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
PACE-KILBRIDE. --See KILBRIDE-PILATE.
PAINSTOWN, a parish, partly in the barony of KILKEA and MOONE, county of KILDARE, but chiefly in the barony and county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 1 3/4 mile (N.) from Carlow, on the road to Dublin and Athy, and on the river Barrow; containing 177 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2232 statute acres, under a highly improved system of agriculture; there is no bog. The Barrow navigation affords great facility for the transmission of goods to Waterford and Dublin. Oak Park, the seat of Col. Bruen, is more particularly noticed in the article on the town of Carlow. The living is an impropriate cure, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter of Leighlin. The tithes amount to £89. 0. 0 1/2., of which £59. 6. 8. is payable to the dean and chapter, and £29. 13. 4 1/2. to the impropriate curate. Divine service is performed in a private house licensed for the purpose. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Carlow. Here is a school, supported by Col. Bruen. There are ruins of a church and a burial-ground, on the townland of Painstown; and the ruins of a church at Duganstown.
PAINSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of LOWER DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. W.) from Slane, on the road from Trim to Drogheda by Navan; containing 1184 inhabitants. This parish is intersected, in the northern portion, by the river Boyne, and comprises 3342 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The land is of good quality, nearly equally divided between tillage and pasture; and there is neither waste land nor bog. Copper is supposed to exist here, but it has never been raised; and there are quarries of building stone. Beauparc, the spacious and elegant mansion of Gustavus Lambert, Esq., is situated on very elevated ground, overlooking the river Boyne, and commanding a view of some richly varied scenery; the grounds are celebrated both for natural and artificial beauty; the demesne contains about 300 Irish acres. Dollardstown, a spacious mansion, the property of Sir W. Meredyth Somerville, Bart., and formerly a seat of the Meredyth family, is now occupied by a farmer. Seneschalstown, now leased to L. Kelly, Esq., is the property of the Aylmer family: Tersington is the seat of T. Russell, Esq.; and the glebe house is the residence of the Rev. G. Brabazon. In 1546, licence was granted to the bishop and clergy of Meath to alienate for ever the advowson of Painstown, reserving to the bishop and his successors out of the rectory a yearly pension of £20: the living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, united by act of council, in 1682, to the rectory of Ardmulchan, and in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop, the former having one, the latter two turns. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2., and the entire value of the benefice is £563. 9. 2 1/4. The glebe-house is close to the church, and was built in 1810, at a cost of £1260, of which £100 was a gift, and £625 a loan, from the late Board of First Fruits, the residue having been supplied by the incumbent. The glebe of the union comprises 23 acres, valued at £32. 13. 10 1/4. per ann., but subject to a rent of £27. 13. 10 3/4. The church is an old, but very neat edifice, with a handsome tower; in 1823, a gallery was erected at the west end, and the steeple was roofed and repaired, by aid of a loan of £400 from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Blacklion, and has a chapel at Yellow Furze, a neat modern structure. A school at Yellow Furze, in which are about 30 boys and 12 girls, is aided by an annual donation from the R. C. clergyman.
PALATINETOWN, a hamlet, in the parish of URGLIN, barony and county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (N. E.) from Carlow, on the road to Castledermot; containing 88 inhabitants. It is said to derive its name from a colony of German refugees, who were driven from their native country, and settled here, in the reign of Louis XIV. The Rt. Hon. B. Burton obtained a patent for four fairs, of which that on the 26th of March is the only one at present held. A constabulary police force is stationed in the village.
PALLASGREINE, PALLASGREANE, or PALLASGREEN, a post-town, in the parish of GREANE, barony of COONAGH, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 13 miles (S. E.) from Limerick, near the new mail road from Limerick to Tipperary; containing 379 inhabitants. In 1831, it comprised 62 houses, the whole of which are small thatched buildings, with the exception of Pallas House, the residence of T. Apjohn, Esq., which stands at the head of the village. It is a station of the constabulary police, and has a sub-post-office to Limerick and Clonmel. Three small fairs are held in the year. The parochial church is near the village; and at Nesker, in the vicinity, is the principal chapel of the R. C. union or district of Pallasgreine, which also contains the chapel of Templebrinden.
PALLASKENRY (formerly called NEWMARKET), a market and post-town, in the parish of CHAPEL-RUSSELL, barony of KENRY, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 12 miles (W.) from Limerick, and 103 3/4 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing 630 inhabitants. This town, which is one of the most improving in the county, is situated on the road from Limerick to the quay of Ringmoylan, and on the lower road from the same city to Castletown; and comprises 115 houses, the greater number of which are well built, but covered with thatch. Petty sessions are held once a fortnight: it is a chief constabulary police station, and contains the dispensary for the barony, which has a resident physician and is open daily. The market, held on Thursday, is well attended and amply supplied with provisions. The linen manufacture was formerly carried on here to a. great extent, and there was a large bleach-green near the town: though the population is chiefly engaged in agriculture, yet flax-dressing, spinning and linen-weaving still give employment to many of the inhabitants. The spirit of industry has been powerfully excited latterly by an institution called the Chapel-Russell Loan Fund. It was commenced in 1823, by means of a fund of £218 subscribed by the Earl of Charleville, the county of Limerick Trustees, the London Committee, the Irish Peasantry Society, and the County of Limerick Ladies' Committee. The fund is lent out in small portions, sometimes in money, but more frequently in wool, flax and implements for manufacture, such as wheels, reels and looms, and is repaid by weekly instalments, in which the manufactured goods are taken at a liberal valuation. In seasons of scarcity provisions are issued, and articles for clothing and bedding occasionally. In consequence of the judicious management of the trustees, it appears that, at the end of thirteen years, a profit of £76 has accrued from it, and the habits of those for whose benefit it has been so successfully carried on have been much improved. The new and elegant parish church stands at a short distance eastward; and in the town is a small but very neat meeting-house belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists. Male and female parochial schools are kept in the town, in connection with different societies, aided by the Earl of Charleville and the rector. Not far distant are the ruins of the castle of Pallaskenry, originally built by the O'Donovans, but for many generations in the possession of the Fitzgeralds. In a quarry near the town was found an ancient silver bodkin, weighing 5oz. 2dr., now in the possession of Sir Aubrey de Vere, Bart.; and in 1834, part of a golden fibula, weighing 3oz., was found in a drain near the church. Numerous petrifactions have been found in a stream which flows through Currah and Hollypark wood, and also in the neighbourhood of Dromore lake, about a mile from the town.
PALMERSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of BALROTHERY, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 11 miles (N. by W.) from Dublin; containing 321 inhabitants. Good building stone is found in the parish. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin; the rectory is appropriate to the vicars choral of the cathedral of Dublin, and the vicarage forms part of the union and corps of the prebend of Clonmethan: of the tithes, amounting to £135, two-thirds are payable to the vicars choral, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Rollestown. Some remains of the church still exist.
PALMERSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (W.) from Dublin, on the road to Lucan, and on the river Liffey; containing 1533 inhabitants. It comprises 1465 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3594 per annum. Near the village, which is irregularly built, and in which the dwellings are of a humble character, there was an hospital for lepers, previously to the Reformation. At the commencement of the present century here were extensive printing-works, large iron-works, oil and dye stuff mills, and wash-mills; lead and copper works have been established for 16 years; there are large cotton-mills, employing about 120 persons, and a flour-mill on the Liffey, which bounds the parish on the north. A fair for the sale of cattle and horses takes place on Aug. 21st. The city police have a station near Chapelizod bridge. Palmerstown House, erected by the late Rt. Hon. John Hely Hutchinson, Secretary of State for Ireland, and Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, now the seat of his grandson, the Earl of Donoughmore, is a spacious mansion on elevated ground, commanding most extensive and rich views; besides which there are several pleasing villas, including Riversdale, the seat of Gen. Sir Guy Campbell, Bart.; Brook Lawn, of M. Hackett, Esq.; Palmerstown, of Major Wilcox; and Bellgrove, of Major Watts. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Chapelizod: the tithes amount to £170. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union of Lucan, Palmerstown, and Clondalkin, and contains a chapel; the parish priest is rural dean over his own union and those of Maynooth, Celbridge, and Saggard. There are two schools, in which about 150 children are taught. On the townland of Irishtown are the remains of an old castle, clothed with ivy, near which coins and bullets have been found; and at Cruise river a battle is said to have been fought between the Danes and the Irish. This place gives the title of Viscount Palmerston to the family of Temple.
PARK-GATE, a village, in the parish of DONEGORE, barony of UPPER ANTRIM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 4 1/2 miles (E.) from Antrim; containing 35 houses and 162 inhabitants. It is a station of the constabulary police; petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays, and fairs on the 7th of Feb., May, and Aug., and on the 4th of November.
PARSONSTOWN, or BIRR, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of BALLYBRITT, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 18 miles (S. W.) from Tullamore, and 60 (W. S. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Tullamore to Roscrea; containing, with the village of Crinkle, 9457 inhabitants. The place derived its name of Birr from the abbey of Biorra, founded here by St. Brendan Luaigneus; or from Bior, the Irish term for the bank or margin of a river. It formerly constituted part of the ancient district of Ely O'Carrol in Ormond, in Munster, and did not form any portion of the King's county as at first erected into shire ground in the reign of Philip and Mary, being annexed to it under an inquisition of the 2nd of Jas. I. The castle of Birr was considered to be the chief seat of the O'Carrols, chieftains of the sept. A great battle was fought near it, in 241, between Cormac, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and the people of Munster: the place suffered much from the ravages of the Danes in 841 and 842, and in 1154 O'Hedersgool, king of Cathluighe, was killed at the church door. Soon after the English invasion, Hen. II. granted this district to Philip de Worcester and Theobald Fitzwalter, after which he sold it to William de Braosa and others. It was afterwards transferred to Hugh de Hose or Hussey, in which family it continued till the time of Jas. I. In 1533, Gerald, Earl of Kildare, then lord-deputy, laid siege to the castle in support of Ferganainim O'Carrol, his son in-law, but soon raised the siege, in consequence of a wound received from one of the garrison. Lord Grey, when lord-deputy, took the castle in 1537, and one of the charges against him, which led to his execution, was that he had sanctioned the outrages committed by Ferganainim O'Carrol. This chieftain afterwards surrendered his territory to Edw. VI., who restored it to him with the addition of the dignity of Baron of Ely during life. In the proceedings under the commission for the plantation of Ely O'Carrol, in the reign of James I., Birr and its appendages were assigned to Lawrence Parsons, brother of Sir Wm. Parsons, the surveyor-general, in 1620; and, as in the grant the place is described as the castle, fort, village, and lands of Birr, it must have been of some importance. In the same year the new proprietor obtained a licence to hold a market on Tuesday and two fairs, and seven years after, a further licence for a Saturday market and two additional fairs. The assizes for the county used to be held here at that period. On the breaking out of the war of 1641, William Parsons was made governor of Ely O'Carrol and Birr castle, which he garrisoned with his own tenantry. The next year an engagement took place between the garrison and the sept of the O'Carrols; and in the same year the castle was besieged by the Irish, but was relieved by Sir Chas. Coote, who threw into it a supply of ammunition and provisions. This action was deemed so important that it procured for Sir Charles the dignity of Earl of Mount-rath. But the next year the place fell into the hands of Gen. Preston, the commander of the forces of the confederate Catholics in Leinster, who kept possession of it until it was taken by Ireton in 1650; and a subsequent attempt by the Marquess of Clanricarde, to recover it for the king was baffled by the approach of Col. Axtell. At the time of the Restoration, it seems that the place was of some commercial importance, from the number of brass tokens then coined for the convenience of trade. In the war of 1688 the castle was again besieged by Cols. Grace and Oxburgh, and surrendered on terms which afterwards were made grounds of accusation against Sir Laurence Parsons, the governor, on which he was found guilty of high treason, but received a pardon after several reprieves. At this period Birr is mentioned by Sir Wm. Petty as sending two members to parliament. In 1689, the R. C. clergymen took possession of the church, tithes, and glebe, which they held till the battle of the Boyne. In 1690, the castle was again besieged by Gen. Sarsfield, the Duke of Berwick, and Lord Galway, but the siege was raised by Sir John Lanier for King William. A meeting of delegates from several volunteer corps was held here in 1781, and again in 1782, at which strong resolutions were passed relative to the great questions which then absorbed public attention. In 1799, a meeting of magistrates, convened to petition against the legislative union, was dispersed by the high sheriff and a body of artillery with three pieces of cannon, for which that functionary and the commander of the military were brought to the bar of the house of commons on the motion of Sir Laurence Parsons, when, instead of punishment, they received a vote of thanks for their conduct.
