By Samuel Lewis, 1837
Title Page | Preface |A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Appendix | Mileage Conversion
LABASHEEDA, or POUNDSTREET, a village, in the parish of KILLOFIN, barony of CLONDERALAW, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (S. W.) from Kildysart, on the lower road to Kilrush; containing 93 houses and 466 inhabitants. From its situation on the Shannon a considerable quantity of corn is brought hither in winter, and sent in boats to Limerick; culm obtained in the vicinity is also sent hence to Limerick, Ennis, and other places: the erection of a small pier and quay would be of great advantage to the trade. There is a ferry across the Shannon to Tarbert. A court for Lord Egremont's manor of Clonderalaw is occasionally held by the seneschal for the recovery of small debts; and a constabulary police force is stationed in the village. Near it a large R. C. chapel, a handsome cruciform building, has been lately erected.--See KILLOFIN.
LACKAGH, a parish, in the barony of CLARE, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 8 miles (N. E. by N.) from Galway, on the road to Castle-Blakeney; containing 2190 inhabitants. In 1504, Mac William of Clanricarde, O'Brien of Thomond, and other chieftains, suddenly captured Galway, but were soon afterwards defeated by the lord-deputy, the Earl of Kildare, at Knock-tuadh, in this parish, with great slaughter, when two of Mac William's sons were made prisoners; Galway was recovered, and Athenry surrendered. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Tuam, forming part of the union of Annaghdown; the rectory forms the corps of the prebend of Lackagh in the cathedral of Tuam. The tithes amount to £205. 3. 4 1/2., of which £100 is payable to the prebendary, and the remainder to the vicar. The R. C. parish is co-extensive, with that of the Established Church, and contains a chapel. There are four private schools, in which about 230 children are educated.
LACKAGH, a parish, partly in a detached part of the KING'S county, but chiefly in the barony of WEST OPHALY, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (W.) from Kildare, on the road to Monastereven, and on the Grand Canal; containing 1450 inhabitants. It comprises 6431 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Kildare, united to the vicarage of Doneny, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £258. 9. 2 1/2., and the value of the benefice is £302. 1. 10 1/2. The glebe-house was erected by aid of a loan of £350 and a gift of £450 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816; the glebe of the union comprises 18a. 2r. 16p. The church was rebuilt by aid of a grant from the same Board, about 1835. There are two private schools, in which, about 80 children are educated. There are some remains of a castle that formerly belonged to the Fitzgeralds; and of Mount Rice, a large mansion erected by the Rice family.
LACKAN, a parish, in the barony of TYRAWLEY, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 4 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Killala, on the north-western coast; containing 2911 inhabitants. The land is partly under tillage and partly in pasture, but there are large tracts of bog and reclaimable mountain, and some fine quarries of freestone, limestone, and slate. Copper is supposed to exist at Castlerea, and there is a fine fishery at Baltra. The principal seats are Castle Lackan, the residence of C. N. Knox, Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. G. Birmingham; Curramore, of R. Palmer, Esq.; Heathfield, of O. Bourke, Esq.; and Lissadrone, of A. Pugh, Esq., which commands views of the bay of Killala and of the Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal mountains, and in the grounds of which are 9 Danish forts and a very strong chalybeate spring. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Killala, episcopally united to those of Templemurry and Kilcummin, and in the, patronage of the Bishop; the rectory forms the corps of the prebend of Lackan in the cathedral of Killala. The tithes amount to £220, of which £100 is payable to the prebendary, and the remainder to the vicar: the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £241. There is a glebe-house, with a glebe of 3la. 1r. The church is a small ancient building. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and Kilcummin, and has a chapel at Lackan. Here is a public school of about 60 children, endowed with £20 per annum by Mrs. R. Palmer; also a private school, in which about 80 children are educated.
LACKEEN, a parish, in the barony of ORRERY and KILMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, l 1/4 mile (W.) from Churchtown, on the road to Liscarrol; containing 89 inhabitants. It comprises only the townlands of Lackeen and Granard, containing 277 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £246. 9. 2., as rated for the county cess. The land is of excellent quality and chiefly in tillage; limestone is quarried for burning, lime being generally used for manure, and the state of agriculture has been much improved. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Cloyne, forming the corps of the prebend of Lackeen in the cathedral of Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £31. The occasional duties are discharged by the curate of Churchtown. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union of Liscarrol. The ruins of the old church still remain in the burial-ground.
LACKEN, a village, in the parish of BOYSTOWN, barony of LOWER TALBOTSTOWN, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER; containing 31 houses and 167 inhabitants. Here is a R. C. chapel for the union or district of Blackditches.
LADIES'-BRIDGE, a village, in the parish of IGHTERMURRAGH, barony of IMOKILLY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 1 1/2 mile (S.) from Castle-Martyr, on the road to Ballycotton; containing 41 houses and 231 inhabitants. Here is the R. C. chapel for the union or district of Ightermurragh, Garryvoe, and Bohilane; near which is a male and female national school.
LADY'S - ISLAND, county of WEXFORD. -- See MARY'S (ST.).
LADYTOWN, a parish, in the barony of CONNELL, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. W.) from Naas; containing 402 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Liffey, comprises 2629 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £1683 per annum. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Kildare, forming part of the union of Great Connell; the rectory is impropriate in Sir T. Molyneux, Bart., Sir G. Cockburn, K.G.H., and A. Rourke, Esq. The tithes amount to £95. 9. 6., of which £63. 13. is payable to the impropriators, and £31. 16. 6. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Caragh and Downings.
LAGAN, county of LONGFORD.--See KILGLASS.
LAHINCH, or LAHENZY, a village, in the parish of KILMANAHEEN, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (W.) from Ennistymon, on the bay of Lisca-nor, on the western coast; containing 195 houses and 1033 inhabitants. This place has of late rapidly improved on account of its fine bathing strand, situated at the inner extremity of the bay, and much resorted to during the season. The roads in the vicinity have been greatly improved, and when the new bridge over the estuary of the river Inagh between this place and Liscanor shall be completed, there will be an uninterrupted drive along the coast from Miltown-Malbay to the cliffs of Moher. The village affords good accommodation for visitors, and races are generally held every season for their amusement. In the vicinity are the natural curiosities called the "Puffing Holes" and the "Dropping Well;" the former is described under the head of Miltown-Malbay; the latter is similar to the dropping well at Knaresborough, in Yorkshire: the surrounding scenery is extremely picturesque and diversified. In the village is the R. C. chapel for this portion of the district of Ennistymon, in which a school is held under the superintendence of the parish priest.
LAMBAY, an island, in the parish of PORTRANE, barony of NETHERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (E. S. E.) from Rush; containing 100 inhabitants. This island, which is situated off the eastern coast, appears to have belonged at an early period to the cathedral establishment of Christ-Church, Dublin; by license from Edw. VI., in the 5th of his reign, it was, with the consent of the chapter, granted by the archbishop to John Chalenor and his heirs, at a fee-farm rent of £6. 13. 4., for the use of a colony which he had brought to inhabit it, on condition that within six years he should build a town for the habitation of fishermen, with a place of defence surrounded by a wall and ditch, and a convenient harbour for their boats. In the reign of Elizabeth the island was granted to Archbishop Ussher, who resided here for a considerable time, during which he is said to have written part of his works; after his decease it was purchased from his representatives by the family of Talbot, who are its present proprietors. It is about four miles in circumference, and forms an elevated ridge, with rocky knolls and cragged brows, strongly contrasting with the flat sandy shore of the mainland, appearing like the last offset of the Wicklow mountains in this direction, and corresponding with the detached heights of Ireland's Eye, Howth, and Dalkey, at the opposite extremity. It contains more than 650 plantation acres of land well watered with numerous streams and susceptible of cultivation, to which a portion of it has been subjected; it abounds with rabbits, sea parrots, puffins, and Cornish choughs. The rocky grounds surrounding the island form a plentiful lobster and crab fishery, and are much frequented by the Lough Shinny fishermen, who carry on a lucrative trade here. The channel between the island and the main land at Rush point and Portrane is about three miles wide; and about 200 yards from the west end is the Burrin rock, dry at half tide, and on which a perch is placed; between it and the island are four fathoms of water. About a quarter of a mile from the northwestern extremity of the island, or Scotch point, is a cluster of rocks called "the Tailors," on which a beacon is placed; and between these rocks is a pier harbour, built by a grant of £591. 11.4. from the late Fishery Board, and of £451. 7. 8. from the proprietor, who afterwards obtained a grant from Government for its completion. It has four feet depth at the entrance at low water, and small vessels may find good anchorage and shelter from the north-east and south-east gales. On the northern side of the island is the Cardurris rock; the remainder of the shore is lofty and precipitous, with clear ground at a short distance; and vessels may anchor in safety to leeward; on the south-eastern side is a spacious cavern, called "Seal Hole," from the number of seals that breed there; and on the north side, between the Tailors and Cardurris rock, is a cavern about 150 feet in length, with stalagmites arising from the floor, and stalactites depending from the roof. Experienced pilots for the Dublin coast, and supplies of excellent spring water may always be obtained here, and on the island is a coast-guard station. The geological features are chiefly trap rock, greenstone in massive beds; greenstone porphyry alternating with small strata of clay-slate, conglomerate sandstone well adapted for mill-stones; grauwacke, and grauwacke slate; the porphyry is found in abundance, and is susceptible of a very high polish, and indications of copper are found. The castle erected by Chalenor is of polygonal form, and is occasionally inhabited by the Rt. Hon. Lord Talbot de Malahide, proprietor of the island. In the R. C. divisions the island forms part of the union or district of Rush; the first stone of a chapel was laid in 1833 by the proprietor. There is an old burying-ground, also a well dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
LAMBEG, a parish, partly in the baronies of UPPER BELFAST and UPPER MASSAREENE, county of ANTRIM, but chiefly in the barony of UPPER CASTLEREAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N.) from Lisburn, on the old road from Belfast to Dublin; containing 1537 inhabitants, of which number, 175 are in the village. The parish, which is pleasantly situated on the river Lagan, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1567 statute acres, of which 376 3/4 are in the county of Antrim. The land is good and the system of agriculture improved; and the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified. Lambeg House, the property and residence of A. Williamson, Esq., is a handsome modern mansion, formerly belonging to J. Williamson, Esq., author of an able treatise on the linen trade, and framer of the laws by which it is now regulated throughout Ireland; he was much persecuted for framing those laws, and was driven from his house and his native country by an infuriated mob. Chrome Hill, also a spacious modern mansion, was erected by R. Nevin, Esq., late of Manchester, who established here some extensive works for printing muslin, in which he first applied with success his invention of the "Ba Chrome," now universally used, and also introduced the oxyde of chrome into the ornamental department of the china manufacture, from which circumstance he named his estate. The village is about a mile north of Lisburn, with which and also with Belfast it is connected by houses continued along the road between those towns. The blanket manufacture established by the Wolfenden family, who settled in this part of the country about two centuries since, is still carried on. On the river Lagan are two large bleach-greens; and further down the stream is the extensive printing establishment of Mr. Nevin, the buildings of which are capacious and furnished with every modern improvement in machinery. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Bishop, to whom the rectory is appropriate as mensal, but the whole of the tithes, amounting to £103. 19. 2 3/4., are given by him to the curate. The church occupies the site of an ancient monastery, said to have been founded in the 15th century by Mac Donell for Franciscan friars of the third order; it is a small but handsome edifice in the Grecian style, with a tower at the west end. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster; also a national school, in which are about 90 children, and a private school of about 120 children. From a part of the churchyard being called the Nuns' Garden, it has been supposed that there was a nunnery here, but no account of such an establishment is extant.
LANESBOROUGH, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), partly in the parish of CLONTUSKERT, barony of BALLINTOBBER, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, but chiefly in the parish and barony of RATHCLINE, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (W. S. W.) from Longford, on the road to Roscommon, and 66 3/4 (W. by N.) from Dublin; containing 390 inhabitants. This town derived its name from Sir G. Lane, whose lands of Ballyleagh and others in the county of Longford were erected into the manor of Lanesborough by charter of Chas. II. in the 17th of his reign; and to whom was also granted a court baron, with jurisdiction to the amount of 40s., and a court of record for the determination of pleas to the amount of £200. The same charter constituted the town a free borough, under a sovereign and two bailiffs, who were annually elected, and of whom the former, with his deputy, was a justice of the peace; 12 burgesses, elected by a majority of their own body as vacancies occurred; and an indefinite number of freemen, admitted by the burgesses, by whom also a recorder, town-clerk, serjeant-at-mace, and other officers were to be. appointed. The corporation continued to return two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when the borough was disfranchised. For some time prior to the Union the corporation exercised scarcely any other municipal duty than that of returning the members to parliament, and since that period it has become virtually extinct. The town is advantageously situated for trade on the river Shannon, over which is a bridge of nine arches connecting the counties of Roscommon and Longford. The chief trade is the exportation of corn, pigs, and eggs, of which vast quantities are sent by the Shannon; eggs are also sent to Dublin by the Royal Canal from Killashee, near this town, to which place they are conveyed by land carriage. The market, which is abundantly supplied with agricultural produce, is on Wednesday; and a fair is held on the 12th of February. It has a sub-post-office to Longford; and there is a constabulary police station. About a mile to the south is Rathcline, the seat of Luke White, Esq., proprietor of the town, pleasingly situated at the base of Rathcline hill and on the shore of Lough Ree; and on the banks of the Shannon, about the same distance from the town, is Clonbony, the seat of Capt. Davys, but now occupied by G. Davys, Esq., commanding a fine view of the river and the town. The parish church of Rathcline, of which the chancel is in ruins, is situated here; and there are a R. C. chapel and a dispensary. Adjoining the church are the shattered remains of a large tower, which is said to have been destroyed from the opposite side of the river by the army of Jas. II. Lanesborough gives the title of Earl to a branch of the family of Butler of Newtown, in which it was revived after it had become extinct in the family of Lane.
LANGFIELD (EAST or UPPER), a parish, in the barony of OMAGH, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (W.) from Omagh; containing, with the market-town of Drumquin (which is separately described), 2919 inhabitants. The old parish of Langfield was, in 1800, divided by act of council into the two parishes of East and West Langfield; the former portion comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 9716 1/4: statute acres, of which 22 1/4 are water. The land in some parts is good, but the soil is generally light, particularly near the mountains, which, though lofty, afford good pasturage for cattle; the system of agriculture is slowly improving, and there is an extensive tract of bog. Excellent free-stone is found at Claremore, and in several parts of the parish are indications of coal. The principal seats are Drumrane Lodge, the residence of J. Boyle, Esq.; Burle's Folly, of E. Sproule, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. J. Pilkington. The manufacture of linen is carried on in the farm-houses to a considerable extent. The townland of Magheraney, on which is the church, is the property of the Bishop of Derry. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Derry, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £245. The glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits gave £100, in 1804, is a good residence; the glebe comprises 26 Cunningham acres. The church, which was erected soon after the separation of the parish, is a small neat edifice with a square tower; the late Board of First Fruits gave £500, in 1800, towards its erection, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £254 towards its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish, with that of West Langfield, forms the union or district of Langfield; there is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class. About 180 children are taught in three public schools, of which the parochial school, situated on the glebe, is supported by the rector; there are also four private schools, in which are about 150 children. About a quarter of a mile from the parish church are the remains of an ancient church with a burial-ground.
LANGFIELD (WEST or LOWER), a parish, in the barony of OMAGH, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 8 miles (W.) from Omagh, on the road from Londonderry to Enniskillen; containing 4865 inhabitants. The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 23,906 3/4 statute acres, of which 176 are water, and about 6700 are mountain and bog. The mountains afford good pasturage for cattle and sheep, and their declivities are in a state of progressive cultivation; a great portion of the bog is also being rapidly reclaimed, and the system of agriculture is fast improving. In Dunwest are extensive beds of coal in three strata, all easy of access; and though at every flood large masses are detached by the river Poe, and carried down the stream, no attempt has yet been made to work them: coal of very good quality is also found in other parts of the parish. In Kerlis are extensive and valuable quarries of freestone, from which was raised the stone for the portico of the court-house of Omagh and for other public edifices; the higher mountains, of which Dooish rises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1119 feet above the level of the sea, are of mica slate. The river Poe rises in these mountains, and after passing through Drumquin falls into the river Foyle, about two miles below Omagh; there are several lakes in the parish, of which the largest is 58 acres in extent. The inhabitants combine with their agricultural pursuits the weaving of linen, and many of the females are employed in spinning linen and cotton yarn; there is also a small tuck-mill for dressing home-made woollen cloth, and there are several corn-mills. The parish is partly within the bishop's manor of Derg, and partly in that of Hastings, which was granted to Sir J. Davies by Jas. I., under the name of Clonaghmore; and for which a court is held at Drumquin monthly, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Derry, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £295. 17. The glebe-house is a good and comfortable residence, situated near the church on a glebe of 108 acres, and embosomed in thriving plantations; there are also belonging to the rectory 10 townlands at Gortnasoal, about three miles distant, comprising together 2589 acres, of which 1426 are under cultivation, and the remainder mountain and bog. The church is a small ancient edifice surmounted by a cupola. In the R. C. divisions the parish, together with that of East Langfield, constitutes the union or district of Langfield; there is a large chapel at Drumquin, which serves for both parishes. About 460 children are taught in six public schools, of which the parochial school is principally supported by the rector, who in 1820 erected a good house for the master on the glebe, with an excellent garden; he also erected a school-house for another on the glebe at Loughmulharn, which he also supports. There are three private schools, in which are about 80 children, and five Sunday schools. There are some extensive remains of the spacious and handsome castle of Kerlis, or Curlews, built by Sir John Davies, prior to 1619, upon the manor of Clonaghmore, with freestone found on the spot, and with which he constructed a road eight feet wide and seven miles in length, leading over mountains and morasses, to his other castle on the Derg; much of the road may still be traced near the castle, paved with large blocks of stone. There are numerous forts in various parts of the parish, some of which are very large and tolerably perfect.
LARACOR, a parish, in the barony of LOWER MOYFENRAGH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER; containing, with the post-town of Summerhill, (which is separately described), 2418 inhabitants. The parish comprises 7787 statute acres, of which about two-thirds are under tillage; the remainder, with the exception of some bog near Summerhill, is good pasturage. The western part consists of limestone gravel, and the eastern of a strong clayey loam. The principal seats are Rock Lodge, the residence of T. Disney, Esq.; Freffans, of W. Battersby, Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. Blayney Irwine; Spring Valley, of R. Butler Bryan, Esq.; Braymount, of G. J. Murphy, Esq.; Adamstown, the property of T. Disney, Esq.; and Summerhill, the property of the Earl of Longford. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Crown; the tithes amount to £415. 7. 8. The glebe-house was built by a gift of £200 and a loan of £550 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1813; the glebe comprises 21 acres. The church is an ancient edifice, which it is intended to rebuild; it contains a handsome monument to the memory of Sir Colley Wellesley, Knt., this having been formerly the burial-place of the Wellesley as it still is of the Perceval family. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Summer-hill, which includes the parishes of Laracor, Agher, Drumlargan, and Gallow; there is a chapel at Dangan, in Laracor, and another at Agher. At Summerhill is a place of worship for Presbyterians, in connection with the Synod of Munster, the minister of which receives an annual grant of £53. 10. 8. royal bounty. The parochial school is at Summerhill, and there is a school at Dangan, and another at Rocklodge, to which T. Disney, Esq., subscribes £15 annually: about 270 children are educated in these schools, and about 30 in two private schools. Here are the ruins of Dangan castle, which was the ancient manorial seat of the Wellesleys, and in which the Duke of Wellington, the Marquess Wellesley, and Lords Maryborough and Cowley, were born. It was a splendid residence, surrounded by a noble demesne, but was burnt some years since and is now the property of Major Burrowes. Of Knightsbrook, formerly the handsome residence of the Perceval family, only the offices remain. This parish was for several years the benefice and residence of Dr. Jonathan Swift, afterwards Dean of St. Patrick's, who was instituted to the living in 1699; and of Esther Johnson, known by the poetic name of Stella.
LARAH, a parish, partly in the barony of UPPER LOUGHTEE, but chiefly in that of TULLAGHGARVEY, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the post-town of Stradone, 7808 inhabitants. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 17,282 1/2 statute acres, including 180 1/2 of water; of these, 5166 1/2 are in Upper Loughtee, and 12,116 in Tullaghgarvey. The state of agriculture is rather backward, and in the upper part of the parish there is a quantity of bog. There are quarries of limestone, which is used for building and as manure. The principal seats are Stradone House, the residence of Major Burrowes, a handsome structure in a well-planted demesne; and Ravenswood, of R. Saunderson, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Kilmore, forming part of the union of Drung; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £559. 8., of which £221. 19. 9. is payable to the impropriator, and £337. 8. 3. to the vicar; the glebe comprises 556a. 1r. 23p. The church is a neat and commodious edifice, erected by aid of a grant from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1832. In the R. C. divisions this district is divided into Upper and Lower Larah, and has chapels at Larah and Cleffernah. There are two public schools, in which about 270 children are educated, and eleven private schools, in which are about 720 children, also two Sunday schools. On the townland of Knockatoother is a very remarkable cairn, and several Danish raths are scattered over the parish.
LARNE, a sea-port, market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of UPPER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 11 miles (N.) from Carrickfergus, and 97 (N. by E.) from Dublin, on the road from Belfast to Ballycastle; containing 3182 inhabitants, of which number, 2616 are in the town. This place is situated on the shore of Lough Larne, which was formerly called Olderfleet, and gave name to a castle built on the extreme point of the promontory of Curraan, which forms the small bay adjacent to the town. This fortress, under the protection of which the town arose, is supposed to have been erected by a Scottish family named Bisset, to whom a settlement on this part of the coast was granted by Hen. III., and to have been subsequently improved by the English. Edward Bruce landed here in 1315 with an army of 6000 men for the conquest of Ireland; and during the same reign, Hugh Bisset forfeited his lands here by taking part in the rebellion. These were subsequently claimed in right of the same family, by James Mac Donnell, Lord of Cantire, and after his death were granted by Queen Elizabeth during her pleasure, to his son Angus, on condition that he should carry arms only under the King of England, and pay annually a certain number of hawks and cattle. Olderfleet castle was at that time considered so important a defence against the Scots that, in 1569, it was entrusted to Sir Moyses Hill, but was dismantled in 1598. Jas. I., in 1603, granted the entire headland to Sir Randal Mac Donnell, surnamed Sorley-Boy; but in 1612 gave the castle and lands to Sir Arthur Chichester, together with the right of ferry between this place and Island Magee. During the disturbances of 1798, the town was attacked by the insurgent army from Ballymena, but the assailants were repulsed by the Tay fencibles, assisted by the yeomanry and inhabitants.
The town is beautifully situated on the shore of Lough Larne, on the eastern coast, and is divided into the old and new towns, containing together 482 houses, most of which are well built, and of very neat appearance; the streets in the old town are narrow and indifferently paved; the new town consists of one long and regular street, in which the houses are of stone and handsomely built. There are two public libraries, supported by subscription, both containing good collections. During the last century a very extensive trade was carried on in salt, of which large quantities prepared here from rock salt imported from Liverpool were sent from this port to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Prussia; the duties paid thereon, on the average, amounted to £18,000 per annum. About the middle of the last century this was the only port in the North of Ireland from which emigrant vessels sailed. The present trade consists chiefly in the exportation of oats, beans, flour, and, occasionally, black cattle, and a very considerable quantity of lime; and the importation of coal, slates, wheat, and North American timber. The number of vessels that entered inwards during the year ending Jan. 5th, 1835, was 340, of the aggregate burden of 13,517 tons, and of which 298 were from British ports and 42 employed in the coasting trade; and during the same year, 113 vessels, of the aggregate burden of 4329 tons, cleared out from this port, of which 64 were bound to British ports and 49 were coasters. The port, which is a member of that of Belfast, has an excellent harbour for small vessels, for which there is good anchorage between the Curraan, and the peninsula of Island Magee, in 2 or 2 1/2 fathoms, quite land-locked; great numbers of vessels from Scotland anchor off this place, while waiting for their cargoes of lime from the Maghramorne works. There are some good quays on both sides of the lough about a mile from the town, the water being too shallow to float vessels further up. The royal military road along the coast passes through the town. The market is on Tuesday; a great market is held on the first Monday of every month, and there are fairs on Dec. 1st and July 31st, principally for black cattle, a few inferior horses and pigs. A constabulary police force has been established in the town, and there is also a coast-guard station belonging to the Carrickfergus district. A court for the manor of Glenarm is held here every six weeks; and petty sessions are held every alternate week.
The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 2210 statute acres of good arable and pasture land; the system of agriculture is slowly improving, and there is neither waste land nor bog. Limestone abounds, and is quarried both for building and agricultural purposes; at Ballycraigey, about a mile to the north of the town, is a quarry of felspar, worked occasionally for building; and at Bankhead a fine stratum of coal has been discovered, but is not worked. The principal seats are Gardenmore, the elegant villa of S. Darcus, Esq.; the Curraan, the residence of M. McNeill, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. S. Gwynn. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Dean; the tithes amount to £135. 11. 11., of which £123. 15. 7. is payable to the curate, who receives also £23. 8. from Primate Boulter's fund. The glebe-house was built in 1824, by a gift of £450 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 3 1/4 acres. The church, previously to its alteration in 1819, had some interesting details of ancient architecture. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Carrickfergus and Larne; a chapel was erected here in 1832 by subscription. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster and the Seceding Synod, each of the second class, and with the Presbytery of Antrim of the first class, also for Wesleyan Methodists. About 150 children are taught in the national school of the parish, and a dispensary is supported by subscription. There are some remains of the ancient castle of Olderfleet on the promontory of Curraan; and on the sea side, about a mile north of the town, is a cavern called the Black Cave, passing under the projecting base of a huge rock; the length of the cave, which is open at both ends, is 60 feet, and its height from 3 to 30 feet; the sides are formed of basaltic columns of large dimensions. On the shore of the lough, near the town, are some singular petrifactions of a blue colour, apparently the result of a spring issuing from a bank at high water mark. In a short road leading from the east to the north of the town is a chalybeate spring, at present little used.
LATTERAGH, a parish, in the barony of UPPER ORMOND, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 3 1/2 miles (N. by W.) from Burris-o'-leagh, on the new line of road from Nenagh to Clonmel; containing 995 inhabitants. This place was celebrated at a very early period for its monastery, the foundation of which is uncertain. It became an extensive seat of learning, and St. Odran of Leatrach-odhrain, who died in 548, presided over this establishment, in which were at that time not less than 3000 monks. In 1304, the neighbourhood was laid waste by Tirlogh, son of Teig-Cao-luiske, King of Thomond, who spared only the churches and the dwellings of the clergy. From this period no further notice of the monastery occurs, neither are there any remains of the ancient buildings. The parish comprises 4050 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Killaloe, united at a period unknown to the rectory and vicarage of Innisdadrom, together constituting the corps of the precentorship in the cathedral of Killaloe, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £138. 9. 2 3/4. There are two private schools, in which are about 120 children.
LATTIN, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 4 1/4 miles (S. W.) from Tipperary; containing 1423 inhabitants. It comprises 2932 statute acres, principally in pasture and of a superior quality. A fair is held at Knockordan on Nov. 7th. Here is Mooresfort, the handsome seat of Maurice Crosbie Moore, Esq., situated in a well-planted demesne. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Emly, united at a period unknown to the rectory of Bruis and the vicarages of Corroge, Clonpet, and Cordangan, which union forms the corps of the prebend of Lattin in Emly cathedral, and in the gift of the Archbishop of Cashel. The tithes are £97. 15. 4 1/2., and the annual value of the prebendal union is £355. 10. 5, In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a district, comprising the parishes of Lattin, Cullen, Shronell, Bruis, and Clonpet, and containing a neat chapel at Lattin and one at Cullen.
