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
RACAVAN, or RATHCAVAN, a parish, in the barony of LOWER ANTRIM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, on the road from Larne to Ballymena; containing, with the post-town of Broughshane (which is separately described), 4479 inhabitants. This parish, which is also called Rathcoon, is situated on the river Braid, and according to the Ordnance survey comprises, including a small detached portion, 17,563 statute acres, of which 12,271 are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £5176 per annum. The surface is boldly varied; there are large tracts of mountain, bog, and waste; the remainder is arable land of a light gravelly soil. There are several basaltic quarries in operation; greenstone is found in great abundance; and near the base of Slemish, a detached mountain of greenstone, gold is said to have been found. Race View, the seat of R. Harrison Esq., is in the parish. There are four extensive bleach-greens, with beetling-engines and other apparatus, in which together more than 100,000 webs of linen are finished annually; there is also a large mill for spinning linen yarn, and the weaving of linen cloth is extensively carried on in various parts of the parish. A large fair is held at Broughshane on the 17th of August, for horses, cattle, and pigs; and great numbers of carcases of pigs are sold in the market every Tuesday, to the agents of the Belfast merchants. The parish is within the jurisdiction of the manorial court of Buckna, held every month at Broughshane, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £20.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, forming part of the union of Skerry, or the Braid; the tithes amount to £316. 16. 1. The church at Broughshane has been built within the last 50 years. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the first class, a spacious handsome building with a cupola, containing a bell; also for Covenanters at Craigamuoy. About 100 children are taught in the national school at Broughshane; and there are four private schools, in which are about 800 children, and two Sunday schools. Here is an excellent institution for the accommodation of the poor, and a clothing society, affording clothing to 50 males and 50 females annually; both are supported by subscription. Mr. Jamieson, in 1829, bequeathed £600 to the poor, but the legacy has not been yet paid over for that purpose. There is a small ancient churchyard at some distance from the main road, and difficult of access; it is of triangular form and well walled, and is now used exclusively as a burial-place for Presbyterians.
RADDONSTOWN, or BALRODDAN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DEECE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 1 3/4 mile (N. E.) from Kilcock, on one of the roads to Maynooth; containing 651 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1705 1/2 statute acres of excellent land, about one-half of which is under tillage, and the remainder meadow and pasture; the system of agriculture is in an improved state, and there is no waste land; coal is found but is not worked. The principal seats are Dollandstown, the residence of A. U. Gledstanes, Esq.; Newtown Prospect, of A. Coates, Esq.; Bridestream, of J. Coates, Esq.; Colgath, of Mrs. Tronson; and Raddonstown, of J. Morron, Esq. The Royal Canal from Dublin passes the southern extremity of the parish. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, united from time immemorial to the rectories of Balfeighan, Gallow, Drumlargan, and Kilcloan, and in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes amount to £120, and the gross value of the benefice is £485. 3. 7 1/4. per ann.: the glebe consists of half an acre near the church, which is an ancient plain edifice. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Batters-town: the chapel is a small edifice. The late Rev. W. Tew bequeathed £200, of which he appropriated the interest to the payment of a schoolmaster and schoolmistress for the gratuitous instruction of children; also £50 for annual distribution among the poor: no school has been yet established, and the money is lodged with the Commissioners of charitable bequests. There is a private school, in which are about 50 children, also a dispensary. Near Raddonstown is a perfect Danish fort.
RAFRAN.--See TEMPLEMURRY.
RAGHERY, or RAGHLIN.--See RATHLIN.
RAHAN, a parish, in the barony of FERMOY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2 1/2 miles (E.) from Mallow, on the road to Fermoy, and on the river Blackwater; containing 3781 inhabitants. At Carrigoon, on the north side of the river, was a garrison for Jas. II.; and nearly opposite to it stood the castle of Ballymagooly, which was garrisoned by the English, the relief of which occasioned the battle of Bottle hill, in this neighbourhood. A grant of a market and two fairs was made in the 36th of Chas. II., with a court of pie poudre for the manor of Cotterborough, but they are not now held. The parish, which comprises 9930 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £5909 per ann., lies partly on the north, but chiefly on the south, side of the Blackwater. The arable land is in general good, and there is a considerable portion of reclaimable mountain and some excellent bog, from which the Mallow market is partly supplied with fuel: limestone abounds and is used for building and agricultural purposes, and the state of agriculture has of late years been much improved. Rockforest, the spacious and handsome mansion of Sir J. L. Cotter, Bart., is beautifully situated on a rising ground between the Black-water and the Lavally mountain, in an extensive and richly wooded demesne, bounded on the north by the river, which sweeps boldly under the rock of Carrig, the woods and castellated tower on the summit of the rock forming a most picturesque and interesting scene. The other seats are Rockforest Lodge, the residence of Pierse Creagh, Esq.; and Ballymagooley, of John Courtenay, Esq., noticed under the head of the village of that name. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the rectory is impropriate in Col. Longfield. The parish was formerly united to that of Carrigleamleary, but was separated about 30 years since, when a portion of the latter was attached to Rahan to make the division more equal. The tithes, amounting to £484. 12. 4., are payable in equal portions to the impropriator and the vicar. The church is a small neat structure with a low square tower, towards the erection of which, in 1788, the late Board of First Fruits gave £500, and it was also aided by Sir J. L. Cotter, to whose memory and that of his lady it contains a neat mural monument; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £142 for its thorough repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is partly in the union or district of Ballinamona, but chiefly in that of Mallow. There is a small meeting-house for Wesleyan Methodists. The parochial school at Cotterborough, near Ballymagooly, is a neat building, comprising two large school-rooms, with apartments for the master and mistress, erected in 1823 under the auspices of the late vicar, at an expense of about £250, of which £100 was a grant from the Lord-lieutenant's fund; it is chiefly supported by subscription. At Knockbrack is a school for boys, supported by a bequest from the late H. Cotter, Esq., and £12 per ann. from W. D. La Touche, Esq., whose father gave the site for the school and an acre of land; another school is supported by subscription, in which and in the two former about 100 children are educated; and there are two private schools, in which are about 90 children. The late H. J. Cotter, Esq., in 1831, bequeathed £500, and a small estate in this parish producing about £90 per ann., in trust to promote the scriptural education of the poor; and the Rev. George Brereton, formerly vicar of Rahan, bequeathed £200 late currency, of which the interest is annually distributed at Christmas to six poor persons on the church list; he also bequeathed £30 to purchase a church bell, and a similar sum for completing the parochial school-house. Some remains of the old church still exist.