Parsonstown, the name by which the place was called so early as the reign of Chas. I., on the Birr river, formerly called Comcor, a branch of the Lesser Brosna, is pleasantly situated, well built, and inhabited by some wealthy and many respectable families It is also the centre of a fertile and extensive district, whence it draws large quantities of agricultural produce to be distributed in other parts, and sends into it in return the foreign articles required by the inhabitants. Archbishop Ussher says, that Birr was considered the centre of Ireland; and Sir Wm. Petty, in his survey, marks the church with the words "Umbilicus Hiberniae:" it is in 53° 6' 16" (N. Lat.), and 7° 38' 23" (W. Lon.); its geocentric latitude is 52° 55' 30" (North). It is the largest town in the county, and has risen to the highly improved state in which it now is chiefly during the period in which the present proprietor, the Earl of Rosse, has superintended its progress. The principal streets, which are formed of modern houses and laid out in straight lines, terminate in Duke-square, in which there is a statue of the Duke of Cumberland, on a Doric pillar, 55 feet high, set up in 1747, in commemoration of his victory at Culloden. The castle, situated at one side of the town, may he said to have been rebuilt by the Parsons family: the centre of the building, which was consumed by an accidental fire in 1832, has been restored and improved. About 50 years since a brisk trade was carried on here in woollens, which gave employment to several hundred weavers and combers. At present the trade is principally confined to two distilleries, each of which produces about 95,000 gallons of spirits annually; but a great variety of minor manufactures is carried on. There was also formerly an extensive manufacture of glass, of which the only remains are the ruins of the glass-house. The market is well supplied with provisions of good quality: the fairs are held on Feb. 11th, May 5th, Aug. 25th, and Dec. 10th. Large quantities of corn, flour, spirits, butter, cattle, sheep, and pigs are sold here; and in return, timber, iron, drapery, groceries, coal, and most other articles for domestic consumption are brought in. The want of water carriage to facilitate the conveyance of commercial commodities is severely felt; a plan has consequently been proposed to form a navigation along the valley of the Brosna from Croghan bridge, about half a mile below the town, to the Shannon, from which river the Brosna is navigable for two miles for the largest barges; thence the line is proposed to be carried by a still water navigation until the channel of the river can be again made available, at about 2 1/2 miles below the town. The sessions-house consists of a hall, a court, and offices for transacting business: at one end of it is the bridewell, the only one in the county; it has two day-rooms, eight cells, and two airing-yards. General sessions for the county are held here in rotation with Tullamore and Philipstown four times in the year; and petty sessions occasionally. A manor court, under a seneschal appointed by the Earl of Rosse, is also held here. The town is a chief constabulary police station. There are a fever hospital, a dispensary, and a mendicity institution. A reading-room is well supplied with newspapers and periodicals. In the centre of the town is an observatory, belonging to Thos. L. Cooke, Esq. The barracks, which are about an English mile distant, have accommodations for 48 officers of infantry, 1110 privates, and 15 horses, with an hospital for 100 patients: the building consists of two large squares, attached to which is an area for exercise.
The parish, which comprises 4018 statute acres, does not present any striking features of fertility or improvement. The principal seats are Ballyegan, the splendid residence of Bernard Mullins, Esq.; Tinnakilly, of Arth. Robinson, Esq.; Oakley Park, of the late Mr. Stoney; and Elm Hall, of Joseph Burke, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2. The glebe-house, in the town, was an old building in very indifferent repair, but a new one has lately been erected: the glebe comprises 25 acres. The church, erected in 1815, by aid of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits, is a stone edifice in the pointed style of architecture, with a steeple 100 feet high. In the R. C. divisions the parish, which is still called Birr, is part of the bishop's mensal, and the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Loughkeen. Each of the parishes has a chapel: that at Birr is a splendid edifice, in the later English style, having two minarets and a steeple, 150 feet high, with a fine bell; it is the cathedral of the diocese: and adjoining it is the neat and retired residence of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Kennedy, R. C. Bishop of Killaloe. There are six other places of worship; three for Independents, one for the Society of Friends, and two for Wesleyan and Whitfield Methodists; that of the Wesleyans, erected in 1820, is a handsome building with a well-executed pediment of hewn stone. The walls and steeple of the old church are still standing; on the latter is a sculpture in stone of the arms of Sir L. Parsons, to whom the town was granted in 1620, and who died in 1628, impaled with those of his lady, Anne Malham. There are about 20 schools in the town and parish, four of which are free schools. The parochial school for boys is aided by an annual donation from the rector, as is also an infants' school; a male and female school is aided by an annual donation from E. Synge, Esq., and a female parochial school is supported by subscription: in all these there are about 400 children; and 15 private schools give instruction to 350 boys and 250 girls: there is also a Sunday school. Many curious relics of antiquity have been found in the neighbourhood of this parish, a collection of which, consisting of swords, spears, skeins, celts, and the Barnaan Cuilawn, found at Glankeen, are in the possession of Mr. Cooke, who has also a number of the brass tokens already noticed. Some instances of extraordinary longevity have been recorded; one person is named who lived to the age of 114 years. At Clonbela, about 2 1/2 miles from the town, is a mineral spring. Lord Oxmantown, who devotes much time and thought to studies connected with astronomy and other branches of science, has a laboratory in which he has constructed machinery for polishing the largest specula for telescopes, by means of which he constructed a 25-feet reflector, the great speculum of which is 3 1/2 feet in diameter. It stands on the lawn in front of Birr castle, and is moved by machinery somewhat similar in principle to that of Herschel's celebrated telescope, but simpler in construction, which also is the invention of his lordship. Mr. Cooke has here a seven-feet reflector, which is equatorially mounted on a cast-metal pillar in a very simple manner. Some documents and MS. accounts relative to the wars of 1641 and 1688 are in the possession of the Earl of Rosse. A history and description of Parsonstown was published in 1826: the work is anonymous, but is supposed to have been written by Tho. L. Cooke, Esq.
PARSONSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of FERRARD, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. E.) from Dunleer; containing 257 inhabitants. It is situated on the eastern coast, and, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises 524 statute acres, some of which is good land, but the remainder consists of a cold tenacious clay. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, constituting part of the union of Dunany; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Drogheda: the tithes amount to £48. 12., of which £29. 7. is payable to the impropriator, and £19. 5. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Rathdrummin, or Clogher.
PARTICLES (The), a parish, in. the barony of COSTLEA, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (S.) from Kilmallock, on the road to Kildorrery: the population is returned with the several parishes of which it formerly was part. This place derives its name from particles or parts of several religious foundations of which it was formed; these are the townlands of Down Gadmond, Down Innish, Chapel Martel, and Ineycabal, which, prior to the Reformation, belonged respectively to the abbeys of Buttevant, Kilmallock, Manister-Nenagh, and Adare, to which they were given at a very early period by the family of O'Kelly, or O'Hely. The village of Glenasheen, in this parish, was built by a colony of Palatines brought hither in 1769, by the late Silver Oliver, Esq., from Lord Southwell's settlement at Rathkeale, by whom also the surrounding country was greatly improved. The descendants of these colonists are still in possession of their farms; but these have been so frequently subdivided, that the tenants are becoming very poor. The parish is situated among the Castle Oliver mountains, and extends northward to within three miles of Kilmallock; it comprises 8278 statute acres; the soil is fertile, being based on a substratum of limestone, which is also found in round nodules and burnt into lime both for agricultural and building purposes. The principal seats are Sunville, near the hill of Ardpatrick, anciently belonging to the Godsall family, now the property and residence of E. Sayers, Esq.; and Bettyville, the residence of J. Austen, Esq. Castle Oliver, anciently called Castle-na-Doon, originally the residence of the Roche family, afterwards of the family of Fitzharris, became, after the Restoration, the property of the Olivers, from whom it takes its present name; it now belongs to R. O. Gascoigne, Esq., of the county of York, whose bailiff resides in it. The estate, including the demesne and park, comprises 20,000 acres; but the building is in a very dilapidated state, and the whole much neglected. At Sunville is a very extensive flour-mill, with machinery of the most improved description, producing 3000 barrels of flour annually, and affording employment to a part of the inhabitants, of whom the rest are wholly employed in agricultural pursuits. A constabulary police force is stationed in the village. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Lismore, instituted in 1835, and endowed with £75 per annum by the dean and chapter of Limerick, to whom the rectory was appropriated by charter of Chas. II., in 1674, as part of the economy fund of the cathedral: the tithes amount to £323. 5. 4 1/2. Divine service is regularly performed in a building attached to the police station at Glenasheen. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Kilfinnan. The parochial school is supported by the dean and chapter, assisted by Miss Betty Oliver. On the summit of the high grounds of Chapel Martel is a circular enclosure, having the appearance of a military station, within which it is said that a converted Dane founded a chapel and afterwards gave it, with the adjoining lands, to the abbey of Buttevant. From the summit of the hill above the village of Glenasheen is a very interesting prospect, embracing every county in Munster; on one of the smaller hills in the centre of the group is a small gateway tower, erected by the late Silver Oliver, Esq.
PASSAGE (EAST), a small maritime town, in that part of the parish of KILL-ST.-NICHOLAS which is within the county of the city of WATERFORD, in the province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (E.) from Waterford, to which it has a penny post; containing 306 inhabitants. When Perkin Warbeck abandoned the siege of Waterford, in 1497, he embarked at this place for Cork. A fort here, which commanded the passage up the harbour, was taken in 1649 by a party of Cromwell's army, on commencing the siege of Waterford: the serious inconvenience this produced to the besieged caused Ferral, the governor, to attempt the recovery thereof, but his forces were repulsed by a large body of Cromwell's army. In 1663, the Duke of Ormonde was make governor of the port and town of Passage for life. The town is situated on a narrow piece of low land between the river Suir and a lofty precipitous hill which overlooks it: the streets are confined and the houses poor and neglected, affording outward evidence of the declining circumstances of the place. It is a constabulary police station, and fairs are held on May 6th, June 12th, Sept. 8th, and Nov. 12th. The parish church stands on the summit of a hill. A block-house, mounted with several great guns, commonly under the command of the governor of Duncannon Fort, about a league distant, on the Wexford side of the river, formerly stood where the old pier or mole now is. The river here affords commodious shelter and anchorage to vessels of large burden, which may, without difficulty, unload at the quay. Passage is partly within the liberties of the county of the city of Waterford. Here is a R. C. chapel, situated in part of the parish of Crook; also a school in connection with the Hibernian Society.
PASSAGE (WEST), a sea-port and post-town, partly in the parish of MONKSTOWN, and partly in that of MARMULLANE, barony of KERRYCURRIHY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 1/2 miles (E. S. E.) from Cork, and 131 1/2 (S. W. by S.) from Dublin, on the western shore of the estuary of the Lee; containing 2131 inhabitants. The period of the extension and improvement of Passage, which is not even mentioned in Smith's History of Cork, is uncertain; the cause, however, is sufficiently obvious in its excellent and sheltered situation, just at the termination of the deep harbour; in its great salubrity; and in its being the only direct communication between Cork and Cove, to each of which places it has a sub-post-office. It owes much of its importance to W. Parker, Esq.; but this spirited gentleman having engaged in foreign speculations, and for a time removed to the Cape of Good Hope, the improvements remained stationary, until a few years since, when further improvements were effected under the active exertions of Thos. Parsons Boland, Esq., proprietor of the western portion of the town, and Messrs. Brown and Co.: so that to the fostering care of these gentlemen, from an inconsiderable village, Passage has become a considerable mercantile town, much frequented during the summer for the fine air and sea-bathing. The town comprises one principal street, nearly a mile long, extending along the shore, and intersected by several smaller streets and lanes, which are mostly in a very dirty state. It contains 311 houses, of which 165 are in the parish of Monkstown, and the remainder in that of Marmullane; the parish church of Marmullane, a Wesleyan Methodist meeting-house, and a R. C. chapel, erected in 1832, a commodious and handsome building; two schools, and a dispensary. Petty sessions are held every Friday, and it is a constabulary police station. Its salubrity is attested by the longevity of the inhabitants: it is said to be no uncommon circumstance that people of 80 years of age are in rude health and earning their livelihood by labour; few have suffered during the visitation of contagious diseases; and, out of a large population, during the prevalence of cholera, in 1832, only 60, and those very aged and infirm, were afflicted. A large dry dock has just been constructed by Mr. Brown, by which it is expected that the trade, which principally consists in ship-building, will increase considerably; much employment is afforded to the labouring classes by the discharging of the cargoes of all large vessels bound for Cork, the river up to Cork not being navigable for those above 400 or 500 tons' burden. The ferry to Great Island and Cove is at the eastern extremity of the town, and the thoroughfare during the summer months is very great: the want of a steam-boat to transport passengers and carriages having been much felt, the St. George's Steam-Packet Company have lately built a very elegant pier, under the direction of G. R. Pain, Esq., of Cork, where their own packets can lie alongside in all weathers and discharge their passengers or cargoes at all times, even during the lowest ebb tide; and, at the quays adjoining the dry dock, the largest ships can lie or anchor in the channel in 20 fathoms of water. Connected with this dock is a shipbuilding establishment, where two or three vessels are always on the stocks, furnishing employment to a great number of men. Near the Ferry point is a rope-walk, with suitable buildings and machinery. Since the establishment of this dock and ship-yard, several spirited merchants of Cork have become shipowners, and now carry on an extensive trade in their own vessels, which, before, was principally done by strange ships. Spring tides rise 16 feet at the quay.
The intercourse between this place and Cove is kept up by the ferry; on the other side is an excellent level road all the way to Cove, a distance of two miles. A new and excellent line of road has been lately completed around the precipitous shores of the bay, leading to Monkstown. Many boats were formerly employed here in fishing, which has nearly ceased, being engrossed by the men of Cove, whence the inhabitants of Passage obtain their principal supply. Upwards of 100 covered cars, called jingles, are engaged almost daily in the communication between Passage and Cork; they carry four inside, and the charge is only 2s. 6d. for the entire vehicle, or in proportion for single passengers. Steam-boats sail and return several times daily, and several small boats constantly pass and repass. A fund has been established here for the support, or assistance, of poor room-keepers, whose rent is paid, and who receive coal, potatoes, &c., during the winter: it is liberally supported by voluntary subscriptions among the resident gentry.--See MARMULLANE and MONKSTOWN.