LAURENCETOWN, a village, in the parish of CLONFERT, barony of LONGFORD, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 6 miles (S.) from Ballinasloe, on the road to Eyrecourt, to which places it has a penny post: the population is returned with the parish. It is a chief constabulary police station, and petty sessions are held weekly on Thursday. A considerable quantity of wooden ware and furniture is manufactured here, and fairs are held on May 8th, Aug. 22nd, and Dec. 15th, for cattle, sheep, and pigs. The R. C. chapel for this part of the district is a good modern building; and the Wesleyan Methodists also have a chapel here and support a school. The seats in the vicinity are Bellevue, or Liscreaghan, the residence of Walter Laurence, Esq., situated in an extensive and well-wooded demesne containing a number of remarkably fine cedars of Lebanon and evergreen oaks; Gortnamona, the elegant seat of P. Blake, Esq.; Somerset House, of Simeon Seymour, Esq.; Somerset Glebe, of the Rev. J. Hanigan; and Ballymore Castle, of Thos. Seymour, Esq., a fortified structure erected in 1620, and modernised at a considerable expense in 1815. Near the town are the ruins of the castle of O'Hill, from which it formerly took the name of Ohillmore.
LAVAY, or LOWEY, a parish, in the barony of UPPER LOUGHTEE, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Cavan, on the road to Virginia; containing 6305 inhabitants. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 10,679 statute acres, of which 76 1/2 are water. The land is highly cultivated; there are some large tracts of bog, affording an abundant supply of fuel. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Kilmore, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £386. 5., of which £153. 15. is payable to the impropriator, and £232. 10. to the vicar. The church, a very neat edifice, was erected by aid of a gift of £900 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1817, and has been recently repaired by a grant of £152 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The R. C. parish is coextensive with that of the Established Church, and contains the Upper chapel, built in 1820, and the Lower chapel, which has been recently built, at an expense of nearly £2000, on a site given by Major G. Burrowes. There are seven private schools, in which about 490 children are educated. Here are some Danish raths; and several heads of battle-axes and brazen spears were discovered on an artificial island while draining Lake Lavey in 1832, and are in the possession of J. Smith, Esq.
LAYDE, a grange, in the barony of LOWER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 4 1/2 miles (W.) from Cushendall; containing 444 inhabitants. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 7834 statute acres; and is extra-parochial, never having paid church cess or tithes: there being no provision for the cure of souls, the members of the Established Church attend the parish church of Layde.
LAYDE, a parish, in the barony of LOWER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the post-town of Cushendall (which is separately described), 4056 inhabitants. This parish, called also Cushendall, from its post-town, and Newtown Glens, from its situation in the centre of the Glyns, was the residence of the Mac Auleys of the Glyns, who joined the standard of Mac Donnel at the celebrated battle of Aura, in 1569, after which the combined armies spent some days in festivity on the mountain of Trostan, on which they raised a cairn, still called "Coslin Sorley Boy." According to the Ordnance survey it comprises, exclusively of the Granges of Layde and Innispollan, 20,476 1/4 statute acres, one-third of which is arable, and the remainder chiefly in pasture; the surface is undulating and in some parts mountainous; in the low grounds are some good meadow lands, the valleys are well cultivated, and the mountainous districts afford tolerable pasturage. Here are quarries of coarse freestone and of white limestone, which is burnt for manure. Salmon and many other kinds of fish are found in the rivers, and on the coast of this parish, which is skirted by the coast road from Belfast to the Giants' Causeway, and is intersected by the royal military road. On the former road is a splendid viaduct over the river Glendon, which connects this parish with Culfeightrin and the barony of Glenarm with that of Carey. Mount Edward is the residence of Gen. Cuppage; and Glenville, of the Rev. W. McAuley. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £235. 7. 7 1/2.; the glebe comprises 4 acres. A church was built about a mile from Cushendall in 1800, but having gone to ruin, another was built in the town in 1832. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Cushendall, including this parish and Ardclinis, and containing chapels at Cushendall and Redbay. The parochial school is partly supported by the rector; and F. Turnley, Esq., has built a good school-house for a national school. In these and three other public schools about 340 children are educated, and about 45 are taught in a private school; there are also four Sunday schools, and a dispensary. The ancient church is in ruins, but the cemetery is still used. The poet Ossian is said to have been born here.
LEA, or LEY, a parish, in the barony of PORTNEHINCH, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, on the road from Dublin to Maryborough; containing, with the greater part of the post-town of Portarlington and with the village and post-town of Ballybrittas (both separately described), 7926 inhabitants. This parish is situated in the north-eastern part of the county, and bounded on the north-east and north-west by the river Barrow, which separates it from the county of Kildare and King's county. From its central situation and proximity to the Barrow it was selected, on the seizure of Leix and the rest of the province of Leinster by Strongbow, as one of the first settlements of the English; and a strong castle was erected here, either by William, Earl Marshall, by the family of De Vesci, or by William de Braosa, to whom it came by marriage with one of the Earl's daughters. This fortress, from its commanding situation, was frequently the subject of contest between the English lords and the native chieftains; in 1292 it is noticed by Camden as being in the possession of John Fitzthomas, one of the Geraldines, who, during the hostilities that desolated the surrounding country, brought Richard, Earl of Ulster, prisoner to this place. Contiguous to the castle, which, though the territory had descended to the Mortimers, appears to have been retained by the Fitzgeralds, was a small burgh with a market and fairs, which is said to have been destroyed in 1315 by Edward Bruce, who also burned the castle. In the latter part of the reign of Edw. II., this place was taken by Lysagh O'Moore; and on the decline of the English power, nearly the whole of the surrounding territory fell into the possession of the native septs. In 1534 the castle belonged to the Earl of Kildare, and was considered one of the six strongest castles in his possession; it was taken in 1642 by the insurgents, who were afterwards expelled by Lord Lisle; in commemoration of which an ash tree was planted in the old market-place, which is now rapidly falling to decay. The castle was dismantled by the parliamentarians under Cols. Hewson and Reynolds; and the subsequent foundation of the neighbouring town of Portarlington prevented the revival of the old burgh or town of Lea, which has since dwindled into an inconsiderable village. The parish comprises 17,932 statute acres, of which about 500 are woodland, about 1000 waste and bog, and the remainder divided in nearly equal portions between tillage and pasture. The surface is mostly level, with a few hills of small elevation, of which the chief are Spire hill, Windmill hill, and Mullaghalig; the soil is light and shallow, and the system of agriculture improving. The substrata are limestone, limestone gravel, and reddish sand; the limestone, which is of good quality, is extensively quarried. Besides the seats noticed in the articles on Portarlington and Ballybrittas, are Gray Avon, the residence of J. Armstrong, Esq.; Mount Henry, of H. Smith, Esq.; Jamestown House, of R. Cassidy, Esq.; Ballintoher, of D. French Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. J. Powell; Fisherstown House, of T. L. Kenney, Esq.; Killamullen, of G. Blakeney, Esq.; Ballycarrol, of J. Reed, Esq.; Kilbracken, of A. W. Alloway, Esq.; and Abbeyview Cottage, of the Rev. D. Maher. The Grand Canal passes for three miles through the parish, and the river Barrow might be rendered navigable from Portarlington to Monastereven at a trifling expense. Fairs are held at Portarlington, and petty sessions arc held there weekly on Wednesday, and at Ballybrittas on Monday. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese, of Kildare, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter. The tithes amount to £830. 15. 4 1/2., of which £553. 16. 11. is payable to the lessee of the dean and chapter, and the remainder to the vicar. The glebe-house was built by a gift of £369 and a loan to the same amount from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1829; the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church, a small neat edifice, was built by subscription, aided by a loan of £350 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1810; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £375 for its repair. There are two chapels of ease at Portarlington. In the R. C. divisions nearly the whole of the parish forms part of the union or district of Portarlington, Emo, and Killeynard; the chapel, at Killeynard, has been lately rebuilt. About 750 children are taught in six public schools; there are also six private schools, in which are about 130 children. At Portarlington and Ballybrittas are dispensaries, and a mendicity society on Dr. Chalmers' plan is supported by subscription. There are ruins of the old churches of Old Lea, Tierhoghar, and Ballyadden; and on the bank of the river Barrow are the remains of the ancient castle, consisting of a massive round tower, with several quadrangular buildings, apparently parts of the original structure and of great strength; the whole enclosed within massive walls pierced with embrasures, and presenting an imposing and venerable appearance as seen from the river. There are six raths in the parish. Near Portarlington is a powerful chalybeate spa, efficacious in scorbutic cases.
LEARMONT, an ecclesiastical district, partly in the barony of TIRKEERAN, county of LONDONDERRY, and partly in that of STRABANE, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (W.) from Dungiven, on the road to Omagh; containing 4411 inhabitants. It was formed in 1831, under the 7th and 8th of Geo. IV., by separating nine townlands from Banagher, eight from Upper Cumber, and one from Lower Cumber, the whole of which are in Londonderry, except Stranagalvally, which is in Tyrone. Much of the land is very good and under an excellent system of cultivation, and the waste land is being reclaimed under the liberal encouragement of Barre Beresford, Esq., proprietor of the chief portion of this district. Sawel mountain, on the verge of the two counties, rises to the height of 2236 feet above the level of the sea; near it are the precipitous rocks called the Eagle's Nest. Blue limestone is burnt here for manure, and manganese and lead ore are found, also iron ore almost in a metallic state. The village of Learmont, or Park, is situated on the Faughan water, near the base of Sawel mountain, and has been much improved lately by its proprietor. The principal seat is Learmont, the elegant residence of Barre Beresford, Esq., which he is enlarging and finishing in the Elizabethan or Tudor style. Around it is an extensive demesne, containing large and valuable timber, and ornamented with baths and groups of statues. Here is also Kilcreen, the residence of J. C. Beresford, Esq.; Straid Lodge, of the Rev. J. Hunter; and Tamna, the shooting-lodge of Hugh Lyle, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Derry, and in the alternate patronage of the Rectors of Banagher and Upper Cumber, except the fifth turn, which devolves on the Rector of Lower Cumber. The curate's income is £85 per annum, which is paid by the three rectors. The late Bishop Knox proposed to make this district a parish of itself, the tithes of which exceed £300 per ann., in which case Mr. Beresford proposed to exchange land planted and improved for a glebe. The church, a small neat edifice, was built in 1831, at an expense of £750, of which £400 was given by the late Board of First Fruits, £100 by the late Bishop Knox, £100 by B. Beresford, Esq., £50 by the Irish Society, £25 by the Skinners' Company, £25 by Robt. Ogilby, Esq., and the rest by various individuals. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Banagher; and has a chapel at Altenure. There is a school at Park, to which Mr. Beresford allows £5 per annum and a house, and three other public schools, in which about 260 children are educated; there are also three private schools, in which about 150 are educated, and a Sunday school.
LECK, a parish, in the barony of RAPHOE, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 1 mile (E.) from Letterkenny, on the road to Strabane; containing 4046 inhabitants. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises, including a detached portion, 10,744 3/4 statute acres, of which 10,393 are applotted under the tithe act and valued at £4047 per annum, and 264 are in the tideway of the river Swilly, which is navigable through the whole of the parish. A large cattle fair is held at Old Town on June 8th. Here is Rock Hill, the beautiful seat of J. Vandeleur Stewart, Esq. The parish formed part of the corps of the deanery of Raphoe, but was separated from it by act of council in 1835, and is now a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £324. The glebe-house was erected by aid of a gift of £450 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1820; the glebe comprises 32 statute acres, valued at £25 per annum. The church is an ancient structure, and is about to be rebuilt. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Conwall. The parochial school is aided by an annual donation from Col. Robertson's fund; and there are two other public schools, one of which is supported by Sir E. Hayes, Bart.; about 160 children are educated in these schools, and there are two Sunday schools.
LECKARROW, a village, partly in the parish of St. JOHN'S, and partly in that of KILLENVOY, barony of ATHLONE, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 8 miles (N. W.) from Athlone, on the road to Roscommon, to both which places it has a penny post; containing 80 inhabitants. Fairs are held in March, June, Sept., and Dec.; and petty sessions every alternate week. In the village are a flour and an oatmeal mill; and in the vicinity is a dispensary.
LECKEN, or LACKEN, a parish, in the barony of CORKAREE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 7 1/2 miles (N. N.W.) from Mullingar, and between Lough Derevaragh and Lough Hoyle; containing 934 inhabitants. An abbey existed here in the early part of the 7th century, under the superintendence of St. Crumin. The parish comprises 2883 1/2 statute acres, of which 2529 are applotted under the tithe act, and contains some limestone and a small quantity of moory land. Lacken is the seat of Mrs. Delamere. It is a curacy, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Leney; the rectory is impropriate in Sir J. B. Piers, Bart. The tithes amount to £133. 13. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Multifernam, and has a chapel. On the summit of a hill is Wilson's Hospital, founded and endowed by A. Wilson, Esq., of Piercefield, for the support and education of 160 Protestant boys, with whom an apprentice fee of £10 is given on their leaving the school; and for 20 old male Protestants. The inhabitants of Westmeath have the preference, but those of the adjacent counties are also eligible. The house is a handsome building in the form of a square, adorned with a cupola and two receding wings connected by a corridor, one of which includes the school-room and a dormitory, the other, the dining-hall and a dormitory, and there is a chapel handsomely fitted up. The trustees are the Archbishops of Armagh, Dublin, and Tuam, and the bishops of Meath and Kilmore. A body of insurgents posted themselves at this hospital in the night of Sept. 5th, 1798, but were almost all killed the following day by part of Lord Cornwallis's army. Besides the school connected with Wilson's Hospital, there is a private school in which about 40 children are educated. There are vestiges of an old fort at Carrick, and on a hill near the church is a large rath, with two others in its vicinity.
LECKNOWE.--See PIERCETOWNLANDY.
LECKPATRICK, a parish, in the barony of STRABANE, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER; containing, with part of the post-town of Strabane, 6030 inhabitants This parish, which is also called Leghpatrick, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 13,451 statute acres, of which 10,087 are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £5806 per annum; and 104 are in the tideway of the Foyle. The soil is generally cold and wet, but part of the land is well cultivated and fertile. There are considerable tracts of mountain pasture and valuable bog. Here is an extensive bleach-green, not used at present; also two manufactories for spades and edged-tools. The Strabane canal passes through this parish from its lower lock on the Foyle to the quay of Strabane. The principal seats are Holy Hill the residence of J. Sinclair, Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. G. Smithwick; and Mount Pleasant, of F. O'Neill, Esq. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Derry, and in the gift of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £646. 3. 1. There is a glebe-house, with a glebe of 148a. 3r. 12p., Cunningham measure, of which 112a. 1r. 32p. are cultivated land. The church, a plain edifice without tower or spire, was built by a loan of £600 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816, and much enlarged in 1834. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Donagheady, and has chapels at Cloghcor and Glenmornan. A Presbyterian meeting-house is in course of erection at Artigarran. There is a parochial school, to which the Marquess of Abercorn, who is proprietor of nearly all the parish, subscribes £10, and the rector £5 annually; and three other public schools, to two of which the Marquess of Abercorn contributes £5 each: about 520 children are educated in these schools, and about 160 in five private schools; there are also five Sunday schools. Near the glebe-house is an ancient rocking-stone.
LEIGHLIN (OLD), a parish, the seat of a diocese, and formerly a parliamentary borough, in the barony of IDRONE WEST, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/4 mile (S. S. W.) from Leighlin-Bridge, on the road to Castlecomer; containing 3530 inhabitants. This place has from a remote period been distinguished for its religious establishments, of which the earliest was a priory for Canons Regular, founded by St. Gobban about the close of the 6th or commencement of the 7th century. A grand synod was held here in 630 to deliberate on the proper time for celebrating the festival of Easter, which was attended by St. Laserian, who had been consecrated bishop by Pope Honorius and sent as legate from the holy see. In 632, St. Gobban built a cell for himself and brethren at another place, and relinquished the abbey to St. Laserian, who made it the head of an episcopal see, over which he presided till his death in 638; and so greatly did the monastery flourish that, during the prelacy of St. Laserian, there were at one time not less than 1500 monks in the establishment. The priory was plundered in 916, 978, and 982, and in 1060 it was totally destroyed by fire. Among its subsequent benefactors was Burchard, son of Gurmoud, a Norwegian, who either founded or endowed the priory of St. Stephen, which being situated in a depopulated and wasted country, had frequently afforded refuge and assistance to the English, in acknowledgment of which Edw. III. granted to the prior a concordatum in 1372. This priory was dissolved by Pope Eugene IV., in 1432, and its possessions annexed to the deanery of Leighlin. The town appears to have derived all its importance and all its privileges from the see. . Bishop Harlewin, who governed it from 1201 till 1216, granted the inhabitants their burgage-houses, with all franchises enjoyed by Bristol, at a yearly rent of 12d. out of every burgage, which grant was confirmed by his successor; and in 1310, Edw. II. granted to Ade Le Bretown certain customs to build a tower for the defence of the town, and to maintain three men-at-arms and two hobblers, to protect the inhabitants from the attacks of the native Irish. During the prelacy of Richard Rocomb, who succeeded in 1399, there were 86 burgesses in the town, but it was so frequently plundered and desolated by successive hostilities, that it was reduced to an insignificant village. The inhabitants received a charter of incorporation from Jas. II., in the 4th of his reign, the preamble of which recites that the town had been a free borough, and returned two members to the Irish parliament, which it continued to do till the Union, when it was disfranchised, and the £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to the late Board of First Fruits, to be applied in promoting the residence of the clergy. Since the Union the corporation has become extinct; there are only 20 thatched houses and about 100 inhabitants in the village.
The DIOCESE of LEIGHLIN is the smallest of the five which constitute the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Nothing particularly worthy of notice is recorded of the successors of St. Laserian till the time of Donat, who was made bishop in 1158, and after whose death the succeeding prelates were invariably appointed from the Arms of the Bishoprick. English clergy. Notwithstanding the devastation and plunder of the see in the continued hostilities of early times, it experienced no irreparable impoverishment till the succession of Daniel Cavanagh, in 1567, during whose prelacy various grants and long leases were made to his friends, reserving for his successors only some very trifling rents; and to such poverty was it reduced that, after his decease in 1587, it was granted in commendam to Peter Corse, Archdeacon of the diocese, and afterwards held with the deanery of St. Patrick's, Dublin. In 1600, Robert Grave was advanced to the see of Ferns, to which this diocese was then annexed, and both continued from that time to be held together till 1836, when, on the death of Dr. Elrington, the last bishop of Leighlin and Ferns, both sees were united to the bishoprick of Ossory, under the provisions of the Church Temporalities' Act, according to which, the see estate of Ferns and Leighlin remains with the bishop of the three united dioceses, Ferns, Leighlin and Ossory; and the see estate of Ossory, which is the suppressed bishoprick, becomes vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, together with the mensal lands of Ferns and Leighlin; the residence of the bishop being by that act fixed at Kilkenny, where the bishops of Ossory have heretofore resided; the bishop therefore keeps his former residence and acquires a larger see estate. The diocese of Leighlin is of very irregular form, extending 50 miles in length and varying from 8 to 16 miles in breadth: it comprehends part of the counties of Kilkenny and Wicklow, a considerable portion of the Queen's county, and the whole of the county of Carlow; and comprises an estimated superficies of 318,900 acres, of which 17,500 are in the county of Kilkenny, 42,000 in Wicklow, 122,000 in Queen's county, and 137,050 in the county of Carlow. The lands belonging to the see comprise 12,924 statute acres of profitable land; and the gross annual revenue, on an average of three years ending 1831, amounted to £2667. 7. 6 3/4. The chapter consists of a dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, archdeacon, and the prebendaries of Tecolme, Ullard, Aghold, and Tullowmagrinagh. The economy estate of the cathedral arises from rents of tithes reserved by lease out of the parishes of Tullowcrine, Slyguff, Ballinacarrig, Rahill, Liscoleman, and Old Leighlin, which, on an average of three years ending Sept. 1831, amounted to £158. 13. 10. per ann., applied to the payment of the perpetual cure and the repairs of the cathedral. There are four rural deaneries, namely, Leighlin, Carlow, Tullow, and Maryborough. The consistorial court of the diocese is held at Carlow, and consists of a vicar-general, three surrogates, a registrar, and two proctors. The total number of parishes is 80, comprised in 59 benefices, of which 14 are unions of two or more parishes, and 45 are single parishes; of these, 5 are in the patronage of the Crown, 10 in lay or corporation patronage, 9 in joint or alternate patronage, and the remainder are in the patronage of the Bishop or incumbents. The number of churches is 49, and there are four other episcopal places of worship; the number of glebe-houses is 25. In the R. C. divisions this diocese is united with Kildare, and is suffragan to the R. C. archiepiscopal see of Dublin: the number of parochial benefices and clergy is given with the diocese of Kildare; the number of chapels is 64.
The parish comprises 9738 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and there are about 400 acres of bog. Agriculture is improving; there are limestone and flagstone quarries, and coal exists but is not worked. Old Leighlin is a rectory, belonging in moieties to the bishop, as part of the see estate, and to the chapter of the cathedral, as part of the economy fund: the rectory of Tullowcrine belongs also to the economy fund, and a perpetual curate is endowed to officiate at the cathedral and to attend to the duties of both parishes, of which the dean and chapter are the incumbents. The tithes amount to £461. 10. 9 1/4.; the glebe-house was built by a gift of £450 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1820; the glebe comprises 12a. 1r. The cathedral, which is also the parish church, is situated in a secluded spot surrounded with hills: it is a plain ancient structure, consisting of a nave, 84 feet long, and chancel, 60 feet in length, with a square tower 60 feet high, surmounted by a low spire. It was rebuilt, after having been destroyed by fire during the prelacy of Bishop Donat; and the choir was rebuilt by Bishop Sanders in 1527; the western entrance has a handsome doorway and window, and there are two side entrances; in the chancel are the bishop's throne and the stalls of the dean and chapter; and the interior contains several ancient monuments, with many of the 16th century and upwards. On the north side are the remains of two roofless buildings, one of small dimensions, and the other 52 feet long and 22 feet wide, with a window of elegant design at its eastern extremity. Of the episcopal palace, which was repaired by Bishop Meredyth in 1589, there are no remains. About 100 yards from the west end of the church is the well of St. Laserian, formerly much resorted to; and in the church-yard is a stone supposed to have marked the boundary of the old borough. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Leighlin-Bridge. About 80 children are taught in the parochial school, which is supported by donations from the dean and chapter, the incumbent, and the governors of the Foundling Hospital; and there are six private schools, in which are about 420 children. There are some chalybeate springs, which are used medicinally.
LEIGHLIN-BRIDGE, a market and post-town partly in the parish of AUGHA, barony of IDRONE-EAST, but chiefly in that of WELLS, barony of IDRONE-WEST, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (S.) from Carlow, and 45 (S. S. W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road to Cork; containing 2035 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a bridge over the river Barrow, which connects the two parts of the town on its opposite banks with each other, and also with the road leading to Old Leighlin, in contradistinction to which, previously to the erection of the bridge, it was generally called New Leighlin. It was originally granted by Hugh de Lacy to John de Clahul, or de Claville, who in 1181 erected a strong castle or fortress, called the Black Castle, which was one of the earliest defences of the English in Ireland. Towards the close of the reign of Hen. III., a Carmelite monastery was founded near the castle, on the eastern bank of the Barrow, by a member of the Carew family, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The bridge, of nine arches, was built in 1320 by Maurice Jakis, a canon of the cathedral of Kildare, to facilitate the intercourse between the religious houses of Old and New Leighlin. As the English settlement here became more insecure, the monastery was much exposed to the hostile attacks of the native Irish; and in 1371, Edw. III. granted ten marks annually for the repair and rebuilding of the house, which grant was renewed six years afterwards. In 1378, Rich. II., in consideration of the expense and labour of supporting the house and the bridge against the king's enemies, granted to the prior an annual pension of 20 marks out of the rents of the town of Newcastle of Lyons, which he confirmed in 1394, and it was also ratified by Hen. IV. and Hen. V., the latter monarch ordering that all arrears then due should be paid. In 1408, Gerald, fifth Earl of Kildare, built another fortress here, which he called White Castle; and after the dissolution the monastery was also converted into a fort and occupied as a military station by Sir Edward Bellingham, Marshal of the English army and Lord-Deputy of Ireland. This fortress was taken in 1577 by Rory Oge O'More, dynast of Leix, who destroyed the town by fire; and in 1649 it surrendered to the parliamentarians under Col. Hew-son, soon after which the main army under Ireton, on their march to Carlow, laid waste the neighbouring country.
The town, which is chiefly the property of W. R. Stewart, Esq., still retains many indications of its earlier importance as a military station; it is pleasantly situated on the river Barrow, by which it is divided into two nearly equal parts, and contains 369 houses, of which 178 are in the parish of Augha and 191 in that of Wells. The market is on Monday and Saturday, and is amply supplied with corn and butter; fairs are held on Easter-Monday, May 14th, Sept. 25th, and Dec. 27th; and there is a constabulary police station. The parish church of Wells and a R. C. chapel are in that portion of the town which lies on the Wells side of the river, and there is also a national school. About a mile distant is a celebrated spa, which is much resorted to. At the foot of the bridge, and on the eastern bank of the river, are the ruins of Black Castle, consisting of an oblong tower, about 50 feet high, completely capped with ivy; one of the floors resting on an arch is still remaining, and there is a flight of steps leading to the summit; it appears to have formed the north-western angle of a quadrangular enclosure, 315 feet in length and 234 feet wide, surrounded by a wall seven feet thick, with a fosse on the outside; part of the wall is standing on the west side, and at the south-eastern angle are the ruins of a round tower, the walls of which are ten feet in thickness. At the south end of the west wall of the quadrangle was the ancient monastery, of which an old building with loop hole windows and a stone doorway are supposed to be the only remaining portion; adjoining it and within the enclosure was a cemetery, now converted into a garden. In the neighbourhood was the abbey of Achad-finglass, founded by St. Fintan, who died in the 6th century; it was plundered by the Danes in 864, and there are no remains, even the precise site being unknown.
LEIGHMONEY, LEOFFONEY, or LIFFANY, a parish, in the barony of KINNALEA, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, l 1/2 mile (S. S. E.) from Innishannon, on the road from Kinsale to Bandon; containing 855 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the south by the river Bandon, on the margin of which are the remains of Shippool castle (formerly called Poolna-long), built in 1496 by the Roche family, and, from its vicinity to Kinsale, twice attacked by the Spaniards in 1601, but vigorously defended by the garrison, who repulsed the assailants with considerable loss. In 1642 it was taken by the garrison of Bandon for the king, and by this means a communication was kept open with Kinsale and the eastern parts of the county, which very greatly assisted the royal cause; it was occupied by the father of the present proprietor till 1794. The remains consist of one lofty square tower, apparently battered by artillery, and several cannon balls have been found in the vicinity. The parish comprises 2645 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £935 per annum: the land is generally poor and chiefly under tillage; about 200 acres are waste, and there is no bog. The system of agriculture is slowly improving under the spirited example of Capt. Herrick; and there are some quarries of good freestone, particularly at Shippool, which is worked into pillars and used for building. The river Bandon is navigable for small vessels up to Colliers' quay, opposite to the parish, and great quantities of sea-sand are landed for manure at four small quays at this place. The only seat of importance is Shippool, that of Capt. W. H. Herrick, R.N., a handsome residence in a richly-wooded demesne, sloping gradually to the water's edge. There are some extensive hanging woods, through which the new road from Kinsale to Bandon passes, disclosing some of the richest scenery in the county. There are several salmon weirs on the river Bandon, and great quantities of fish are taken. Near the castle are some singular rocks of the greenstone formation. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £110. 5., but there is neither glebe nor glebe-house. The church is in ruins, and divine service is performed in the parochial school-room, which has been licensed for that purpose. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Innishannon. About 70 children are taught in the parochial school, which also serves for the parish of Dunderrow, and for which a house and five acres of land were given by Capt. Herrick: it is further aided by the rector of Dunderrow and the curate of Leighmoney. On an eminence near the ivy-clad ruins of the old church are the remains of an extensive fortress, called Leoffoney Castle, which was occupied by the Spaniards in 1601, and by the royalists in 1641. There are several chalybeate springs, which are not much used.