RAHAN, or RAGHAN, a parish, in the barony of BALLYCOWAN, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 3 1/2 miles (W.) from Tullamore; containing 4032 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Clodagh, comprises 9924 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land, though varying greatly in quality, is in general good and in a profitable state of cultivation. Limestone is quarried for building and for agricultural purposes, and there is an adequate quantity of bog. The only seat is the Lodge, the residence of J. O'Brien, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Fircall or Killaughey; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Downshire. The tithes amount to £209. 18. 10., of which £138. 9. 2 1/2 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. A portion of the parish, including 6613 statute acres, has been formed into a district parish, and a perpetual curacy instituted, of which the incumbent of Fircall is patron: the income of the curate is £107. 7. 8 1/4., arising from a stipend of £55. 7. 8 1/4. paid by the incumbent, £37 from Primate Boulter's Augmentation Fund, and 10 acres of glebe, valued at £15 per annum. The glebe-house was built in 1817, at an expense of £500, of which £450 was a gift and £50 a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. The church, which is annexed to the curacy, is a small edifice, erected in 1732, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £166 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Killina, and comprising also the parish of Lynally; there are chapels at Killina and Kilpatrick, and one in the parish of Lynally. There is also a chapel annexed to the R. C. college at Tullabeg, founded in 1818 for the education of young gentlemen, under a rector and seven professors belonging to the order of Jesus: and a Presentation convent. About 240 children are taught in four public schools, of which the parochial school is aided by subscription, and has a house and an acre of land rent-free, given by Mr. Acres; and a female school is supported by the ladies of the convent, who gratuitously instruct the children. There are also five private schools, in which are about 250 children.
RAHARROW, or RAHARA, a parish, in the barony of ATHLONE, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 9 miles (N. W.) from Athlone, on the roads from that place to Athleague and Roscommon; containing 1630 inhabitants. It comprises 4741 statute acres of tolerably good land, chiefly in tillage, and there is a small portion of bog; the state of agriculture is improving. Limestone is found in the parish, and within its limits is Lough Funcheon, more commonly called Ballagh Lough from a hamlet of that name at its northern extremity: it is the largest sheet of water in the barony, extending two miles in length and containing some islands, besides a large promontory, which is occasionally insulated; the lough is bounded on the northeast by hills, but its borders are elsewhere fiat and marshy, and it has on the whole a bleak appearance. The seats are Loughfield, the residence of P. Sproules, Esq., and Rahara, of Alex. Sproules, Esq. Petty sessions are held once a fortnight at the Four Roads. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Elphin, forming part of the union of Killenvoy: the rectory is impropriate in the Incorporated Society. The tithes amount to £124. 5. 9., of which £66. 5. 9. is payable to the vicar, and the remainder to the impropriators; and there is a glebe of 10 acres, let for £10. 1. 3. per annum. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of St. John's, and contains a chapel. About 70 children are educated in a private school.
RAHELTY, a parish, in the barony of ELIOGARTY, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N. N. E.) from Thurles; containing 1174 inhabitants, and comprising 2821 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £2058 per annum. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, forming part of the union of Thurles: the rectory is impropriate in E. Taylor, Esq. The tithes amount to £194, of which £96 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Thurles. About 110 children are educated in two private schools. The old castle of Rahelty still exists.
RAHENY, a parish, in the barony of COOLOCK, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/4 miles (N. E.) from the Post-office, Dublin, on the road to Howth; containing 612 inhabitants. This place, formerly called Rathenny, derived its name from an ancient rath or moat in the centre of the village, overhanging a small stream; and is supposed to have formed part of the district called Rechen, which, together with Baelduleek (Baldoyle) and Portrahern (Portrane), was granted by Anlave, King of Dublin, to the church of the Holy Trinity, in 1040. It is also noticed under the name of Rathena, by Archdall, as the birth-place or residence of a saint about the year 570, at which time probably there may have been a religious establishment. The celebrated battle of Clontarf took place in its immediate vicinity; and it may probably have been a post of some importance, as commanding the pass of the small river which flows beneath the rath in the village. The parish is bounded on the east by the sea: the land is in general of good quality, the greater portion is meadow and pasture, and the arable land produces excellent crops of wheat; the system of agriculture is in a very improved state, and there is neither waste land nor bog. Limestone of good quality is abundant and is quarried for building and for agricultural purposes. The chief seats are the Manor House, erected by a branch of the Grace family, and now the property of W. Sweetman, Esq.; Fox House, of J. A. Sweetman, Esq.; Fox Hill, of E. J. Irwin, Esq.; Edenmore (formerly Violet Hill), of J. Maconchy, Esq.; Raheny Cottage, of J. Ball, Esq.; Bettyville, of J. Classon, Esq.; Swan's Nest, of W. Craig, Esq.; Belmont, of Mrs. White; and Ballyhay, of J. D'Arcey, Esq. A constabulary police force is stationed in the village; and petty sessions are held there on alternate Thursdays. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £316. 10. 6.; the glebe-house is a good residence, and the glebe comprises about 30 acres of profitable land. The church, a small plain edifice, is supposed to have been rebuilt about the year 1609. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Clontarf. About 150 children are taught in two public schools, of which the parochial school is supported by the rents of eight houses forming the crescent of Raheny, bequeathed for that purpose by the late Samuel Dick, Esq., who, in 1787, built the school-house; the R. C. school is chiefly supported by the Sweetman family, of whom the late W. Sweetman, Esq., in 1820, built the school-house, with apartments for the master, at his own expense. There is a dispensary in the village; and the late Mrs. Preston, in 1831, bequeathed £100 for the poor of the parish.