PATRICK'S (ST), or SINGLAND, a parish, in the county of the city of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, on the southern bank of the Shannon and close to the city, a part of which is built on it; containing 2331 inhabitants. The Shannon sweeps round the eastern, northern, and western sides of the parish, and the small river Groody, a branch of the preceding river, passes through it. The extent, as applotted under the tithe act, is 1359 acres, of the estimated annual value of £4629. The land, which is very fertile, is chiefly under tillage, and supplies the city with large quantities of vegetables; along the banks of the Groody is a tract of rich meadow, liable, however, to casualties from floods. On this river are a bleach-green, a paper-mill, and a flour-mill: at the salmon-weir near the Shannon, is a very extensive flour-mill, which commands the whole water of that river: in the city suburbs is a large brewery. A short canal from the Abbey river to the Shannon, formed in 1758, intersects the parish from west to east. The city water-works and the county infirmary are in the parish. There are several very elegant seats, with small but highly ornamented demesnes: the principal are Park House, the residence of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ryan, R. C. bishop of Limerick; Corbally House, of Poole Gabbett, Esq.; and Corbally Park, of Pierce Shannon, Esq. The living is a rectory and perpetual cure, in the diocese of Limerick; the rectory was united, at a period prior to any known record, to the entire rectory of Cahirvally, the rectory and vicarage of Emly-Grenan, and the chapelry of Kilquane, which constitute the corps of the treasurership of the cathedral of Limerick, and in the patronage of the Bishop, who is also patron of the perpetual cure, which comprises the parishes of St. Patrick and Kilquane. The tithes amount to £156. 18. 5 1/2. per ann., and of the benefice to £585. 12. 6 1/2. The church has been in ruins since the war of 1641, when it was destroyed together with an adjoining round tower: the cemetery is still used as a place of burial for Roman Catholics. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and those of Kilmurry and Derrygalvin, in which union there are two chapels. Singland was the scene of a battle fought in 943 between the Munster Irish and the Danes, in which the latter were defeated, driven into the town, and forced to pay a heavy contribution. Cromwell, Ireton, Wm. III and de Ginkell all had their camps and intrenchments here when they invested Limerick; military weapons have consequently been frequently found in the grounds. Some remains of the ancient military roads from Dublin and from Cork which passed through the parish are still traceable. The lands of Singland are held under the vicars choral of Limerick by a lease, from which that body derives little advantage.
PATRICK'S ROCK (ST.),county of TIPPERARY.-- See CASHEL.
PATRICK'S WELL (ST.), a village, partly in the parishes of KILLELONEHAN and MUNGRETT, but chiefly in that of KILKEEDY, barony of PUBBLEBRIEN, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (S. W.) from Limerick, on the road to Rathkeale; containing 515 inhabitants. This place derives its name from a well dedicated to St. Patrick, and still held in great veneration by the peasantry, over which has recently been placed a figure of the tutelar saint, rudely carved in stone. The village consists of one long and irregular street, and contains 89 houses, most of which are old thatched buildings, and the remainder neat, well built cottages roofed with slate and of recent erection; the mail from Limerick to Tralee passes daily through it, and a penny post to the former place has been lately established. Fairs are held on Feb. 26th, May 28th, June 16th, Oct. 14th and 20th, and Dec. 18th, principally for cattle and pigs; petty sessions once a fortnight; and a constabulary police force is stationed here. In the neighbourhood are several large and handsome houses with well-wooded demesnes, and numerous good farm-houses with thriving orchards, producing abundance of apples from which excellent cider is made.
PEPPERSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of MIDDLETHIRD, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 3/4 miles (N. E.) from Fethard; containing 1156 inhabitants. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, forming part of the union of Fethard: the tithes amount to £250. The ruins of the church still remain. The ruined castle of Knockelly, consisting of a large and nearly perfect square tower of superior masonry, forms a conspicuous object in the surrounding scenery: it is encompassed by a strong wall, about 30 feet high, with bastions at the angles, and part of the enclosed area is now occupied by a farm-house. There is also an ancient fort or moat within the limits of the parish.
PETER'S (ST.) a parish, in the barony of FORTH, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, immediately adjoining the town of Wexford; containing, with the ecclesiastical parishes of Kerlogue and Maudlintown, 1445 inhabitants, of which number, 697 are within the town. The parish, which, as applotted under the tithe act, comprises 1246 statute acres, extends in a south-western direction from Wexford towards the mountain of Forth: the soil is good and the system of agriculture much improved. The principal seats are Great Clonard, that of W. H. Kellett, Esq.; and Little Clonard, of Capt. Richards, both embracing fine views of Wexford Harbour: Roseville, the property of Major Wilson, and Newbay, of the Hatton family, are also within the parish; and that part of the town within its limits contains the Franciscan convent, nunnery, R. C. chapel, Lancasterian school, fever hospital, and the distillery, which are respectively noticed under the head of Wexford. The ecclesiastical parishes of Kerlogue and Maudlintown have for all civil purposes long since merged into St. Peter's. It is an impropriate curacy, in the diocese of Ferns, forming part of the union of Wexford; the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Portsmouth. The tithes amount to £91. 4., of which £10. 8. 4. is payable to the impropriator and the remainder to the curate. There are no remains of the church. In the R. C. divisions also it forms part of the union or district of Wexford. In the demesne of Great Clonard are the ruins of a castle or tower, near which Cromwell is said to have had an encampment: various coins of his period have been found on the spot.
PETTIGOE, a town, partly in the parish of DRUMKEERAN, barony of LURG, county of FERMANAGH, but chiefly in the parish of TEMPLECARNE, barony of TYRHUGH, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Kesh, on the road to Ballyshannon and Donegal; the population is returned with the respective parishes. It is situated on the united rivers of Pettigoe and Omna, which are here crossed by two bridges in their course to Lough Erne. It is a station of the constabulary police, and has a penny post to Kesh. Fairs are held on the 25th of each month, besides which there are three large markets (here called "Marga More" ) on the Wednesdays respectively preceding All Saints'-day, Christmas-day, and Lent. The parochial church of Templecarne, the R. C. chapel, and a meeting-house for Presbyterians of the Seceding Synod, are in the town.
PHIBSBOROUGH, a village, in the new parish of GRANGEGORMAN, barony of COOLOCK, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (N.) from Dublin, on the road to Navan, and near the Royal canal; the population is returned with the city of Dublin. Here is a neat R. C. chapel belonging to the district of St. Paul, with a residence for the chaplain annexed; also a lending library, and a male and female national school, in which about 200 children are educated.
PHILIPSTOWN, a market and post-town (formerly the assize town of the county and a parliamentary borough), in the parish of KILLADERRY, barony of LOWER PHILIPSTOWN, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 7 miles (S. E.) from Tullamore, and 47 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing 1454 inhabitants. This place, the ancient name of which was Dingan and Killaderry, was the chief seat of the O'Conors, chieftains of the surrounding district, then called Offaly, of which they retained possession until the year 1546, when Brian O'Conor having united his forces with Patrick O'More, chieftain of the neighbouring territory of Leix, made an incursion into the county of Kildare and burned a great part of Athy, whereupon Sir Wm. Brabazon, then Lord-Justice of Ireland, caused them to be proclaimed as traitors, marched a large force into Offaly, which he laid waste with fire and sword, and forced O'Conor to take refuge in Connaught. Sir William then, to secure his newly acquired possessions, erected a castle here, the name of which, in the subsequent reign of Philip and Mary, when the territories of Offaly and Leix were reduced to shire ground under the names of the King's and Queen's counties, was changed from Dingan to Philipstown, in honour of the king, and the place made the assize town of the former of these counties. In 1569, it obtained a charter of incorporation from Elizabeth, which conferred the same liberties and free usages as the town of Naas enjoyed; also a Thursday market and other minor privileges; this charter was followed by a grant of lands in the next year. In 1673, Chief-Justice Bysse obtained for it a licence to hold two fairs. Another charter granted to it in the 4th year of Jas. II., conferred on it the privilege of returning two members to parliament. Afterwards, during the war of that period, it was burned by the same king's troops. At the Union it was deprived of the right of returning representatives, in consequence of which the borough gradually declined, until at length the corporate jurisdiction fell into total desuetude. The act of the 2nd and 3rd of Wm. IV., by which the assizes have been removed from Philipstown to Tullamore, has completely extinguished its political importance and reduced it nearly to the rank of a village.
The town has little to recommend it. In size and population it is small, and its situation, being nearly surrounded by bog, is extremely uninteresting. Its public buildings are a court-house, formerly the county court, but now used only for holding sessions; a prison, until lately the county gaol, erected at the commencement of the present century; a large cavalry barrack, containing accommodations for 12 officers, 131 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 82 horses, with an hospital for 16 patients; the church, a neat small building; and a large and handsome R. C. chapel. The town is paved at the expense of the county, but it is not lighted. The market, which continues to be held on Thursday, is large and improving. Fairs are held on Jan. 3rd, March 18th, May 15th, June 14th, Aug. l7th, Oct. 18th, and Dec. 3rd: four of these, termed the new fairs, from having been instituted about the year 1820, are held in a part of the town called Molesworth-street, so named from Viscount Molesworth, of whose estate the town formerly formed a part. Quarter sessions are held here four times in the year and petty sessions every second Thursday: the magisterial duties within the borough have been performed by the county justices for a series of years beyond the memory of man. A large dispensary is supported in the usual manner. The Grand Canal passes close to one end of the town. During the progress of that work, the line terminated for some time at Philipstown and produced a sensible effect on the growth of its prosperity; but when the canal had been extended to Tullamore, that place drew to it all those advantages, and Philipstown sank still lower in trading importance. Here is a school for boys, under the superintendence of the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity; and there are two other public schools. The ruins of the old castle are still to be seen covered with ivy. Philipstown gives the inferior title of Baron to Viscount Molesworth.--See KILLADERRY.
PHILIPSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of ARDEE, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N.) from Ardee, on the road to Carrickmacross, and on the river Glyde; containing 1659 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the north-west by the county of Monaghan, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 3660 statute acres, which, excepting a portion of bog, is good arable and pasture land: agriculture is improving, under the auspices of the neighbouring gentry, who are also endeavouring to introduce the improved system of breeding cattle. The mill of Louth stands at the north-eastern extremity of the parish. The principal seats are Thomastown Castle, the residence of M. O'Reilly, Esq., in a well-wooded demesne of about 300 plantation acres; and Rathnestin, of J. Henry, Esq. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, forming part of the union of Charlestown: the tithes amount to £271. 17. 6., of which £234. 17. 6. is payable to the impropriator, and £37 to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish is one of four, forming the union or district of Tallanstown; there is a large chapel at Reastown. About 70 children are educated in two public schools, of which the parochial school-house at Reastown was built and is supported by G. H. Macartney, Esq., and the incumbent, by the latter of whom also and Col. Filgate the other school is supported. There are also two private schools, in which are about 100 children.
PHILIPSTOWN, an extra-parochial district, in the barony of FERRARD, county of LOUTH (though locally situated within the county of the town of Drogheda), and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N.) from Drogheda, on the road to Dunleer; containing 70 inhabitants, and comprising 268 1/4 statute acres.
PHILIPSTOWN-NUGENT, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DUNDALK, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (W. N. W.) from Dundalk, on the road to Castle-Blayney and on the river of Philipstown; containing 459 inhabitants. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1035 3/4 statute acres of land, chiefly in tillage. Here are the extensive flour-mills of Messrs. Keiran, fitted up in a superior manner; and at Hack-ball's Cross is a station of the constabulary police. It is a curacy, in the diocese of Armagh, forming part of the union of Baronstown; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter of Christ-Church, Dublin. The tithes amount to £107. 13. 5. The glebe-house is a handsome residence surrounded by neatly planted grounds; and nearly adjoining it is the church of the union, which is noticed in the article on Baronstown. In the R. C. divisions also the parish is in the union or district of Baronstown.
PIERCETOWN, a parish, in the barony of RATHCONRATH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 9 miles (W. by N.) from Mullingar, on the road to Ballymahon, and on the river Inny; containing 1089 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the west by the county of Longford, and comprises 3778 statute acres, besides a great extent of bog: the land is principally under tillage; there is abundance of limestone. Ballinacurra House is the residence of B. Digby, Esq. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Almoritia: the tithes amount to £95; the glebe comprises 12 acres, valued at £24 per annum. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Forgney, and contains a chapel at Ballinacurra. A school, at Ballinacurra, in which about 50 children are educated, is aided by an annual grant of £30 from Mr. Digby; and there is a private school, in which are about 30 children.
PIERCETOWNLANDY, or LECKNO, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S.) from Duleek, on the new great north road from Dublin to Belfast by Ashbourne; containing 518 inhabitants, and comprising 2445 3/4 statute acres. An abbey is said to have been founded here in 750, and some remains of an old church still exist. Meadsbrook, the seat of Mrs. Madden, is within the limits of the parish. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Kilmoon: the tithes amount to £169. 8. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Ardcath.