LEITRIM (County of): a county, of which a very small portion is maritime, in the province of CONNAUGHT, bounded on the west by the counties of Sligo and Roscommon, on the south by that of Longford, on the east by those of Cavan and Fermanagh, and on the north by that of Donegal and by Donegal bay. It extends from 53° 45' to 54° 29' (N. Lat.) and from 7° 33' to 8° 8' (W. Lon.); and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 420,375 statute acres, of which 266,640 are cultivated land, 128,167 are unimproved mountain and bog, and 25,568 are under water. The population, in 1821, was 124,785, and in 1831, 141,303. According to Ptolemy, this tract, together with that comprised in the counties of Fermanagh and Cavan, was occupied by the Erdini, called in Irish Ernaigh, who possessed the entire country bordering on Lough Erne. This county, together with that of Cavan and part of Fermanagh, afterwards formed the territory of Breffny or Brenny, which was divided into two principalities, of which the present county of Leitrim formed the western, under the name of Lower or West Breffny, and Hy-Briuin-Breffny, from Brian, son of Eachod, and grandson of Muredach, first king of Connaught of the Scottish race. Sometimes this county was also designated Breffny O'Ruark, 0'Rorke, 0'Roirk, or O'Rourk, from the name of the family that ruled over it from a very early period. Its subordinate divisions were Dromahaire, the present barony of the same name; Lietdrumai or Liathdromen, the modern Leitrim; Munster Eolus, or Hy Colluing, the present baronies of Carrigallen and Mohill, the principal families of which were the Maghrannals, or Mac Granells; and Hy Murragh, the modern barony of Rossclogher, of which the chiefs were the O'Murroghs, or O'Murreys. For some time after the arrival of the English, the whole was considered to form part of the ill-defined county of Roscommon: but the O'Rourks maintained an independent authority in their own territory until the middle of the 16th century. Tiernan O'Rourk, an active military chief, governed here in the latter part of the 12th century, when the princes of Connaught and Leinster combined to expel him from his territory; and Dermod Mac Murrough, the king of Leinster, taking advantage of their success, carried off his wife Dervorghal; but the expelled chieftain having applied for aid to Turlogh, supreme king of Ireland, the latter not only reinstated him in his principality, but regained him his wife. The English, soon after their arrival, in conjunction with their ally Dermod, invaded the territory of Breffny, where, however, Dermod was twice defeated, and compelled to secure his safety by a precipitate retreat. O'Rourk afterwards made an unsuccessful attack on Dublin, when in the possession of Strongbow's forces; yet subsequently he joined Hen. II. against Roderic, king of Connaught. The line of independent chieftains of this family terminated in Brian O'Rourk, lord of Breffny and Minterolis, who, relying on the promises of Pope Sixtus V. and the king of Spain, threw off his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth; but having been forced to flee to Scotland, he was there taken prisoner and conveyed to London, where he was executed as a traitor, on which occasion it is recorded that the only favour he asked was to be hanged, after his country's fashion, with a rope of twisted withe. His territory having escheated to the Crown, extensive grants were given to English proprietors, and, in 1565, it was erected into a county by Sir Henry Sidney, under the name of Leitrim, from its chief town. The O'Rourks ruled over several subordinate septs, the principal families of whom were the O'Murrey's, Mac Loghlins, Mac Glanchies, and Mac Grannels, some of whose posterity still exist; the descendants of the last-named family are now called Reynolds, a corruption of the original name.
The native Irish were constantly at variance with the English settlers to whom the lands had been parcelled out by Elizabeth and James I.: in the war of 1641 they were among the first, who joined the standard of O'Nial, and in a short time the whole country was in the possession of the insurgents, and so continued during the greater part of this war, on the termination of which the lands of all engaged on the part of the Irish were forfeited. At the Restoration, Chas. II. made extensive grants to new settlers; and on the abdication of Jas. II. many more grants of a similar nature were made by his successor. During the insurrection of 1798, this part of the kingdom was undisturbed except by a few isolated acts of violence.
The county is partly in the diocese of Ardagh, but chiefly in that of Kilmore. For purposes of civil jurisdiction it is divided into the baronies of Carrigallen, Dromahaire, Leitrim, Mohill, and Rossclogher. It contains the disfranchised borough, market, and assize town of Carrick-on-Shannori; the disfranchised borough of Jamestown; the market and post-towns of Manor-Hamilton, Ballinamore, and Mohill; and the post-towns of Drumod, Drumsna, and Ruskey. The largest villages are Cashcarrigan, Carrigallen, Dromahaire, Drumkeerin, Drumshambo (each of which has a penny-post), Leitrim (once the county and assize town), and Kinlough. Leitrim sent six members to the Irish parliament: since the Union two only have been returned for the county to the Imperial Parliament; the election takes place at Carrick-on-Shannon. The number of electors registered under the provisions of the 2nd and 3rd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, in January 1836, was 1491, of whom 186 were £50, 161 £20, and 1105 £10 freeholders; and 39 £10 leaseholders. The county is in the Connaught Circuit: the assizes and general quarter sessions are held at Carrick-on-Shannon; quarter sessions are held also at Manor-Hamilton and Ballinamore. The county gaol and court-house are at Carrick; and there are court-houses and bridewells at Manor-Hamilton and Ballinamore. The number of persons charged with criminal offences and committed to prison for this county, in 1835, was 310. The local government is vested in a lieutenant, twelve deputy-lieutenants, and sixty-one magistrates, with the usual county officers. There are 18 constabulary police stations, having a force of a stipendiary magistrate, a sub-inspector, 5 chief officers, 21 constables, 105 men and 6 horses, the expense of whose maintenance is defrayed by Grand Jury presentments and by Government, in equal proportions. The county infirmary is at Carrick-on-Shannon; the district lunatic asylum for Connaught is at Ballinasloe, where accommodations are provided for 13 cases from this county; and there are dispensaries at Ballinamore, Carrick-on-Shannon, Carrigallen, Drumsna Kinlough, Kiltubrid, Manor-Hamilton, and Mohill. The Grand Jury presentments for 1835 amounted to £15,638. 12. 10., of which £2107. 0. 10. was for the roads and bridges of the county at large; £2794. 7. 4 1/2. for those of the baronies; £5291. 8. 11. for public buildings, charities, salaries, and incidents; £2338. 3. 71/2. for the police, and £3107. 12. 1. for repayment of money advanced by Government. In military arrangements the county is included in the western district, and contains one barrack for infantry at Carrick-on-Shannon, having accommodations for 4 officers and 126 men.
The form of the county is somewhat pyramidal, or approaching to that of a slender cone, having its base resting on Longford, and its apex on the sea coast: its extreme length is about 46 miles; its breadth varies from 16 at the former extremity to 2 at the latter. The greater part of the surface not strictly mountainous being occupied by steep hills and deep valleys, it displays many varieties of picturesque scenery heightened by striking and sudden contrasts of wild heathy mountain, and rich cultivation, wood, and water. The southern extremity from Rusky to Carrick is fertile and well cultivated, particularly on the banks of the Shannon, which here separates Leitrim from Roscommon and spreads into Lough Boffin, backed by the heights of Sheebeg and Sheemore, forming a fine relief to the lofty grandeur of the more distant mountain of Slieve-an-irin, and the luxuriant swell of the adjacent part of Roscommon. Proceeding northward to Lough Allen, the country, though available for tillage, gradually assumes a gloomy aspect, and immediately from the verge of this lake steep ascents stretch to a distance of two, three, and four miles to the mountains, which on almost every side terminate the view: but even here various delightful prospects are obtained, especially near the points where the Shannon enters into and emerges from the lake. The summit of the group called Slieve-an-irin, or Slieve-an-Jaroin, to the east of Lough Allen, is the highest point in this mountainous district, which extends five or six miles northward; but large tracts of good land appear around Dromahaire, Manor-Hamilton, and Glencar, where the face of the country is extremely varied and pleasing. Not far distant are the mountains of Lacka, 1315 feet high; Lugnacuillagh, 1485 feet high; Doon; Glanfarn or Mullaghusk; Benbo, 1403 feet high; and Green Mountain, 920 feet. These mountains do not form a connected chain or group, but are separated by deep and broad valleys, containing innumerable low but steep hills. The mountains, too, like those of the Slieve-an-irin group, are all of similar character, rising at a steep angle from their bases, and, except Benbo, frequently presenting mural precipices from 60 to 100 feet deep; but their summits are all nearly flat and covered with coarse herbage. Further northward, on approaching the sea, the most barren mountains rise from the fertile vale, amid which many scenes of superior beauty arrest the eye. The Shannon and its tributaries add greatly to the beauty of the south-western part of the county, which is still further augmented by the numerous lakes scattered over its surface. The principal of these is Lough Allen, stretching about seven miles in length, between Drumkerrin and Drumshambo, and with a mean breadth of five miles; its south-western extremity is in the county of Roscommon; it is in some places very deep, and owing to the surrounding mountains, the storms upon it are extremely sudden and violent. Lough Gill, though forming part of the western boundary of the county, is chiefly in that of Sligo: it is about five or six miles in length, and two in breadth; and its shores, naturally romantic, have been richly planted and cultivated. Lough Melvyn, which separates the counties of Leitrim and Fermanagh for some distance, is 5 miles in length and varies in breadth from 3 miles to 3/4 of a mile; Lough Clane, otherwise Belhovel Lake, is situated about 4 miles to the north-west of Lough Allen, with which it communicates by the river Duibhachar; this lake is nearly two miles long and one broad. Loughs Bodarrig and Boffin are merely expansions of the Shannon to the south of Drumsna; the only other lake worthy of particular notice is that of Garadise, an extensive and pleasing expanse of water, which, with Newtown-Gore Lake and several smaller in the vicinity of Ballinamore and Cashcarrigan, add greatly to the picturesque beauties of this part of the county.
The climate is very cold and damp, and more variable, perhaps, than that of any other county in Ireland, owing to the great elevation of its surface and its contiguity to the Atlantic. The soil is also very various; the tops and sides of most of the hills towards the south have a surface composed of a thin layer of hungry ferruginous loam, resting on a hard gravel of similar nature, and forming a stiff heavy cold clay: that of the valleys is of a more valuable kind, being deeper, and much more fertile. The whole is exceedingly retentive of water, its hard gravelly substance being based on clay-slate of various colours, beneath which occurs, in many places, a yellow, brown, or blackish stiff argillaceous substratum, while in some parts this sort of raw unproductive earth, most commonly of a reddish colour, is found immediately beneath the surface. Large tracts of deep, dark, rich loam on a limestone bottom are found in the neighbourhoods of Sheemore, Mohill, Dromahaire, and Manor-Hamilton. The ordinary varieties of peat, forming the soils of the bogs, moors, and much of the mountain, occupy large tracts. This is by no means an agricultural county, although considerable tracts of land have been brought into cultivation within these few years. The principal crops are oats, potatoes, and flax; the culture of wheat has become more general of late, and bere, barley, and clover, are occasionally sown. The general rotation is potatoes, flax, and afterwards successive crops of oats, until the land is exhausted, when it is generally much encumbered with weeds, and in this state is left to recruit itself by natural means alone; fallowing is unknown, and grass or clover seeds are rarely sown; hence the land is almost useless until broken up again for potatoes after a few years. When the soil is considered to be too good for flax, wheat sometimes succeeds potatoes, but the land is scarcely ever manured for any but the potatoe crop. The old heavy wooden plough is generally used in the low country, while in the mountain districts the land is chiefly cultivated by the loy, a narrow spade, with a blade about 14 inches long by 3 inches broad, and much bent, with a strong handle 5 or 6 feet long; but neither with the plough nor the loy is fresh soil turned up, the same thin surface being merely broken year after year; and even where the wealthier farmers have introduced the Scotch plough, the ploughman, attached to the old method, will not cut his furrow deep enough. The light angle harrow is found only with the gentry and wealthier farmers, who are doing much to improve the system of agriculture. Potatoes are in some instances dibbled in with a pointed stake called "a steeveen," in others spread on the sward or on manure, and the soil dug out of the trenches is thrown over them with a broad awkward shovel. The grass lands are of every quality, from the richest herbage to mountain heath and rushes. It is observed, however, that even on the coarsest and most marshy soils, the old native cow thrives well, and both milk and butter are of excellent flavour. Though there are no regular or extensive dairies, almost every family, however poor, has one or more cows, and hence great quantities of butter are made, which is principally carried to market in firkins and bought up to be shipped for England. Leitrim, generally, is not a feeding county like Roscommon, yet there are some excellent farms on which great numbers of cattle are annually fed, principally for the Dublin or English markets. In most of the valleys are found limestone gravel and marl, which are extensively used for manure; and in the districts of Ballynagleragh and Glenfarn, which are deficient in these materials, the inhabitants bring lime from a distance of three or four miles: sea weed, shells, and sand are not only used in all parts contiguous to the shores, but are carried several miles into the - interior. The fences are chiefly a trench from four to six feet wide, having on one side a bank of earth thrown out of the trench, which becomes durable by exposure to the air; a layer of sods is sometimes added, and quicksets are planted on the breast of the bank; but this sort of hedge or fence is found only in the southern parts of the county, where, on some of the larger farms, double-faced banks, with trenches on each side, and planted with thorn, crab, and forest trees, are sometimes to be seen. Farms of every size, from 4 acres to 3000, are to be met with, the larger principally in the mountainous districts and mostly under pasture, with some enclosures near the dwelling-houses. Vast numbers of young and store cattle are reared, and in some districts there are large flocks of sheep, but they are not so general as they might be: horned cattle are preferred, because they require less attention. In the southern parts of the county, and generally in the fertile districts, great improvements have been made in the breed of this latter stock, by the introduction of English and Scotch cows of the most esteemed sorts. The Durham is a general favourite, but is too delicate for the climate except in sheltered situations: the North Devon and Hereford do not attain to so great a size as at home. The cross which appears best suited to the richer parts of the county is that between the old Leicester and Durham; and in the upland districts, the blood of the Leicester mixes well with that of the native long-horned stock, producing a large and useful animal, well adapted to the soil and climate, which thrives well, fattens rapidly, and makes excellent beef. The breed of sheep has also been greatly improved: the New Leicester answers well on the limestone soils, and in both size and fleece is not inferior to any in England. But the breed most encouraged is a cross between the Leicester and the native; the fleece is good and the flavour of the mutton highly esteemed. Pigs, though numerous, are neither so general nor so good as in some of the northern and southern counties. Goats are found most frequently at the foot of the mountains, and are often an appendage to the cabin on the plain, but they are not by any means so general as in the mountainous counties of Munster. The horse, which appears to combine the characteristics of all the breeds to be met with in Roscommon, Longford, and Sligo, is not so good as that of any of those counties, being mostly small and light: the gentlemen and large farmers, however, have horses admirably adapted for the saddle. A light and useful one-horse cart has every where superseded the old solid wheel and slide car. Leitrim was formerly celebrated for its numerous and extensive forests. So lately as 1605, five are distinctly mentioned as being of very considerable extent, under the names of the forests of Drummat, Clone, Drumdaragh, Cortmore, and Screeney; all of these have long since disappeared, and this county, like the rest of Connaught, presents a bleak and denuded aspect; yet vestiges of woods are seen around Lurganboy and Woodville, which have some appearance of the remains of ancient forests; and there are old plantations, containing full-grown timber, in various parts, with others of modern growth around several of the mansions of the gentry; there are also several nurseries. An orchard and a good kitchen garden is a usual appendage to the farm-house.
The geology of the county presents many remarkable features. The lowest strata are those of the primary mountain range entering from the county of Sligo and extending from south-west to north-east: this range is mostly composed of mica slate; a green steatite, thickly studded with valuable garnets, has been found at the foot of a mountain near Lurganboy. On the western base of Benbo a clay of a blueish white hue has been found and used for fullers' earth: the western side of the same mountain is traversed by a metallic vein containing copper pyrites, which was formerly wrought. Veins of the sulphuret of lead have also been largely wrought in several places between Benbo and Lurganboy. This primary range is generally bordered on both sides by beds of variously coloured freestone, to which limestone succeeds in every direction, occupying the remainder of the northern portion of the county and forming part of the great limestone field of Ireland. All the central portion of the county forms part of the great Connaught coal field, constituting a vast basin of which Lough Allen is the centre. The principal vein of coal is about 3 feet thick, of very great extent, and of excellent quality both for domestic purposes and for smelting; but the beds are often interrupted by faults, by which portions of the strata are, broken and thrown upwards from 20 to 40 yards. It was originally discovered in the Munterkenny mountains, and such was the importance attached to the discovery that a parliamentary grant was made for the formation of roads to it, but the workings were soon discontinued in consequence of a fault, by which the stratum was considerably elevated, which induced the workmen, who were ignorant of the cause of the interruption and of the means of remedying it, to relinquish any further operations. In the northern part of the coal district the beds are found only in the higher parts of Lugnacuillagh and Lacka. Extensive quarries of very fine-grained yellowish white sandstone are worked near the summit of Glanfarn mountain for window seats and various ornamental purposes. Lacka mountain contains a great bed of sandstone, the strata of which form a succession of abrupt precipices with considerable flat intervals between them: above the sandstone are beds of slate clay succeeded by layers of coal from 4 to 6 inches thick, alternating with beds of sandstone: this field has been but little worked. The stratification of Lugnacuillagh mountain, on the borders of Cavan, much resembles that of Lacka. The remainder of the coal district to the east of Lough Allen is composed of the great mountain group of Slieve-an-irin, or Slieve-an-Jaroin, "the Iron Mountain;" its stratification is extremely irregular. Three layers of coal have been discovered in it, one of good quality, 18 inches thick. Rich clay ironstone abounds also at various elevations, and was worked so long as timber could be procured to feed the furnaces: those of Drumshambo, the last in operation, were abandoned in 1765. The ore of this mountain is said to be far richer than that on the Roscommon side of the lake. In the channels of many of the streams descending from it are found beds of pipe clay and yellow ochre. Manganese is also found in great abundance.
The manufactures are few and unimportant; the principal are the spinning of flax and the weaving of linen cloth, which are carried on in some parts to a considerable extent; the greater part of the cloth is sold in the open market to the merchants and bleachers of the county, and the remainder is purchased by buyers from the neighbouring northern counties. There are only four bleach-greens now in operation, in which about 32,000 pieces are annually finished, principally for the English market. Coarse pottery is made near Dromahaire and Leitrim, in quantities merely sufficient to supply the domestic demand. Friezes, flannels, and woollen stuffs are made in various parts, and are considered equal to any of Irish fabric, particularly the flannels, which are in great esteem and always command good prices. The commerce of the county is also on a very limited scale, consisting chiefly in the sale of butter, live cattle, pigs, and a small portion of the manufactured articles above noticed. Fresh-water fish of every kind are abundant in all the rivers and lakes; very fine salmon are caught in the Bundoran river below Lough Melvin: and off the coast great quantities of herrings, sprats, cod, ling, and whiting are taken.
The principal of the numerous rivers is the Shannon (originally Sionan, signifying "calmness," but anciently written Shenan), which enters the county in a copious stream about four miles from its source in the midst of the lonely district of Glangavlin, in the county of Cavan, and descends southward into Lough Allen, whence it emerges near Drumshambo and pursues a winding southern course by Leitrim, Carrick-on-Shannon, Jamestown, and Drumsna; it thence proceeds southeastward, and after forming the Loughs Bodarig and Boffin, quits the county below Roosky. Throughout the whole of its course from Lough Allen to this point it separates the county from that of Roscommon, and is navigable. The Abhain-Naille, which takes its name from St. Naille, or Natalis, who built a monastery at its source, rises in Killowman lake, on the summit of Lacka mountain, whence it issues in a copious stream, and being soon joined by other rivulets, becomes a river of considerable size, and descends with rapidity to join the Shannon. The Duibhachar river runs from Belhovel lake southward into Lough Allen, it is but four miles in length and is at first a small stream; but being joined by numerous tributaries descending from the mountain and hills of Barradaaltdeag, or "the tops of the twelve dingles," it becomes both wide and deep. The smaller rivers are very numerous, rippling through endless varieties of scenery in various parts of the county, but the only one worthy of especial notice is the Boonid or Bonnet, which flows through the beautiful vale of Dromahaire into Lough Gill. The Shannon has been rendered navigable throughout its entire length by means of several cuts, or short canals; the principal is that from the south-eastern extremity of Lough Allen to Battle Bridge, four miles, above Carrick: it was completed in 1817 by means of a parliamentary grant of £15,000, and is about 5 miles in length; hitherto it has been of little advantage, but from the great mineral wealth of the districts with which it is connected, the high reputation the iron found in them has already acquired, the railway now in progress from the Arigna works to Lough Allen, and the numerous advantages to be expected from a spirit of internal commerce judiciously directed, it is to be hoped that this fine canal, now nearly choked with reeds, will be made available towards increasing the internal prosperity of the country. Other short cuts, more or less connected with the Shannon near the shores of Leitrim, belong properly to Roscommon, and are described in the article on that county.
The roads are numerous, but by no means well laid out, nor do they pass through the districts where they would be most useful to the public. Throughout every part of the mountainous tracts, with one exception, there are no passable roads; the want is generally felt, and universally admitted, but no effort was made to remedy it until the present year, when the Grand Jury decided upon opening a new mail line from Sligo to Ballyshannon, through the mountains of Rocclogher, between Cartrongibbough and the Deerpark; the line is already marked out, but its formation has not yet commenced. This improvement, however, will not touch upon, or afford an opening into the rich mineral districts of Leitrim. Some important roads have been formed in various parts, but being made by contract the foundations are defective, and the roads themselves are now much neglected, although the materials are everywhere most abundant and of superior quality.
Vestiges of the remotest antiquity are not numerous: there are but two druidical altars, one within half a mile of Fena, and the other on the demesne of Letterfyan: they are called respectively by the inhabitants Leaba Dearmudi Graine, or "Darby and Graine's bed or altar." Fifteen religious houses are recorded to have formerly existed within the limits of the county; and there are still remains of those of Fena, Annaghduff, Clone, Kilnaille, and Ince in Lough Allen. The castles and fortified mansions were also very numerous; those which still remain, more or less in ruin, are O'Rourk's Castle, near the fortified residence called Dromahaire Castle, those of Jamestown and Longfield, Castlefore, Castle John, Cloncorrick Castle, Castle Car, the fortresses of Dungarbery and Manor-Hamilton, and two castles on the banks of Lough Gill. The modern seats, which are not remarkable either for number or grandeur, are noticed under the heads of the parishes in which they are respectively situated. The farm-houses are usually long narrow cabins, which sometimes shelter the cattle in common with the family; but houses of a better description, with chimneys, partitions, and separate or detached buildings, are gradually superseding them. The fuel is everywhere turf, procured in great abundance through every part of the county. The general food is potatoes and oaten bread, sometimes with buttermilk, or fish; butchers' meat is only used at Easter and Christmas, or on other great festive occasions. The clothing of the men is neat and strong, the coat mostly of frieze, the small clothes of corduroy; the females mostly wear a coarse woollen stuff petticoat, and of late cotton gowns have become common. The general character of the people is that of sobriety and industry: the English language is everywhere spoken by adults and children, and mostly by elderly people, except in the remote mountain districts, and even there it rarely occurs that a person is met with who cannot speak it. The principal natural curiosities, besides those already noticed as forming the grand features of its surface, are its chalybeate and sulphureous springs, of which the most noted are the sulphureous spas of Drumsna, Meelock, and Athimonus, besides several others about Drumshambo, and Cashcarrigan. The principal chalybeate spas are those on the border of Cavan, at the northern extremity of Lough Allen; and Oakfield, within two miles of the sea. In 1783, Robert Clements, Esq., was created Baron Leitrim of Manor-Hamilton, advanced to the viscounty in 1793, and created Earl of Leitrim in 1795, which titles are now enjoyed by his son.
LEITRIM, a parish, partly in the barony of COSHMORE and COSHBRIDE, county of WATERFORD, but chiefly in that of CONDONS and CLONGIBBONS, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Kilworth, on the north side of the river Blackwater, and on the road from Fermoy to Lismore; containing 2032 inhabitants. It comprises 6597 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3826. 7. 10. per annum. Of the land, which is of variable quality, that portion situated on the banks of the river is the best: limestone, brownstone, and slate are found in this parish, of which the former is quarried for agricultural purposes, but the latter two are not worked. The only seat is Kilmurry, the residence of Thos. St. John Grant, Esq., beautifully situated in the midst of some extensive improvements at the junction of the two counties, which are here separated only by a small glen stream. and a mountain path. It is in the diocese of Cloyne: the rectory is impropriate in Wm. Norcott, Esq., and the vicarage forms part of the union of Kilworth. The tithes amount to £460, payable in equal portions to the impropriator and the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it also forms part of the union or district of Kilworth. About 80 children are educated in two private schools. In the demesne of Kilmurry was discovered, some years since, a number of human skeletons, which, combined with the word Kil, has led to the inference that a church or cell to some religious house formerly existed here.
LEITRIM, a parish, partly in the barony of LOUGHREA, but chiefly in that of LEITRIM, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 8 miles (W. N. W.) from Portumna, on the road to Loughrea; containing 1679 inhabitants, of which number, 280 are in the village. This parish, which is bounded by the Slievebaughta mountains, comprises 2797 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is in general in a profitable state of cultivation, and there is very little bog. The principal seats are Carrowkeel, the residence of J. Ulick Burke, Esq.; and Dalystown, of Dr. O'Ferrall. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Clonfert, forming part of the union of Lickmolassey; the rectory is appropriate to the see. The tithes amount to £68. 11. 6 1/2., of which £13. 16. 11. is payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and £54. 14. 7 1/2. to the vicar. There is no church, glebe-house, or glebe. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Kilcooley; the chapel is a neat edifice, and there is also a chapel at Kilcooley. There is a school supported by subscription, of which the school-house was built by the Hon. F. Ponsonby; and about 100 children are taught in a private school. There are considerable remains of the castle of Leitrim, in good preservation; and the ruins of an old chapel are attached to it, the cemetery of which is still used. Petrified cockle and muscle shells are found at Carrowkeel, which is about 18 miles distant from the sea.
LEITRIM, a village, in the parish of KILTOGHART, barony and county of LEITRIM, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Carrick-on-Shannon, on the eastern bank of the river Shannon; containing 50 houses and 274 inhabitants. It is recorded that St. Mac Liegus, son of Cernac, was bishop of Lietdrumai, or Liathdromen, which was the ancient name of this place. A castle existed here in ancient times, from which, or, as some state, from the castle of Dromahaire, Dervorghal, wife of O'Rourk, Prince of Breffny, was taken by Dermod, King of Leinster, which was one of the causes of the English invasion. There are some remains of ancient buildings, which probably formed part of the castle. Fairs are held here on Jan. 22nd, Feb. 21st, March 25th, May 5th, June 16th, July 23rd, Sept. 1st, Oct. 13th, and Dec. 1st. Leitrim was formerly a place of some importance and gave name to the county.