RAHILL and BROUGHLSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of RATHVILLY, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S.) from Baltinglass; containing 269 inhabitants. This parish is situated at the northern extremity of the county, on the confines of Wicklow, and is bounded on the east by the river Slaney: it comprises 2636 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, about four-fifths of which consist of meadow and pasture, and the remainder of arable land, with a few acres of bog. It is a rectory and impropriate cure, in the diocese of Leighlin; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter, and the curacy forms part of the union of Rathvilly: the tithes amount to £184. 12. 3 1/2. In the R. C. divisions also it is included in the union or district of Rathvilly. On the townland of Rahill are the ruins of the old church, with a burial-ground attached; the surrounding scenery is of a pleasing character, embracing the mountains of Cadeen and Lugnaquilla, in the adjoining county of Wicklow.
RAHOON, a parish, partly in the barony of MOYCULLEN, county of GALWAY, but chiefly in the county of the town of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 1/2 miles (W.) from Galway, on the road to Oughterard; containing, with the village of Freeport, and Mutton Island, 14,135 inhabitants. This place is situated on the bay of Galway, and partly on the road along the coast. The village of Freeport was much frequented as a fishing station; there is still a quay, which was erected by the Fishery Board, but it is at present of very little use and much out of repair. Mutton island, in the harbour of Galway, is connected with the main land by a ridge of sand which is dry at low water, and a light has been placed on it to facilitate the navigation of the bay. The parish comprises 24,000 statute acres of land, which is of very inferior quality and principally in pasture. Fairs are held at Barna on the 5th of Feb., May, Aug., and Nov. It is a rectory and perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Tuam; the rectory forming part of the union of St. Nicholas, or wardenship of Galway; and the perpetual curacy, part of the union of Kilcummin. The tithes amount to £117. 1. 6., and the glebe comprises 34 statute acres. In the R. C. divisions it is in the diocese of Galway, and co-extensive with that of the Established Church: there are two chapels, situated respectively at Bushy Park and at Barna; and a Presentation convent, in which is a school for poor girls, who are gratuitously instructed by the ladies of that institution. About 580 children are taught in three public schools, of which that held in the convent, is in connection with the New Board of Education, and one is partly supported by the parish priest, for which a house rent-free was bequeathed by the Rev. Mr. Morney, P. P.; there are also seven private schools, in which are about 250 children.
RAHUE, RATHUE, or RATHUGH, a parish, in the barony of MOYCASHEL, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/4 miles (S. by E.) from Kilbeggan, on the road to Philipstown; containing 1129 inhabitants. A monastery was founded here in the sixth century by St. Aid, who died in 588. The parish comprises 3898 statute acres; the soil is in general light, and there is a small portion of bog; the state of agriculture is rather backward. A branch from the Grand canal at Ballycommon passes through it. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Ardnurcher; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Downshire. The tithes amount to £101. 10. 9 1/2., of which £64. 12. 3 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilbeggan; the chapel is at Little Ross, and there is a meeting-house for Baptists at Rathugh. About 70 children are educated in three private schools. At, Rathugh are two large raths, or moats, from which this place derives its name, and there is a third at a short distance. One of these, which is very remarkable, is supposed to have been the mausoleum of a native prince. At Ballybroider are vestiges of an old fortified house, and of another at Little Ross.
RAIGH, or ROY, an island, in the parish of MEVAGH, barony of KILMACRENAN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Glen: the population is returned with the parish. It is situated in Mulroy bay, and contains about 86 statute acres of pasture land. At low water the strand between it and the main land is dry.
RALOO, or RALLOO, a parish, in the barony of LOWER BELFAST, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 5 1/4 miles (N.) from Carrickfergus; containing 2171 inhabitants. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 6105 3/4 statute acres of land, of which about one-fourth is of good and one-fourth of medium quality, and the remainder boggy and mountainous. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, constituting part of the union of Carrickfergus and corps of the deanery of Connor: the tithes amount to £148. 12. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Larne and Carrickfergus. At Toreagh, Ballyvallagh, and Loughmorn, are schools under the National Board, in which about 180 children are educated; and there are three private schools, in which are about 100 children.
RAMELTON, a market and post-town, in the parish of AUGHNISH, barony of KILMACRENAN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 19 miles (N. N. W.) from Lifford, and 123 1/2 (N. W. by N.) from Dublin; containing 1783 inhabitants. Sir Wm. Stewart, Knt., who was much in favour with Jas. I., became an undertaker for the plantation of escheated lands, of which he obtained a grant or patent of 1000 acres in this vicinity, and was created a baronet of Ireland in 1623. At the time of Pynnar's Survey he had built a strong bawn here, 80 feet square and 16 feet high, with four flankers and a strong and handsome castle; and contiguous to these he had built the town, then containing 45 houses, inhabited by 57 British families; he had also nearly completed the erection of a church: the place was then considered well situated for military defence. The town stands on the river Lenon, which here empties itself into Lough Swilly, and is navigable for small vessels: it consists of three streets, containing 341 houses, and is admirably adapted for manufactures of every description. Here are extensive corn-mills, a brewery, bleach-green, and linen manufactory, and a considerable quantity of linen is made by hand in the vicinity. A market for provisions is held on Tuesday, and on Thursday and Saturday for com; and fairs are held on the Tuesday next after May 20th, Nov. 15th, and on the Tuesday after Dec. 11th. A chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town, and petty sessions are held on alternate Thursdays. There is a small salmon fishery, producing about £500 annually; the fish are considered to be in season throughout the year, and are mostly exported to England. In the town are the parochial church, meeting-houses for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster (of the first class) and for Methodists, a small fever hospital, and a dispensary. A loan fund has been established; also a ladies' society and a shop for the sale of clothes at reduced prices to the poor. The parochial and Presbyterian schools, noticed in the article on Aughnish, are also in the town. On the shore of Lough Swilly is Fort Stewart, the residence of Sir Jas. Stewart, Bart., surrounded by an extensive and well planted demesne; and at a short distance to the north-east is Fort Stewart Castle, erected by Sir Wm. Stewart. the original patentee of the surrounding lands. Pearls of considerable value are occasionally found in the river Lenon.