PILLTOWN, a market and post-town, in the parish of FIDDOWN, barony of IVERK, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 9 miles (N. W. by W.) from Waterford, on the road to Clonmel; containing 634 inhabitants. It derives its name from a branch of the river Suir, called "The Pill", at the head of which it is situated, about 1 1/2 mile from the river, and consists chiefly of one wide street, about a quarter of a mile in length, and in 1831 containing 102 houses, which being mostly of modern erection, with neat gardens in front and interspersed with some fine old trees, have an extremely neat and pleasing appearance: at the east end of the town is an excellent hotel. A patent for a market has been obtained, but it is not yet established; a handsome building, erected at the expense of the Earl of Besborough and intended for the market-house, is appropriated to the use of the R. C. day-school, the Protestant Sunday-school, and all public meetings: it is also used for performing the evening church service. At the rear of the market-house, is a commodious quay, erected a few years since at the expense of Viscount Dungannon, at which not less than 126 vessels discharged their cargoes in one year, the Suir being influenced by the tide as far as the Pill, and navigable for vessels of 200 tons' burden, and for smaller vessels up to the town. Here is a chief constabulary police station; and petty sessions are held on alternate Thursdays at the market-house. In the town is a neat R. C. chapel, being one of the three belonging to the union or district of Templeorum; also the male and female Protestant parochial schools, chiefly supported by the Earl of Besborough and the rector; and a dispensary for the poor. A loan fund has been established, with a capital of £100 raised by subscription; and, in consequence of a bequest of £1000 to the poor of the parish from the late Robert and Elizabeth Landers, almshouses are about to be erected. A neat museum has been fitted up at the hotel by Mr. Redmond Anthony, the proprietor, who has here a valuable collection of paintings, curiosities, and Irish antiquities; a small charge is made for admission, and the proceeds, averaging upwards of £40 per ann., are applied by him towards the support of the fever hospital at Carrick-on-Suir. The scenery in the vicinity is varied and beautiful; and immediately adjoining the town is the splendid seat of the Earl of Besborough, which is described in the article on Fiddown.
PLEBESTOWN, a reputed parish, locally situated in the parish of ABBEY-JERPOINT, barony of KNOCKTOPHER, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER; containing 237 inhabitants, and comprising 1432 statute acres. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ossory, impropriate in the Marquess of Ormonde, to whom the tithes, amounting to £43. 3. 10., are entirely payable: for the performance of ecclesiastical duties it forms part of the union of Burnchurch.
POBBLE-O'KEEFE-- See KING-WILLIAM'S-TOWN.
POLEROAN, a parish, in the barony of IVERK, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (N. W.) from Waterford, on the road to Carrick-on-Suir, and on the north-eastern bank of the river Suir; containing 1245 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, united by act of council, in 1680, to the vicarages of Portnescully and Illud, together constituting the union of Poleroan, in the gift of the Corporation of Waterford, in whom the rectory is impropriate. The tithes amount to £300, of which one-half is payable to the impropriators, and the other to the vicar: the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £270. There is a glebe-house with a glebe of 4 1/4 acres. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Moncoin. About 60 children are educated in a private school.
POLLARDSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of EAST OPHALY, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Kildare, on the road to Milltown; containing 278 inhabitants. It is situated on the Grand Canal and near the border of the Curragh of Kildare, and comprises 1273 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. Within its limits is Rathbride House, the seat of Thos. Pottinger, Esq. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Kildare, forming part of the union of Thomastown: the tithes amount to £75. 3. 4 1/2. In the R. C. divisions it is partly in the union or district of Allen and Milltown, and partly in that of Rathangan. About 40 children are educated in a private school.
POMEROY, a parish, in the barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 7 1/4 miles (N. W.) from Dungannon, on the road to Omagh; containing 7182 inhabitants, and comprising, according to the Ordnance survey, 15,951 statute acres. The district was granted by Jas. I. to Sir Arthur Chichester, then lord-deputy, and soon after was created a manor under the name of Manor Chichester. It was then altogether an extensive forest, some of the oaks of which, when cut down several years since, measured 29 feet in circumference. During the unsettled period of 1641 it was nearly stripped of its timber, and for many years after remained in a neglected state, until 1770, when the Rev. James Lowry undertook its management: he planted a great portion of the demesne, which now exhibits some very fine timber, and bequeathed a sum to erect the present mansion. In the demesne, which consists of 556 acres, is a small lake, the borders of which resemble in shape the coast of Ireland, on a scale of about one foot to a mile. Near it is a very abundant spring of water, strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas. The village, which is small and meanly built, on the summit of a hill, consists of a square and a long street, the roadway of which having been cut down in order to diminish the ascent, has placed the houses on each side in an unsightly and even dangerous situation. A court leet and baron for the manor is held here every three weeks, in which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable: petty sessions are held on the third Wednesday in every month. It is a constabulary police station, and has a penny post to Dungannon and Omagh. Fairs are held on the second Tuesday of every month, for the sale of cattle; and two annual fairs on June 1st and Oct. 31st. The eastern and southern parts of the parish are fertile and well cultivated; the western, which forms part of the Altmore mountain, and comprises nearly 3000 acres, is uncultivated mountain and bog. Granite, basalt, quartz, limestone, freestone, clay-slate, iron-stone and coal have been found within its limits. The principal seats are Pomeroy House, the fine residence of R. W. Lowry, Esq., already noticed; Mulnagore Lodge, of Mrs. Stafford; Drummond Lodge, of J. Suter, Esq.; and the glebe, of the Rev. Thos. Twigg. The parish was erected in 1775, by an order of council, at the application of Primate Robinson, by severing 41 townlands from that of Donaghmore: it is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Lord-Primate; the tithes amount to £389. The glebe-house, built in 1786 at an expense of £414, supplied by Primate Robinson, and enlarged in 1793 at a cost of £322 by the then incumbent, has a glebe of 560 statute acres (of which 145 are irreclaimable), valued at £198 per annum, also purchased by the same Primate: the gross value of the benefice, tithe and glebe included, is £586. 17. l 1/2. per ann. The townland of Gortfad, in this parish, forms part of the glebe of the rectory of Desertcreight. The church, built in 1775 on a site three miles from the village, is a handsome edifice, yet, though spacious, it does not afford sufficient accommodation for the congregation during the summer months. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Donaghmore, and has a chapel in the village of Pomeroy; where also there is a meeting-house for Seceders. The parochial school, situated near the church, was built and endowed with six acres of land by Primate Robinson, and is supported by the rector: there are schools at Pomeroy and Lis-naglees, in connection with the Board of National Education, in all of which are about 280 boys and 100 girls; also three private schools, in which are 100 boys and 70 girls, besides two Sunday schools, one supported by the rector, the other by R. W. Lowry, Esq. In the higher chain of the Altmore mountains are the ruins of the castle erected by Sir Thos. Norris, in the reign of Elizabeth, to protect the mountain pass; and not far distant are the remains of two barracks, erected during the last century for stations for troops placed here to put down the bands of robbers that then infested the country.
POOLBOY, a village, in the parish of KILCLOONY, barony of CLONMACNOON, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 1 mile (S. E.) from Ballinasloe: the population is returned with the parish. Here are the ruins of a priory, of which no account is extant; and a school supported by the Earl of Clancarty. On the verge of a bog near the village is a strongly impregnated chalybeate spa, noticed in the article on Kilcloony.
PORT, a parish, in the barony of FERRARD, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 3/4 miles (E.) from Dunleer, on the eastern coast; containing 809 inhabitants, of which number, 193 are in the village. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1803 1/2 statute acres of tolerably good land, principally in tillage. Within its limits is Seafield, the neat and pleasantly situated residence of H. L. Brabazon, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, forming part of the union of Rathdrummin: the rectory is impropriate in the Crown. The tithes amount to £145. 9. 4. the whole of which is received by the vicar, on his paying an annual quit-rent at the custom-house of Drogheda of £2. 19. 6., and there is a glebe of three acres, valued at £5 per annum. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Dysert. About 290 children are educated in the national school at Boycetown; the school-house, a handsome and spacious building, was erected by subscription, to which Sir Patrick Bellew, Bart., liberally contributed.
PORTADOWN, a market and post-town, and district parish, in the barony of ONEILLAND WEST, county of ARMAGH, and. province of ULSTER, 9 miles (N. E.) from Armagh, and 69 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Armagh to Belfast; containing 4906 inhabitants, of which number, 1591 are in the town. This place, anciently called Port-ne-doon, or "the port of the fortified eminence," derived that name from an ancient castle of the McCanns or McCanes, who were tributaries of the O'Nials and occupied this very important station, commanding the pass of the river Bann. The adjoining lands were, under the name of the manor of Ballyoran, granted by Jas. I. to William Powell, Esq., and afterwards by Chas. I., in the 7th of his reign, to Prudence Obyns and John Obyns, Esq., who erected a large mansion in the Elizabethan style for their own residence, and built 14 houses, in which they settled fourteen English families. Of the ancient mansion there is scarcely a vestige, except the gardens, and the avenue, which is still tolerably perfect. The town, which has been greatly extended, and the manor, are now the property of Viscount Mandeville. The former is very advantageously situated on the river Bann, over which is a stone bridge of seven arches, connecting it with the small suburb of Edenderry, in the parish of Seagoe.
It consists of one spacious and handsome street, with several smaller streets branching from it in various directions; and contains 315 houses, of which those in the principal street are large and well built.The town has been greatly improved within the last 40 years, previously to which it was comparatively of little importance; it is paved and cleansed by a committee appointed under the act of the 9th of Geo. IV., which raises money for that purpose by an assessment on the inhabitants. The river, which falls into Lough Neagh about seven miles below the town to the north, and communicates with the Newry canal about one mile above it to the south, is navigable for vessels of 80 tons' burden; but from a bar at its mouth, and from want of depth in the canal, the vessels generally navigating it seldom exceed 60 tons. The bridge, which is the only one across the river between Knock and Toome, a distance of full 30 miles, was built in 1764, but has suffered so much from the winter floods, that it has become necessary to rebuild it, and the expense is estimated at £8000. The chief trade is in corn, pork, cattle, and agricultural produce, and is greatly promoted by the situation of the place in the centre of an extensive and fertile district. The corn trade is particularly brisk during the winter; on an average, from £10,000 to £15,000 is laid out weekly in the purchase of grain, which is shipped to Newry and Belfast for exportation to England, the vessels returning with cargoes of timber, coal, slates, iron, and articles for inland consumption. The manufacture of linen, lawn, cambric and sheeting is extensively carried on, chiefly for the bleachers and factors of Banbridge; and the weaving of cotton goods for the merchants of Belfast also affords employment to a great number of persons. A very large distillery has been established, consuming annually more than 3000 tons of malt, bere, and oats; there is also a very extensive porter brewery; and since the Tyrone collieries were opened, brick-making has been extensively carried on. The market is on Saturday, and is abundantly supplied with provisions of all kinds, and with linen yarn, which is sold in great quantities. Fairs are held on the third Saturday in every month, and also on Easter-Monday and Whit-Monday, for cattle, pigs, and pedlery, and during the winter great quantities of pork are sold. A large and commodious market-place, with shambles and every requisite, has been recently erected by subscription, and is under the regulation of a committee. A chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town; petty sessions are held every Saturday; and courts for the manors of Ballyoran and Richmount, at which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable, every third Monday, before a seneschal appointed by Viscount Mande-ville.
The district parish comprises 3836 statute acres, mostly in a profitable state of cultivation; the demesne attached to the ancient mansion of the Obyns family, with the exception of a tract of woodland, has been parcelled out into farms. The principal seats are Ballyworkan, the residence of G. Pepper, Esq.; Carrick, of Lieu. Col. Blacker, a fine old mansion, embellished with some stately timber, Clowna, of J. Woolsey, Esq.; Eden Villa, of W. Atkinson, Esq.; and Fair View, of T. Carleton, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Rector of Drumcree, who pays the curate a stipend of £150. The church, a handsome edifice in the early English style, with a tower at the east end, and for the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £831, and a loan of £461, was built in 1826; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £173 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish gives name to a union or district, including also the parish of Drumcree, where is the chapel. There are two places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. About 550 children are taught in seven public schools, of which two are supported by the rector, four by Lord and Lady Mandeville, and one partly by Mrs. Henry; there are also five private schools, in which are about, 100 children, and two Sunday schools. A dispensary for the tenants of the Portadown estate is wholly supported by Lord Mandeville, by whom also a lending-library and a loan fund have been established.
PORTAFERRY, a sea-port, market, and post-town, partly in the parish of ARDQUIN, and partly in that of BALLYPHILIP, barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 7 miles (N. E.) from Downpatrick, and 102 (N. N. E.) from Dublin; containing 2203 inhabitants. It is situated on the eastern side of the inlet to the sea that forms the entrance to Lough Coyne or Strangford Lough, and opposite to the town of Strangford, on the western side of the same inlet, between which two places a constant intercourse is kept up by means of a ferry. The town owes its origin to a castle built by the first of the Savage family who came into this part of the country with John de Courcy, shortly after the arrival of the English, and the place being well secured and garrisoned by that powerful family, its situation on the strait made it a post of great importance in all the subsequent wars, during which neither it nor the neighbouring district of the Southern Ardes ever fell into the hands of the Irish; but the town, until lately, was only a small collection of cottages, built under the shelter of the castle, and chiefly inhabited by fishermen. It is now, owing to the exertions of the proprietor, Andrew Nugent, Esq., and the spirit of commercial enterprise in the principal townsmen, a place of considerable business, and increasing yearly in prosperity. It consists of a square and three principal streets, besides a range of good houses on the quay, which is built along the edge of the strait, chiefly at the expense of Mr. Nugent. The only public buildings are the market-house, a substantial old structure in the middle of the square, which in the disturbances of 1798 became a post of defence to the yeomanry of the town, who repulsed a body of the insurgents that attempted to take possession of it; the church of the parish of Ballyphilip, a neat building erected in 1787; a large and commodious Presbyterian meeting-house, and another for Wesleyan Methodists: at a little distance from the town is the R. C. chapel (a large building) for the parishes of Ballyphilip, Ballytrustan, Slane, and Witter. The town is a constabulary police and a coast guard station. The market, on Saturday, is well supplied with provisions; fairs are held on Jan. 1st, Feb. 13th, Tuesday after May 12th, and Nov. 13th. There is a distillery; and a brisk trade is carried on, chiefly with Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast, whither it sends wheat, barley, oats, potatoes and kelp, and receives in exchange timber, coal, and general merchandise. The situation of the town gives it the command of a fine prospect southward down the strait to the open sea, and in the contrary direction over the greater part of Lough Coyne, stretching ten miles inland and embellished with numerous thickly planted islands. Adjoining the town, on a rising ground, is Portaferry House, the residence of Andrew Nugent, Esq., a large and handsome building, finely situated in an extensive and highly ornamented demesne. The glebe-house of Ballyphilip, the residence of the Chancellor of Down, stands on the site of the ancient parish church, which is said to have been once an abbey. The first Marquess of Londonderry received his early education in this house. The ancient castle, which for more than half a century has been uninhabited, is rapidly falling to ruin: near it are the ruins of a chapel roofed with stone. A school is maintained here under the patronage of Mr. Nugent, who pays £20 annually to the master.