LEIXLIP, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of NORTH SALT, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 12 miles (N. N. E.) from Naas, and 8 (W.) from Dublin: containing 1624 inhabitants, of which number, 1159 are in the town. This place was included in the grant originally made to Adam Fitz Hereford, one of the earliest of the English adventurers, who is said to have built the castle, which is situated on an eminence overlooking the river Liffey, and according to tradition was the occasional residence of John, Earl of Morton, while governor of Ireland in the reign of his father, Hen. II. It was afterwards granted to the abbey of St. Thomas' court, Dublin; and by an inquisition in 1604 it appears that Thomas Cottrel, the last abbot of that house, was seized of the manor of Leixlip and the right of a flagon of ale out of every brewing in the town. The castle and manor were subsequently purchased by the Rt. Hon. Thomas Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and are now the property of Col. Conolly, of Castletown. This venerable mansion was the favourite retreat of several of the viceroys, of whom Lord Townsend usually spent the summer here; it is at present the residence of the Hon. George Cavendish, by whom it has been modernised and greatly improved. The other seats are Rye Vale, the residence of Dan. P. Ryan, Esq.; Leixlip House, of John D. Nesbitt, Esq.; and Music Hall, of Capt. Hackett, R. N. The town is situated near the confluence of the Rye Water with the river Liffey, over which is an ancient stone bridge of three arches, and on the mail coach road from Dublin to Galway. It consists only of one street; the houses are irregularly built, and with the exception of a few of handsome appearance, have generally an aspect of negligence and decay; the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from springs. The woollen manufacture is still carried on, though at present on a very limited scale, employing only six persons. On the banks of the Liffey are rolling-mills for the manufacture of bar and sheet iron; and near them is a flour-mill; a mill race 40 feet wide has been constructed in the castle demesne, for the purpose of turning another mill, or for applying water power to some manufactory. On the Rye Water is the Rye Vale distillery, which produces more than 20,000 gallons of whiskey annually. The Royal canal approaches within half a mile of the town, and is carried over the river Liffey by an aqueduct nearly 100 feet high, affording facility of water carriage to Dublin. The market is on Saturday, and fairs are held annually on May 4th and Oct. 9th. There is a constabulary police station in the town.
The parish comprises 7974 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; a considerable portion of the land is in pasture for fattening stock for the Dublin, Liverpool, and Bristol markets, and the remainder is under tillage. The soil is good, and the system of agriculture slowly but progressively improving; there is neither waste land nor bog, and, from the consequent scarcity of fuel, the peasantry are dependent on such precarious supplies as they can find in the roads and hedges. Limestone is very abundant, and is quarried to a considerable extent, for building, and also for burning into lime for manure. The country around, though deficient in those striking features of romantic grandeur which distinguish the neighbouring county of Wicklow, concentrates much that is pleasing and picturesque in landscape. The surface is finely undulating and richly diversified with wood and water, and the view embraces the town with its ancient bridge, numerous elegant seats with highly cultivated demesnes, ancient and picturesque ruins, distant mountains, and a variety of other interesting features of rural scenery. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, united by act of council, prior to 1662, to the vicarages of Esker and Lucan, the curacies of Confoy and Stacumnie, and the denominations of Aldergh, Westmorestown and St. Catherine's, and in the patronage of the Archbishop. The tithes for the whole union amount to £600; the glebe-house was built by a loan of £562 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1822; the glebe comprises 28 acres of profitable land. The church, an ancient structure with a massive square tower, has been recently repaired by a grant of £291 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Maynooth and Leixlip; the chapel is a small edifice, situated on the banks of the Rye Water, and is about to be replaced by a handsome structure of larger dimensions. About 70 children are taught in an infants' school, and there are three private schools, in which are about 170 children. In the parish is a chalybeate spring of great strength and purity, which was in high repute towards the close of the last century; in winter the water is somewhat tepid; it is situated about half a mile from the town, by the side of the canal; the Rt. Hon. Thos. Conolly intended to build a pump-room and an hotel, but dying before they were commenced, the design was abandoned for the more fashionable spa of Lucan, which is nearer to Dublin.
LEMANAGHAN, or KILNEGARENAGH, a parish, in the barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. W.) from Clara; containing, with the villages of Ballycumber, Bellair, and Grogan (which are separately described), 5785 inhabitants, of which number, 290 are in the village of Lemanaghan. This place, which is also called Melain, is situated on the river Brosna, and appears to have derived its name from St. Manchan, probably the founder of the monastery, of which he died abbot in 661. The establishment continued to flourish till 1205, after which it became a parish church; and there are still some remains of the building surrounded by a large tract of bog. The parish comprises 18,690 statute acres, of which 200 are woodland, 6740 arable, 4000 pasture, and 7/50 bog; the system of agriculture is very backward, little improvement having been made within the last two centuries; limestone abounds, and is quarried for agricultural and other purposes. The principal seats are Bellair, the residence of T. Homan Mulock, Esq.; Prospect, of C. Holmes, Esq.; Moorock, of G. A. Holmes, Esq.; the Doon, of R. J. Enright Mooney, Esq.; Castle Armstrong, of Col. Armstrong; Ballycumber House, of Capt. Armstrong; Twickenham, of Mrs. Armstrong; and Hollybrook, of J. Henderson, Esq. Fairs are held at Ballycumber on Dec. 1st and May 2nd, for horned cattle, sheep, and pigs, but they are very indifferently attended; and petty sessions are held alternately at Bellair and Doon on Fridays. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, formerly held by faculty with the rectory and vicarage of Tessauran, but now separately, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £415. 7. 8.; the glebe-house is a neat small residence occupied by the curate, and the glebe comprises 70 acres. The church, a neat plain edifice, situated at Liss, was built in 1830, at the expense of the parish, and an organ was erected in it at the cost of T. H. Mulock, Esq. In the R. C. divisions the parish is in the diocese of Ardagh, and forms part of the union or district of Ballinahone. The chapel is a very humble building; on the altar is an ancient shrine, supposed to contain the bones of St. Manachan. About 140 children are taught in four public schools, of which one tor 40 girls is supported by Mrs. Mulock, at Bellair; and there are also seven private schools, in which are about 340 children. A dispensary is supported solely at the expense of Dr. Molloy, who has also invested £500 in a loan fund, which is supported solely by him. There are some remains of the ancient castle of Lemanaghan, and at Doon are the remains of the ancient castle of the O'Mooneys, now in the possession of R. J. E. Mooney, Esq., a lineal descendant of that family, whose residence is on the estate. Of the castle, which was a spacious structure on a rock, only one tower is remaining; it is thickly overspread with ivy and forms a picturesque object.
LENEY, a parish, in the barony of CORKAREE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (N. N. W.) from Mullingar, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Sligo; containing, with the villages of Ballinalack and Brumbrusna (both of which are separately described), 1479 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the south-west by Lough Iron, and on the south-east by Lough Hoyle, comprises 3560 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The lands are chiefly under tillage; the system of agriculture is unimproved, and there is but very little bog; black stone of a good quality is quarried for building and also for flags. Clanhugh, a lodge belonging to Lord Forbes, and Lakeview, the residence of E. Daly, Esq., are in the parish. Fairs are held at Ballinalack twice in the year. The living is an impropriate curacy, in the diocese of Meath, episcopally united to the curacies of Templeoran, Kilmacnevin, Lecken, and Tyfernon, together constituting the union of Leney, in the patronage of Sir J. B. Piers, Bart., in whom the rectory is impropriate: the tithes amount to £118. 2. 1., payable to the impropriator; the curate's stipend is £78, arising from payments of £64 per ann. from Primate Boulter's and £14 from Bishop Evans's fund. The glebe-house was erected in 1817, by a gift of £450 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 20 acres of profitable land, subject to a rent of £36. 2. 6. The church, a plain edifice, was rebuilt near the village of Brumbrusna by a loan of £350 from the same Board, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have granted £129 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Multifarnam. About 150 children are taught in three public schools, of which the Farra Charter school, for boarding, clothing, and apprenticing 100 children with a premium of £7, and a gratuity of £3 to each boy on the expiration of his indentures, was endowed by the Rev. W. Wilson; and the parochial school is supported under the patronage of J. Gibbons, Esq., who gives the master £10 per ann. with a house and garden, and appropriates 2 1/2 acres of land to it.
LERRIGS, a village, in the parish of KILMOILEY, barony of CLANMAURICE, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 7 miles (N.) from Tralee, on the road to Causeway; containing 117 houses and 723 inhabitants. The R. C. chapel for this portion of the district of Ardfert is situated in the village.
LESKINFERE, or CLOUGH, a parish, in the barony of GOREY, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. W.) from Gorey, on the high road to Enniscorthy; containing 1213 inhabitants. During the disturbances of 1798, a battle was fought at Tubbernecarig Rock, in this parish, between the king's troops and the insurgents, in which Col. Walpole, who commanded the former, was killed. The parish comprises 5355 statute acres, the greater portion of which is under tillage; the soil in some parts is poor and shingly, but in general moderately good; there is an abundance of marl, which is used as manure. Monalawn, the residence of R. Brownrigge, Esq., a very pleasant villa; and Bernardown, another residence of the Brownrigge family, are in the parish, which is pleasingly studded with neat farm-houses. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Ferns, united by act of council, in 1739, to the rectories of Ballycannew, Kiltrisk, and Monomolin, forming together the union of Leskinfere and constituting the corps of the treasurership of Ferns, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £318, and of the entire benefice to £1037; the glebe-house was built by the late incumbent, in 1805, at an expense of £1400, towards which the late Board of First Fruits gave £100; it has been surrounded by the present incumbent with a thriving plantation. There are 64 acres of glebe in the union, of which 16 are attached to the glebe-house. The church, a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles, was erected in 1831 by a loan of £1250 from the late Board of First Fruits; the churchyard is well planted. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Camolin; there is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. About 25 children are taught in the parochial school; the school-house is a neat building, erected chiefly by aid of a grant of £60 from the Lord Lieutenant's fund: the master receives annally £7 from the rector, and £7 from the Association for Discountenancing Vice, with a house and an acre of ground. At Tubbernecarig is a strongly impregnated chalybeate spring.
LETTERKENNY, a market and post-town, in the parish of CONWALL, barony of KILMACRENAN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 13 miles (W.) from Lifford, and 118 (N. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Lifford to Ramelton and Dunfanaghy; containing 2160 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Swilly, over which is a bridge of one arch, and consists of one street with a spacious market-square, containing 416 houses. The market is on Friday, and is well supplied with provisions; the fairs are on the first Friday in January, May 12th, July 10th, the third Friday in August, and Nov. 8th. A constabulary police force is stationed here; petty sessions are held every Wednesday, and the quarter sessions for the county are held here in April and October; the court-house is a neat building, and there is a bridewell, containing six cells and two day-rooms, with two airing-yards. In the mountains in the vicinity are great quantities of stone of good quality, and marl; about half a mile from the town, and about the same distance from Lough Swilly, is a good quarry of slate; and on the shores of the lough are great quantities of potters' clay and clay for bricks. The river is navigable from Lough Swilly to this place for vessels of 150 tons' burden. The parish church, and the R. C. chapel of the district of Aughnish, a plain small building, are situated in the town; and there are three places of worship for Presbyterians respectively of the Ulster and Seceding Synods and for Covenanters. There are also a national school, a dispensary, and a small fever hospital. Near this place were the ancient English settlements of Drummore and Lurgagh, comprising about 2000 acres, with a bawn of brick and a castle of stone in a strong position, also a village at some distance, in which were 29 British families able to muster 64 men-at-arms; and Dunboy, a territory comprising 1000 acres, where, at the time of Pynnar's survey, in 1619, Mr. John Cunningham had a strong bawn, 70 feet square and 14 feet high, defended with two lofty towers, with a castle and 26 houses and a mill within the enclosure, the houses tenanted by British families, able to muster 50 armed men.
LETTERLUNA, or LETTER, a parish, in the barony of BALLYBRIT, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N.) from Kinnitty, on the road from Dublin to Parsonstown; containing, with the village of Cadamstown, 1000 inhabitants. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe; the rectory is partly impropriate in H. Malone, Esq., and partly united to the vicarage, which forms part of the union of Kinnitty; the tithes amount to £73. 16. 11., of which £18, 9. 2 3/4. is payable to the impropriator and the remainder to the incumbent. There is neither church, glebe-house, nor glebe. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kinnitty or Longford. About 120 children are taught in the parochial school, and there is a private school, in which are about 40 children.
LETTERMACWARD, a parish, in the barony of BOYLAGH, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 21 miles (W. S. W.) from Letterkenny, on the road from Killybegs to Rutland Island; containing 2039 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Guibarra, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 20,8003 statute acres, of which 512 are in the tideway of the river, and 503 in lakes; of the remainder, a very large portion is mountain waste and bog. The system of agriculture is in an unimproved state, a very small portion of the land being under tillage; there are strong indications of rich lead ore, in which silver ore has been found. Fairs are held on Feb. 20th, May 20th, Aug. 20th, and Oct. 1st, for cattle and sheep; and manorial courts are held occasionally. Prior to the 25th of March 1835, this parish formed part of the corps of the deanery of Raphoe, from which it was then separated. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £89. 8. 7. The glebe-house was built by a gift of £415 and a loan of £46. 3. from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1828; the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is a plain edifice, erected about 60 years since. In the R. C. divisions, the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also a portion of the parish of Templecroan; the chapel is a small building, and there is also a chapel at Templecroan. About 13 children are taught in the parochial school, which is partly supported from Col. Robertson's fund; and there is a private school, in which are about 18 children. A school-house was also built with the surplus funds granted by the late Board of First Fruits for erecting the glebe-house, but has not been opened. Very large seals are taken in the river Guibarra. Near the glebe-house is a large moat.
LEWISBURGH, or LOUISBOURG, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish of KILGAVOWER, barony of MURRISK, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 11 miles (W. S. W.) from Westport: the population is returned with the parish. This place is pleasantly situated on the southern shore of Clew bay, on the western coast. The village is neatly built; a market for provisions is held on Monday, and there are fairs on the 24th of June, Aug. 4th, and Sept. 29th; a constabulary police force is also stationed here. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Tuam, and in the patronage of the Incumbent of Aughaval: the stipend is £75, paid by the incumbent, and the curate has also a glebe-house and a glebe comprising 22 acres. The church of the district, a neat edifice, was erected by a gift of £415. 7., and a loan of £46. 3. from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1828. In the R. C. divisions this place constitutes a separate union or district; the chapel is a good slated building.
LICKBLA, or LICKBLAGH, a parish, in the barony of DEMIFORE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W.) from Castlepollard, on the road to Finae; containing 2066 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the north by Lough Sheelin, and on the west by Lough Kinail and the river Inny, and is intersected by the river Glore, which issues from that lake and falls into the Inny. It comprises 5608 statute acres, of which a very large portion is mountain and bog; the system of agriculture is improving, and limestone is quarried for building and for burning into lime. The surface is very uneven, and towards the east is marked by mountainous elevations; the high rock of Curreagh and the mountain of Moil rise within the limits of the parish. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Rathgraff; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2., of which £123. 1. 6. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The church has long been a ruin. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Castle-pollard; the chapel is near Carlanstown. About 80 children are taught in a school at Carlanstown, supported by an annual donation from the Duke of Buckingham; and there is a private school, in which are about 60 children. There are several large raths in the parish, and on the rock of Moil is found a species of coral. Near Curreagh are the ruins of Rathcreenagh castle, situated on a high mound, with a large rath nearly adjoining; and at Carlanstown are the ruins of a mansion belonging to a branch of the Nugent family, of whom Lord George Grenville Nugent Temple, second son of the late Marchioness of Buckingham, is, in right of his mother, Baron Nugent of Carlanstown; a good farm-house has been built by the Duke of Buckingham on the site of the old mansion.
LICKERRIG, a parish, partly in the barony of ATHENRY, partly in that of LOUGHREA, but chiefly in that of DUNKELLIN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 miles (N. W.) from Loughrea, on the road to Athenry; containing 1161 inhabitants, and comprising 3058 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Clonfert, forming part of the union of Kilconicky; the rectory is partly appropriate to the see, partly to the deanery, and partly to the rectory of Loughrea. The tithes amount to £87. 0. 11., of which £23. 1. 6 1/2. is payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, a similar sum to the dean, £17. 10. 9 1/2. to the rector of Loughrea, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Carrabawn, which also comprises the parish of Kilconeran, and contains a chapel in each parish. About 500 children are educated in the national school.
LICKFINN, a parish, in the barony of SLIEVARDAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 3 1/4 miles (N. E.) from Killenaule; containing 464 inhabitants. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, and forms part of the, union of Killenaule; the tithes amount to £27. 12.
LICKMOLASSY, a parish, in the barony of LONGFORD, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, on the road from Gort to Roscrea; containing, with the post-town of Portumna (which is separately described), 5396 inhabitants; and comprising 6882 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Clonfert, united about 1735 to the rectory of Ballynakill and the vicarage of Leitrim, together constituting the union of Lickmolassy, in the patronage of the Marquess of Clanricarde: the rectory is appropriate to the see. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2., of which £46. 3. 1. is payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and £230. 15. 4 1/2. to the incumbent; and the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £520. 10. 9 3/4. The glebe-house was built about 1812, when the late Board of First Fruits gave £400, and lent a similar sum, towards its erection: the glebe of the union comprises 28 acres. There are two churches, one in the town of Portumna, and the other at Woodford, in the parish of Ballynakill. In the R. C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Portumna, which also comprises the parish of Kilnabronogue, and contains the chapels of Portumna and Lickmolassy, and the friary chapel of Boula, in the parish of Kilnabronogue. About 30 children are educated in the parochial school at Portumna, which is partly supported by the incumbent; and there are three private schools, in which are about 210 children, and a Sunday school.
LICKORAN, or LAWCORAN, a parish, in the barony of DECIES-WITHOUT-DRUM, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Cappoquin; containing 529 inhabitants, and comprising between 3000 and 4000 acres. It is in the diocese of Lismore; the rectory is impropriate in the Duke of Devonshire, and the vicarage forms part of the union of Whitechurch: the tithes amount to £76. 17. 6., of which two-thirds are payable to the impropriator and the remainder to the vicar. About 60 children are educated in a private school.
LIFFORD, an assize town (formerly a parliamentary borough) and parish, in the barony of RAPHOE, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 1 mile (W.) from Strabane, and 103 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Strabane to Letterkenny; containing 5941 inhabitants, of which number, 1096 are in the town. This place, formerly called Ballyduff and Liffer, and of which the parish still retains its ancient name of Clonleigh, was first distinguished as the residence of the chiefs of the sept of the O'Donells, who had a strong castle here, in which Manus O'Donell, Prince of Tyrconnell, after being detained prisoner for the last eight years of his life by his own son Calvagh, died in 1563. Hugh O'Donell, called Red Hugh, in 1596, entertained in this castle Don Alonzo Copis, emissary of Philip III. of Spain, who had been sent to ascertain the state of Ireland previously to the embarkation of a Spanish force for its assistance against the English. In 1600, Nial Garbh O'Donell, who had abandoned the cause of Hugh, led 1000 men of the English garrison of Derry to this place, which, from the previous destruction of its castle, was defended only by ramparts of earth and a shallow ditch. On the approach of the English, the garrison of Hugh O'Donell abandoned the place and encamped within two miles of it, and the English took possession of the post, which they fortified with walls of stone. Nial O'Donell, after some weeks had elapsed without any action taking place, observing some disorder in the camp of Hugh, advised the English to attack it; but after an obstinate battle, in which many were killed on both sides, the English retreated to their fortifications, and O'Donell soon after led his forces into Connaught to oppose the young Earl of Clanrickarde. Under the protection of this English fortress the present town first arose, and in 1603 had attained such importance that a market was granted by Jas. I. to Sir Henry Docwra, Knt.. governor of Lough Foyle. In 1611, the village of Liffer, with the fortress and about 500 acres of land adjoining, were, on the settlement of Ulster, granted by Jas. I. to Sir Richard Hansard, with right to hold two fairs in the town, on condition that he should within five years assign convenient portions of land to 60 inhabitants for the erection of houses with gardens, and 200 acres for a common, and that he should also set apart 100 acres for the keep of 50 horses, should His Majesty think proper to place a garrison of horse in the town. The same monarch, in the 10th of his reign, granted to the inhabitants a charter of incorporation, under the designation of the "Warden, Free Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Borough of Liffer," from which time its progress was gradual.
The town is situated in a beautiful valley at the base of an extensive range of mountains, and on the western bank of the river Foyle, over which is a stone bridge of twelve arches leading into the county of Tyrone. It consists of two streets, and contains 161 houses, of which several are neat and well built: the market and fairs have been discontinued. There are infantry barracks for 3 officers and 54 non-commissioned officers and privates. A penny post to Strabane has been established, and there is a constabulary police station in the town. The corporation by the charter consisted of a warden, 12 free burgesses, and an indefinite number of freemen, assisted by two serjeants-at-mace and other officers. The warden, who was also clerk of the market, was annually elected from the free burgesses, who were chosen for life from the commonalty or freemen by a majority of their own body, by whom also the freemen were admitted and the serjeants-at-mace and other officers appointed. The borough returned two members to the Irish parliament till the Union, when it was disfranchised. A court of record for the recovery of debts to the amount of £3. 6. 8. was granted by the charter to be held weekly before the warden; but no proceedings appear to have issued from it for a long period; the corporation seems to have ceased to exercise any other municipal function except that of returning members to the Irish parliament, and since the Union it has become quite extinct. The assizes and December quarter sessions are held in the town. The court-house and county gaol is a very spacious and handsome building in the castellated style; the former is well adapted for holding the various courts; and the latter, which is divided into six wards, is well arranged for classification, and capable of receiving 124 prisoners; the men are employed in breaking stones and in pounding bones for manure, for which there is a large demand, and the women in needlework, spinning, and washing; there is a good school, and the discipline and interior economy have been recommended to the imitation of the managers of other prisons.
The parish, which is also called Clonleigh, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 12,517 1/2 statute acres, of which 153 are in the tideway of the river Foyle, and 12,227 are applotted under the tithe act and valued at £8520 per annum. The principal seats are Clonleigh, the residence of the Rev. W. Knox; and Cavanacor, of B. Geale Humfrey, Esq. The river Foyle is navigable for vessels of 20 tons from Derry to this place. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Derry, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £840, and the glebe comprises 427 acres, of which 177 are uncultivated land. The church is a neat edifice of stone with a square tower, and contains a monument to Sir Richard Hansard and Dame Anne, his wife, enumerating his various benefactions to the town. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Camus-juxta-Morne: the chapel, within a mile of the town, is a neat edifice. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class. About 450 children are taught in seven public schools, of which one is endowed by Sir Richard Hansard with £30 per ann. for a master and £20 for an usher, to be appointed by the Bishop of Derry, who is visiter; the parochial schools are partly supported by a bequest of the late Lord Erne and by the Rector, and another is supported by the Creighton family. There are also four private schools, in which are about 80 children, and a Sunday school. Mr. Blackburn, in 1806, bequeathed £200, the interest of which he appropriated to be annually distributed among poor householders, but the legacy has not yet been made available to the purpose. There are remains of three religious houses, at Ballibogan, Churchminster, and Clonleigh; the monastery of Cluanleodh, according to Archdall, was founded at a very early period by St. Columb, and St. Carnech was bishop and abbot of this establishment in 530. Lifford gives the titles of Baron and Viscount to the family of Hewitt.
LIMERICK (County of), in the province of MUNSTER, bounded on the north by the estuary of the Shannon and the county of Tipperary; on the cast by the same county; on the south by that of Cork, and on the west by that of Kerry: it extends from 52° 17' to 52° 45' (N. Lat.), and from 8° 6' to 9° 15' (W. Lon.); and comprises an area, according to the Ordnance survey, of 640,621 statute acres, of which 548,640 are cultivated land, and 91,981 are occupied by unimproved mountain and bog. The population, in 1821, was 218,432; and in 1831, 248,201.
Of the tribes mentioned by Ptolemy, the Coriondi appear to have inhabited this portion of Ireland; and although from a very early period it was included in the native kingdom or principality of Thomond, it is said to have had at one time a separate political existence, under the name of Aine-Cliach, or Eoganach-Aine-Cliach, and to have been divided into five cantreds, governed by subordinate chieftains. That of Carrigoginniol belonged to the O'Kiarwicks, and afterwards to the O'Briens, whence the name of Pubblebrien was given to the barony; Uaithney, now the barony of Owneybeg, belonged to the O'Ryans; Cairbre Aobhdha, or Kenry, to the O'Donovans; Hy-Cnocnuil-Gabhra, now the baronies of Upper Connello and Coshma, to the McEneirys and O'Sheehans; and Connalla, now Lower Connello, to the O'Kinealys and O'Thyans. At the time of the English invasion, the O'Hurleys, Mac Sheehys, O'Gormans, O'Collins, O'Coins, O Scanlans, and O'Hallinans, were also among the principal families. About the middle of the ninth century, the Ostmen made themselves masters of the city of Limerick and of the island of Inniscattery, in the Shannon; and maintained their power in both places until the commencement of the eleventh century, when Brien Boroimhe, King of Thomond, compelled them to become his tributaries. The city subsequently became the chief seat of the rulers of Thomond, of the O'Brien family, whence their country was often called the Kingdom of Limerick.
Hen. II. granted this kingdom to Herebert Fitz-Herebert; who having soon after resigned his claim, it was bestowed upon Philip de Braosa, and the grant was renewed to him by Rich. I., with the exception of the city and the cantred of the Ostmen, which were committed to the custody of William de Burgo, who established a settlement there that defied all subsequent attacks of the natives. Braosa's grants having been forfeited, various Anglo-Norman settlements were made in the county (which was one of the twelve formed by King John, in 1210) under Theobald Fitzwalter, ancestor of the Butler family, Hamo de Valois, William Fitz-Aldelm, and Thomas, son of Maurice Fitzgerald. With these the O'Briens of Thomond had part possession; Donogh O'Brien, lord of Thomond, having been enfeoffed of the extensive lands of Carrigoginniol by King John. The Irish of Thomond often proved themselves formidable enemies of the English settlers. In 1367, they took prisoner, at Manister-Nenagh, the Lord-Justice Gerald Fitzgerald and many persons of distinction; and in the war between the houses of York and Lancaster, the county was entirely overrun by them. During the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond in the reign of Elizabeth, that nobleman possessed the towns of Kilmallock, Askeaton, Rathkeale, and Newcastle, then the four chief places in the county, and the confiscation of his estates after his death caused the transfer of a considerable portion of its fertile lands to new proprietors. It suffered a similar fate in the wars of 1641 and 1688, each of which considerably increased the number of English settlers.