RAMOAN, or RATHMORAN, a parish, in the barony of CAREY, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the post-town of Ballycastle (which is separately described), 4739 inhabitants. This place, called also Rathmona, signifying "the fort in the bog," is situated on the sea-shore, and forms the western boundary of Ballycastle bay. The coast, consisting of bold, precipitous cliffs, is here too abrupt to afford a convenient landing-place, except the quay at Ballycastle, which was constructed at considerable expense, though now in a dilapidated state. The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 12,066 1/2 statute acres, principally under cultivation; the system of agriculture is highly improved, but the lands in several parts being very much exposed, the wheat does not ripen well. The quality of the land differs much, but is in general productive, and the extensive mountain of Knocklaide affords good pasturage: it is one of the highest in the county, half being within this parish, and the other half in that of Armoy; its summit is 1685 feet above the level of the sea at low water. There are considerable tracts of bog near the Coleraine road, and of waste land in the line towards the Giants' Causeway, and near the base of Knocklaide. Coal of excellent quality is found here, but no mines have been opened, though the collieries in the adjoining parish of Culfeightrim, usually known as the Ballycastle collieries, were formerly worked to a considerable extent. Superior freestone, in colour and grain equal to Portland stone, is quarried here, but not to any great extent. The spinning of linen yarn, and the weaving of cloth, are carried on in some of the farmhouses. A market and fairs, and courts leet and baron, are held at Ballycastle. Clare Park is the elegant seat of Chas. McGildowney, Esq.; Glenbank, of Mrs. Cuppage; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. Leslie Creery.
The living was formerly a vicarage, united to that of Culfeightrim, the rectories of which, since 1609, were appropriate to the chancellorship of Connor, till 1831, when, on the decease of Dr. Trail, the last chancellor, it became a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, under the provisions of the act of the 5th of Geo. IV., cap. 80, and now constitutes the corps of the chancellorship, with cure of souls, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £400: the glebe-house was built in 1809, at an expense of £480, of which £369 was a gift, and £110 a loan, from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 26 acres of good arable land, valued at £39 per annum. The church is a small edifice, and was rebuilt in 1812, at an expense of £369, a loan from the same Board: it contains some very ancient monuments. There is also an endowed church, or chapel, at Ballycastle. In the R. C. divisions the parish is called Ballycastle; it contains two chapels, one in the town, the other at Glenslush. There are two places of worship for Presbyterians, in connection with the Synod of Ulster, one of which is in the town, and the other near the church; both are of the third class: there is also a Methodist meeting-house. About 400 children are educated in five public schools, of which the parochial school is principally supported by the rector; and in five private schools are about 180 children. There are also six Sunday schools. At Ballycastle are almshouses founded by Hugh Boyd, Esq., who also endowed a charter school, now discontinued, near the church, with 12 acres of land. On the summit of Knocklaide is a tumulus called Cairn-an-Truagh, said traditionally to be the burial-place of three Danish princesses. There are several raths in the parish, some terminating in a pointed apex, and others flat on the top like a truncated cone; of the latter sort, one, within a quarter of a mile of the town, is called Dun-a-Mallaght, the "cursed fort." The castle of Doonaninney stands on a bold headland, 300 feet above the level of the sea, commanding the channel and the isle of Rathlin: two miles westward are the noble and romantic ruins of Kinbane, or Kenbann, castle, built on a projecting cliff of limestone rock, running out several hundred feet into the sea, under some bold headlands, which rise 280 feet above the ruins. In the town of Ballycastle are the remains of the edifice which gave name to the place; an uninteresting gable is all that exists: about two miles hence, on the Glenslush water, are the ruins of a very extraordinary castle, called Goban-Saor, which once was the residence of the powerful chieftain O'Cahan: and immediately adjoining the quay of Ballycastle are the interesting ruins of the abbey of Bonamargy, founded by Mac Donnell, in 1509, which was perhaps the latest erected in Ireland for Franciscan monks; the chapel is in tolerable preservation, being the burial-place of the Antrim family. According to Archdall, St. Patrick founded a religious house here, called Rath-Moane, in which he placed St. Ereclasius. Vast quantities of beautiful pebbles are found along the shore, among which are chalcedony, opal, dentrites, and belemnites. On the lands of Drumans, on the side of the great mountain of Knocklaide, is a spring, the waters of which are strongly chalybeate, and may be conveyed to distant places without any diminution of their effect.
RAMSGRANGE, a village, in the parish of ST. JAMES, barony of SHELBURNE, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 9 miles (S.) from New Ross, on the road from Arthurstown to Salt Mills; containing 220 inhabitants. Here is a R. C. chapel belonging to the union or district of Hook; being in a dilapidated state, it is in contemplation to build a new one on a different site. Near the chapel is a residence for the priest.
RAM'S ISLAND, in the parish of GLENAVY, barony of UPPER MASSEREENE, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER; the population is returned with the parish. This small island, which is situated about two miles from the eastern shore of Lough Neagh, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 6a. 3r. 23p.: it is partially planted with fruit trees and otherwise improved and ornamented, and with the remains of its ancient round tower forms an interesting object from the shores of the lake. The tower, of which 43 feet still remain, is divided into three stories, and has an entrance on the south-west nearly level with the ground; in the second story is a window facing the south-east, and in the third is another facing the north. About 5 1/2 feet from the ground are the remains of some letters or characters cut on the stones in the interior, but so obliterated by time as to be now illegible.