PORTARLINGTON, a borough, market, and post-town, partly in the parish of CLONEHORKE, barony of UPPER PHILIPSTOWN, KING'S county, but chiefly in the parish of LEA, barony of PORTNEHINCH, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 9 1/2 miles (N.E.) from Maryborough, and 34 1/2 (W. S. W.) from Dublin; containing 3091 inhabitants. This place, anciently named Coltodry, or Cooletetoodra, corrupted into Cooletooder, as it is still sometimes called, derives its present appellation from Lord Arlington, to whom, with a large extent of country, it was granted in the reign of Chas. II.; and its prefix from a small landing-place on the river Barrow, on which it is situated. Its only claim to antiquity attaches to the decayed castle and village of Lea, in the neighbourhood, the town of Portarlington having arisen only since the grant above named, which included a charter of incorporation constituting it a borough, though then only in its infancy. Lord Arlington subsequently disposed of his interest in the town to Sir Patrick Trant, upon whose attainder, as a follower of Jas. II., the possessions became forfeited to the Crown and were granted by Wm. III. to Gen. Rouvigny, one of his companions in arms, whom he created Earl of Galway. The Earl settled here a colony of French and Flemish Protestant refugees, and though the estates were taken from him by the English act of resumption, yet the interest which the new settlers had acquired by lease was secured to them by act of parliament in 1702, and they were made partakers of the rights and privileges of the borough. The estates which had been sold to the London Hollow Sword-blade Company, passed from them to the Dawson family, now Earls of Portarlington, by purchase, since which time the town has attained a very considerable degree of prosperity. The French language continued to be spoken among the refugees for a considerable time; but at present they are scarcely to be distinguished from the other inhabitants, except where their names afford evidence of their foreign extraction.
The town is pleasantly situated on the river Barrow, by which it is divided into two portions, and which, in an easterly direction, makes a sweep round that portion which is in Queen's county, forming a tongue of land on which is a large square with a market-house in the centre. It consists principally of one main street, which forms part of the Dublin road by Monastereven, and enters the market-place on the south, and being continued at a right angle from the market-place on the west, is carried by a bridge over the river through that part which is in King's county; and at the western extremity of the town branches off on the north-west, forming the road to Clonegown, and on the south-west to Mountmellick. A short street on the north side of the square leads over another bridge into the road to Rathangan and Edenderry, and on the east of the square are various ranges of building. The streets are well formed, the roadway being made and repaired with broken stone, and the footpaths partly flagged and partly paved; the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from pumps, which are very numerous; the houses are well built, and the external appearance of the town is superior to any of the same size in the county; the whole number of houses is 485. It is principally inhabited by private families, as a pleasant place of residence, and as affording, from the number and high reputation of its scholastic establishments, great facilities for public education. Above the Tholsel, or Town-house, are three rooms, the largest of which is occasionally appropriated as an assembly-room; a reading-room is well supported by subscription. There is a small manufactory for tobacco, and another for soap and candles; the only trade is merely what is requisite for the supply of its numerous respectable inhabitants. A branch of the Dublin Grand Canal from Monastereven to Mountmellick passes close to the town. There are two markets, one on Wednesday by charter, and the other on Saturday by custom; they are well supplied with butchers' meat and provisions, and occasionally with fish. Fairs, four of which are by charter and four of recent appointment by act of parliament, are held annually on Jan. 5th, March 1st., Easter-Monday, May 22nd, July 4th, Sept, 1st, Oct. 12th, and Nov. 23rd, for cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs. A chief constabulary police station has been established here in the Queen's county part of the town, and a station also on the King's county side.
By charter of incorporation granted by Chas. II., in 1667, the government of the borough is vested in a sovereign, twelve burgesses, two portreeves, and as many freemen as the burgesses may choose to nominate. The sovereign is elected annually from among the burgesses; and a recorder, who may be either a burgess or not, is appointed by the Earl of Portarlington; the appointment of freemen has been for some time discontinued, and there is at present only one. The borough by its charter was empowered to return two members to the Irish parliament, which it continued to do from the year 1692 till the period of the Union; since which time it has returned one member to the Imperial parliament. The right of election, formerly vested in the corporation, was by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap 88, extended to the £10 householders; and as the ancient limits of the borough were but very imperfectly defined and had little relation to the elective franchise, a new boundary has been drawn round the town, comprehending an area of 933 statute acres, of which the limits are minutely detailed in the Appendix. The number of electors registered up to June 1836 was 202, of whom 189 were £10 householders and 13 resident freemen or burgesses: the sovereign is the returning officer; and he is also a justice of the peace within the precincts of the borough.
The lord of the manor has power to appoint a seneschal, and to hold courts leet and baron; and also a court of record, the former for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s., and the latter for the determination of all pleas or actions wherein the debt or damage does not exceed the value of £200. There being no prison within the manor, all decrees or executions issuing from these courts are directed against the goods of the defendant; an appeal from the decision of these courts lies to the judge of assize on the circuit. The courts are held in a suite of rooms, well adapted to the purpose, above the market-house. Petty sessions are held every Wednesday in the market-house, at which six magistrates frequently attend.
Two churches were built in the town at the time of the settlement, dedicated respectively to St. Michael and St. Paul, in the reign of Wm. III., and endowed severally with a rent-charge of £40 late currency reserved upon lands let in perpetuity; St. Paul's was appropriated to the French and Flemish settlers, and St. Michael's to the use of English Protestants in the town; in consequence of this arrangement the former of these is called the French church, and the latter the English. The income of the French church was augmented with £50 per ann. by parliament many years since; and the late Board of First Fruits increased the stipend of the minister of the English church to £100 per annum. It is in the diocese of Kildare, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The English church, situated on the eastern side of the square, has a handsome spire; the French church is in the street leading westward to the river, and till within the last twenty years divine service was performed in the French language. In the R. C. divisions Portarlington is the head of a union or district, called Portarlington, Emo and Killinard, and comprising parts of the parishes of Clonehorke and Coolbanagher, and the parish of Lea, with the exception of the townland of Inchcoolley. Chapels are respectively situated at Portarlington, Emo and Killinard: that in Portarlington having been found too small for the increasing congregation, a new chapel is now being erected near the old one, and, when finished, will be a handsome edifice in the pointed style; the principal front will consist of a tower, with pinnacles at each angle and surmounted with a fine spire, 140 feet high. There is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. Two free schools, one for boys and the other for girls, maintained by grants made by the Earl of Galway, are kept in a house that was once a boarding-school for young gentlemen: there are also two schools supported by subscription and aided by the Board of National Education, in which are about 160 children of both sexes; and a Sunday school, commenced many years since by some ladies of the town, and carried on by gratuitous teachers. A mendicity institution, with a fund of about £300 per ann., raised by subscription, has done much towards diminishing the pressure of extreme poverty in the town. A savings' bank, opened a few years since, has now a capital of deposits from the poorer classes, amounting to £6100. A loan fund, which commenced with a capital of £100, is operating very beneficially: Col. Armstrong, and Chidley Coote and Maunsell Dames, Esqrs., have taken an active part in its formation. A dispensary is supported in the usual manner. About a mile to the south of the town is Spire Hill, so called from the erection of an obelisk on it by the late Viscount Carlow, for the purpose of giving employment to the poor in a season of scarcity: the flatness of the surrounding country renders it visible at a great distance; the sides of the hill are richly wooded, and it has winding walks through the plantations to its summit. The more remarkable seats in the vicinity are Wood-brook, the residence of Major Chetwood; Indiaville, of Capt. C. L. Sandes; Lawnsdoun, of Lieut.-Col. Robt. Moore; Rathleix, of Jas. Dunne, Esq.; Doolagh, of M. Dames, Esq.; Garryhinch, of Chas. Joly, Esq.; Huntingdon, of Capt. C. Coote; Labergerie, of J. D. Clarke, Esq.; Barrow-bank, of J. W. Johnstone, Esq.; Annamoe, of Capt. Chas. Hendrick; Clonehurk, of H. Warburton, Esq.; and Benfield, of L. Dunne, Esq. A chalybeate spring in Mr. Shewcraft's grounds is said to be efficacious in scorbutic cases; its chief component parts are nitre and sulphur. Portarlington gives the title of Earl to the Dawson family.
PORTCLARE, a manor, in that part of the parish of ERRIGAL-TROUGH which is in the barony of CLOGHER, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER: the population is returned with the parish. This ancient district, which comprises 3000 acres of arable land and extends over the present towns of Aughnacloy and Augher, including the districts of Lismore and Garvey, with all the intermediate country, was granted, in 1613, by Jas. I. to Sir Thomas Ridgwaie, Knt., and confirmed in 1665 by Chas. II., who changed the name of the manor from Portclare to Favour Royal, by which it is at present known. A spacious and handsome mansion, called, after the estate, Favour Royal, was erected here by the proprietor, in 1670, but being destroyed in 1823 by an accidental fire, a larger and more magnificent structure was erected in 1825, by John Corry Moutray, Esq., its present resident proprietor. This mansion is situated on the bank of the river Blackwater, and is built of freestone found on the estate, in the Elizabethan style, highly embellished with a noble portico, and with elegant architectural details; the demesne comprises 740 acres of fertile and highly cultivated land, and is finely diversified and richly wooded. Within it Mr. Moutray has erected a handsome cruciform church, in the later English style, with a square tower rising from the north-eastern angle, forming an interesting and beautiful object in the grounds, and corresponding in character with the house. It is built of the freestone procured on the estate, and was completed at an expense of £1000, for the accommodation of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, who have no other church within a distance of three miles. The living is a donative, in the patronage of the founder, who has endowed it with £50 per ann. charged on his estate, to which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have added £30, making the stipend of the minister £80 per annum. The church was consecrated on the 3rd of July, 1835, and is designated St. Mary's, Portclare.
PORTERIN, or PORTRUN, a parish, in the barony of ATHLONE, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 1/2 miles (S. E.) from Roscommon, on the river Shannon: the population is returned with Killenvoy. It comprises 1133 3/4 statute acres, of which 1092, consisting of good arable and pasture land, are applotted under the tithe act; and it contains a quarry, of excellent limestone, which is extensively worked and burnt for lime. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Elphin, forming part of the union of Killenvoy; the rectory is impropriate in the Incorporated Society, to which and to the vicar the tithes, amounting to £36, are payable in equal portions. In the R. C. divisions also it. is part of the union or district of Killenvoy. There are some remains of the old church in the burial-ground, which latter is very extensive.
PORTGLENONE, a market and post-town, and district parish, in the barony of LOWER TOOME, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 32 3/4 miles (N. W.) from Belfast, and 104 (N.) from Dublin, on the road from Ballymena to Castle-Dawson; containing 6860 inhabitants, of which number, 773 are in the town. This place is situated on the river Bann, which is navigable to Lough Neagh; the fords, which are now superseded by a bridge, were regarded as one of the most important passes between the counties of Antrim and Londonderry, on the confines of which it is situated. The town consists principally of one long street, and contains 148 houses, of which several are neatly built; the inhabitants carry on a small trade on the river by lighters, which bring up timber and slates, and at the bridge there is a considerable eel fishery; the weaving of linen is also carried on in the town and neighbourhood, and large quantities are exposed for sale in the linen market, which is held on the first Friday in every month. Fairs, chiefly for cattle and pigs, are held on the first Tuesday in every month. A constabulary police force is stationed here; petty sessions are held on alternate Wednesdays; and the manorial court of Cashel is held monthly, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £5 late currency.
The parish was instituted in 1825, by separating 21 townlands from the parish of Ahoghill, with which its acreable extent is returned in the Ordnance survey; that part which is on the Londonderry side of the Bann is called Glenone; on the other, Portglenone. Portglenone House, the residence of the Rev. Archdeacon Alexander, occupies the site of an ancient castle of the O'Nials; and Mount Davies, the present residence of Alex. McManus, Esq., was originally built by Col. Davies, about the year 1700, and rebuilt in 1758 by the late Alex. McManus, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the iiocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Incumbent of Ahoghill; the curate's stipend is £92. 6. 7 1/2., of which £69. 4. 7 1/2. is payable by the Incumbent of Ahoghill, and £23. 2. from the augmentation funds in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The church, a neat plain edifice, was built as a chapel of ease to the mother church of Ahoghill, prior to 1739, by the late Bishop Hutchinson, who was interred under the chancel. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Ahoghill: the chapel is situated at Aughnahoy, about a mile from the town. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class, and with the Seceding Synod, of the second class, and for Wesleyan Methodists. About 600 children are taught in ten public schools, of which one is supported by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity, who pay the master £32 per ann.; seven are under the London Hibernian Society, and two under the National Board. There are also three private schools, in which are about 70 children; and eight Sunday schools.