Early in the last century, Lord Southwell brought over a number of German Protestants, whom he settled at Court-Mattras, or Castle Matres, near Rathkeale; other colonies were also planted in various places through the county; their descendants have increased greatly in number and are now generally distinguished by the name of Palatines. For a long time they were objects of great hatred to the native peasantry. The feeling has gradually but not wholly subsided, and they are now chiefly noted for their habits of cleanliness and order and for their superior skill in agriculture and rural economy. In the year 1762, a most alarming spirit of insurrection showed itself in this part of the country; the peasantry assembled in great numbers, chiefly by night, dug up corn-fields, levelled enclosures, houghed or killed the cattle of the gentry, and even put to death or treated with great cruelty individuals obnoxious to them from their harsh mode of collecting the tithes and taxes: from wearing shirts over their clothes in order to know one another in the night, they were called Whiteboys. Some very severe statutes were enacted to suppress this spirit, the execution of which being enforced by a large body of the military, tranquillity was after some time restored, several of the leaders of the insurrection were executed, and many of their followers transported. A similar insurrection broke out in 1786, in which the hostility of the insurgents was directed against the same objects as before; they even assembled and traversed the country in military array during the open day, compelling every person they met to take an oath against the payment of tithes or taxes; they were, however, soon put down by the strong arm of the law, aided by the military. But the pause was of short duration. A new association appeared in 1793, tinder the name of Defenders, who had so well matured their plans that they made a simultaneous attack upon the towns of Kilfinan and Bruff, and though repulsed from the former by the spirited resistance of the inhabitants, supported by the Palatine yeomanry, they succeeded in gaining possession of the latter; but were shortly driven out of it with some loss of life by a detachment of the army, against which they ventured to make a stand. In 1803, a project was conceived of seizing the city of Limerick, as a means of co-operating with the insurgents in Dublin under Emmet; but on learning that preparations were in progress to oppose them, they dispersed. Symptoms of disturbance again showed themselves in 1809; and in 1815 the spirit broke out in an insurrection of peculiar violence, which raged during that and the greater part of the succeeding year, but was ultimately subdued by the operations of the insurrection act. In 1817, a general failure of the crops occasioned a very distressing famine, which, though relieved by issues of public money and liberal contributions of benevolent individuals, entailed on the districts most visited by the dearth a frightful scourge of contagious disease. In 1820 succeeded the distresses occasioned by the failures of nearly all the principal banks in Munster; the scarcity of provisions caused by the failure of the crops in the following year reduced the peasantry to the last stage of calamity; the consequence was an insurrection more maturely planned and vigorously executed than any that had preceded. In every quarter of the county predatory bands appeared under the directions of an invisible chief, styled Captain Rock, declaring their determination to reduce high rents, tithes, and taxes, and threatening with destruction all proprietors of land who should attempt to disobey their mandates. The outrages of the insurgents increased and extended in spite of the exertions of the gentry, military, and Catholic clergy; Abbeyfeale, on the borders of Limerick and Kerry, became their chief place of rendezvous. The police were augmented; large bodies of regular troops were sent into the county and quartered generally in the western baronies, yet still the insurgents kept up a kind of guerilla warfare: several parties of them were attacked by surprise and deprived of their arms, yet when dispersed in one quarter they shewed themselves suddenly in another, committing their devastations often in the open day; the churches of Kilkeedy, Ballybrook, and Athlacca, together with several gentlemen's houses, were burnt by them, and the plundered property publicly and systematically divided among the captors. Several wealthy and influential persons were murdered, amongst whom was a Roman Catholic clergyman, who rashly attempted to exhort them to submission to the laws; and it was only under the application of the insurrection act, and the most vigorous exertions of the magistracy, that the spirit of violence was at length suppressed.
The county is chiefly in the diocese of Limerick, with some small portions in those of Emly and Killaloe. For purposes of civil jurisdiction it is divided into the baronies of Clanwilliam, Lower Connello, Upper Connello, Coonagh, Coshma, Costlea, Kenry, Owneybeg, Pubblebrien, and Small County; Lower Connello is subdivided into the barony of Lower Connello East, and the division of Shanid; and Upper Connello, into that of Upper Connello East, and the division of Glenquin: these arrangements have been found necessary from the great extent of the baronies, which comprised fully one half of the county; the new divisions were named after the castles whose ruins are conspicuous near their respective centres. It contains the ancient corporate towns of Askeaton and Kilmallock; the market-town of Kilfinane; the market and post-towns of Rathkeale, Newcastle, Bruff, Ballingarry, Pallaskenry, and Glin; the post - towns of Castle-Connell, Shanagolden, Croom, Cahirconlish, Pallasgreine, Adare, and Broadford; and the penny-posts of Abbeyfeale, Barrington's Bridge, Patrickswell, and Drumcollogher. Previously to the Union, it sent six members to the Irish Parliament, two for the county at large, and two for each of the boroughs of Askeaton and Kilmallock; but, since that period, the two returned to the Imperial Parliament for the county at large have been its only representatives. The number of electors registered at the close of the year 1835 was 2891, of whom 27 were £100, 457 £50, 506 £20, and 1727 £10 freeholders; 9 £50, 17 £20, and 133 £10 leaseholders; and 15 rent-chargers: the place of election is the city of Limerick. The county is in the Munster circuit: the assizes are held in the county town, where the court-house, county gaol, and house of correction are situated. Quarter sessions are held at Limerick, Newcastle, Rathkeale and Bruff; and there are bridewells at each of these places and also at Glin, Kilfinnane, and Croom. The local government is vested in a lieutenant, 17 deputy-lieutenants, and 98 other magistrates, with the usual county officers and 3 coroners. There are 38 constabulary police stations, having in the whole a force of 1 sub-inspector, 5 chief and 44 sub-constables and 132 men, with 6 horses; besides which there is a force of the "Peace preservative police," consisting of 1 chief constable and 74 men, who have 10 stations, at which there are 41 of the men, the remainder being distributed among the ordinary constabulary force. The lunatic district asylum for this county and those of Clare and Kerry is in the city of Limerick: there are four fever hospitals, besides that of Limerick, and 24 dispensaries, supported by county presentments and private subscriptions in equal portions. The amount of Grand Jury presentments in the year 1835 was £32,088. 5. 3., of which £1838. 4. 8. was for the public roads of the county at large; £9089. 4. 11. for those of the baronies; £16,651. 2. 7., for public establishments, officers' salaries, buildings, &c.; and £4509. 13. 1. for the police. In military arrangements the county is included in the south-western district.
Its general aspect is flat, though diversified by many small hills, and in some parts by mountains of considerable elevation. The whole western district, from Loughill to Drumcollogher, is composed of an unbroken range of mountain, stretching in a vast but regular and beautiful curve. On the south-east, the plain country is bounded by the Galtees, rising precipitously to a great elevation, forming the boundary of Limerick, and stretching thence far into the county of Tipperary. On the north-east the barony of Ovvneybeg embraces the skirts of the Slieve Phelim mountains, which form an extensive group penetrating the interior of Tipperary. In the neighbourhood of Pallasgreine are several hills of considerable height and beauty. The Ballingarry hills, lying near the centre of the county, and rising abruptly from a fertile plain, are very conspicuous; the principal elevation is Knockferine, a conical mountain, said to be one of the highest in the county. Another conspicuous height is Knockpatrick, between Shanagolden and the Shannon. From the banks of this river stretches southeastward a vast tract of land which is justly considered to be the richest in Ireland, the soil being in general a deep mellow loam, for the most part based on limestone and fit for every kind of culture. The most productive tract, comprising about 100,000 acres, is in the neighbourhoods of Bruff, Kilmallock, Athlacca, and Hospital, forming part of the district called, from the extraordinary richness of its soil, "the Golden Vale," which extends through this county in length from Pallaskenry to Kilfinane, and Kilfrush, a distance of thirty-two miles, and in breadth from Drehidtarsna, by the city of Limerick, to Abington, a distance of eighteen. The corcasses, or low meadow lands, which extend from the Mague along the Shannon to Limerick, have a substratum of yellow and blue clay, covered with a black mould, occasionally mixed with sand and gravel. The soil of other parts of the county not occupied by mountain, particularly to the west of the river Deel, consists of a light loam resting on limestone or stiff clay, and well suited both for pasture and tillage. In several of the lower districts there are small detached portions of bog, which kind of land is exceedingly valuable in some places, bringing the high rent of £1 per rood; when reclaimed, it is peculiarly adapted to the culture of hemp, though very little either of flax or hemp is grown in the county. A great part of the surface of the western mountains also is a light turbary, but not so good as that in the low grounds. The climate is remarkably good, and the weather less variable than in any other county in Ireland; an effect which has been much promoted by the drainage and cultivation of the bogs. It is said that in some seasons the heat of the summer's sun is scarcely powerful enough to ripen thoroughly the heavy crops of grain. The entire face of the country, notwithstanding its great natural fertility, presents a very denuded appearance, from the want of trees; hedgerows being very uncommon, and timber trees in any number being seldom seen except in the immediate vicinity of the residences of the wealthier proprietors.
Although a considerable proportion of the soil is calculated to produce abundant crops, having been regarded by Mr. Arthur Young as the richest that he had ever seen, yet not more than a fourth is under tillage, the remainder being wholly devoted to the fattening of black cattle and sheep; and it is here worthy of observation, that in some leases there is a special clause under heavy penalties to prevent more than one acre in 20, and in some cases more than one in 50, being broken up or in any way cultivated. Even where no such clause exists, if a farmer begins to bring his land into tillage, it is regarded as a certain indication of approaching poverty. Many of the landholders round Dromin, Bruff, Bulgadine, Kilpeacon, Crecora, and Lough Gur are very wealthy, and have stocks of from 400 to 600 head of cattle. In the baronies of Clanwilliam and Small County, the quantity of pasture far exceeds the arable land. The barony of Kenry is the most remarkable for the abundant crops and fine quality of its grain. The wheat crops are everywhere very heavy; and the produce of potatoes is about sixty barrels, in some instances one hundred barrels, of twenty-one stone each per acre. The tillage, except on large farms which are mostly in the hands of gentlemen, is generally conducted in a slovenly manner, and even the wealthier landholders are not wholly exempt from the charge of negligence. In some parts the land is much divided, and wretchedly exhausted by the impoverishing system of subletting. The crop of the greatest importance to the peasant is the potatoe, the cultivation of which is chiefly by the spade: the potatoe is generally followed by wheat, then oats or potatoes again, and thus in succession until the ground is wholly exhausted, when it is left to recruit its powers by the unassisted efforts of nature. This system of subdivision, though too common, is by no means universal. It exists to a great extent in the neighbourhood of Kildeemo, where scarcely half a dozen persons in the district keep a horse, and even more so around Tankards-town, near Kilmallock; the con-acre system is also on the increase in the neighbourhood of Galbally and other parts of the county. Still there are many good and extensive practical farmers, and many landlords who discountenance altogether the system of parcelling out and subletting; and the tillage farms, in many instances, are managed under the most approved systems: some few are drained and well fenced, but these are rare. Irrigation is little if at all practised; indeed, the soil is so productive by nature, that most farmers deem any outlay for its improvement a superfluous expenditure; some even of the more intelligent assert that sowing grass seeds, in laying down land, completely destroys it for the next 7 years. Flax grows here to an extraordinary height; but notwithstanding the efforts of the Limerick chamber of Commerce and the Agricultural Society, the farmer is not yet convinced that it will prove a remunerating crop. This and the contiguous county of Clare are famous for their orchards, which produce the much-esteemed Cackagay cider. The most celebrated districts for its manufacture are those round Pallaskenry, Adare, Croom, Rathkeale and Kilpeacon. The greatest variety of apple is to be seen around the farm-houses of the Palatines. Dairy farms are very numerous and large, varying from 150 to 600 acres, the management of which appears to be well understood. The cattle are chiefly crosses between the Leicester, the Devon, the Durham, the Teeswater, the Kerry, and the old or native Irish; and the breed, called by the Cork and Kerry farmer "the Limerick heifer," appears to be admirably adapted to the soil. The horses are mostly light, being a cross between the Suffolk and Ayrshire; in the neighbourhood of Adare, Croom, and Kilmallock, a very useful and active kind of horse is to be met with. The breed of sheep has been greatly improved by crosses with English stock, principally the Leicester, and in some parts of the county, considerable flocks are kept. That of pigs embraces every variety, but a mixture of the Berkshire and Irish appears to fatten with the least trouble and to be the most profitable. The agricultural implements are generally of the newest and most improved construction, particularly the plough and the harrow: the old Irish car is quite banished, except among the very poorest people and its place is supplied by a light cart, composed of shafts, and a frame resting on a pair of wheels, on which is placed an oblong basket of wicker work, capable of containing a large quantity of field or garden produce, and removeable at pleasure, when timber or other bulky articles are to be conveyed on it. The fences are in some places stone walls; in others large ditches or banks of sods, with a deep trench on both sides. In some places, furze is planted on the tops of the banks; the thorn fence is very rare. The agricultural association for the county holds its meetings regularly in Limerick: it is energetically supported; many premiums have been distributed and much encouragement for improvement held out both by instruction and example, but little advantage has been derived as yet from its spirited efforts.
In a geological point of view the county comprehends four formations, calcareous, coal, sandstone, and basalt. The calcareous district comprises the greater portion of the champaign part of the entire county, extending with little interruption from Newcastle, in the west, to Abington in the north-east, and from Mount-Trenchard on the Shannon to the eastern boundary of the county south of Kilfrush, comprising the greater part of the vales of the rivers that are tributary to the Shannon. The range is almost uniformly from east to west, and the dip or inclination westward. It presents a great variety both in structure and colour, the stone being raised in some places in blocks of very great size, and in others in thin laminae; the prevailing colour is light grey, and it is susceptible of a high polish. It presents its greatest varieties near Croom and Manister-Nenagh. Near Askeaton are some indications of lead ore, but not of a character that would encourage any great outlay in tracing the veins: there are indications of a very valuable ore near Tory hill. The coal formation forms the western boundary of the limestone field. The coal lies in thin seams, the lower increasing in goodness of quality and in thickness, but no attempts of any importance have yet been made to raise this mineral except on a small scale and from the upper stratum, which is merely a thin seam of coal shale. The ironstone that alternates with the coal is only used in road-making; nor is it probable that any vigorous researches will be made in quest of coal, while bog fuel can be had in abundance on the surface. Besides the coal-field above described, there are thin seams in a glen between Castlereagh, Galbally, and the town of Tipperary. The old red sandstone formation comprises the hills of Ballingarry, Knockaderry, and Kilmeedy, which rise abruptly from a limestone plain and range from the Deel to the Maig in a direction east and west. The new red sandstone comprises the mountains of Castle Oliver, the Long mountain, the Black mountain and others from Charleville to Glenbrohane, forming the boundary between Cork and Limerick, and merging into the Galtees. The basalt shews itself in the hill of Ballygooly on the verge of Lough Gur, in those of Knockruadh, Knockgreine, Cahirnarry, Carrigoginniol and the hill of Newcastle. At Linfield, near the Dead river, it rises to a height of nearly 200 feet, presenting a perpendicular colonnade of massive pillars towards the north, and bearing a striking resemblance to the promontory of Fair head in Antrim. Some of these pillars are 109 feet long, and approximate to a pentagonal or hexagonal form; but in general the basalt of this county is amorphous. To the south-east of this range is Knockgreine, "the Hill of the Sun," 500 feet high, with a base of limestone and a summit of basalt. It everywhere contains a large portion of iron. Oxyde of iron and iron clay are found in great quantities at the foot of the hills, and near Bohermore are procured specimens containing shells with an appearance of partial calcination. There are appearances of greenstone and millstone grit in several places: near Doon is a very valuable bed of excellent freestone. Specimens of very pure copper ore have been collected near Abington, and some attempts made to trace the vein. At Rathmore, in Manister-Nenagh parish, is a large bed of inferior pipe clay. Slate, but of inferior quality, is obtained in the demesne of Daragh and at Towerlegan; and in the mountains near Athea are procured large, thin, smooth, and very superior flagstones.
The manufactures and commerce, except an inconsiderable supply of coarse frieze, coarse linen and flannel for domestic use, and a manufacture of linen and cotton checks at Glin, centre wholly in the city of Limerick, under the head of which they are described. There are bleach-greens, principally for domestic use, at Newcastle, Castle-Connell, and Lingland; and paper-mills at Ballygooley, Anacotty, and Rossbryn, the two latter in the liberties of the city; also very extensive flour-mills at Askeaton, Cahirass, Rathkeale, Croom, Corbally, Kilmallock, and Sunville, where great quantities of flour are annually shipped for London, Liverpool, and the Clyde. The exports are butter, grain, flour, and salted provisions; the whole of which are either shipped at Limerick or sent to Dublin by the canal, but the great outlet is by the Shannon. This noble river forms the northern boundary of the county. Below the pool of Limerick it expands into a wide estuary, and after a course of about 17 miles, mingles its waters with those of the Fergus, forming an arm of the sea several miles wide, interspersed with islands of very various character, and discharging itself into the Atlantic between Loop Head and Kerry Head, about 60 miles from Limerick. All the rivers of the interior are branches of the Shannon; they are the Maig or Mague, the Commogue, the Daun or Morning Star, the Deel, and the Mulcairne. The Deel is navigable to Askeaton, and the Maig to the parish of Adare. On the south-west the county is bounded for some distance by the Feale river, flowing by Abbeyfeale; and on the south-east for about three miles by the Funcheon. Except the short canal above Limerick, made in 1759, to facilitate the navigation of the Shannon, there is no artificial navigation within the county. The roads are everywhere remarkably good, particularly those leading respectively from the city of Limerick to Tipperary, a new and excellent level line; to Cork, of which a great portion is new, and the old portions have been much improved; to Tralee, a new mail line greatly improved, widened, and levelled; to Tarbert, on the banks of the Shannon, a new, level, and excellent road; and lastly, the Dublin line, which, though good, is decidedly inferior to any of the others, being circuitous and hilly, and at Annacotty both narrow and dangerous. A new line of road has recently been opened leading through the mountains from Abbeyfeale to Glin, which will be of great advantage to that part of the country; another is now being formed between Croom and Charleville, on the western bank of the Maig, intended for the mail line between Limerick and Charleville; and a third from Kilfinane to Mitchelstown, intended for a shorter and more direct mail line from Limerick to Fermoy and Cork.
The vestiges of antiquity are numerous and of great variety of character. There were two ancient round towers; that at Ardpatrick fell a few years since; the other, at Carrigeen, is in good preservation. Of the earlier and ruder kind of pagan relics are the cromlech on Bailenalycaellach hill, and two others near it; fortifications on Knocktow; a large fort at Friarstown; a large and very perfect moat at Kilfinane and another at Pallasgreine; a tumulus at Bruree; an earthen fort of great height near Croom; stone circles at Grange; a large dun or intrenched mount, with raths and other circular fortifications, at Kilpeacon; a circular fort divided into segments near Shanid castle, and traces of an ancient city in Cahir park. The number of religious houses that have been founded here is about 35, exclusively of those in the city and its liberties: there are still remains of those of the Trinitarians, Augustinians, and Franciscans, at Adare; of Monaster na Geailleach; of Askeaton abbey; of Kilshane abbey, in the parish of Ballingarry; several extensive ruins of the ancient college at Mungret; of Galbally friary; of Kilflin monastery; of Kilmallock abbey; of Monaster-Nenagh abbey; and of the fine old abbey in the parish of Rochestown, all of which are more particularly described in their respective parishes. There are upwards of 50 ruins of churches: it is, however, but right to observe, that in many instances new structures have been built in more eligible situations, and every parish has now a church, or is united to a parish in which there is one. So numerous were the castles rendered necessary by the former unsettled state of the country, that they are sometimes found within half a mile of each other; there are still ruins, more or less extensive, of nearly one hundred, which, with the modern seats of the nobility and gentry, are also noticed in their respective places. The peasantry differ little in their manners, habits, and dwellings from the same class in the other southern agricultural counties; their dwellings being thatched cabins, their food potatoes with milk and butter occasionally, their fuel turf, their clothing home-made frieze and cheap cottons and stuffs: their attachment to the neighbourhood of their nativity, and their love of large assemblages, whether for purposes of festivity or mourning, are further indications of the community of feelings and customs with their countrymen in the surrounding counties. Among the natural curiosities may be included Lough Gur, with its romantic knolls, islands, and cave; the Castle-Connell chalybeate and astringent spa; and the sulphuric spring at Montpelier, in the parish of Kilnegariff. Bones and horns of the moose deer have been found in many parts of the county, from five to ten feet deep in boggy ground; five pairs of horns were found at Castle Farm, near Hospital, and seven pairs near Knocktow. In many parts of the county old fireplaces of the primitive inhabitants are occasionally turned up, containing burnt black earth, charcoal, sooty and siliceous stones.
LIMERICK, a city and county of itself, situated on the river Shannon, locally in the county of Limerick (of which it forms the capital), and in the province of MUNSTER, 51 miles (N.) from Cork, and 94 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing, in 1821, 59,045, and in 1831, 66,554 inhabitants, of which number, 44,100 are in the city and suburbs, and the remainder in the rural district. This ancient and important city, supposed by some writers to have been the Regia of Ptolemy, is called Rosse-de-Nailleagh in the Annals of Multifernan; and is believed to have been the place described under the name of Lumneach, as forming the western extremity of the southern half of the island as divided A. M. 2870 and 3970, which name appears to have been modified by the English into its present designation. St. Patrick is said to have visited it about the middle of the fifth century; but the first authentic notices of Limerick represent it as a Danish settlement. The place was first plundered by them in 812, and about the middle of the same century they made it one of their principal maritime stations, surrounding it with walls and towers which enclose the area now occupied by the English town. For nearly a century their power continued to increase, until Brien Boroimhe assumed the dominion of Munster and Thomond, when he expelled the Danes from Inniscattery, and reduced Limerick, allowing the inhabitants however to continue in it, subject to their own laws and customs, on payment of an annual tribute, said to have been fixed at 365 tuns or casks of wine of 32 gallons each. In 1064, Turlogh, King of Munster, received here the homage of Donsleibhe, King of Ulidia; and his successor Murtogh, having given Cashel to the church, removed the seat of royalty to Limerick in 1106, from which time it continued to be the residence of the kings of Thomond, or North Munster, until its conquest by the English: from this circumstance, his successors were styled indiscriminately kings of North Munster or of Limerick. The Danes of Limerick did not embrace Christianity until the 11th century, and in the following they elected their first bishop. In 1153, Turlogh O'Conor, King of Connaught, besieged the city, and compelled the Danes to renounce the authority of Turlogh O'Brien, and drive him west of the Shannon.
A succession of intestine wars among the native princes was carried on until the landing of Hen. II., who soon after obtained possession of it and placed a garrison there; but after his departure, Donald O'Brien, King of Thomond, regained possession of it. In 1175, Raymond le Gros, with the assistance of the King of Ossory, invested it, and by fording the river in the face of the enemy, so daunted them that he entered it without opposition, obtained a great booty, and secured it by a garrison; but on the death of Earl Strongbow, it was again evacuated by the English and subsequently burned by order of Donald, who declared that it should no longer be a nest for foreigners. In 1179, Hen. II. gave the kingdom of Limerick to Herebert Fitz-Herebert, who having resigned his claim to an inheritance so uncertain, it was granted to Philip de Braosa, and he, aided by Milo de Cogan and Robert Fitz-Stephen, advanced against the city, which the garrison set on fire. This so dispirited Braosa, that he immediately retreated, and so assured was Donald O'Brien afterwards of the security of his metropolis, that, in 1194, he founded the cathedral church of St. Mary, on the site of his palace. In 1195, the English appear to have regained possession of the city, for it was then governed by a provost; but Mac Arthy of Desmond forced them once more to abandon it.
King John afterwards renewed the grant to Philip de Braosa, with the exception of the city of Limerick, the cantred of the Ostmen, and the Holy Island, which he committed to the custody of William dc Burgo, who formed a settlement there which from that period set at defiance all the efforts of the Irish. A strong castle and bridge were erected; and, encouraged by the privileges offered to them, English settlers flocked hither in great numbers, between whom and the inhabitants of the surrounding country amicable relations appear to to have been soon established, for, among the names of the chief magistrates for the ensuing century, besides those which appear to be English, Norman or Flemish, and Italian, there are several purely Irish. Money was coined here in the reign of John. In 1234, the city was taken, after a siege of four days, by Richard, Earl Marshal of England, then in rebellion; and by the continued wars in the surrounding country, especially among the O'Briens, De Burgos, De Clares, and Fitzgeralds, its progress in commercial prosperity appears to have been greatly checked. In 1308, Pierce Gaveston, the viceroy, passed through Limerick with an army, and compelled O'Brien to submit, but the tranquillity was of short duration. In 1314, De Clare burned the suburbs; and in 1316, Edward Bruce terminated his career of conquest southward at this place, and kept his court here until the following Easter. The hostilities of the O'Briens and others of his allies, and the unbounded authority assumed by the Earl of Desmond and other Anglo-Norman leaders, rendered additional military defences necessary for the protection of the city, and various grants were made by Edw. II. for enclosing the suburbs with a stone wall, and for repairing the castle. In 1331, the Earl of Desmond was committed to the custody of the Marshal of Limerick.
In 1337, a dispute arose between the merchants of Limerick and Galway, respecting tolls, which, notwithstanding the interference of the Lord-Justice, finally led to open hostilities. In 1340, Limerick was for a short period the head-quarters of Sir William Windsor, chief governor, when marching into the west against the O'Briens. During the whole of the fifteenth century, the fortifications, which, prior to the grants of Edw. II., had comprised only the part of the city insulated by the Shannon, and called the English town, were extended so as to include the portion on the southern bank of the river, called the Irish town, the defences of which were completed by the erection of St. John's gate and the neighbouring works, begun in 1450, but not finished until 1495. In the reign of Edw. IV., Connor O'Brien, prince of Thomond, drove the English from various parts of Munster, and compelled the citizens of Limerick to pay him an annual tribute of 60 marks. Another remarkable proof of the distracted state of the country is afforded by a statute of the 28th of Hen. VI., from which it appeared that, owing to the prevailing power of the "Irish enemy and English rebels," in the surrounding country, the inhabitants were under the necessity of deriving their supply of provisions principally from France, which was sent only on condition of the ships being placed under the special protection of the King of England. In 1467, a mint was established in the city; in 1484, Gerald," Earl of Kildare, held a parliament there; and in 1495, the brotherhood of the guild of merchants was erected.
In the reign of Hen. VII. the city recovered some degree of prosperity; but in 1524 it was harassed by the open hostilities, both by sea and land, resulting from the commercial jealousies between it and Galway, until these were at length terminated by a formal treaty, and by an injunction from the King, in 1536, requiring a better demeanour from the men of Galway. In the reign of Hen.VIII., Alderman Sexton, of this city, took a distinguished part in favour of the British interest. In 1542, the proclamation declaring Hen. VIII. king of Ireland was received with demonstrations of the greatest joy, and in the following year Sir Anthony St. Leger held a parliament here, in which divers important acts were passed. Towards the close of Mary's reign, the Lord-Deputy Sussex arrived here to suppress a revolt of some inferior branches of the O'Brien family against their chief, on which occasion the Earl of Thomond and all the freeholders of his country swore fealty to the crown of England. During the entire reign of Elizabeth, and throughout the wars that devastated the whole surrounding province, Limerick maintained the most unshaken loyalty, and was made a centre of civil and military administration. Sir Henry Sydney, Lord-Deputy, who visited it in 1567, in 1569, and in 1576, states that he was received here with greater magnificence than he had hitherto experienced in Ireland. At this period Limerick is described as a place well and substantially built, with walls extending round a circuit of about three miles.