RANDALSTOWN, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the parish of DRUMMAUL, barony of UPPER TOOME, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 17 1/4 miles (N. W. by W.) from Belfast, and 97 1/4 (N.) from Dublin, at the junction of the mail coach roads from Coleraine and Magherafelt to Belfast; containing 618 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the river Maine, was from that circumstance called Mainwater, and also Iron-Works, from the forges and furnaces formerly in extensive operation, and of which there are still some remains. In the war of the Revolution the town was the head-quarters of the Earl of Antrim's forces, who marched hence for the siege of Londonderry; and in the disturbances of 1793, a body of the insurgent forces attacked it, burned the market-house, and continued their devastations till the approach of Cols. Clavering and Durham, on the evening of the same day, when they retreated to Toome bridge. In 1683, Chas. II., in consideration of a fine of £200, granted to Rose, Marchioness of Antrim, the manor of Edenduffcarrick, with all its rights and privileges, and constituted the town of Iron-Works a free borough, with power to return two members to parliament, to be chosen by the majority of the inhabitants, on precept to the seneschal of the manor issued by the sheriffs of Antrim. The borough continued to return two members till the Union, when the franchise was abolished.
The town is pleasantly situated on the western bank of the river Maine, over which is a handsome bridge of nine arches, and contains 113 houses, neatly built and of pleasing appearance. The barracks for the staff of the county militia, whose head-quarters and depot are here, are well built; there is a good inn near the bridge. The chief trade is the spinning of cotton and the weaving of calico, for which there are extensive mills; in these, more than 600 persons are employed; and there is a large bleach-green. The market is on Wednesday and is abundantly supplied with wheat, flour, meal, and pork, great quantities of wheat and pork being sent to Belfast; there is also a market for linen and linen yarn on the first Wednesday in every month; and fairs are held on July 16th and Nov. 1st, chiefly for cattle and pigs. The market-house, in which are an assembly-room and rooms for holding the various courts, is a neat and well-arranged building. There is a constabulary police station in the town, and petty sessions are held on alternate Thursdays. A court baron for the manor, which is the property of Earl O'Neill, is held before the seneschal every month, at which debts not exceeding £20 are recoverable; and a court leet annually, at which a weigh-master, a market jury and constables are appointed, and some small presentments made for the repair of the court-house and other purposes. The parish church, a handsome structure in the early English style, with an octagonal spire, is situated in the town; in which are also a spacious and well-built R. C. chapel, two Presbyterian places of worship, and a dispensary. In the immediate vicinity is Shane's Castle, park, and demesne, the property, and, previously to the destruction of the mansion by an accidental fire in 1816, the residence of Earl O'Neill, which is noticed more particularly in the article on Drummaul.
RANELAGH, a village, in the parish of ST. PETER, barony of UPPERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (S. by E.) from the General Post-office, Dublin, on the road to Enniskerry; containing 1988 inhabitants. Here is a nunnery of the Carmelite order, with a neat chapel attached: a school for poor girls is gratuitously conducted by the nuns. In the vicinity are several avenues in which are a number of neat villas; also the extensive nursery grounds of Messrs. Toole and Co. Adjoining the village is Cullenswood, noted for a dreadful massacre by the native Irish of upwards of 500 citizens (a colony from Bristol), who on Easter-Monday, 1209, went out to divert themselves near the wood, where they were surprised and slaughtered. The day was afterwards called "Black Monday," and the place is still known by the name of the "Bloody Fields."
RAPEMILLS, a hamlet, in the parish of REYNAGH, barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S.) from Banagher, on the road to Parsonstown; containing 9 houses and 64 inhabitants. It takes its name from some rape-mills erected here.
RAPHOE, a market and post-town, a parish, and the seat of a diocese, in the barony of RAPHOE, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N. W.) from Lifford, and 113 3/4 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Strabane to Stranorlar; containing 6227 inhabitants, of which number, 1408 are in the town. This place, anciently called Rathboth, appears to have derived both its early and present importance from the foundation of an extensive monastery here by St. Columb, which, after its restoration by St. Adamnanus, who died in 703, continued to flourish and was soon after made the seat of a bishoprick. The town consists chiefly of three small streets branching off from a market-place of triangular form, and contains 288 houses, which are neatly built. An agricultural society has been established, which holds its meetings here. The whole of the surrounding scenery is agreeably diversified, and in the neighbourhood are some interesting views. The market is on Saturday, chiefly for meal and potatoes, and occasionally for linen yarn; besides which large markets are held on the first Saturday in Jan., Feb., March, April, and December; and fairs are held on May 1st, June 22nd, Aug. 27th, and Nov. 4th. The market-house is a neat building and well-arranged. The town is the head-quarters of the constabulary police for the county, and the residence of the sub-inspector; and petty sessions are held on alternate Saturdays. The parish, which is situated in the centre of the champaign district of the county, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 13,224 1/2 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is generally of good quality and in a state of profitable cultivation. The only seat, exclusively of the Episcopal palace and Deanery, is Green Hills, the residence of W. Fenwick, Esq.