PORTLAW, a post-town, partly in the parish of CLONEGAM, and partly in that of GUILCAGH, barony of UPPERTHIRD, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 9 miles (W.) from Waterford (to which it has a sub-post-office), and 83 3/4 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing, in 1837, 3250 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the small river Clodagh, is altogether of modern origin; within the last 10 or 12 years there was scarcely a cabin to be seen on that spot which is now the site of a handsome and flourishing town. It is solely indebted for its growth and prosperity to the residence of Messrs. Malcolmson and sons, who introduced the cotton manufacture, and erected buildings for carrying it on upon a very extensive scale. The town is situated on the confines of Curraghmore Park, the princely seat of the Marquess of Waterford, from which it is separated only by the Clodagh, a deep and rapid stream, on the margin of which the mills are erected: the total number of houses is 465, of which many are handsome and well built, and the remainder neat cottages roofed with slate. The manufactory is a very spacious and lofty building, with a flat roof, on which is a reservoir for water, 260 feet in length and 40 feet in breadth; it is fitted up with the most improved machinery, propelled by three large water-wheels, and three steam-engines, the united power of which is estimated at more than that of 300 horses. These extensive works afford constant employment to considerably more than 1000 persons; the amount of capital expended weekly is not less than £600. Connected with them are numerous trades to which they furnish employment; and in all the various departments upon which they have an influence, it is calculated that more than 4000 persons are procuring a comfortable subsistence. The cottons, when manufactured, are bleached on the premises, and are chiefly sold in the home markets, though large quantities are sometimes sent to America. The health, education, and morals of this newly created colony have been strictly attended to by its patrons; a dispensary for the benefit of the working people has been established under the care of a resident surgeon within the walls of the concern; a school, in which from 80 to 100 children are educated, has also been established there; and the formation of a temperance society has been s6 successful that its members are nearly 500 in number: meetings of the society are held once every fortnight in a spacious apartment fitted up for its accommodation. The fairs of Clonegam are now held here on Easter-Monday, May 28th, and Aug. 26th; there is a constabulary police station, and petty sessions are held generally once a month. There is also a R. C. chapel.
PORTLEMON, or PORTLOMON, a parish, in the barony of CORKAREE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/4 miles (N. W.) from Mullingar, on the road to Ballymahon; containing 417 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the western shore of Lough Hoyle, and comprises 1943 statute acres of good land, chiefly under tillage; there is also some bog. Within its limits is Frum hill, on the summit of which is a rath: near its base, on the shore of the lake, is Portlemon, the seat of Lord De Blaquiere; the mansion is situated in a finely wooded demesne. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, united by episcopal authority, in 1823, to the rectory of Portshangan, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £85; and the gross value of the union, tithes and glebe inclusive, is £193. 1. 1 3/4. The church, glebe-house, and glebe of the union are in Portshangan, and are noticed in the article on that parish. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Mullingar. There is a school aided by an annual donation of £25 from Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons, and one also by a donation from Lord Forbes, in which 35 boys and 23 girls are taught. Besides the rath on Frum hill, there are several others within the parish.
PORTMAGEE.--See KILLEMLAGH.
PORTMARNOCK.--See PORT-ST.-MARNOCK.
PORTNESCULLY, a parish, in the barony of IVERK, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. W.) from Waterford, on the river Suir; containing 1084 inhabitants. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Poleroan; the rectory is impropriate in the corporation of Waterford. The tithes amount to £200, of which £125 is payable to the lessee of the impropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Moncoin, and contains the chapel of Carrigeen. About 240 boys are educated in two private schools; there is also a Sunday school.
PORTNESHANGAN.--See PORTSHANGAN.
PORTRANE, PORTRAHAN, or PORTRAVEN (anciently called Portraehern), a parish, in the barony of NETHERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/4 miles (N. E.) from Swords; containing 725 inhabitants. It comprises a great variety of substrata, including red sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, greenstone in rugged rocks, on the north side of the promontory; and grauwacke-slate, clay-slate, greenstone-slate, and a great variety of conglomerates, and minor minerals, on the coast, all curiously intermingled. The coast is remarkably grand and bold, and the sea has worked its way into the rocks, so as to form several excavations of large extent, in one of which is a curious well of fresh water, called Clink. Portrane House, the property and residence of Geo. Evans, Esq., M.P., is a spacious brick building nearly in the centre of a fine demesne of 420 acres, well stocked with deer, and commanding extensive and splendid views; some of the best land in the county is within this beautiful demesne, and its large plantations are more thriving than is usual in situations so much exposed to the sea blasts. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Dona-bate; the rectory is impropriate in G. Evans, Esq., and W. Ward, Esq,, who pay a small rent. The tithes amount to £137. 7. 7., of which £107. 3. 9. is payable to the impropriators, and £30. 3. 10. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms a portion of the union or district of Donabate: the chapel is in the form of a T, and was erected, about 12 years since, on land given for that purpose by the late Lord Trimleston; it has a burial-ground attached, and there is a residence for the priest. About 120 children are educated in two public schools, of which one for boys is supported by G. Evans, Esq., by whom the school-house, a neat rustic building, situated in a garden of about an acre in extent, was erected, and who gives the master a lodging and half an acre of land for a garden; the other school, for girls, is supported by Mrs. Evans, who built the school-house, with apartments for the mistress; at a proper age the children are taught embroidery, and several very elegant dresses and aprons have been worked here, one of which was for her Majesty Queen Dowager Adelaide: these schools are conducted on the Lancasterian system, and are open to all religious sects. Remains of the old castle exist, consisting of a small square tower, long since deserted as a habitation: the last occupant was Lady Acheson.
PORTRUE, a village, in the parish of CASTLETOWN-ARRA, barony of OWNEY and ARRA, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (W.) from Nenagh, on one of the public roads to Killaloe; containing 150 inhabitants. It is a station of the constabulary police: fairs are held on March 22nd, May 14th, July 23rd, and Nov. 11th, for cattle, sheep, and pigs, but chiefly for the last. The parochial R. C. chapel is situated in the village.
PORTRUSH, a sea-port, in the parish of BALLYWILLAN, barony of LOWER DUNLUCE, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Coleraine, to which it has a penny-post; containing 337 inhabitants. It is situated at the northwestern extremity of the county, on a peninsula of basalt jutting a mile into the sea toward the Skerries, having on the west a small but deep bay. According to the early annalists, this was the chief landing-place in the territory of the Rowte or McQuillan's country; it was also chosen by Sir John Perrot, as the landing-place of his artillery at the siege of Dunluce castle. On the plantation of Ulster by Jas. I., it was made a creek to Coleraine, but it latterly has absorbed all its trade, as the accumulation of sand on the bar of the latter port has rendered it very dangerous. A large artificial harbour has been just finished at Portrush, the entrance to which is 27 feet deep at low water, which has not only secured to it this advantage but has considerably increased its trade. The number of vessels now trading hither is 120, of the aggregate burden of 10,260 tons. The principal trade is with Liverpool, Whitehaven, the Clyde and Campbeltown. The chief imports are timber, coal, iron, barilla and general merchandise; the exports, linen cloth, provisions, grain, live stock, poultry, eggs and salmon, the export of which last is very great during the season, which commences in May and ends in September; the numbers of salmon taken off the shore have been much increased by an improved kind of net, but the principal supply is from the Bann and Bush rivers. The grain shipped in 1834 exceeded 6000 tons; the butter, 8166 firkins. Steam-boats ply weekly to Liverpool and Glasgow, and three times a week to Londonderry, Moville and Ennishowen. The town, owing to these causes, is rapidly improving. Many villas and lodges have been built in it or its immediate neighbourhood; and the beauty of its situation, commanding an extensive and varied range of scenery, makes it a favourite place of resort for strangers, particularly during the bathing season. A chapel of ease is about to be built in it, the parish church being a mile distant: there is a meeting-house for Wesleyan Methodists. It is a station for the constabulary police and for the coast-guard. A male and female school, founded by the late Dr. Adam Clarke, and supported by the Irish Missionary Society, is kept in a large and handsome brick edifice with a cupola and bell. A handsome hotel is now in progress. Close to the town is a beautiful and extensive strand, and at its southern extremity is a range of cliffs of white limestone, in which are several extensive caves; near it are some hills formed wholly of sand drifted by the northern winds; some of these are of recent formation, as the rich vegetable soil, bearing evident marks of cultivation, can be traced beneath them. After a violent storm in 1827, which swept away some of the sand, the remains of an ancient town were exposed to view, shewing the foundations of the houses, in which were found domestic utensils, moose deer's horns, spear heads of brass, and other military weapons. In the immediate neighbourhood is also a rock in which are imbedded large and perfect specimens of the cornu ammonis: various other species of fossils are frequently discovered. A new line of road from this place to Portstewart was made along the cliffs close to the shore, and a railroad from it to Coleraine is in contemplation.
PORTSHANGAN, or PORTNESHANGAN, a parish, in the barony of CORKAREE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. N. W.) from Mullingar, on the mail coach road to Longford; containing 463 inhabitants Lough Hoyle washes the south-western parts of the parish, which comprises 2340 statute acres, mostly under tillage and pasture, there being only a small quantity of bog. Here are quarries of a fine black stone, used also for flags. Petty sessions are held at Knockdrin every Tuesday. On its eastern limits stands Ballinagall, the seat of James Gibbons, Esq.; it is a modern mansion, erected at a cost of £30,000, in one of the finest and most richly wooded demesnes in the county. Woodlands is the residence of W. Moxton, Esq., agent to Lord Forbes; Mountmurray, of Alex. Murray, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. H. Daniell. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Portlemon; the tithes amount to £92. 6. l 1/2. The glebe-house was erected in 1826, at an expense of £784. 12. 4. British, of which £184. 12. 3 3/4. was a loan and £415. 7. 8 1/2. a gift from the late Board of First Fruits, and £184. 12. 3 3/4. was a gift from J. Gibbons, Esq.: there are two glebes, one of 5 3/4 statute acres, valued at £5. 5.; the other of 4 statute acres, valued at £10. 10., per annum. The church of the union is in this parish: it is a handsome building, in the Gothic style, surmounted with a spire erected in 1824, at an expense of £2908, of which £1892 was contributed by Jas. Gibbons, Esq., (who also gave the site), £277 by Sir Richard Levinge, and £738 was a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Multifarnham. The parish school is aided by subscriptions annually from the incumbent and the Earl of Granard, and is endowed with £700 by Mr. Gibbons, who built the school-house, and £5 per ann. from Lord Forbes, who gave the land. There is a private school also, in which 15 boys and 8 girls are educated. At Mountmurray are remains of an ancient castle.
PORTSTEWART, a sea-port and town, in the parish of BALLYACHRAN, liberties of COLERAINE, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of ULSTER, 3 1/2 miles (N.) from Coleraine, to which it has a penny post; containing 475 inhabitants. It is situated at the foot of a branch of the great basaltic range of promontories, and commands an extensive view of the estuary of the Bann, the entrance into Lough Foyle, and the promontory of Downhill, with the peninsula of Ennishowen in the distance. The exertions of the proprietors, John Cromie and Henry O'Hara, Esqrs., have raised this place, in the space of a few years, from a group of fishermen's huts to a delightful and well frequented summer residence. Its principal street, which commands the view already described, consists of well-built hotels and shops, having the mansion of Mr. Cromie near its centre; at a little distance to the south is another street of smaller houses, and westward are a number of detached villas, lodges, and ornamented cottages, chiefly built for bathing-lodges by the gentry of the surrounding counties. In this portion is a castle, built in 1834 by Mr. O'Hara, on a projecting cliff over the sea, the road to which is cut in traverses through the rock on which it stands, thus giving it the character of a chieftain's fortress of the feudal ages. A mail coach passes through the town every day; numerous vehicles ply to Coleraine; and steamers frequently arrive from Liverpool, the Clyde, Londonderry, and occasionally from Belfast. A mile from the town is the parish church of Agherton; divine service is also performed in a school-house in the place. There are a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, and a chapel for Wesleyan Methodists. The town is plentifully supplied with wild fowl, round and flat fish and herrings, of which last one of the most productive fisheries is off this port and on the coast of Ennishowen. The air here is serene and pure, the scenery grand and picturesque, the country well cultivated, planted, and embellished with elegant mansions, the principal of which, besides those already noticed, are Cromore, the seat of John Cromie, Esq.; Flowerfield, of S. Orr, Esq.; Low Rock, of Miss McManus; and Blackrock, of T. Bennet, Esq. The vicinity presents a variety of objects of geological interest, especially at the castle and near the creek of Port-na-happel, where there is a rock of the colour and appearance of Castile soap, which, on being burnt, emits a sulphureous smell, and leaves a purple cinder: here also are large layers of zeolite, steatite and ochre among the rocks of basalt. Not far from the town is the old channel of the Bann, from which the new channel has shifted nearly a mile westward: between both are large drifts of sand blown in from the sea, and covering many acres of excellent land.