On the arrival of Sir William Pelham, Lord-Deputy, in 1579, the mayor appeared before him attended by 1000 citizens well armed; and in 1584, the city militia amounted to 800 men, being double that of Cork, and a third more than that of Waterford, demonstrating that Limerick was then the most important city in the island next to Dublin. During the Earl of Desmond's rebellion, the city was for some time the head-quarters of the English army. From the commencement of the reign of Jas. I. until the war of 1641, it enjoyed undisturbed tranquillity: and notwithstanding accidental conflagrations, in 1618 and 1620, considerable improvement in the construction of buildings and public works took place. The customs' duties for the year ending Lady-day, 1633, amounted to no less a sum than £1619. 1. 7 3/4. In 1636 it was visited by the Lord-Deputy Wentworth, who was splendidly entertained by the mayor for nine days, and on his departure presented to the corporation a valuable cup of silver gilt. On the approach of the insurgent army under Lord Ikerrin, Lord Muskerry, and General Barry, in 1642, the gates were thrown open by the citizens; the royal garrison, consisting only of 200 men, who had shut themselves up in the castle, were compelled to surrender after an obstinate defence; after which the magistrates sent representatives to the Catholic convention at Kilkenny, and made every exertion to repair and strengthen the fortifications. In 1646, when it was attempted to proclaim the pacification that had just been concluded between King Charles and the parliament, the attempt was met by violence; and afterwards, the supreme council, headed by Rinuncini, the pope's nuncio, removed hither, to encourage the besiegers of the neighbouring castle of Bunratty, on the Clare side of the Shannon, in which the parliamentarians had placed a garrison. In 1650, the Marquess of Ormonde marched into the city, in the hope of securing it for the king; but the nuncio's party having deprived him of all power, he at length quitted the kingdom, leaving the command of the royalist troops to the Earl of Castlehaven, who induced the magistrates to accept his offer to defend them against the threatened attack of Ireton. The latter, however, did not commence operations until the spring of 1651; and the siege being protracted until the approach of winter, famine, misery, and death made formidable ravages among the ranks of both parties. The attempts of the Irish forces to relieve the place were defeated, but a sally by O'Nial, who commanded the garrison, nearly proved fatal to the besiegers. The privations of the inhabitants at length compelled them to turn out all useless persons, who, to prevent them from communicating the plague, which then raged amongst them, to the parliamentarian forces, were, at the command of Ireton, immediately whipped back; and dissensions gradually arose among the besieged, as to the propriety of capitulating. The resistance of the clergy to a surrender being at length overbalanced by some officers who took possession of one of the gates and turned the cannon against the city, the place was surrendered to the besiegers on condition that the garrison should march out unarmed, and the inhabitants be allowed time for removing, with their effects, to any place where they might be appointed to live. Twenty-four persons were excluded by name from the benefit of this treaty: the soldiers, who marched out to the number of 2500, were greatly reduced by disease contracted by the sufferings of a protracted siege of six months. After the surrender, the emblems of royalty were removed, the magistrates displaced, and for five years the city was subjected to a military government. In 1653 an act was passed permitting the English adventurers, officers, and soldiers to purchase the forfeited houses at six years' purchase; and a charter was granted conferring upon the citizens the same privileges and franchises as those enjoyed by the city of Bristol. In 1656, the municipal government was restored, by the election of a mayor and twelve English aldermen.
At the Restoration, Sir Ralph Wilson, the governor, declared in favour of the King. He was shortly after succeeded by the Earl of Orrery, who was instructed to endeavour to procure good merchants, English and Dutch, to inhabit the place, and cause it to flourish by trade. All the banished merchants were again restored to their freedom and privileges, on entering into recognizances for their peaceful demeanour; and the inland trade increased so rapidly that, in 1672, the tolls of the gates were let for upwards of £300 per annum. During a progress through Munster made by the Duke of Ormonde, lord-lieutenant, he was received at Limerick with great distinction, being attended by the principal nobility and gentry of the county, and the cavalry militia of each barony. The same year was remarkable for a great drought in the Shannon, insomuch that the mayor and citizens perambulated the English town, dry-shod, outside the walls; and the following year a storm, with a high tide, did great damage.
The accession of Jas. II. caused an alteration in the religious ascendancy of the corporation; and after the battle of the Boyne, the Earl of Tyrconnel established his viceregal court in the city. Soon after this it was invested by King William in person, at the head of 20,000 veterans. The siege, undertaken at a late period of the season, was rendered particularly harassing by the formidable obstacles opposed to the besiegers by the fortifications and natural defences of the town, the abundance of its munitions of war, and the circumstance of the flower of the Irish army being assembled in and around it, under Gen. Boiseleau, the Duke of Berwick, and other distinguished leaders, who were enabled to obtain supplies of every kind from Connaught, and by sea, where the French fleet rode undisturbed. The operations of the English army were also greatly checked by the loss of its battering train, which had been intercepted and destroyed by Gen. Sarsfield, in a gallant attack, within twelve miles of William's camp. Nevertheless, a breach having been at length effected, the besiegers thrice penetrated into the town, and as often were beaten back, until after a desperate contest of four hours, in which they lost 1700 men, they were obliged to retire; William himself being compelled to raise the siege and withdraw towards Clonmel. But in the August following, William's army, now commanded by General de Ginkell, again invested the town; and the garrison having been abundantly supplied, and in expectation of succour from France, the siege was protracted and sanguinary. One of the most serious conflicts at this period was that in which 600 Irish were slain, 150 drowned, and above 100 taken prisoners, in the defence of Thomond bridge, the gates having been closed upon them too speedily, by which their retreat was cut off. Operations were at length terminated by the celebrated treaty of Limerick, ratified on Oct. 1st, and said to have been signed on a large stone near Thomond bridge, within sight of both armies. Two days after, the French fleet arrived on the coast, and on the 14th entered the Shannon, with a reinforcement of troops and 30,000 stand of arms and ammunition. Both parties now made strenuous exertions to retain the Irish soldiers in their service: 3000 were prevailed upon to enter into that of the victorious monarch; but the remainder, amounting to upwards of 19,000 men, embarked for France, and formed the foundation of the Irish brigade, afterwards so celebrated in the wars of Europe.
After the embarkation of the Irish troops, the inhabitants, who had been compelled by the bombardment to quit their dwellings, on their return found their effects destroyed, and the entire city a scene of desolation and misery. While all classes were engaged in repairing their losses, the poorer by erecting small huts under the walls, the richer by re-edifying their houses, and the soldiers by restoring and enlarging the fortifications, a new and unthought of casualty nearly involved the whole in a second destruction: one of the towers on the quay suddenly fell, and 250 barrels of gunpowder which it contained blew up with a tremendous explosion, by which 240 persons were crushed to death or dreadfully maimed, some being struck dead by stones which fell a mile from the town. For more than 60 years after the siege, the fortifications were kept in complete repair, a garrison and several companies of city militia maintained, and every precaution of an important military station observed. In 1698, the Marquess of Winchester and the Earl of Galway, lords justices, on a tour of inspection, visited the city, which in the same year suffered most severely by a storm and high tide. In 1703 an act was passed providing that no Roman Catholic strangers should reside in the city or suburbs, and that the present inhabitants of that persuasion should be expelled, unless they gave sufficient securities for their allegiance; but in 1724 these restrictions were removed. During the Scottish rebellion in 1745, similar precautions were used, but no symptom of disaffection was discovered. In 1751, a storm, accompanied with high tides, overflowed a great part of the place, and did great damage. In 1760, Limerick was declared to be no longer a fortress, and the dismantling of its walls and other defences was immediately commenced and completed by slow degrees, as the extension of the various improvements rendered it necessary. On the breaking out of the American war, three Volunteer corps were formed under the name of the Limerick Union, the Loyal Limerick Volunteers, and the Limerick Volunteers.
After the termination of the American war the improvement and extension of the city were renewed with unexampled spirit: and although contested elections and alarms of insurrection in the neighbouring districts at times disturbed its tranquillity, they never retarded its improvement. During the French invasion in 1798, the city militia distinguished itself by the stand it made at Collooney under Col. Vereker, who in consequence received the thanks of parliament. In 1803, a design was formed by those engaged in Emmett's conspiracy to take the city by surprise: and the plan was conducted with so much secrecy that it was unknown to the military commandant in Limerick until the evening preceding the intended day of attack; but the prompt and decisive measures adopted prevented the apprehended danger. In 1821, symptoms of insubordination in the liberties led to a proclamation declaring the county of the city to be in a state of disturbance, and to require an extraordinary establishment of police, which was accordingly sent and is still maintained. In the winter of 1833 the city again suffered severely by storms and high tides.
The city, situated in an extensive plain watered by the Shannon, is composed of three portions, the English town, the Irish town, and Newtown-Pery. The first and oldest occupies the southern end of the King's Island, a tract formed by the Shannon, here divided into two streams, of which the narrowest and most rapid is called the Abbey river. This part, the houses of which are chiefly built in the Flemish fashion, is said to resemble the city of Rouen in Normandy: but, since the erection of the New town, it has been deserted by the more wealthy inhabitants, and exhibits a dirty and neglected appearance. The Irish town is also very ancient, being allotted to the native inhabitants so early as the reign of King John: here the streets are wider and the houses more modern; both these parts were strongly fortified. The suburb called Thomond-gate, situated on the county of Clare side of the river, at the end of Thomond bridge, was formerly the only entrance to the ancient city, and was protected by a strong castle: it is now of considerable extent: close to the foot of the bridge is the stone on which the treaty of Limerick was signed. Newtown-Pery, built wholly within the last fifty years on elevated ground, parallel with the course of the river, below the union of its two branches, on a site, formerly called the South Prior's . Land, which became the property of the Pery family about 1770, is one of the handsomest modern towns in Ireland: a very handsome square has been lately erected in it. There are six bridges; Thomond bridge, leading from King John's Castle in the English town to Thomond-gate, on the county of Clare side, is the most ancient. It was built in 1210, and subsequently widened, and consists of 14 unequal arches, which were turned on wicker work, the marks of which are still apparent in the cement; its roadway is perfectly level: it is now being taken down, and will be replaced by a new bridge (the foundation stone of which was laid in 1836, and which is to be opened in 1839), by the corporation, which has procured a loan of £9000 from the Board of Works to effect it: the estimated expense is £12,600. Wellesley bridge, erected in 1827, consisting of five large and elegant elliptic arches, crosses the Shannon from the New town to the northern, or county of Clare, shore. Its roadway is level and its parapet is formed of a massive open balustrade; on the city side is a swing bridge over a lock through which vessels pass to the upper basin and quays. The New bridge, crossing the Abbey river, and connecting the New town with the English town, was finished in 1792 at an expense of £1800; it consists of three irregular arches. Baal's bridge, higher up on the same branch of the river, is a beautiful structure of a single arch, built in 1831 to replace an ancient bridge of the same name, which consisted of four arches with a range of houses on one of its sides. On the same branch of the Shannon is Park bridge, an old lofty structure of five irregular arches. Athlunkard bridge, consisting of five large elliptic arches, crosses the Shannon about a mile from the city; it was erected in 1830 by means of a loan of £9000 from the Board of Public Works, £6000 from the consolidated fund, and a grant of £1000 from the Grand Jury of the county of Clare; it forms a communication between Limerick and Killaloe. The environs, though flat, are generally very beautiful; the soil extremely rich; and the sinuous course of the Shannon, in many points of view, presents the appearance of a succession of lakes; but the landscape is deficient in wood. Of the four principal approaches, that from Clare, by Wellesley bridge, is the best; the others are through lines of cabins, crooked and deficient in cleanliness. In the vicinity of the city are several good houses and neat villas, but by no means so numerous as its wealth would lead strangers to expect 5 as the rich merchants chiefly reside in the New town. Among the seats in the neighbourhood, those most worthy of notice are Mount Shannon, that of the Earl of Clare, one of the finest mansions in the south of Ireland; Hermitage, of Lord Massy, Clarina Park, of Lord Clarina; and Doonass, on the opposite side of the Shannon, of Sir Hugh Dillon Massy, Bart.: in the city are the mansions of the Earl of Limerick and of the Bishop. The streets, which are spacious, intersect each other at right angles, and are occupied by elegant houses, splendid and well-stocked shops, and merchants' stores. Patrick-street, George-street, and the Crescent form a continuous line of elegant houses, extending about a mile from the New bridge. The total number of houses, in 1831, was 4862.
The city is lighted with gas under a contract made in 1824 with the United London Gas Company: the original engagement was confined to the New town, but it has been extended by the liberality of the corporation to the Irish town and Dublin road, and by private subscriptions to part of the English town. Works for supplying it with water were commenced in 1834 by a London company; the two tanks are about a mile from the city, at Cromwell's Fort, near Gallows' Green, on the site of two forts occupied by Cromwell and Wm. III.; their elevation is 50 feet above the highest part of the city, and 72 feet above the river, from which the water is raised through a metal pipe 12 inches in diameter by two steam-engines, each of 20-horse power. In excavating for a foundation for the tanks, several skeletons, cannon and musket balls, armour, and divers remains of military weapons were found; and in forming the new line of road along the Shannon, on the county of Clare side, heaps of skeletons were found, some of which were 15 yards in length and 6 feet in depth; they are supposed to be the remains of those who died in the great plague. In military arrangements, Limerick is the head-quarters of the south-western district, which comprises the counties of Clare and Limerick, with the town of Mount-Shannon, in the county of Galway; the county of Tipperary, except the barony of Lower Ormond, but including the town of Nenagh; and that part of the county of Kerry north of the Flesk. There are four barracks; the Castle barrack in the English town for infantry, capable of accommodating 17 officers and 270 non-commissioned officers and privates, with an hospital for 29 patients; the New barrack, on the outside of Newtown-Pery, adapted for 37 officers, 714 infantry and cavalry, and 54 horses, with an hospital for 60 patients; the Artillery barrack, in the Irish town, for 6 officers, 194 men, and 104 horses, with an hospital for 35 patients; and an Infantry barrack, in St. John's-square, for 4 officers and 107 men: a military prison, lately built in the new barrack, has 6 cells. There is also a city police barrack. The Limerick Institution, founded in 1809, and composed of shareholders and annual subscribers, has a library containing upwards of 2000 volumes. There are four newspapers, three published twice a week, and one weekly. An elegant theatre, erected some years ago by subscription, at a cost of £5000, was so inadequately supported that the building was at length sold to the Augustinian monks. The assembly-house, built in 1770, at an expense of £4000, is not now used for its original purpose, the balls commonly taking place at Swinburne's hotel; part of it is occasionally used for dramatic performances. The hanging gardens, constructed in 1808 by William Roche, Esq., M.P., at an expense of £15,000, form a singular ornament to the town; they are raised on ranges of arches of various elevation, from 25 to 40 feet, the vaults thus formed being converted into storehouses for wine, spirits, and other goods, now occupied by Government, at a rent of £500 per annum. On this foundation are elevated terraces, the highest of which has a range of hothouses, with greenhouses at the angles. The facade of these gardens extends about 200 feet, and the top of the highest terrace, which is 70 feet above the street, commands a most extensive prospect of the city and the Shannon.
Considerable efforts for the encouragement of the linen and cotton manufactures were not long since made, but failed. The former branch of industry has of late greatly declined; it had existed in the county for more than a century, and, by the exertions of the Chamber of Commerce, the weavers were enabled to manufacture that description of linen best adapted to command a sale; a weekly market was formed; and a linen-hall was erected, in which markets were held every Friday and Saturday. Premiums were also given by the Chamber of Commerce, until this branch of their public exertions was undertaken by the Agricultural Association, a committee of which, united with the Trustees for the Promotion of Industry in the county, met for the purpose in the committee-room at the linen-hall every Saturday. This united committee, besides annual subscriptions from its own body, which are applicable to all improvements in agriculture, has under its management a fund of about £7000, allocated to the county by a Board of Directors in London, for the purpose of promoting the linen, woollen, cotton, and other trades among the poor. The glove trade, formerly of great celebrity, has declined considerably, most of the gloves sold under the name of Limerick being now manufactured in Cork. A manufactory was formed in 1829, at Mount Kennett, for tambour lace and running, better known by the name of Irish blonde, which is here brought to great perfection and gives employment to about 400 young females; the wrought article is sent to London. A lace-factory, established in 1836, in Clare-street, by Wm. Lloyd, Esq., employs 250 young females who are apprenticed to it: the produce is sent to London. A muslin-factory, in the Abbey parish, employs 100 boys as apprentices. The distillery of Stein, Browne and Co., at Thomond-gate, produces 455,000 gallons of whiskey annually. There are also seven breweries, each of which brews porter, ale, and beer to a total amount of 5000 barrels annually; the consumption both of these and of the distillery is chiefly confined to the neighbourhood. There are several iron-foundries, cooperages, and comb-manufactories, but all on a small scale. In the liberties of the city are several extensive flour-mills, which grind upwards of 50,000 barrels of flour annually; and not far from the town are two paper-mills and two bleach-greens. The supply of fuel is abundant, large quantities of coal being imported from England; but turf, of which a very large supply is brought up and down the Shannon, is still the chief fuel of the lower classes, and is also much used in manufactories and in the kitchens of the higher ranks. An abundance of fish is procured by the exertions of the inhabitants towards the mouth of the river, and on the neighbouring coasts; and besides a salmon fishery, leased by the corporation, trout, eels, perch, and pike, are taken in the river, and, lower down, all kinds of shell and flat fish. In the month of May, numerous temporary causeways are formed several yards into the river on each side, by the poor, on which they fish with nets for eel fry; the quantities taken are so great that each individual fills a couple of washing tubs with them every tide. The corporation by their charter claim an exclusive right to all fishing from the city to Inniscattery island.
The trade of the port is comparatively of modern origin. The first return of the customs on record, made in 1277, gives an amount of £6. 18. In 1337 they were only 8 marks; in 1495, £9. 0. 10.; in 1521, £6. 7. 4.; in 1537, £9. 8. 4 1/2.; and in 1607, when King James called for a return of the customs of all the ports in Ireland, those of Limerick are stated to be £15. 14. 8., while at Waterford they were £954. 18. 2., and at Cork £255. 11. 7. But they increased rapidly during the. reigns of Jas. I. and Chas. I.: in 1633 the customs had risen to £1619. 1. 7 3/4. During the war of 1641 they diminished considerably, but after the Restoration again rose, insomuch that, in 16/2, the customs were £1906. 19. 8., and the tolls at the city gates £310. 12. 4. In 1688, during the government of Lord Tyrconnel, they fell to £801. 3. 4. It was not till the middle of the last century that Limerick took a position among the principal commercial ports, and now it is a great place of export for the agricultural produce of the most fertile tracts in Ireland. From Kerry, Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick, are sent in corn, provisions, and butter, which are exported to London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Glasgow. The exports for the year ending the 1st of September, 1835, were, beef, 1364 tierces; pork, 14,263 tierces and barrels; butter, 72,630 firkins; bacon, 81,839 cwts.; lard, 9697 cwts.; wheat, 117,874 barrels; barley, 32,847 barrels; oats, 285,623 barrels; flour, 22,725 cwts.; oatmeal, 16,320 cwts.; eggs, 26,214 crates; besides hams, tongues, spirits, porter, ale, flax, linen, wool, feathers, and salmon, the estimated value of all which exceeded a million sterling. The chief imports are timber, coal, iron, flax-seed, tallow, pitch, tar, hoops, staves, wine, and fruit. The number of vessels entered inwards from foreign ports in 1835 was 51, of the aggregate burden of 12,408 tons of British shipping, and 3 of 698 tons of foreign. The number of vessels cleared outwards during the same period was 31, of the aggregate burden of 7980 tons. The number entered inwards coastways was 494, of 53,078 tons; 44 of these were from Irish ports: the number cleared outwards was 561, of 62,349 tons, 43 of which were for Irish ports. On the 5th of Jan., 1836, there were 71 vessels of 5008 tons belonging to the port: the customs for the year ending on that day amounted to £142,843. 10., and for the subsequent year, to £146,222. 17. 9. The excise duties of the Limerick district, for 1835, were £71,616. 6. 6 1/4.
The situation of Limerick, about sixty Irish miles from the sea, and its extent of river navigation, render the port an object of peculiar importance; but it labours under several disadvantages. For a great port, it is too high up the river: its navigation is obstructed and intricate, with insufficient water for large vessels in the higher parts of the channel; no funds are applied to the maintenance of the navigation, which is almost entirely neglected: ships may discharge ballast in any part without restriction, and the proprietors of adjoining lands may create any obstructions they please. At each side of the narrow arm of the Shannon that encircles the English town are several quays accessible only to boats; and at Merchants' Quay is the Long Dock, where the turf and fish boats unload. From the Custom-house, at the mouth of the Abbey river, various detached quays, erected by private individuals, extend along the united channel, but they are in a very bad condition; the ground around them is rugged and hard, so that vessels lying there are frequently damaged. The water-bailiff receives dues to the amount of about £400 per ann., levied on all vessels arriving in the port; and other dues, amounting to about £80 per annum, are received by the mayor on salt and coal imported. The Chamber of Commerce, consisting of opulent and most respectable merchants, has supreme interest in the navigation of the port, and from its funds has been defrayed the greater portion of the expense that has been incurred by whatever improvements have been made, although it has no right or control over the river. The commissioners appointed by act of parliament, in 1823, have power to levy certain taxes for the erection of the Wellesley bridge, and of docks to accommodate vessels frequenting the port: their revenue now averages £1500 per annum, and they have jurisdiction over the pilotage of the river. These commissioners have obtained from Government a loan of £55,384 under a mortgage of the tolls on exports and imports, tonnage, dock dues, &c. It was their intention to construct a floating dock, but the original plan has been abandoned, and , an act has been recently obtained to carry into effect a design by Thos. Rhodes, Esq., who in 1833 was appointed by Government to survey the port, with a view to provide a safe harbour for shipping. His plan proposes, by constructing a dam or weir across the river at Kelly's Quay, to convert that part of the river above into floating docks, which are to be formed by excavating and levelling the bed of the river along the present quay walls; and a new line of quays is to be built, on which bonded warehouses, storehouses for grain, &c., may be erected. On the north side of the river is to be a dock-yard, with two slips or inclined planes, and a graving dock; and on the south side, another graving dock. It is also proposed to form a line of embankments on each side of the river, for reclaiming considerable tracts of waste land, which might be drained, and the water discharged by tide sluices through the embankments. The total amount required to carry these plans into execution is estimated at £82,756. 10. No part of the work has been yet commenced; but £40,000 has been granted, and the quays are already contracted for, to be finished in 1838: they are to extend 3030 feet, from Kelly's Quay to the custom-house. A cut from the Abbey river continues the navigation, partly in the river and partly by an artificial canal for 15 miles, to Lough Derg, which was transferred by Government to a private association, called the Limerick Navigation Company, on their undertaking to expend £3000 in the rebuilding of Baal's bridge, which had previously interrupted the communication between the canal and the tide-water of the river, and still continues to do so in a great degree; and about the same period a new and important impulse was given to the trade on the Shannon, by the establishment of the Inland Steam-navigation Company, by which a communication has been opened by steam with Kilrush and other places in the estuary of the Shannon, and by packet boats to Killaloe, whence there is a communication by steam through Lough Derg to Portumna, Banagher, and Athlone.
The hay and straw markets are held in two enclosures on Wednesday and Saturday; the wheat market is large, and has sheds all round its enclosure; the butter market, a spacious and lofty building, is open daily throughout the year. There are two potato markets, one in the English, the other in the Irish town, where vast quantities are daily sold. There are also two meat markets, each plentifully supplied with butchers' meat and poultry; but the supply of fish and vegetables is often deficient. The smaller of these markets, called the Northumberland buildings, has attached to it large apartments for public meetings, a bazaar, and commercial chambers; there are four annual fairs, on Easter-Tuesday, July 4th, Aug. 4th, and Dec. 12th. To the August fair is attached a privilege by virtue of which no person, for fifteen days after it, can be arrested in the city or liberties on process issuing out of the Tholsel court. The principal commercial edifices are the Custom-House and the Commercial-Buildings. The former, situated at the entrance of the New town from the old, was completed in 1769, at an expense of £8000, and consists of a centre and two wings, built with hewn stone and handsomely ornamented: a surveyor's house and habitations for boatmen have been erected at the pool. The Commercial Buildings were erected in 1806, at a cost of £8000, by a proprietary of 100 shareholders. They consist of a large and well-supplied news-room on the ground floor, above which is a library and apartments for the Chamber of Commerce, which was incorporated in 1815, for the protection of the trade. Their fund arises from fees on the exports and imports of the members; the surplus is employed in promoting the commercial interest of the city, improving the navigation, and aiding the manufactures. The post-office is a small building, in a situation so inconvenient that none of the coaches can approach it. The mails start for Dublin, Cork, Tralee, Waterford, and Galway.
The corporation exists both by prescription and charter, and its authority is confirmed and regulated by statute. The first documentary grant of municipal privileges was by John, Earl of Morton and Lord of Ireland, in 1199, conferring the same liberties and free customs as were enjoyed by the citizens of Dublin, which were secured and explained by a charter of the 20th of Edw. I. Charters confirming or extending these privileges were granted in the 1st of Hen. IV., 1st of Hen. V., 8th of Hen. VI., 2nd of Hen. VII., 6th of Edw. VI., and 17th and 25th of Elizabeth: the former charter of this last-named sovereign granted, among other new privileges, that a sword of state and hat of maintenance should be borne before the mayor within the city and liberties. The governing charter, granted by James I. in 1609, constituted the city a county of itself, excepting the sites of the king's castle and the county court-house and gaol; conferred an exclusive admiralty jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, over so much of the Shannon as extends three miles north-east of the city to the main sea, with all its creeks, banks, and rivulets within those limits; constituted the mayor, recorder, and four of the aldermen annually elected, justices of the peace for the county of the city; and incorporated a society of merchants of the staple, with the privileges of the merchants of the staple of Dublin and Waterford. By the "New Rules" of the 25th of Chas. II., the lord-lieutenant and privy council were invested with the power of approving and confirming the appointment of the principal officers of the corporation, who were thereby required to take the oath of supremacy, and the election of all corporate officers was taken away from the body of freemen, and vested in the common council; the discussion of any matter connected with municipal affairs in the general assembly of freemen, or Court of D'Oyer Hundred, which had not previously passed the common council, was forbidden under penalty of disfranchisement; and it was provided, as in other corporate towns, that foreigners and other Protestant settlers in the town should be admissible to the freedom. James II. granted a new charter after the seizure of the franchises under a decree of the exchequer, but the judgment of that court having been subsequently set aside, it became void; and the constitution of the municipality continued unaltered until the year 1823, when an act of the 4th of Geo. IV., c. 126, commonly called the "Limerick Regulation Act," partially remodelled the powers of the corporation. Numerous incorporated trading companies or guilds were established under these different charters, several of which still exist, but are not recognised as component parts of the corporation, and do not appear to have ever exercised any corporate rights. The guild of merchants incorporated by James I. having become extinct, was revived by the act of 1823, but has never since met, nor has any attempt been made to enforce its charter, its objects being effectually accomplished by the Chamber of Commerce. The corporation, under the charter of James I., is styled "The Mayor, Sheriffs, and Citizens of the City of Limerick;" and consists of a mayor," two sheriffs, and an indefinite number of aldermen, burgesses, and freemen, aided by a recorder, four charter justices, a town-clerk (who is also clerk of the crown and of the peace for the county of the city), chamberlain, common speaker, water-bailiff (which office is to be abolished under the New Bridge Act), sword-bearer, high constable, petty constables, serjeants-at-mace, weigh-master, crane-master, and other inferior officers. The mayor (which office and title were enjoyed by Limerick ten years before they were granted to London), the sheriffs, recorder, and town-clerk are annually elected by the common council on the 2nd Monday after the 24th of June; the four charter justices by the same body on the 2nd Monday after the 29th of September. The chamberlain is elected from among the burgesses for life or during pleasure, by the mayor, sheriffs, and recorder. The aldermen are elected for life from among the burgesses by the common council: the title, however, is a mere honorary distinction, usually conferred on the person who has served the office of mayor. The common speaker is elected every two years, under the provisions of the act of 1823, by the body of freemen assembled on the first Tuesday after June 24th, in the court of D'Oyer Hundred, and must be approved of by the common council before he can be sworn into office: the other officers are appointed respectively by the common council, the mayor, and the sheriffs. The freedom is obtained by birth, for the eldest son, or marriage with any daughter, of a freeman, also by apprenticeship to a freeman within the city, and by gift of the corporation: the admissions of freemen are made by the common council, subject to the approbation of the court of D'Oyer Hundred. The act of 1823 requires the council to hold quarterly meetings on the first Monday after June 24th, second Monday after Sept. 29th, and the first Mondays in January and April; extraordinary meetings are convened on requisition of the mayor. All acts of the corporation, except the election of officers, must be now approved of and confirmed by the freemen at large in the court of D'Oyer Hundred, which was re-established by the act of 1823, after having for about seventy years previously fallen into almost total disuse, and is now held on the day following each of the four stated quarterly meetings of the common council, and also within a specified time after the extraordinary meetings of that body: it is composed of the entire body of freemen, and a certified minute of all proceedings at the meetings of the common council must be transmitted by the town-clerk to the common speaker, who presides over the court, for its approval. The city returned two representatives to the Irish parliament from the period of its earliest convocations until the Union, after which it sent one member to the Imperial parliament; but under the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., c. 88, it sends two. Besides the freemen, the right of voting belonged to the freeholders of the county of the city, estimated in 1831 at about 2000, making the total number of electors at that period 2413. The above-named act has extended the franchise to £10 householders, and to £20 and £10 leaseholders for the respective terms of 14 and 20 years; the non-resident freemen, except within seven miles, have been disfranchised; and the 40s. freeholders retain the privilege only for life. The number of electors, according to a return to an order of the select committee of the House of Commons, dated Feb. 14th, 1837, was 3186; of whom 912 were freeholders, 14 rent-chargers, 34 leaseholders, 1946 £10 householders, and 280 freemen: the sheriffs are the returning officers.