The SEE appears to have originated during the abbacy of St. Eunan, who converted the church of the monastery into a cathedral, and became the first bishop, but at what date cannot be precisely ascertained; nor is any thing more recorded of his successors prior to the English invasion than the mere names of one or two prelates, of whom the last, Aengus, died in 957. Gilbert O'Laran, who was consecrated in 1160, was a subscribing witness to a charter of confirmation granted by Maurice McLoughlin, King of Ireland, to the abbey of Newry, and is in that deed described as Bishop of Tirconnel, from the name of the territory in which the church of Raphoe is situated. During the prelacy of Carbrac O'Scoba, who succeeded in 1266, part of the diocese was forcibly taken away by German O'Cherballen, Bishop of Derry, and added to that see; and in 1360, Patrick Magonail erected episcopal palaces in three manors belonging to the see. The last R. C. bishop, previously to the Reformation, was Donat Magonail, who assisted at the Council of Trent in 1563; and the first Protestant bishop was George Montgomery, a native of Scotland, who was Dean of Norwich and Chaplain of Jas. I., and was consecrated to this see in 1605. Robert Huntington, celebrated for his extensive attainments in oriental literature and his assiduity in collecting, during 12 years residence at Aleppo, a valuable series of oriental manuscripts, of which many are in the Bodleian library at Oxford, and who had, while provost of Dublin University, been instrumental in printing the Old Testament in the Irish language, was appointed Bishop of Raphoe in 1701, but lived only 12 days after his consecration. John Pooley, who succeeded in 1702, repaired the palace and enlarged the cathedral by the addition of a north and south transept, rendering it perfectly cruciform. Since 1605 the see had been held as a separate diocese till the passing of the Church Temporalities act of the 3rd of Wm. IV., by which it was enacted that, on the next avoidance, it should be united to the see of Derry, which union, on the decease of the late W. Bisset, D. D., in 1835, was carried into effect and the temporalities became vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It is one of the ten suffragan bishopricks that constitute the ecclesiastical province of Armagh; and comprehends the greater part of the county of Donegal, extending for 55 miles in length and 40 miles in breadth, and comprising an estimated superficies of 515,250 statute acres. The lands belonging to the see comprise 1392 acres of profitable land, consisting of the town parks; and the gross annual revenue, on an average of three years ending on Jan. 1st, 1832, amounted to £5787. 8. 2. The chapter consists of a dean, archdeacon, and the four prebendaries of Drumholm, Killymard, Inver, and Clondehorky. The consistorial court is held at Raphoe, and consists of a vicar-general, two surrogates, a registrar, deputy-registrar, and two proctors. The registrar is keeper of the records, which are of modern date; all prior to 1691 are supposed to have been destroyed when the castle was taken by Cromwell, or when it was afterwards plundered and burned by the soldiers of Jas. II. The total number of parishes is 34, of which 5 are district parishes, comprehended in 34 single benefices, of which 5 are perpetual curacies; of these, 5 are in the patronage of the Crown, 15 in that of the Bishop, 2 in the patronage of incumbents, and the remainder in lay and corporation patronage: there are 34 churches and 28 glebe-houses. The cathedral, which is also the parochial church, and to the repair of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £1005, is a plain, ancient, cruciform structure with a square tower, which was added to it by Bishop Forster in 1737, as appears by that date on a stone over the door: there is no economy fund. The Episcopal palace, formerly a strong castle, is about a quarter of a mile from the town: it is a handsome and spacious castellated building, pleasantly situated in tastefully disposed grounds. The deanery-house, which is also the glebe-house of the parish, was built in 1739, at an expense of £1680, and has been subsequently enlarged and improved from their own funds by various successive incumbents; it is pleasantly situated about a mile from the town. In the R. C. divisions the diocese is co-extensive with that of the Protestant see; it comprehends 24 benefices, containing 36 chapels, which are served by 50 clergymen, of whom 24 are parish priests, and 26 are coadjutors or curates; the bishop's parishes are Conwal and Aughnish; the cathedral is at Letterkenny where is also the bishop's residence.
The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, formerly united to the rectories of Stranorlar, Leck, and Killygarvan, and the chapelry of Lettermacaward, from which, by act of council in 1835, it was separated, and now solely constitutes the corps of the deanery. The tithes amount to £900; and the glebe comprises 150 acres, valued at £150 per ann.; the other lands belonging to the deanery comprise 2701 1/2 statute acres, extending over several parishes, which, with the rents and renewal fines, produce £426. 5. 10. per ann., making the gross annual revenue of the deanery £1476. 5. 10. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, including also the parish of Conwal, in which is a chapel. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the second class. The Royal free grammar school was founded by Chas. I., who endowed it with lands in the western part of the county, comprising from 5000 to 6000 acres, of which 1400 are profitable, and the remainder bog and mountain, producing together an annual income of £550: the school-house was rebuilt in 1737, and enlarged in 1830, and is a spacious and handsome building; attached to it is a valuable library, containing more than 3000 volumes, founded by Bishop Forster and Dr. Hall for the use of the clergy of the diocese. In this and in three other public schools, of which the parochial school is partly supported by annual donations from Col. Robertson's fund, about 280 children are taught; an infants' school and a female working school are also supported by the Dean, and there are six private schools, in which are about 200 children, and four Sunday schools. An asylum for four poor clergymen's widows was founded by Bishop Forster, who endowed it with lands now producing to each £50 per ann.; the house, which is spacious and well adapted for the purpose, was purchased by the founder during his lifetime, and is situated in the town: there is also a dispensary.