PORT-ST.-MARNOCK, a parish, in the barony of COOLOCK, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 7 1/2 miles (N. E.) from Dublin; containing 482 inhabitants. On a rock, close to the sea-shore, stands the small gloomy castle of Rob's-Wall, or Robuck's Wall, founded either in the 15th or early in the 16th century by Mac Robuck, descended from Robuck de Birmingham, and the head of a sept of this ancient family. The manor belonged, from a very early period, to the abbey of St. Mary, Dublin, and is now chiefly vested in a branch of the Plunkett family. The parish, which is bounded on the east by St. George's channel, comprises 1729 statute acres. The sea-reed, or bent, grows plentifully, in conjunction with Carex Arenaria, on the sands near Rob's-Wall. There is a good limestone quarry, in which fossils are frequently found, and good potter's clay is procured within the parish. Here are several respectable seats, the principal of which are Broomfield, the residence of J. Frazier, Esq.; Beechwood, of N. J. Trumbull, Esq., in the grounds of which are some remarkably fine beech trees; Portmarnock House, of L. Plunkett, Esq.; Hazel Brook, of James Frazier, Esq.; St. Helen's, of T. Macartney, Esq.; the Grange, of F. Beggs, Esq.; and Drumnigh, of M. Farran, Esq. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the patronage of the Archbishop; the tithes amount to £98. 1. 7., of which £23. 1. 7. is payable to Mr. Hudson, and £75 to the perpetual curate, who also receives £20 per ann. from Primate Boulter's augmentation fund. The glebe-house, situated in the parish of Cloghran, was erected in 1791, by aid of a gift of £150 and a loan from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises nine acres. The church, a small edifice with a tower and spire, was erected in 1788, by a gift of £500 from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Baldoyle and Howth. A school, in which 23 children are educated, is supported by private subscriptions and an annual charity sermon. Here are two Martello towers, and remains of an old church, near Carrickhill; from which elevation is obtained an extensive view of the surrounding country, with a vast expanse of sea.
PORTUMNA, a market and post-town, in the parish of LICKMOLASSY, barony of LONGFORD, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 14 miles (S. E.) from Loughrea, and 78 (W. by S.) from Dublin; containing 1122 inhabitants. This place was granted by Hen. III., about the year 1226, to Richard de Burgo, by whom a castle was soon afterwards erected, of which the ruins may still be traced. The manor descended by marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of William de Burgo, Earl of Ulster, to Lionel, Duke of Clarence, from whom it passed to the Mortimer family, and subsequently to the Earl of Clanricarde, to whom it was confirmed, in 1610, together with the castle, monastery, fair and markets. The monks of the Cistertian abbey of Dunbrody had for a long time a chapel here, which was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and which, on their abandonment of it, was given by O'Madden, chief of the country, to friars of the Dominican order, who established a monastery here and a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. In 1634, the Earl of Strafford held a council in the castle of this place, in order to establish the King's title to the estates of Connaught, which being negatived by the jury empannelled for that purpose, the Earl placed both the jury and the sheriff under arrest and sent them prisoners to Dublin. The Earl of Clanricarde died in 1636, and was succeeded by Ulic, the fifth Earl of that family, who, on the breaking out of the war in 1641, fortified his castle and took every precaution to secure the peace of the county. When appointed Lord-Deputy of Ireland, after the departure of the Marquess of Ormonde, in 1650, he made this castle his principal residence, which, in 1659, was besieged by Gen. Ludlow. In the war of the Revolution, the castle was garrisoned by the adherents of Jas. II, but surrendered to Brigadier-Gen. Eppinger, who had been sent by William with a force of 1200 horse and dragoons to reduce it.
The town is beautifully situated on the river Shannon, which here divides into two channels, forming an island, through the centre of which the line of separation, between the counties of Galway and Tipperary passes; it contains about 190 houses, of which the greater number are well built and covered with slate. The wooden bridge over the Shannon, built in 1796, by Mr. Cox, the American architect, is 766 feet in length, 391 feet from the Galway shore to the island in the river, and 375 feet thence to the Tipperary shore. The Galway part was destroyed by a great flood in 1814, but was rebuilt and the whole repaired in 1818, under the superintendence of the late Mr. Alex. Nimmo; it is now in a very dilapidated condition, to the great injury of the trade of the town, but it is about to be rebuilt; for which purpose a plan has been submitted to the Board of Works by Mr. Rhodes, which includes a swivel bridge of 40 feet span, to allow vessels navigating the Shannon to pass without lowering their masts; this is the only bridge between Munster and Connaught from Banagher to Killaloe, a distance of 37 miles. The chief trade is in corn, great quantities of which are sent in from the county of Galway, and since the improved navigation of the river by steam-vessels, it has very much increased; there are some large flour-mills and an extensive brewery. The market is on Saturday, and is abundantly supplied with grain and provisions of all kinds: the average quantity of beef slaughtered for the weekly market is from 12 to 15 cwt., and of mutton, from 18 to 20 stone of 14lb. each Fairs are held on Feb. 15th, May 6th, Aug. 15th, Oct. 17th, and Nov. 15th, at which great numbers of pigs are purchased for the Limerick and Dublin markets. This is the station at which passengers from Dublin to Limerick and the south of Ireland are transferred to the larger steam-vessels navigating the Shannon; and the residence of the chief constable of police for the barony of Longford. Petty sessions are held on alternate Mondays. Portumna Castle, the seat of the Marquess of Clanricarde, a noble structure in the Elizabethan style, and probably erected during that reign, was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1826; the walls only remain, and the offices have been fitted up as a temporary residence for the Countess Dowager. The remains of the ancient castle built by De Burgo, which was situated close to the river, were taken down a few years since. The parish church, a handsome structure of hewn limestone, with a spire, is situated in the town; it was rebuilt in 1832, at an expense of £1500, advanced on loan by the late Board of First Fruits. The R. C. chapel, built in 1826, at an expense of £1200, is an elegant cruciform building in an enclosed square of an acre of ground, given by the Marquess of Clanricarde for a site for the building and a burial-ground: there is also a national school. There are considerable remains of the Dominican friary, the walls of which are in a tolerably perfect state; the church was cruciform and of elegant design; three of the arches which supported the tower are still entire, and several of the windows, particularly the east window of the choir, are enriched with tracery; the ruins are partly concealed by trees, and intertwined with ivy, and from their retired situation have a very interesting appearance. The tenants of the Marquess of Clanricarde in this neighbourhood, who have their land on reasonable terms, and are in comfortable circumstances, testify a growing taste for improving the cultivation of their farms.
POTTERCHA, a village, in the parish of KILSKYRE, barony of UPPER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER 5 containing 22 houses and 124 inhabitants.
POULLADOUGH, a village, in the parish of KILLERERAN, barony of TYAQUIN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 6 miles (S. E.) from Tuam, on the road to Ballinasloe: the population is returned with the parish.
POWERSCOURT, a parish, in the barony of RATHDOWN, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (W. S. W.) from Bray, on the road from Dublin, through the Scalp, to Roundwood; containing, with the town of Enniskerry (which is separately described), 4375 inhabitants. This place, which in the ecclesiastical records is called Stagonil, and in other authorities Templebeacon, takes its present name from the De la Poer family, to whom it was conveyed by marriage with the daughter of Milo de Cogan, one of the followers of Strongbow, who built a castle here to protect his territories from the incursions of the mountain septs of the surrounding district. The castle was, in 1535, surprised and taken by the Byrnes and O'Tooles, but was soon recovered by the English and subsequently granted by Hen. VIII. to a branch of the Talbot family, from whom it was taken, in 1556, by the Kavanaghs and garrisoned with 140 of that sept; but after an obstinate resistance it was taken by Sir George Stanley, and the garrison were sent prisoners to Dublin, where 74 of them were executed. In 1609, Jas. I. granted the castle and all the lands of Fercullen, with the exception of 1000 acres of the parish, now belonging to the Earl of Rathdown, to Sir Richard Wingfield, ancestor of the present Lord Powerscourt, as a reward for his services in suppressing a rebellion in Ulster raised by Sir Cahir O'Dogherty and Sir Nial O'Donell, in 1608, of whom the former was killed in the field, and the latter made prisoner in his camp: the lands were soon afterwards erected into a manor, and in 1618 the proprietor was created Viscount Powerscourt.
The parish, which is situated on the confines of the county of Dublin, and intersected by the Dargle river, comprises 20,800 statute acres, of which 7853 are fertile arable land, 5635 are of inferior quality, and 7312 are mountain. The surface is beautifully diversified, and richly embellished with handsome seats, highly cultivated demesnes, luxuriant plantations and wooded eminences, finely contrasting with the rude grandeur of rugged masses of rock rising majestically from the narrow glens, and the loftier elevation of the surrounding mountains. Powerscourt, the splendid seat of Viscount Powerscourt, is a spacious mansion of hewn granite with two fronts, one consisting of a centre with a portico supporting a pediment, in the tympanum of which are the family arms, and of two wings, each terminating in an obelisk supporting the crest; the other front has at each extremity a circular tower, surmounted by a cupola and ogee dome. The interior contains many stately apartments, among which are a noble hall, 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, richly decorated; a spacious ball-room of equal dimensions, with galleries on each side, supported on lofty fluted columns, and sumptuously embellished; the floor is of chesnut wood highly polished and inlaid, and the whole displays much beauty of arrangement and elegance of decoration. In this room King Geo. IV. was entertained at dinner by the late Viscount; the splendid chair of state provided for his use on that occasion is still preserved. There are some splendid paintings lately brought over by the present Viscount, and a handsome octagonal room entirely wainscoted with cedar. The demesne, to which the principal entrance is through a lofty and handsome gateway on Enniskerry hill, comprises 1250 acres, of which 500, constituting the home demesne, lie around the mansion, 550 in the deer-park, and the remainder on the north side of the Dargle, which belongs to his lordship. From the terrace in front of the mansion is a fine view down a romantic glen, enclosed by impending mountains, among which the two Sugar Loaves are conspicuous, and terminating with the rugged outline of Bray Head; and in every part of the demesne, which is richly embellished with stately timber and flourishing plantations, the scenery is replete with beauty and grandeur. The Glen of the Waterfall, to which the approach is through the deer-park, is embosomed in mountains clothed almost to their summit with woods of oak; emerging from these the cataract is seen in all its picturesque grandeur, precipitating its waters in an unbroken volume from a height of more than 300 feet, with scarcely any interruption from projecting crags, into a chasm at its base between lofty detached masses of rock. When not augmented by continued rains, the sheet of descending water is clear and transparent, and the face of the precipice is distinctly seen; but after heavy falls of rain it descends with tumultuous violence, and the whiteness of the foam forms a striking contrast with the dark foliage of the surrounding woods. A slippery path beneath impending rocks leads to the summit of the precipice, from which the view downwards to its base is awfully terrific. The scenery here is wildly romantic; a picturesque wooden bridge over a stream that runs from the foot of the waterfall leads to a banqueting-room commanding a fine view of the glen. The stream in this part of its course is called the Glenistorean, but meeting on the outside of the deer-park with another from Glencree, it takes that name, and after flowing through a succession of richly cultivated demesnes assumes the appellation of the Dargle river on its approach to the celebrated glen of the same name. The entrance to the upper end of this very remarkable glen is about a quarter of a mile from Enniskerry, and to the lower end about two miles from Bray. The glen itself is about a mile in length, enclosed on both sides with towering precipices clothed to their summits with woods of oak, darkening the narrow vale at their base, and occasionally broken by stupendous masses of bare and rugged rock, which rise perpendicularly through the luxuriant foliage. Confined between its rugged bounds, and obstructed in its course by fragments of loosened rocks, the Dargle river rushes through the glen with all the noise and impetuosity of a torrent; on a ledge of overhanging rock a small Moss House has been placed, affording a limited view of the scenery, which is seen in all its varieties from numerous winding paths commanding in succession its most interesting features. From the Moss House is a path winding through the woods up the northern side of the glen, to a projecting platform of shapeless and rugged rock far above the summit of the highest trees on either side, and protruding into the very centre of the chasm; from this elevated station, which is called the Lovers' Leap, the extent and beauty of the glen are seen in pleasing combination with the softer features of the Powerscourt demesne at its western extremity. From another elevation, at no great distance from the former, called the View Rock, are seen the demesnes of Powerscourt and Tinnehinch, with the lofty mountain of Knocksea; the splendid chain of mountains from Beehanna to Glencree; and a large sweep of the glen, with a picturesque cottage on the opposite side. Lord Powerscourt kindly allows public access to the Dargle every day in the week, except Sunday. Kilruddery, the splendid mansion of the Earl of Meath, though in this parish, is so closely connected with the parish of Bray that it is described under that head. Charleville, the beautiful seat of the Earl of Rathdowne, is a handsome modern mansion of granite, erected near the site of a former building, which was accidentally burnt down in 1792: it is finely situated in a richly wooded demesne of 120 acres, surrounded by the grounds of Powerscourt and embellished with timber of extraordinary growth. Tinnehinch, formerly part of the estate of Lord Powerscourt, is now the seat of James Grattan, Esq., and was the favourite residence of his father, the late Right Hon. Henry Grattan, for whom it was purchased by a vote of the Irish parliament, in testimony of their admiration of his splendid talents and gratitude for his unequalled exertions in obtaining a free trade with Great Britain, in 1782; it is beautifully situated close to the Glen of the Dargle, with the woods of which it communicates, and the Dargle river flows through the grounds. The house is a plain building, and previously to the purchase of the estate by the parliamentary grant of £50,000, was the principal inn of the county, and the frequent resort of that distinguished senator, who spent much of his early life amidst these enchanting scenes, in the cultivation of those brilliant talents which commanded the respect and admiration of his country. Bushy Park, the seat of the Hon. Col. Hugh Howard, is beautifully situated on rising ground, commanding an extensive range of mountain scenery, with a fine view of the mansions and demesnes of Powerscourt and Charleville. There are numerous handsome villas in the parish, of which the principal are Lough Bray, in the mountain district of Glencree, a beautiful cottage on the lake in one of the most romantic parts of the mountain scenery; Ballyornan, the residence of Mrs. Quin; Dargle Cottage, of R. Sandys, Esq.; Ornee, of H. Mason Esq.; Ballymorris, of R. Graydon, Esq.; Ballywaltrim, of J. Ormsby, Esq.; Charleville Cottage, of Lady Crofton; Ballynagee Cottage, of the late Capt. Sandys; and Newtown Cottage, of G. Kennan, Esq.
