about 460 children are educated. The remains of the abbey are beautiful and picturesque; the eastern gable is nearly entire; and contains five lancet-shaped windows, of which the stone work is quite perfect; there are also a window of the same character on the north and south sides of the choir; the nave, which till 1778 was used as the parish church, is tolerably entire, and is now the mausoleum of the family. There are the remains of several ancient monuments, and within the choir are two recumbent effigies, said to be those of John de Courcy and his wife, finely carved in freestone. There are also several other walls remaining, serving to give an idea of the former extent of the buildings, which appear to have been in the purest style of early English architecture. A very large tumulus was opened in 1825, by Dr. Stephenson, and found to contain 17 stone coffins, formed by placing together several flag-stones on edge, and covering them with one large stone; one of these in the centre was larger than the rest, and in each of them was found an urn of baked clay, containing granular earth of a dark colour.
GREY STONES.--See DELGANY.
GROGAN, a village, in the parish of LEMANAGHAN, barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Clara, on the road to Farbane; containing 52 houses and 298 inhabitants.
GROOMSPORT, a village, in the parish of BANGOR, barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N. E. by E.) from the sea-port town of Bangor, on the coast road to Donaghadee; containing 408 inhabitants. It is situated on the south side of Belfast Lough, and has a harbour for small craft chiefly engaged in fishing. Here is a station of the coastguard, forming part of the district of Donaghadee. On the 13th of August, 1689, the advanced army of Wm. III., consisting of about 10,000 troops under the command of Duke Schomberg, disembarked at this place from 70 transports, and encamped for the night: on the following day the Duke proceeded to invest Carrickfergus.
GUILCAGH, or GILCO, a parish, in the barony of UPPERTHIRD, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER; containing, with the post-town of Portlaw, 921 inhabitants. It comprises 2059 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, forming part of the union of Dunhill; the rectory is impropriate in the corporation of Waterford and the Duke of Devonshire. The tithes amount to £148. 7. 1. of which £88 is payable to the corporation, £16. 7. 1. to the Duke of Devonshire, and £44 to the vicar. The church is used as a chapel of ease to Dunhill. There are two private schools, in which about 150 children are educated. Near Coolfin are the ruins of Kilbunny church.
GUNSBOROUGH, a village, in the parish of GALEY, barony of IRAGHTICONNOR, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 3/4 miles (N. N. W.) from Listowel, on the old road to Ballybunnian; containing 38 houses and 181 inhabitants. It derives its name from its former proprietor, Mr. Gun, of whose representatives it has been lately purchased by P. Mahony, Esq., of Dublin, who has commenced improvements on an extensive scale, calculated to afford constant employment to nearly 200 persons for upwards of two years. Among these are the draining of an extensive boggy district, through the centre of which a new road has been made; the rebuilding and remodelling of the village; and the formation of a large plantation, where a new mansion is about to be erected.
GURTEEN.--See KILFREE.
GURTHROE.--See GORTROE.
GURTLOWNEN, a village, in the parish of KILLERY, barony of TIRAGHRILL, county of SLIGO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 2 miles (S. W.) from Dromahaire, on the road to Collooney; containing 24 houses and 112 inhabitants.