RASHARKIN, a parish, in the barony of KILCONWAY, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 2 1/2 miles (E.) from Kilrea, on the road to Ballymena; containing 7481 inhabitants. This parish, called also Rath-Arkin and Magherasharkin, lies on the border of the county of Londonderry, from which it is separated by the river Bann: it is 6 miles long and 5 broad, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 19,337 3/4 statute acres, of which a very large quantity is mountain waste land, or bog; the remainder is of a light soil, but of excellent quality for flax, potatoes, oats and clover; the system of agriculture in some parts is very good, in others the reverse. The linen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent, the cloth being sold at Ballymena; and there are two bleach-greens, one at Dunroin, belonging to John Cunningham, Esq., in which about 34,000 webs are annually bleached; the other at Dunminning, belonging to Tho. Birnie, Esq., which bleaches about 20,000 webs, principally for the English market. These gentlemen have elegant residences attached to their respective establishments. At Killymurris is a very extensive vein of coal, chiefly of the kind called cannel, which is very productive, though by no means skilfully wrought: there are some quarries of basalt, from which the stone is raised for building and road-making. The Bann is navigable from Lough Neagh to Portna, where there is a convenient wharf, at which considerable business is done at times. A fair for cattle and pedlery is held annually in the village of Rasharkin, which is also a chief constabulary police station. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, united by charter of. Jas. I. to the rectories of Finvoy and Kilraghts and Kildallock grange, which together form the corps of the prebend of Rasharkin in the cathedral of Connor, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The rectory is impropriate; one portion of the rectorial tithes, amounting to £55. 15. 8., belongs to Robert Harvey, Esq.; two other portions, amounting to £101. 16. 8., belong, one moiety to Sir Tho. Staples, Bart., and the other to Edw. Caulfield, Esq.; the residue, amounting to £46. 3. 1., has been appropriated to the use of Castle-Dawson chapelry; the total of the rectorial tithes is £203. 15. 5. The vicarial tithes payable to the incumbent are £222. 7., and the aggregate value of the union, including the glebe, is £811. 17. per annum. The parishes of Rasharkin and Finvoy are held with cure of souls, those of Kilraghts and Kildallock without cure. The glebe-house, having been found by the present incumbent in a dilapidated and uninhabitable state on his admission to the benefice, has been put into complete repair by him, at an expense of £3692, without having any demand on his successor for the repayment of any portion thereof: the glebe consists of 50a. 0r. 34 1/2p. statute measure, valued at 18s. 6d. per acre. The church is a small but very beautiful edifice on a commanding situation. In the R. C. divisions the parish is united with that of Finvoy; both have chapels: that of Rasharkin is in the village, in which there are also two places of worship for Presbyterians. A parochial school is chiefly supported by the rector: at Dromore are two schools under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Wilson; a male and female school at Dunminny were built and are supported, the former by Mr. Birnie and the latter by Miss Birnie; a school at Glenback is in connection with the Board of National Education, another is in connection with the London Hibernian Society, and there are two others, aided by grants from individuals. In these schools about 130 boys and 120 girls are instructed: besides whom, 418 boys and 160 girls are educated in 13 private schools: there are also 8 Sunday schools. There are several raths in the parish: one of these, at Lisnacannon, is of very large dimensions; it has two fosses and three ramparts, and covers nearly an acre and a half of ground. Several silver coins, of the reigns of Stephen, John and Rich. III., and of Robert and David Bruce, were found here; and an artificial cavern was discovered near the church. The body of a man who had committed suicide in 1776, and had been buried in a bog in the mountain, was found in 1827, without the smallest signs of decomposition.
RASHEE, a parish, in the barony of UPPER ANTRIM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 2 miles (N. W.) from Ballyclare, on the road from Larne to Broughshane: the population is returned with the parish of Ballyeaston. This parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 6460 1/2 statute acres. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, one portion of it forming part of the union and corps of the prebend of Carncastle, and the remainder constituting part of the perpetual cure of Ballyeaston.--See BALLYEASTON and CARNCASTLE.
RATAINE, or RATHYNE, a parish, in the barony of LOWER NAVAN, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. E.) from Trim, on the road from Bective-Bridge to Athboy; containing 370 inhabitants, and comprising 1576 statute acres of profitable land. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Ardbraccan, and subject to a crown rent of £6 per ann.: the tithes amount to £121. 13. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Dunderry.
RATASS, or RATHASS, a parish, in the barony of TRUGHENACKMY, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 1 1/2 mile (E.) from Tralee, on the high road to Killarney; containing 2365 inhabitants. The castle of Ballybeggan, in this parish, formerly a place of considerable strength belonging to the Desmonds, and a noted pass between Tralee and Castle Island, was the only fortress in the county that in 1641 held out against the Irish forces, and it resisted every assault until relieved, in 1643, by Lord Inchiquin's forces: during the war of the Revolution it was burnt by the Irish. The parish comprises 4236 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, partly in tillage. The limestone strata of this district contain several caverns lined with stalactites, through which a subterraneous stream takes its course; very good marble has been obtained, and many years since a vein of lead ore was discovered near the church. The county gaol, the infantry barracks, Messrs. Newell and Grant's distillery and Mr. Bender's brewery are situated at Ballymullen, and together with a considerable portion of the parish, are within the limits of the borough of Tralee, under which head they are noticed. Several neat houses have been built in this suburb, and it is probable that in the course of a few years the buildings will be extended to the town, about a quarter of a mile distant. The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and is a rectory, forming part of the union and corps of the deanery of Ardfert: the tithes amount to £336. 18. 5 1/2. The Protestant inhabitants attend the church at Tralee. In the R. C. divisions it is partly in the union or district of Ballymacelligott, but chiefly in that of Tralee. About 110 children are educated in three private schools. The ivied ruins of the old church stand in the burial-ground adjoining the high road; the ruins of Ballybeggan castle before mentioned still exist, and at Ballymullen are some remains of another castle of the Desmonds.
RATH, a parish, in the barony of INCHIQUIN, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 5 3/4 miles (N. W.) from Ennis, on the road to Ennistymon; containing 2521 inhabitants. It comprises about 5000 statute acres, as rated for the county cess, which estimate was taken as the basis for the tithe composition; a considerable portion consists of coarse pasture, and the remainder of good arable land. The parish extends to the bridge at Corofin, and comprises portions of the lakes of Inchiquin and Tadane, noticed in the article on Kilneboy: at Riverston is a chief station of the constabulary police. The seats are Adelphi, the residence of F. and W. Fitzgerald, Esqrs.; Clifden, of E. Burton, Esq.; Roxton, of T. Blood, Esq.; Applevale, of G. Davis, Esq.; Willbrook, of W. A. Brewe, Esq.; and Riverston, of Jonas Studdert, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe; the rectory was united in 1803 to that of Dysert, together constituting the corps of the prebend of Rath, in the patronage of the Marquess of Thomond; and the vicarage forms part of the union and corps of the prebend of Dysert. Of the tithes, amounting to £76. 15. 0 1/2., two-thirds are payable to the prebendary, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Corofin; the chapel, a small plain building, is at Liscullane. About 30 children are taught in a school at Knockmacart, chiefly supported by Mr. Blood and Mr. Synge, and about 70 in a school held in the chapel. The ruins of the ancient church stand near the margin of a small lake; near them are those of the castle of Rath, and in the vicinity, those of a castle called O'Nial's Court, formerly the residence of the chieftains of that family. A large monumental stone near the castle records its destruction, and that of part of the family, by lightning. The ruins of Tier Mac Bran castle are situated near the shore of Inchiquin lake.