The scenery of the parish, on the side opposite to that of Powerscourt and the Dargle, abounds with features of impressive character; the valley of Glencree forms a noble vista, four miles in length, enclosed on each side by barren and rugged mountains, and terminating with the lofty mountains of Kippure, impending over the basin of Lough Bray, below which were the Glencree barracks, a fine range of buildings, erected by Government after the disturbances of 1798, and purchased by Lord Powerscourt in 1834. The scenery around Lough Bray is pleasingly romantic: there are an upper and a lower lake; the lower, which is the larger, comprises 37 acres, and is near the summit of the mountain, enclosed on one side by lofty and precipitous rocks, and on the other by a steep declivity: this district is much frequented by visiters from Dublin; the approach is by the military road, which joins the road from Rathfarnham. The Djouce mountain, which has an elevation of 2392 feet above the level of the sea, is in the parish, and forms a prominent feature in the numerous varieties of its mountain scenery. The lands not in demesne are chiefly under tillage; the soil is a light limestone gravel, yielding good crops, and the system of agriculture improved; turf is procured in abundance on the mountains, and there are several quarries of good granite.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, constituting the corps of the prebend of Stagonil in the cathedral of St. Patrick, and in the patronage of the Archbishop: the prebend was instituted in 1303, when it was charged with the payment of £10 per annum to the economy fund of the cathedral: it had formerly two dependent chapels, situated respectively at Kilruddery and Kilcroney; the latter, in the time of Archbishop Alan, was claimed by the monks of St. Mary's Abbey, near Dublin. In 1831, some townlands of this parish were separated from it by the act of the 7th and 8th of Geo. IV., to form the newly erected parish of Calary. The tithes amount to £369. 4. 7 1/2.: the glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £200 and a loan of £600, was built in 1817; the glebe comprises 3 1/2 acres, held by lease from the Earl of Rathdown, at a rent of £4. 10. per annum. The church, a handsome modern edifice, nearly in the centre of the parish, and within the Powerscourt demesne, was enlarged in 1820, at an expense of £1000, advanced on loan from the late Board of First Fruits; the churchyard contains many interesting monumental inscriptions. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Bray: the chapel, at Curtlestown, is a plain building, and service is also performed in a barn every Sunday. About 400 children are taught in ten public schools, of which four are supported by Lord and Lady Powerscourt, one by Lord and Lady Rathdowne, and two by the Rev. R. Daly, the rector; there are also a private school, in which are about 130 children, and two Sunday schools. An estate in the county of Longford was bequeathed by F. Adair, Esq., to the unions of Bray and Delganny and to this parish, one-third each, for charitable purposes. There are ruins of ancient churches at Churchtown and Killegar; and on a hill to the west of Enniskerry are the remains of a cromlech.
POWERSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. E. by S.) from Gowran, on the road from Kilkenny to Graig; containing 1718 inhabitants. This parish comprises 5508 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the greater portion is good arable and pasture land, about one-half being under tillage. On the lands of Curraghlane, yellow ochre of good quality is procured; and at Mount Loftus is an extensive quarry, in which is raised excellent granite of a beautiful light yellow colour, fine-grained and very compact; it may be raised in blocks of very large size, and is mostly used for gate pillars and for buildings. Mount Loftus, the seat of Sir Francis Hamilton Loftus, Bart., is situated on an eminence commanding an extensive view. A constabulary police force is stationed in the parish. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the alternate patronage of the Crown and the Bishop: the tithes amount to £450. The glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £100 and a loan of £900, is a good residence; the glebe comprises 30 acres. The church is a small neat edifice. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Graig; the chapel, a neat edifice, was erected about 10 years since, and a school-house has been recently built near it, for the completion of which the Board of National Education granted £100; about 170 children are taught in the school.
POYNTZ-PASS, or FENWICK'S PASS, a small town, partly in the parish of AGHADERG, barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, but chiefly in the parish of BALLYMORE, barony of LOWER ORIOR, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, 2 3/4 miles (S. W.) from Loughbrickland, to which it has a penny post; containing 660 inhabitants, of which number, 88 are in the county of Down. This place was formerly an encumbered pass through bogs and woods, from the county of Down into that of Armagh, and from the O'Hanlons' to the Magennises' country: it derives its present name from this important military position having been forced, after a desperate action, by Lieut. Poyntz, of the English army, with a few troops, against a numerous body of Tyrone's soldiers, for which service he was rewarded with a grant of 500 acres in this barony: there are some remains of the castle which formerly commanded the pass. At Drumbanagher are vestiges of the intrenchment surrounding the principal strong hold of the Earl of Tyrone, during his wars with Queen Elizabeth, called Tyrone's Ditches. Poyntz-Pass is now one of the most fertile and beautiful spots in this part of the country. To the south is Drumbanagher Castle, the handsome residence of Lieut.-Col. Maxwell Close, built in the Italian style, with a large portico in front; on an eminence above the town is Acton House, the elegant residence of C. R. Dobbs, Esq.; not far from which is Union Lodge, that of W. Fivey, Esq., in a beautiful demesne, bounded by the extensive waters of Lough Shark. That portion of the town which is in the county of Armagh was built about 1790, by Mr. Stewart, then proprietor, who procured for it a grant of a market and fairs; the former was never established, but the latter, held on the first Saturday in every month, are large and well attended, great numbers of cattle and sheep being sold. The town comprises 116 houses in one principal street, intersected by a shorter one. It contains the church for the district of Acton, a small neat edifice in the early English style, with a tower at the east front, built in 1789, and considerably enlarged and improved in 1829; a R. C. chapel, a school, and a constabulary police station.
PREBAN, or PREBAWN, a parish, in the barony of BALLINACOR, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W.) from Tinahely, on the road to Rathdrum; containing 1095 inhabitants. This parish, which is called also Braban, and is situated on the south-eastern bank of the small river Derry, or Darragh, comprises 2039 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is good, and the system of agriculture improving. The principal seats are Tankersley, the residence of C. Coates, Esq.; and Ballinglenn, of H. Newton, Esq., both pleasantly situated in tastefully disposed grounds, and commanding fine views of the vale of Derry and the Croghan mountain. On the townland of Ballinglenn is an extensive flour-mill belonging to Mr. Gilbert. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ferns, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory, which is appropriate to the see, is now vested by the Church Temporalities' act in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; the tithes amount to £216. 19. 4., of which £144. 12. 11. is payable to the Commissioners and £72. 6. 5. to the vicar, who also receives £20 per annum from Primate Boulter's augmentation fund. The church, a handsome edifice in the early English style, with an embattled tower crowned with pinnacles, was built in 1827 by a grant of £900 from the late Board of First Fruits; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £120 towards its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Killavany: the chapel, a neat edifice, is situated in the small village of Annacurra. About 80 children are taught in the parochial school, which is supported by an annual donation from the bishop and by subscription, and for which an excellent school-house was built in 1825, by the late George Coates, Esq., assisted by a grant from the late Commissioners of Education. In the grounds of Ballinglenn two urns of clay were dug up in 1832, containing human bones 5 the larger was broken to pieces, but the smaller is now in the possession of J. Farran, Esq., of Rathgar. There is also a rath in this townland; and in the grounds of Tankersley is a well, dedicated to St. Moab, and also a rath.
PRIMULT.--See BALLYBURLEY.
PRIOR, a parish, in the barony of IVERAGH, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 8 miles (S. S. W.) from Cahirciveen, on the north-west side of the bay of Ballinaskelligs, on the western coast; containing 3176 inhabitants. It comprises 10,572 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the soil is mostly of a light gravelly nature; there are extensive tracts of bog, and brown sandstone adapted for building is found in several places: the state of agriculture is gradually improving. The bay lies between Hog's Head and Bolus Head, 5 leagues (N. E. by N.) from the Bull Rock, and is much exposed to the south-west winds. Bolus Head is in Lat. 51° 48' 48", and Lon. 10° 19'. The sea is making great inroads at the bottom of the bay; the shore, though high, being composed only of strata of clay. At a short distance from the shore, at Ballinaskelligs, is the island of that name, extending nearly east and west about half a mile; on the north side of this island is good anchorage for small vessels, and if its western extremity was connected with the main land (which might be effected at a moderate expense), the security of the anchorage would be greatly increased. At Ballinaskelligs is a pier, built by the late Fishery Board, much used by fishing vessels and by boats bringing seaweed for manure, which latter has much benefited the surrounding district, but the roads leading to the pier require improvement. Here is also a station of the coast-guard, being one of those constituting the district of Valencia. The seats are Seaganstown, the residence of Thos. Seaganson, Esq.; and Kinnard, belonging to the representatives of Denny Hore, Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and is a rectory, forming part of the union of Dromod: the tithes amount to £120. 3. 1. In the R. C. divisions it gives name to the union or district, which also comprises the parish of Killemlagh, and contains the chapels of Dungeagan, Portmagee, and Karl, the first of which is in this parish. About 60 children are educated in three private schools. Some traces of an ancient town are to be seen at Ballinaskelligs, and of a small castle built on an isthmus to defend the harbour against pirates. Here are also the ruins of an ancient abbey or priory of Augustinian canons, the establishment of which was removed hither at a remote period from the rocky island called the Great Skellig, the monastery of which place is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis. The abbey of Ballinaskelligs is said to have been plundered by the Danes in 812, when the monks were kept in confinement till they perished with cold and hunger: it was granted by Queen Elizabeth to John Blake, at a rent of £6. 13. 4. The present remains, though exposed to the violence of the sea, which has made great inroads on the building, shew it to have been an establishment of considerable extent. In the vicinity is a holy well, dedicated to St. Michael, on whose anniversary it is visited by the peasantry for devotional purposes. Near it is a spot called the "Englishman's Garden," where the bodies of twenty Englishmen are interred who had been killed by the natives.
PROSPEROUS, a town, in the parish of KILLYBEGGS, barony of CLANE, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 11 miles (S. W.) from Leixlip; containing 1038 inhabitants. This place, which is situated near the Grand Canal, owes its origin to Mr. Robert Brooke, who, towards the close of the last century, expended a large fortune in attempting to establish the cotton manufacture here. In less than three years a town, consisting of 200 houses, was built, and establishments were completed for all the various branches of that manufacture, including the printing of linen and cotton goods, and also for making the requisite machinery connected with the works; and from the flattering prospect of success which grew with the attempt, the town rather prematurely derived its name. In pursuing this object, however, that gentleman exceeded the limits of his own private fortune, and upon application to parliament obtained a grant of £25,000; but in 1786, having again occasion to apply to parliament for assistance, his petition was rejected and the works consequently were discontinued. Upon this occasion 1400 looms were thrown out of employment, and every other branch of the manufacture, together with the making of the requisite machinery, ceased. Though the undertaking was never revived, still the manufacture was continued on a very limited scale till 1798, when, during the disturbances of that year, a party of the insurgents attacked the town and surprised a party of the king's troops, whom they put to the sword. Since that period the town has gradually declined in importance, and is at present little more than a pile of ruins; a very few weavers still find some employment, but its situation in a low and marshy spot, surrounded by bogs and without water-power, affords neither advantages for the establishment of works of importance, nor reasonable hope of its revival. Near the town, the Grand Canal is carried through the hill of Downings. A constabulary police station has been established here, and there is a small thatched R. C. chapel.
PUBBLEDRUM, a parish, partly in the barony of RATHVILLY, but chiefly in that of FORTH, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (E.) from Tullow, on the road to Clonegal; containing 1271 inhabitants. It comprises 4503 statute acres, of which nearly one-half consists of woodland, and the remainder, with the exception of about 240 acres of bog, is arable land: the state of agriculture is improving. Limestone abounds and is burnt for manure, and fine granite adapted for building is also found. It has been for several centuries the seat of a branch of the ancient family of Butler, and contains Ballintemple, the residence of Sir Thomas Butler, Bart., and Broomville, of Jas. Butler, Esq. At Blacklion is a station of the constabulary police. In the Ecclesiastical divisions it is not known as a parish, but is considered to form part of the parish of Barragh, in the diocese of Leighlin; and in the R. C. divisions it is partly included in the union or district of Tullow, and partly in that of Gilbertstown: the chapel is at Ardattin. At Ballintemple are the ruins of an old church, beautifully situated on the margin of the river Slaney.
PUCKANE, a village, in the parish of KILLODIERNAN, barony of LOWER ORMOND, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N.) from Nenagh; containing 173 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Shannon, and is a station of the constabulary police. Here is a R. C. chapel belonging to the union or district of Monsea.
PULLAHER, a village, in the parish of CAMMA, barony of ATHLONE, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 6 miles (N. N. W.) from Athlone, on the road from Knockcroghery to Ballinasloe: the population is returned with the parish.
PULSHASY, a village, in the parish of TEMPLETOGHER, barony of BALLYMOE, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT; containing 35 inhabitants.