The liberties are divided into North and South by the Shannon: the limits of the North liberties vary from one to four statute miles, comprising 1714 acres, as rated to the Grand Jury cess; the South liberties extend from four to five statute miles, comprehending 14,754 acres assessed, making in all 16,458 Irish acres, equal to about 26,600 statute acres, exclusively of the site of the town; the small island of Inniscattery, about 60 miles distant, at the mouth of the Shannon, forms a part of the parish of St. Mary, and is within the jurisdiction of the corporation. The mayor is a justice of the peace within the county of the city, and ex officio a magistrate for the county at large; he is admiral of the Shannon, and, with the recorder and aldermen, has very extensive magisterial and judicial powers connected with the exclusive admiralty jurisdiction given by the charter of Jas. I., being empowered to appoint all the officers of a court of admiralty, which court, however, has fallen into disuse; he is a judge in local courts, and is named first in the commission with the judges at the assizes for the county of the city; and is a coroner within the county of the city and the parts of the Shannon comprised within the admiralty jurisdiction, and clerk of the markets. The other magistrates are the recorder and four charter justices; six additional justices are appointed by the lord-lieutenant under the authority of the act of 1823. The county of the city has an exclusive criminal jurisdiction exercised by its magistrates at the court of quarter sessions and at petty sessions; assizes are held for it twice a year by the mayor and the judges travelling the Munster circuit. The court of quarter sessions is held before the mayor, recorder, and other justices, for the trial of such cases as are not reserved for the assizes. Petty sessions are held every Wednesday and Saturday before the mayor and five or six of the civic magistrates. The chief civil court is the Tholsel or city court, in which the mayor and sheriffs preside as judges, assisted by the recorder, when present, as assessor, and the town-clerk as prothonotary: it is held under the charter of Henry V., which gave pleas, real and personal, to any amount arising within the county of the city: the court sits every Wednesday; the process is either by attachment against goods, action against the person, or latitat, but the last is seldom resorted to. A court of conscience is held by the mayor every Thursday, by prescription, for the recovery of debts under 40s. late currency. The assistant barrister for the county of Limerick sits twice a year for the trial of civil bill cases within the county of the city. The ordinary revenues of the corporation are derived from rents of houses and lands in the city and liberties, the fishery of the salmon weir, tolls and customs (which yield by far the greatest portion), and the cleansing of the streets in the old city, producing a gross income of between £4000 and £5000 per annum. The peace preservation police consists of a chief magistrate, 1 chief officer of the second class, 49 men and 4 horses; 37 men are stationed in the city barracks, and the remainder in the liberties: their expense for the year ending June 1st, 1836. was £1852. 1. 6., two-thirds of which was paid from the Consolidated Fund, and the remainder by Grand Jury presentment. This force is occasionally employed beyond the limits of the civic jurisdiction. The city is also the head-quarters of the revenue police of the district, the other stations of which are Gort, Ennis, and Cashel; it consists of a sub-inspector, a sub-officer, serjeant, and 15 privates. There are a lieutenant, two deputy-lieutenants, and 15 magistrates, including those already noticed. The amount of Grand Jury presentments for 1835 was £6311. 16. 4., of which £620. 15. 9. was for repairs of roads, bridges, &c.; £3894. 9. 11. for public buildings, charities, salaries, and incidents; £525. 10. 4 1/2. for police, and £1271. 0. 3 1/2. for repayment of Government advances.
The city court-house was erected in 1763, at an expense of £700 only: it is 60 feet by 30, fronted with hewn stone, with a rustic gateway. The Exchange, erected in 1778 at an expense of £1500, is one of the chief ornaments of the old town; the front is of hewn stone, and is adorned with seven Tuscan columns connected by a handsome balustrade. The council-chamber is a fine room of the Ionic order; and there are various convenient municipal offices. The county court-house, on Merchants'-quay, an elegant structure, completed in 1810, at an expense of £12,000, is a quadrangular building of hewn stone, with a portico, supported by four lofty pillars, and surrounded by a light iron balustrade: it contains civil and criminal courts, jury-rooms, and other offices. The city gaol, in the old town, is a gloomy quadrangular edifice, with which the old county gaol is now united; but the buildings do not admit of proper classification, or sufficient means of employment. Yet, notwithstanding these disadvantages, it is remarkably well regulated, orderly, and clean. The new county gaol, which occupies a remarkably favourable situation on the south-east side of the city, was completed in 1821, at an expense of £23,000, and £2000 more was afterwards expended on additions: it has a noble castellated appearance, and its internal construction and arrangement are exceedingly well contrived. The grand entrance is composed of hewn stone, and is of the Doric order. In the centre is a polygonal tower, 60 feet high, containing on successive stories the governor's residence, the committee-room, a chapel, and an hospital, and having round the second story an arcade commanding the several yards. Five rays of buildings diverge from this tower, forming ten wards, each communicating by a cast-iron bridge with the chapel, and containing in the whole 22 apartments for debtors, and 103 cells for criminals. Between the wall immediately surrounding these and the outer wall is a space containing two tread-wheels, the female prison, various offices, and some ornamented plots. The whole is supplied with excellent water from two springs.
The EPISCOPAL SEE of LIMERICK, one of the eleven which constitute the ecclesiastical province of Cashel, is 27 miles in length and 17 in breadth, extending over an estimated surface of 306,950 acres, of which 12,500 are in Clare and the remainder in Limerick. It is said to have been founded in the 6th or 7th century by St. Munchin, who was consecrated bishop of it by St. Patrick. No further mention is made of the bishoprick until after the settlement of the Ostmen or Danes in Limerick, and their subsequent conversion to Christianity, when, about the year 1110, Gille, or Gilbert, a Dane, who disclaimed the authority of the Irish prelates, was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and governed the see till 1140. In the charter of Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, in 1194, the bishops are called Lumnicenses and Lumnicani, from Lumniach, the Irish name of the city. In 1195, the ancient see of Inniscathay or Inniscattery was united with this bishoprick. In 1284, Gerald le Mareschal succeeded in recovering the episcopal property which had been usurped by the bishops of Emly and Killaloe during the period the Danish bishops held it under the archbishop of Canterbury. This property was extensive and valuable at the Reformation; but. was afterwards so much diminished by grants to the Fitzgerald family that the see of Ardfert and Aghadoe was added to it in 1660, and has ever since been annexed to it. The see of Limerick is valued in the king's books at £40 sterling, according to an extent returned in the 5th of Chas. I. The see lands comprise 6720 acres; the gross yearly revenue of the bishoprick, including Ardfert and Aghadoe, amounted to £5368. 13. 5., on an average of three years ending Jan. 1, 1832. The palace is a modern brick edifice in the New town, with a front to the Shannon, commanding an extensive view of the opposite shores of the county of Clare. The consistorial court is held in the city by the vicar-general, with a surrogate and registrar, who is keeper of the Diocesan records, the oldest of which is intituled the "Liber Niger," copied by Bishop Adams in 1616, from a book which he states to have been then much defaced by age, and to contain an account of all the parishes, their procurations, taxation, subsidies, &c.
The cathedral, which is said to have been founded and endowed by Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, and is dedicated to St. Mary, was enlarged by Donat O'Brien about the year 1200, greatly adorned by Bishop Eustace del Ewe early in the fourteenth century, partly re-edified by the citizens in 1490, much improved by Bishop Adams in the 17th century, carefully restored after the wars of the same century, and improved at various subsequent periods. It is a venerable Gothic building, in the English town, surrounded with graduated battlements, and has at the west end a square tower 120 feet high, containing eight bells, and surmounted by turrets at the angles. The interior is composed of a nave and choir, separated from the aisles by pointed arches: the choir is 91 feet by 30, with a fine window at the east end: the bishop's throne and the stalls of the dignitaries exhibit some curious carved work: there is a powerful organ. In the nave and aisles are several recesses, formerly endowed as chapels by various families; two of these now form the consistorial court and the vestry; and under the arches separating the aisles from the choir are galleries, for the corporation and the officers of the garrison. At the communion table is a handsome modern Gothic screen. Among the numerous monuments, besides those of several prelates, the most remarkable is the splendid tomb of Donogh, the great Earl of Thomond, on the north side of the choir, composed of three compartments, of marble of different colours, and surrounded and supported by pillars of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders, and decorated with his arms and various trophies. There is also a fine monument of the Galway family. The chapter consists of a dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, archdeacon, and the 11 prebendaries of St. Munchin, Donoghmore, Ballycahane, Kilpeacon, Tullybracky, Killeedy, Disert, Ardcanny, Croagh, Athnett, and Effin. The corps of the deanery consists of the rectory of St. Mary, the rectories and vicarages of St. Nicholas and Cappagh, and the rectories of Cahirnarry, Bruree, and Mungrett. The deanery lands comprise 80 1/2 statute acres, let on lease at a rent of £88. 2. 5. and an annual renewal fine of £13: 16. 11.; the gross annual income, including these lands, is £1568; the deanery-house is in the city. The dean enjoys the right of presentation to the vicarages of Mungrett and Bruree, and to the perpetual cure of Cahirnarry. The corps of the precentorship consists of the rectories and vicarages of Kilfenny and Loughill, the rectories of Nantinan, Shanagolden, Knocknagaul and Dromdeely, and the vicarage of Morgans; the precentor has the right of presentation to the vicarage of Dromdeely: that of the chancellorship consists of the rectory of Rathkeale, the rectories and vicarages of Kilscannell, Clounagh, Clounshire, and the entire rectory of Dundonnell; of the treasurership, the rectories of St. Patrick and Cahirvally, the rectory and vicarage of Emlygrennan, and the chapelry of Kilquane; and of the archdeaconry, the rectories of St. Michael and Ardagh, and the entire rectory of Kildimo. The economy fund arises from the tithes of the union of Kilmallock, and the rents of several very valuable glebes, amounting on an average to £1400 annually. The diocesan school-house was erected in 1611 in the city; but having fallen into decay some years since, it was sold by the Board of Education, and the proceeds, with the addition of £400, presented by the corporation, have been expended in the purchase of a new site; but the house has not yet been built. In 1823, the Diocesan schools of Killaloe and Kilf'enora were united with that of Limerick, and the income augmented to £150 per ann. The school is held in the private residence of the head-master. The total number of parishes is 92, of which 17 are unions, 3 without provision for cure of souls, and the remainder single parishes. The total number of churches is 42, with 2 chapels of ease, besides five places of worship in school-houses or other buildings licensed for divine service: the number of glebe-houses is 28.
In the R. C. divisions the see is a separate diocese, being one of 7 suffragan to the archbishop of Cashel, and comprising 39 parochial benefices or unions, containing 78 chapels, the spiritual duties of which are performed by 37 parish priests, two administrators of the bishop's mensals, 54 coadjutors or curates, and two supernumeraries, besides whom there are 4 superannuated sick or unemployed clergymen. The bishop's parishes are those of St. John and St. Patrick, both in the county of the city; his residence is at Park-house, near the city. The cathedral is the church of St. John.
The parishes within the bounds of the county of the city are those of St. Michael, which comprehends all the New town; St. Mary, St, Nicholas, St. John, St. Munchin, and St. Laurence, in which the old town, including the suburb of Thomond-gate is included; and Cahirnarry, Cahirvally, Derrygalvin, Donoughmore, Killeely, Kilmurry and St. Patrick, together with parts of those of Abington, Carrigparson, Crecora, Kilkeedy, Kilnegarruff, Knocknegaul, Mungrett and Stradbally, in the rural district of the city; besides which is the extra-parochial district of St. Francis's abbey The parish of St. Michael, or New town of Limerick, being exempt from the payment of Grand Jury cess, two local acts have been passed for its interior regulation, in the 47th and 51st of George III., under which the sum of £461. 10. 9. is raised towards defraying the expenses of the City Gaol, Fever Hospital and House of Industry, being, in fact, in aid of the Grand Jury cess of the county of the city. The Old town, though containing 29,000 inhabitants, pays to this tax no more than £35, which, as it is the only local assessment, indicates the degree of poverty that prevails there. The remainder of the Grand Jury cess, amounting on an average to upwards of £6000 per annum, is levied entirely off the agricultural districts by a tax of from 7s. to 8s. per acre, being about twice as much as the assessment on the adjoining lands in the county at large. Under the act of the 51st of Geo. III., besides the payment of the sum above mentioned, rates are levied on the New town for paving, lighting, watching, and cleansing that part of the city, to the extent of 3s. in the pound on inhabited houses above the value of £10 per annum, and of 4d. in the pound on uninhabited houses and stores: houses under the value of £10 are exempt. A sum of about £65 is also raised for the purpose of burying paupers and taking care of foundlings. The number of houses assessed in 1835 was 914, valued at £28,766, at the rate of 2s. 3d.; the number of stores was 146, valued at £10,257, at the rate of 3 1/2d. The assessment amounted to £3388. 16. 9. The commissioners for assessing the tax, twenty-one in number, are inhabitants of the city, and seven of them retire from office every second year. The living is a rectory, united, from time immemorial, to part of the rectory of Kildimo and the rectory of Ardagh, which three parishes constitute the union of St. Michael and the corps of the archdeaconry of Limerick, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £90 per annum: the gross income of the archdeaconry, including the rent of a small glebe, is £620. 17. 8. per annum. The church was destroyed in the siege of 1651 and has not been rebuilt, but there is a chapel of ease, called St. George's, built and endowed in 1789 by the Pery family: it is a plain commodious edifice; its east window, which is very lofty, formerly belonged to the old Franciscan abbey; the curate is appointed by the Earl of Limerick. An episcopal chapel was erected in this parish, in 1832, in connection with the asylum for blind females. The entrance is beneath an entablature supported by lofty and very chaste Doric columns: the minister is elective, and is paid by voluntary contributions. St. George's male and female parochial schools are in connection with the Kildare-place Society, but are chiefly supported by voluntary subscriptions and the sale of needlework; they afford instruction to 214 children. There are also schools in connection with the London Hibernian Society, and the Wesleyan Methodists: very large schools for males and females are in course of erection from a bequest by Mrs. Villiers. The Limerick Academy in Cecil-street, founded and conducted by Messrs. Brice and Brown, was opened in 1836. It consists of a commodious house for the accommodation of resident pupils and two spacious class-rooms: its object is to afford the means of a complete education from the earliest infancy to the higher departments of collegiate study, based on the principle of exercising the understanding as well as the memory. At present the system of education comprises the usual branches of an English course combined with that of classic literature and science. The diocesan school is in this parish. St. Mary's parish is a rectory entire, united from time immemorial to the rectories and vicarages of St. Nicholas and Cappagh, and the rectories of Cahirnarry, Bruree, and Mungrett, constituting the corps of the deanery; it is in the patronage of the Crown. The cathedral is considered to be the parish church of this parish and of that of St. Nicholas. The blue coat hospital, situated near the cathedral, was founded in 1717, by the Rev. J. Moore, who bequeathed some property in Dublin for its support: about the same time the corporation aided it by an annual grant of £20, and in 1724 Mrs: Craven bequeathed several houses in Limerick for the same purpose. After having fallen into decay, it was revived in 1772 by the bishop and dean, the latter of whom has the management of it. It supports 15 boys, who wear a uniform of blue and yellow. St. Nicholas's parish, a rectory and vicarage, united to St. Mary's, contains 1784 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the tithes amount to £216. 18. 5. The church was destroyed in the siege of 1651, since which time service has been performed in the cathedral. A school for the education of 20 boys and 20 girls is maintained under a bequest of Dr. Jer. Hall, in 1698, for children of poor Protestant parents in St. Mary's and St. Nicholas's parishes. St. Munchin's parish, situated partly in the King's island, partly in the North liberties, and partly in the county of Clare, contains 3622 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the living is a rectory, united from time immemorial to the rectory and vicarage of Killonehan, and the rectory of Drehidtarsna, which three parishes constitute the corps of the prebend of St. Munchin in the cathedral of St. Mary, Limerick, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5.: those of all the parishes in the union amount to £466. 2. 9 1/2. The church, Which stands on the north side of the city, is enclosed on the north by the old town wall, along which an elevated terrace commands a fine view over the. Shannon; it was rebuilt in 1827, at an expense of £1460, of which £900 was a loan from the Board of First Fruits; it is a handsome edifice, with a lofty square tower embattled and crowned with pinnacles: this church is said to have been founded by St. Munchin, and was the cathedral until the building of St. Mary's. A school for boys and another for girls of this and the adjoining parishes was founded by a bequest of Mrs. Villiers in 1819. St. Laurences parish is a rectory entire, in the patronage of the Corporation: it is of small extent, having no church, and the tithes amount to only £25. The three parishes of St. Mary, St. Munchin, and St. Nicholas form the English town. St. John's parish is a vicarage, in the patronage of the Earl of Limerick. The vicar derives his income from an assessment on the houses, which originally produced £160 per annum; but owing to the removal of the principal inhabitants it sunk to about £50, and has been augmented by a grant of £25 per annum from Primate Boulter's fund. There is a glebe-house, erected by a gift of £369. 4. and a loan of £240 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1828. The church is an ancient edifice, comprising a nave with a north and south aisle extending the whole length of the building; it has recently been repaired by a grant of £185. 19. 3. from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. This parish forms the Irish town.
In the R. C. arrangements the county of the city is divided into the parishes or districts of St. Mary, St. John, St. Michael, St. Patrick, and St. Lelia. St. Mary's parish comprises the whole of the King's Island, the English town, and the Little or Sluice Island, thus embracing the whole of the Protestant parish of St. Mary, parts of St. Munchin's and St. Nicholas's, and the extra-parochial district of St. Francis: the chapel is a large plain cruciform edifice, built in 1749, on the Sluice Island; the altar exhibits three styles of architecture finely combined, and has a good copy of Michael Angelo's picture of the Crucifixion. A female school established in this parish, some years since, by the religious sisterhood of St. Clare was adopted, after the departure of that body from Limerick, by the sisterhood of the Presentation convent; and on the breaking up of that establishment in 1836, the National Board of Education granted £40 towards its support, and it was placed under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Hanrahan, P.P.; it is still held in the convent under the superintendence of two of the lay-sisters of St. Clare, affords instruction to 400 children, and is supported by subscriptions and charity sermons. St. John's parish comprises the Protestant parish of St. Laurence, and that part of St. Michael's known by the name of the Assembly Mall; this is the bishop's parish, and the church is therefore called the cathedral. It is a large cruciform building, erected in 1753: the altar, which is, very splendid, has a picture of the Crucifixion by Collopy, a native artist. St. Michael's parish is coterminous with the Protestant parish of the same name, with the exception of the Assembly Mall. The chapel, situated near the corn market, was built in 1779, and was then surrounded by open fields: it was considerably enlarged in 1805, and is now the largest and finest in the city: it can accommodate 2500 persons. In this parish there are three orders of friars. The Dominicans have their house and chapel in Glentworth-street: the latter, a large edifice in the early Gothic style, built in 1815, is enriched with a painting of the Crucifixion: the community consists of a prior and four friars. The Augustinians, whose community consists of a prior and two friars, have their house and chapel in St. George's-street; the latter was built for a theatre, and was purchased by the friars in 1824: the boxes and galleries are still preserved as seats for the congregation: it is lighted from the dome: the altar, supported by Corinthian pillars, is enriched with a picture of the Ascension by Collopy. The Franciscans, whose community consists of a prior and two friars, have their house and chapel near Wellesley-bridge; the latter is a large edifice in the Gothic style, comprising a centre and wings, with a handsome gallery: the altar is very fine and has a splendid painting of the Madonna. The brothers of the Christian Schools, six in number, have a school in this parish, and another in St. John's, in which about 600 children are educated; the funds are raised by collections made every Saturday throughout the city by the brethren. A female school, established by the Rev. Dr. Hogan, P.P., in 1822, is chiefly supported by him, and a new school-house capable of containing 200 girls is now being built at his expense. Adjoining the R. C. chapel is a school founded and endowed by Mrs. Meade, for the education of children of R. C. parents. St. Patrick's parish is in the liberties: the church, built in 1816, is on the Dublin road; it is in the form of the letter T, and is small but neatly fitted up; the building was much, improved in 1835. This parish, with those of Kilmurry and Derrygalvin, with which it is united, form the bishop's mensal. St. Lelia's parish is composed of the parishes of St. Munchin and St. Nicholas within the liberties north of the river, and that of Killeely in the county of Clare. The chapel, situated at Thomond-gate, is a large plain cruciform edifice, built in 1744: it is the first R. C. place of worship publicly erected in Limerick since the revolution. In this parish is a school established by the Rev. P. Walsh, P.P., in which 380 children are educated; it is supported by subscriptions and charity sermons.
The Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Munster have a small but very elegant meeting-house in the New town: they are of the second class. Here also the Society of Friends have a neat meeting-house, near which is a large and elegant place of worship, of the Gothic style without, and the Grecian within, belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, and not far from it another, in the mixed Gothic style, of the Primitive Wesleyan Methodists. The Independents also have a plain but neat meeting-house.
The County Hospital was founded in 1759 by the exertions of the late Mr. Vandeleur, surgeon, aided by the Pery and Hartstonge families. The present building on the new Cork road, which was completed in 1811, at an expense of £7100, has a front of 114 feet, and contains 10 wards for males and 6 for females; the number of patients admitted in the year ending April 1st, 1836, was 632, at an expense of £1520. Barrington's hospital, called by the act of the 11th of Geo. IV. the "City of Limerick infirmary," was founded in 1829 by Sir Joseph Barrington, Bart., and his sons, Matthew, Daniel, Croker, and Samuel. The hospital, built on George's quay at an expense of upwards of £4000, contains six large wards, capable of holding 60 beds; the number at present is 35. It was given by the founders to the city and opened under the new arrangement in Nov. 1831: it is supported by voluntary subscriptions and a grant from Government. Attached to the institution is a good medical library: a wing is now building for a lying-in hospital and another is projected for a fever hospital. St. John's Fever and Lock hospital was founded in 1781 by Lady Hartstonge; in the year 1836 it had 1601 patients; the expenses were £1520. 10. The Lying-in Hospital, opened in Nelson-street in 1812, under the control of a board of trustees, is supported by subscriptions and the interest of a bequest of £1000 from Mrs. White: upwards of 400 patients have been annually admitted into it since its establishment. There is also a dispensary. The District Lunatic Asylum, for the counties of Limerick, Clare, and Kerry, is a very extensive edifice on the new Cork road, completed in 1826. It is 429 feet by 314: the centre forms an octagon, from which four wings diverge containing cells for patients. It was originally intended for 150 curable lunatics, but, an additional building has been lately erected for those considered incurable. There is a considerable portion of land, in the cultivation of which many of the inmates are beneficially engaged. The system of management, which is confined to moral treatment, excluding all coercive or severe measures, is extremely well conducted. The total cost of the buildings, exclusive of the purchase of land, was £35,490. The House of Industry, founded in 1774 by Grand Jury presentments on the county and city, to which was added £200 by the late Dr. Edw. Smyth, of Dublin, towards providing thirteen cells for the insane, was at first calculated to accommodate 200 inmates: the number, prior to 1823, was augmented to 380; a wing was then added for the accommodation of seventy infirm women, and two work-rooms for spinners and weavers. The inmates are employed in various occupations, and a strict classification is observed.
The oldest almshouse is that of Dr. Hall, founded about the commencement of the last century. The present neat and convenient edifice, erected in 1761, contains apartments for thirteen men and twelve women, who receive each £5 a year; also school-rooms, and an episcopal chapel. The annual income is £304, part of which is applied to the use of Hall's school, already noticed, and to some minor endowments. The Corporation almshouse, erected soon after the siege of Limerick, on ground anciently occupied by St. Nicholas's church, is adapted to the reception of 22 reduced widows, each having 40 shillings a year and the use of a garden. The corporation also pays certain annuities to the widows of aldermen and burgesses. St. George's Parochial Asylum, instituted by the late Rev. W. D. Hoare, accommodates 14 Protestant widows. Mrs. Villiers' almshouse, erected a few years ago, in pursuance of the will of Mrs. Hannah Villiers, is a handsome Gothic structure of stone, forming three sides of a square; and is an asylum for 12 Protestant or Presbyterian widows, each of whom receives £24 Irish per annum; a preference is to be given to any descendant of the testatrix who may apply for admission. The widow of Ald. Craven founded an almshouse for poor Protestant widows; the building has been taken down; but 50 widows of the parishes of St. Mary, St. John, and St. Munchin annually receive £4 each; the remainder is divided at Christmas among the poor. The same lady also left £60, the interest of which is given to confined debtors and the poor of the city parishes. The widow of George Rose, Esq., deposited £800 in the hands of the dean and chapter, the interest to be distributed every Christmas equally among sixteen poor widows. The interest of divers sums given at various periods by the members of the Pery family, amounting to £17 per annum, is distributed among the poor of St. John's parish. St. John's parochial almshouse for seven poor Protestant widows is supported by subscriptions and by bequests of Mrs. Craven, Mrs. Crone, and the Earl of Ranfurly; and Mrs. Banks having bequeathed the sum of £8768. 12. 8. to trustees for charitable purposes, it has been apportioned to the Fever Hospital, the Female Orphan Asylum, the Lying-in Hospital, the House of Industry, the county Infirmary, and the Dispensary. A Charitable Loan Fund, formed, in 1770, chiefly by subscriptions of the Pery family, has afforded accommodation to many thousands by loans of three guineas each. In 1810, the inhabitants subscribed the Jubilee Loan fund, amounting to £1200, which has since accumulated by the addition of interest: about £120 is lent weekly, in sums of not more than £4 each, which are repaid by weekly instalments. A Fund for the Encouragement of Industry was established in 1822, out of the surplus fund subscribed in England for the distressed Irish, the loans being limited to £6; the sums so issued in the year ending March 17th, 1836, amounted to £4200. 10., and the amount repaid with interest during the same period was £4500. 13. 11. A Charitable Pawn Office, under the title of the "Mont de Pieté," similar to establishments of the same name throughout the continent, has been instituted by Matthew Barrington, Esq., with the view of allowing the poor small loans at low interest; the capital is raised by debentures, to be repaid with interest; and the profits of the institution are to be applied towards the support of Barrington's Hospital. The building, which adjoins the hospital, is now almost complete; it is nearly circular, with a piazza, surmounted by a lofty and elegant dome and cupola, and has been erected at the sole expense of the founder. A company for granting annuities to widows, settlements for wives, and endowments for children, on payment of an annual premium, was established in 1806, under the title of the Munster General Annuity Endowment Association. An Asylum for the Blind, the house and chapel for which have been lately built, will accommodate 12 men and 1'2 women; a Magdalene Asylum, conducted by a committee of ladies, has been established on a small scale; a Mendicity Association is supported by voluntary contributions; and, in 1826, an Institution for the Relief of Sick and Indigent Room-keepers was formed by a subscription of several hundred pounds: there are also a Savings' Bank and a Mechanics' Institute.
Limerick anciently contained two Augustinian monasteries, one of regular canons, and the other of hermits: the regular canons had another house in the contiguous parish of Mungrett, which was destroyed by the Danes in 1107. In 1227, a Dominican friary was founded in the city by Donogh Carbragh O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, which became a place of great magnificence, and was the burial-place of various prelates and other eminent men: part of the walls still exists, and the cemetery formed the garden of the Presentation convent. There were also a Franciscan convent, founded by William Fion de Burgo; a house of canonesses of the order of St. Augustine, founded in 1171. by Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, and a house of the Knights Templars; but no remains of these buildings are now discernible. Its military antiquities consist of the ruins of the fortress called King John's Castle, at the end of Thomond bridge, comprehending the great gateway, defended by two massive round towers, and the outer walls, having similar defences, and presenting a fine relic of the military architecture of that remote period; of dilapidated portions of the walls and towers of the citadel nearly contiguous, in which the castle barracks have been erected; of various portions of the town walls, and of some of the outworks, especially a fort on the King's Island, north of the old town. There are also some remains of the celebrated Black Battery, close to which was the breach defended so heroically against William's army. In the rural parishes of the liberties are the ruins of several ancient forts. Of eminent natives were three prelates named Creagh, in the fifteenth century; Richard Creagh, D.D., R. C. Archbishop of Armagh in the reign of Elizabeth, who died in the Tower of London, in 1585; James Arthur, D.D., Professor of Divinity at Salamanca; James Nihell, M.D., the author of various medical treatises of considerable repute, born in 1705; John Fitzgibbon, Esq., an eminent lawyer, born at Ballysheeda, within the liberties, in 1731; the Rev. James White, parish priest of St. Mary's, who published a short description of the county at large in 1764, and also compiled annals of the city, which were never published; John Martin, M.D., author of an essay on the Castle-Connell Spa; Daniel Hayes, Esq., who died at an early age in 1767, after displaying considerable poetic ability; Charles Johnston, who distinguished himself in the department of polite literature; the Rev. Joseph Ignatius O'Halloran, D.D., Professor of Philosophy and Divinity in the Jesuits' College at Bourdeaux; Sylvester O'Halloran, Esq., the historian, his brother; Peter Woulfe, Esq., an eminent chymist and naturalist of the last century; Viscount Pery, who had filled the speaker's chair in the commons' house of parliament in Ireland; the Rt. Hon. John Fitzgibbon, Earl of Clare, and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland.; John Ferrar, a bookseller and printer of Limerick, who was author of several respectable topographical works concerning Limerick, Dublin, and Wicklow; Timothy Collopy, distinguished as an historical and portrait painter; William Palmer, who also rose to some eminence as an artist under Sir Joshua Reynolds, but died at an early age; and Edward Fitzgerald, Esq., for some time editor of the Pilot Newspaper, in London. Limerick confers the titles of Earl and Viscount on the family of Pery.
LIMERICK (LITTLE), county of WEXFORD.--See KILKEVAN.
LISBELLAW, a village, in a detached portion of the parish of CLEENISH, barony of TYRKENNEDY, county of FERMANAGH, and province of ULSTER, 3 1/2 miles (E. S. E.) from Enniskillen, on the road to Clogher; containing 45 houses and 242 inhabitants. Tradition states that on a hill above the village a battle was fought between some of the troops of King William and James II., when the latter were defeated. The Lisbellaw estate was the property of the late Earl of Rosse, on whose demise the title became extinct, and the property passed to the Rev. Grey Porter, the present proprietor. The village is picturesquely situated amidst, conical-shaped hills, in a highly cultivated district, and in the vicinity of Lough Erne: it has a penny post to Enniskillen. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in weaving linen and making mats from bulrushes; and there are corn-mills with drying-kilns attached. Fairs are held on May 11th, June 20th, July 20th, Aug. 18th, Oct. 12th, Nov. 11th, and Dec. 23rd, chiefly for cattle and pigs: those in May and November are much frequented for hiring servants. Petty sessions are held on alternate Saturdays; and a baronial court was formerly held, but has been discontinued: here is a station of the constabulary police. The church, or chapel of ease to the parochial church of Cleenish, is a neat edifice, built in 1764 by Lord Rosse, who was interred in a vault beneath. The R. C. chapel is a large plain building, attached to the district of Enniskillen. Here are also a meeting-house for Presbyterians of the Seceding Synod (of the second class), built on a site given by the late Sir R. Hardinge; and a small meeting-house for Methodists. A school, formerly in connection with the Kildare-place Society, but now supported by the parents of the children, is held in a commodious house, which also contains apartments for the master. In the vicinity of the village are several ancient raths or forts; and on a finely wooded island in Lough Erne, connected by a causeway with the main land, is Bellisle, the ruined seat of the late Earl of Rosse.
LISBUNNY, or LISBONEY, a parish, in the barony of UPPER ORMOND, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 1 mile (S. E.) from Nenagh, on the mail road from Dublin to Limerick; containing 1442 inhabitants, and comprising 4178 statute acres. Here is an extensive flour-mill, worked by superior machinery, the produce of which is in great demand. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, forming part of the union of Kilmore: the tithes amount to £323. 1. 6 1/2. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Nenagh. There are some remains of the old church, adjacent to which are the ruins of a castle.
LISBURN, an unincorporated borough, market-town, and parish, partly in the barony of UPPER MASSAREENE, county of ANTRIM, and partly in the barony of UPPER CASTLEREAGH, but chiefly in that of LOWER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (S. W. by S.) from Belfast, and 73 (N.) from Dublin; containing 13,249 inhabitants, of which number, 5218 are in the borough, 5941 in that part of the parish which is in the county of Down, and 2090 in that which is in the county of Antrim. This place was, in the reign of Jas. I. and long after, called Lisnegarvey; and though now a populous and flourishing town, it was at that time a very inconsiderable village. Its rapid increase in population and importance may be attributed to Edward, Viscount Conway, to whom, in 1627, Charles I. granted the remainder of the manor of Killultagh (a portion of which had been previously given by Jas. I. to his ancestor, Sir Fulk Conway), who, on obtaining possession of this grant, built a castle here, which became the head of the manor. The same grant conferred the privileges of courts leet and baron, view of frank pledge, manorial courts for debts not exceeding £2, a court of record every three weeks for sums not exceeding £20, a weekly market, and two annual fairs. Soon after the erection of the castle, some English and Welsh families were induced by the proprietor to settle here, and a town consisting of more than fifty houses soon arose. On the breaking out of the war in 1641, a body of 1000 men assembled and preserved the town for some time from the attempts of the insurgents, and held their detached parties in check; but on the 28th of November in that year, the garrison consisting only of five newly raised companies and Lord Conway's troop of horse, the insurgent army commanded by Sir Phelim O'Nial, Sir Conn Magennis, and General Plunket, on their march to Carrickfergus, advanced to attack the town. Sir Arthur Tyringham, however, arriving with a small reinforcement, and being aided by Sir George Rawdon, repulsed the columns of the enemy as they successively advanced to the assault, and by a galling fire from the streets committed great slaughter among them. At nightfall further reinforcements arrived from Carrickfergus and Belfast; and the insurgents despairing of success, set fire to the town, which in a few hours was reduced to ashes; a sanguinary conflict being maintained in the burning town till nearly midnight, when the insurgents were finally put to flight, leaving behind them a number of slain equal to three times the entire number of the garrison, of whom only from 20 to 30 were killed. In 1644, General Monroe made an attempt to obtain possession of the town, but was frustrated by the vigilance and resolution of the garrison; and on the 6th of December, 1648, that general, with the Scottish forces under his command, was signally defeated on the plains of "Lisnegarvey," by Col. Venables and Sir Charles Coote, two of Cromwell's commanders, to the former of whom the castle was surrendered in 1650. On the landing of the Duke of Schomberg, near Bangor, in 1689, a considerable body of forces in the interest of Jas. II. assembled at this place, but afterwards abandoned it without any attempt for its defence, and Wm. III. passed through the town shortly before the battle of the Boyne. Chas. II., to reward the fidelity of the inhabitants to his father and to himself, had erected the church of Lisburn into a cathedral for the united dioceses of Down and Connor, and had granted the townsmen the privilege of sending two representatives to the Irish parliament; but what more especially contributed to the improvement and commercial importance of the town was the settlement here, after the revocation of the edict of Nantz, of many Huguenot families, who introduced the manufacture of linen, and brought with them improved machinery from Holland. The skill and industry of these new settlers were liberally encouraged by the government, which granted large sums of money for the erection of suitable buildings for carrying on the manufactures, &c., and, by giving an example to others engaged in the same trade, soon raised the quality of the manufactures to a degree of excellence previously unknown. In 1707, the town and castle were burned to the ground; the latter has never been rebuilt, but the present town soon arose from the ruins of the former, and gradually increased in extent; it has been greatly improved at various times, and especially within the last few years by the spirited exertions of the agent of the Marquess of Hertford, who is owner in fee of the whole town, and of a considerable part of the surrounding country; and it is now one of the handsomest inland towns in the province of Ulster.
The town is situated on the north-western bank of the river Lagan, which separates the counties of Antrim and Down, and on the high road from Dublin to Belfast: it consists principally of one long irregular line of street, extending nearly from east to west, from which several smaller streets branch off; and contains, according to the last census, 992 houses, of which 675 are roofed with slate, and the remainder with thatch; all the houses in the principal streets are well built, and amply supplied with excellent water conveyed by pipes from works in the neighbourhood. The great terrace of the castle, which is still remaining, has been made an agreeable promenade; it is sheltered from the north by Castle-street, and is kept in the best order at the expense of the Marquess of Hertford. On the opposite side of the river is a small suburb, not included in the ancient limits of the borough, but within the parish and the new electoral boundaries. A new line of road has been made at a great expense at the entrance from Dublin on the south-west, and also at the entrances from Belfast and Armagh, by which the town has been much improved. The manufacture of linens and cambrics, which are sold in their brown state every market day at the linen-hall, a neat and commodious building erected for the purpose, is still carried on to a considerable extent, and maintains its high reputation for the superior quality of these articles; and the diapers and damasks of this place have long been distinguished for their unrivalled beauty of pattern and fineness of texture. On a small island in the river Lagan are extensive chymical works for the preparation of acids, chlorides, &c., for the supply of the several bleach-yards, of which some of the largest in the kingdom are adjacent to the town, the principal being at Lambeg, Colin, Seymour Hill, Suffolk, and Chrome Hill, where 189,000 pieces are annually bleached and finished, principally for the London market. There are also extensive establishments for the printing, bleaching, and dyeing of muslins; and near the town are an extensive thread manufactory and a large flour-mill. The trade is much facilitated by the Lagan navigation between Lough Neagh and Belfast, which joins the river Lagan a little above the town, by which, with the aid of several collateral cuts, the navigation is continued to Belfast. The market is on Tuesday, and is the largest and best in this part of the country for every description of provisions; it is also much frequented on account of the quantities of linen and other articles which, in addition to its supply of provisions, are brought for sale; there is a cattle market on the same day. The fairs are annually held on July 21st and Oct. 5th, and are chiefly for horses, cattle, sheep, lambs, and pigs, of which the supply is very large. The market-house is a handsome building surmounted by a cupola, and, in addition to the accommodation it affords to the market, contains a suite of assembly-rooms. There are also very extensive shambles, corn-stores, sheds, and weigh-houses, erected by the proprietor of the town, and well-enclosed marketplaces for cattle, sheep, and pigs.
By the charter of Chas. II. conferring the elective franchise, the inhabitants not being a body corporate, and consequently having no municipal officer, the seneschal of the manor of Kilultagh was appointed returning officer for the borough; and the right of election was vested in the inhabitants generally, every pot-walloper being entitled to vote; but by an act of the 35th of Geo. III., cap. 29, it was restricted to the £5 householders, of whom, previously to the late act for amending the representation, there were only 141, and of these only 81 were qualified to vote. By the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, the right of election was confirmed in the £5 householders; and the boundary of the borough, which was very indistinct, was enlarged and clearly defined, and now comprises an area of 1325 acres, the limits of which are minutely described in the Appendix. The number of voters registered up to March 1st, 1836, was 134; the seneschal is still the returning officer. Manorial courts are held by the seneschal every third Wednesday, at which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable; and there is a court of record, with jurisdiction to the amount of £20 late currency. Courts leet are also held twice in the year, when a leet grand jury is sworn, by whom a petty constable is appointed for each of the 17 constablewicks into which the manor is divided; presentments for payment of salaries, repairs of roads, and other works are made; and all the municipal functions of the borough are exercised. Petty sessions are also held in the town every Tuesday; and here is a station of the constabulary police. A large and handsome edifice now used as the court-house of the manor, and for holding the petty sessions and other public meetings, was originally built and supported by Government as a chapel for the Huguenot emigrants, whose descendants having attached themselves to the Established Church, the minister's stipend has been discontinued, and the building appropriated to the above purposes. The manor gaol of the borough, under the custody of the marshal of the manor court, has, since the 7th of Geo. IV., been disused as a place of confinement, and is now used as a place of custody for goods attached by the court till bailed.
The parish, which is also called Blaris, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 10,697 statute acres, of which 2827 1/4 are in the barony of Upper Massareene, county of Antrim, and 3064 in Upper Castlereagh, and 4805 3/4 in Lower Iveagh, county of Down. The lands are very fertile, and the system of agriculture is highly improved; for the last twenty years, wheat has been the staple crop, and oats, formerly the principal produce, are now grown only for the sake of a due rotation of crops. The Maze race-course, described in the article on Hillsborough near which town it is situated, is in this parish. The surrounding scenery is enlivened by numerous gentlemen's seats, among which are Ballymacash, the residence of Edw. Johnson, Esq.; Brookhill, of James Watson, Esq,; Larchfield, of Wm. Mussenden, Esq.; Lambeg House, of Robert Williamson, Esq.; Seymour Hill, of Wm. Charley, Esq.; Chrome Hill, of Richard Niven, Esq.; Ingram Lodge, of J. Richardson, Esq.; Suffolk, of the late J. Mc Cance, Esq.; and Colin, of Matthew Roberts, Esq.; besides many other elegant houses near the town. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Hertford. The tithes amount to £700: there is a glebe-house but no glebe attached to the living. The church is a spacious and handsome building, with a tower, to which an octagonal spire was added in 1807, at the expense of the late Marquess of Hertford; a fine organ has been presented to it by the present Marquess; and in its improvement considerable sums have been expended, including a recent grant of £256 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It contains a handsome monument to Lieut. Dobbs, a native of the town, who was killed in an engagement with Paul Jones off this coast; and an elegant monument has recently been erected at the expense of the bishop and clergy of the diocese, to the memory of the celebrated Dr. Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor, who died here in 1667, and was buried in a vault in the church of Dromore, which he had built. In the churchyard are several monuments to many of the Huguenots who settled here under the patronage of Wm. III. and Queen Anne. It is the cathedral church of the united dioceses of Down and Connor; the visitations are held in it, and all the business belonging to the see is transacted in the town. There are no chapels of ease within the parish, but divine service is performed in the school-houses of Newport, Maze, and Broomhedge, in rotation. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, also called Blaris, comprising the parishes of Lisburn and Hillsborough; in each of which is a chapel. There is a meeting-house for Presbyterians of the Synod of Ulster, of the first class, also two for Wesleyan Methodists, and one for the Society of Friends.
To the north of the town is the Ulster Provincial School for the Society of Friends, founded in 1794 by Mr. John Handcock, who bequeathed a sum of money for, the erection of the premises; 50 children, who are eligible at eight years of age and remain till fourteen, are boarded, clothed, educated, and apprenticed; each scholar pays £3. 12. per annum, and the remainder of the expense, which averages about £14 per annum each, is defrayed by contributions from the society. A free school for boys was founded in 1810, and aided by the Association for Discountenancing Vice; and there is a similar school for girls, built and supported by subscription: the late George Whitla, Esq., bequeathed £100 to each, the interest of which is applied in procuring clothing for some of the poorest children. There are also two other schools for both sexes, one of which is aided by the same society, and the other is supported by subscription. An infants' school, also supported by subscription, was established in 1832, and a building was erected for its use at an expense of £120, towards defraying which the Marquess of Hertford contributed £50. The number of boys on the books of these schools is about 400, and of girls, 300; and in the private pay schools are about 360 boys and 240 girls. An alms-house for eight poor women was founded under the will of Mr. Williams, in 1826; and six almshouses, for as many poor widows, were also founded by a member of the Trail family, and are now wholly supported by William Trail, Esq.; they were rebuilt on a more convenient site in 1830, at the expense of the Marquess of Hertford. The several charitable bequests amount in the aggregate to £2750, invested in government securities, the interest of which sum is distributed in winter among the poor, according to the wills of the respective donors. A Humane Society for the restoration of suspended animation has been established here; and in an airy part of the town is situated the County Infirmary, supported equally by subscriptions and grand jury presentments. On the White Mountain, about two miles to the north of the town, are the ruins of Castle Robin, erected by Sir Robert Norton in the reign of Elizabeth; the walls now remaining are 84 feet long, 36 feet wide, and 40 feet high, and near them is a large mount. Among the distinguished individuals born here may be noticed Dr. Edw. Smith, Bishop of Down and Connor, in 1665. Lisburn confers the titles of Earl and Viscount on the family of Vaughan.
LISCANOR, a village, in the parish of KILMACREHY, barony of CORCOMROE, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (W.) from Ennistymon, on the northern side of the bay of the same name on the western coast; containing 77 houses and 506 inhabitants. The bay being exposed to the violence of the Atlantic, and having a rocky and dangerous shore, a pier was built at this place a few years since, by the late Fishery Board, for the protection and encouragement of the small craft employed in the fishery of the bay, to which, as well as to vessels engaged in general trading, it affords great shelter and accommodation, although it has been several times injured by the sea. Excellent lobsters, small turbot, and a variety of other fish are taken in the bay. Here are a constabulary police station, and a detachment from the coast-guard station at Freagh Point. Over the estuary of the river Inagh, in the vicinity of the village, a handsome bridge is now in course of erection, consisting of three elliptic arches, each of 45 feet span, connected by a causeway or embankment, 160 feet in length, with three smaller arches on the south side for the passage of superfluous water; the total length of the roadway, including an embankment at each end of the bridge, is 507 feet. Of the estimated expense, £4200, the Board of Public Works, under whose superintendence it is being erected, has contributed £2222; the remainder being defrayed by the county. In the R. C. divisions, this village gives name to a district, which comprises the parishes of Kilmacrehy and Killaspuglenane, and contains the chapels of Liscanor in the former and Cahirgal in the latter parish: that of Liscanor is a large plain building. Near the village are the ruins of an ancient castle, consisting of a large square tower: it was formerly of great strength, and was the residence of the O'Conors. --See KILMACREHY.
LISCARROL, a parish, in the barony of ORRERY and KILMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 1/2 miles (W. N. W.) from Buttevant, on the road to Newcastle; containing 2046 inhabitants, of which number, 666 are in the village. This place is distinguished for the remains of its ancient castle, of which the foundation is by some attributed to the followers of Strongbow, and by others to John, Earl of Morton, afterwards King of England. In 1641, the castle was garrisoned by Sir Philip Perceval, and so strongly fortified that it maintained a resolute defence for thirteen days against Gen. Barry, by whom it was besieged with an army of 7000 foot and 500 horse, with a train of artillery, and to whom it surrendered on honourable terms. The delay occasioned by the siege allowed Lord Inchiquin to assemble a force of 2000 foot and 400 horse, with which he attacked and defeated the Irish in the neighbourhood , of the castle, which was retaken and restored to Sir Philip. In 1644, the Irish having made prisoners several of the garrison who were without the walls, threatened to put them to death unless the fortress surrendered, on which Raymond, the constable, sallied out with a party of his men, put the Irish to flight, and recovered the prisoners; but the castle, though well prepared for defence, surrendered in the year following to Lord Castlehaven without opposing any resistance. The village is pleasantly situated in a valley, and contains 120 houses, which are mostly thatched. A barrack for two officers and 64 non-commissioned officers and privates was built in the vicinity, in 1821; the establishment was kept up for about four years, but the buildings are now occupied by labourers. Fairs are held on the 25th of March, 1st and 31st of May, Aug. 31st, Oct. 21st, and Nov. 29th, chiefly for cattle and pigs; a constabulary police force is stationed here; manorial courts are held occasionally, with jurisdiction extending to 40s., and petty sessions on alternate Thursdays.
The parish comprises 3855 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land in general is good and chiefly in pasture. Limestone is quarried both for agricultural purposes and for building. The principal seats are Altamira, the residence of W. Purcell, Esq., a handsome mansion in an extensive and richly planted demesne; and High Fort, of R. Purcell, Esq., M. D., distinguished for the gallant defence made by its then proprietor, the late Sir John Purcell, against a midnight attack by nearly 20 robbers, whom, though armed only with a case knife, he entirely repulsed; in consideration of which intrepid conduct he obtained the honour of knighthood. Sally Park, the property of Geo. Bond Lowe, Esq., is now in ruins. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, united to that of Kilbrin, together forming the union of Liscarrol, in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is irnpropriate in C. D. O. Jephson, Esq. The tithes amount to £254, which is equally divided between the impropriator and the vicar; the vicarial tithes of the benefice amount to £547. The church is at Ballygraddy, on the border of the parish of Kilbrin. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union, comprising also the parish of Churchtown or Bruhenny; the chapel, an old building, is about to be repaired and enlarged; there is also a chapel at Churchtown. About 80 children are taught in a national school; and there are two private schools, in which are about 200 children. There are very considerable remains of the ancient castle, which was a quadrangular building, 240 feet long and 120 feet wide, enclosed with walls 30 feet high and defended with two square and four round towers of great strength, parts of which are still remaining. Near the barracks are some remarkable fissures in the limestone rock; about a mile from the town is a fissure of great depth, called Kate's Hole, which is now closed up; and at Coolbane, to the west of it, is a large rath, now neatly planted, where it is said 17 of the relatives of Garret Fitzgerald, of the house of Desmond, killed in the seige of the castle, were interred.
LISCARTIN, a parish, in the barony of LOWER NAVAN, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Navan, on the river Blackwater, and on the mail road from Dublin to Enniskillen; containing 229 inhabitants. It comprises 1188 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of good quality and chiefly in tillage. Liscartin castle, supposed to have been originally a monastic building, was the birth place of the first Lord Cadogan, to which family it still belongs; part of it now constitutes the residence of T. Gerrard, Esq., the proprietor of a large flour-mill in the vicinity; the outworks of the castle were considerable, and a gateway still remains, about 60 yards distant from the main building. Bachelor's Lodge, the neat residence of John Wade, Esq., is also in this parish. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Ardbraccan; the tithes amount to £69. 4. 7 1/2. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Ardbraccan, also called Bohermeen.
LISCLEARY, or LISLEY COLERIGGE, a parish, in the barony of KERRICURRIHY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2 1/2 miles (W.) from Carrigaline, on the south side of the river Awinboy; containing 2804 inhabitants. It comprises 4217 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4025 per ann., and is divided into two parts by the intervening parish of Carrigaline. The surface is undulating, and the soil in general good; besides lime, sea-weed and sand brought from Carrigaline are used for manure, and the system of agriculture is gradually improving. Limestone exists near the border of the adjoining parish of Killanully, but lies too deep for profitable working, especially as an abundant supply is obtained from that parish. The seats are Ballea Castle, the residence of F. Hodder, Esq,; and Rathfeen House, of T. Dorman, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork; the rectory constitutes the corps of the prebend of Liscleary in the cathedral of Cork, and the vicarage is held in sequestration by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Of the tithes, amounting to £210, five-ninths are payable to the prebendary and the remainder to the Commissioners. Divine service is regularly performed in the parochial school-house. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Ballygarvan and Douglas. The parochial school is partly supported by the prebendary, and partly by the Cork diocesan association; and about 70 children are educated in a private school.
LISCOLEMAN, a parish, in the half-barony of SHILLELAGH, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Tullow, on the confines of the county of Carlow; containing 754 inhabitants. It comprises 2417 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, including a small portion of bog: the state of agriculture is improving. The seats are Rath, the residence of J. Whelan, Esq., and Knocklow, of Mrs. Brown. It is an impropriate cure, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Aghold; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter. Of the tithes, amounting to £150, two-thirds are payable to the dean and chapter, and the remainder to the incumbent. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Clonmore.
LISDEEN, a village, in the parish of KILFIERAGH, barony of MOYARTA, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (E.) from Kilkee, near the road from that place to Kilrush; containing 7 houses and 45 inhabitants. The population has considerably decreased since the increase of buildings at Kilkee. Fairs are held on May 7th, July 13th, Sept. 8th, and Dec. 17th. Here is the old R. C. chapel for the parish of Kilfieragh; and in the vicinity is a chalybeate spring, occasionally used for medicinal purposes.
LISDOONVARNA, county of CLARE.--See KILMOON.
LISDOWNEY, a village, in the parish of AHARNEY, barony of GALMOY, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S.) from Durrow, on the road to Kilkenny; containing 28 houses and 162 inhabitants. It is situated on the confines of Queen's county, and contains the chapel giving name to the R. C. union or district, which latter comprises the parishes of Aharney, Sheffin, Balleen, and Coolcashin, and parts of Rathbeagh and Grange.
LISGENAN, or GRANGE, a parish, in the barony of DECIES-within-DRUM, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (E.) from Youghal, on the river Licky, and near the coast; containing 2195 inhabitants. It comprises 5689 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: sea-weed, which is obtained in great abundance at the Cove, is used for manure. In the cliffs here are some remarkable caves, and off the shore is Goats' Island. At Whiting bay is Grange Lodge, the occasional residence of Sir Rich. Musgrave, Bart., during the bathing season. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, forming part of the union of Kinsalebeg; the rectory is impropriate in the Duke of Devonshire. Of the tithes, amounting to £600, two-thirds are payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Ardmore, and has a small chapel. About 220 children are educated in three private schools.
LISGOOLD, a parish, in the barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 6 3/4 miles (S. S. E.) from Rathcormac, on the road from Midleton to Fermoy; containing 893 inhabitants. It comprises 6981 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4688. 15. per annum: the soil is poor, and the state of agriculture is rather backward. The beautiful glen of Bally-Edmond contains some fine plantations, and is traversed by the river Curra in its course to Midleton Fairs are held at Lisgoold on May 1st, June 24th, Nov. 1st, and Dec. 21st. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, united prior to any existing record to the rectories and vicarages of Ballintemple and Imphrick, the rectory of Ballycaraney, and two-thirds of the rectory of Kilcreden, together constituting the union of Lisgoold and the corps of the precentorship of the cathedral of Cloyne, in the gift of the Bishop: the rectory is impropriate in G. Lukey, of Midleton, Esq. The tithes amount to £201. 15. 6 1/2., of which £118. 14. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the incumbent; the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £977. 3. 5 1/2. There is a glebe of 19a. 2r. 23p. The church, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contributed £500, was built, in 1788. With the exception of Lisgoold and Ballycaraney the parishes of the union are detached at a considerable distance from each other. In the R. C. divisions Lisgoold gives name to the union or district, which also comprises the parishes of Ballycaraney, Templeboden, and Templenecarrigy: the chapel is at Lisgoold.