RATH, a village, in the parish of DRUMCULLIN, barony of EGLISH, KING'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (W.) from Frankford, on the road to Parsonstown: the population is returned with the parish. Here is a R. C. chapel belonging to the union or district of Eglish.
RATHANGAN, a market and post-town, and a parish, partly in the barony of EAST OPHALY, but chiefly in that of WEST OPHALY, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 14 3/4 miles (W.) from Naas, and 30 (S. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Kildare to Edenderry; containing 2911 inhabitants, of which number, 1165 are in the town, which is entirely in the barony of West Ophaly, and near the Grand Canal, and in 1831 contained 215 houses. It is a chief station of the constabulary police, and has a market on Monday, and fairs in June, and on Aug. 26th and Nov. 12th. The parish comprises 8872 statute acres, as applotted tinder the tithe act: the principal seat within its limits is Tottenham Green, that of Geo. Tottenham, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kildare, being the corps of the prebend of Rathangan in the cathedral of Kildare, and in the patronage of the Duke of Leinster and the Bishop, of whom the former has the right of presentation for two turns and the latter for one: the tithes amount to £553. 16. 11. The glebe-house was erected in 1810, by aid of a loan of £625 and a gift of £100 from the late Board of First Fruits; and there is a glebe comprising 29a. 2r. 26p. The church is a neat edifice with a handsome tower; the whole is in excellent order. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kildare. The chapel is a spacious building: there is also a meeting-house for the Society of Friends. In a school under the National Board, and one supported by Lord Harberton, about 200 children are educated; and there are three private schools, in which are about 120 children. There is a dispensary in the town, supported in the usual manner.
RATHASPECK, a parish, partly in the barony of BALLYADAMS, but chiefly in that of SLIEVEMARIGUE, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Castlecomer, on the road to Athy; containing 4032 inhabitants. This place derives its name, which signifies "the Bishop's Fort," from a rath near the old church. Here was anciently a small religious establishment, probably a cell to that on the townland of Clonpierce, about two miles distant: the foundation of both is attributed to the O'Mores. The parish is bounded on the south and south-west by the county of Kilkenny, and contains 8097 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. Here are the extensive coal mines of Doonane, worked by a company; they are drained by a steam engine, and supply stone coal to all parts of the surrounding country, which is principally conveyed by carriers. There are about five other works in the same range: the shafts are first sunk through clay, then succeeds a hard green rock, and next slaty strata, in contact with which is the coal: it is worked on either side by regular gangs, each member having a specific duty; the number of each gang is about thirty, and when the pit is double worked there are sixty; each crew works ten hours, but they are particularly observant of every kind of holiday. Gracefield is the seat of Mrs. Kavanagh; Corbally House, of the Rev. W. Pasley; and Inch, of W.Conner, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £300. The church was built, in 1814, by aid of a gift of £220 from the late Board of First Fruits, and for its repair the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £253. In the R. C. divisions the parish is partly in the union or district of Mayo and Doonane, and partly in that of Ballyadams; it contains two chapels, one at Doonane, and the other at Wolfhill belonging to the union of Ballyadams. The parochial school, at Mullaghmore, is supported by £23 per annum from the incumbent; and there is a school at Gracefield, supported by Mrs. Kavanagh. In five private schools about 200 boys and 130 girls are taught; and there are two Sunday schools. The present church of Rathaspeck was erected out of the ruins of the ancient religious buildings, under the site of which there were formerly three vaulted chambers, in one of which was a well of the purest water. A tract of about 4 acres, contiguous to the church, has long been remarkable for the quantity of human bones found in it, which circumstance is traditionally accounted for by the ravages of a plague. About a quarter of a mile north of the church is Miltown castle, or Ballyvuilling, consisting of a square tower and some other remains of a fortified mansion of unknown antiquity, with a modern dwelling-house annexed: the surrounding fosses are now occupied by stagnant fish-ponds. Numerous relics of antiquity have been found, including ancient Anglo-Irish coins, a short sword of brass, and a brooch; and at Miltown castle spear-heads and other curiosities have been discovered.
RATHASPECK, a parish, in the barony of FORTH, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. by W.) from Wexford; containing 626 inhabitants. It is situated between Forth Mountain and Wexford haven, and comprises 2401 statute acres of good land, which, from the great encouragement afforded by the proprietor, is in an excellent state of cultivation: marl abounds in the parish, and limestone for agricultural purposes is obtained from the adjoining parish of Rathmacknee. Johnstown Castle, the noble mansion of Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan, Esq., the principal proprietor of the surrounding district, was occupied for one night by Oliver Cromwell, who on the following morning reviewed his troops in the demesne preparatory to his attack on Wexford. The present house has been greatly enlarged and embellished in the Gothic style, and the extensive demesne has been much improved and laid out with great taste. At the village of Rathaspeck is a station of the constabulary police. The parish is in the diocese of Ferns, and is a rectory, forming part of the union of St. Patrick's, Wexford: the tithes, amount to £120. 9. 8., and there are two glebes, comprising 8 1/4 acres. The church, which is a neat plain building, is still considered the mother church of the union, and the incumbent is consequently first inducted there: it was rebuilt in 1823, at an expense of about £900, aided by a grant from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Piercestown. On the demesne of Johnstown Castle is a very handsome school-house, in the rustic style, built by Mr. Morgan, at an expense exceeding £300: the school is entirely supported by Mrs. Morgan; in addition to the usual course of education, the boys are taught the elements of surveying and navigation, and such as distinguish themselves are intended to be placed by their patrons in suitable situations. At a short distance from Johnstown Castle, with which the remains of the ancient edifice are incorporated, and in that part of the demesne which extends into the adjoining parish of Kildavin, are the ruins of Rathlannan castle. Tradition states that these castles were at one period occupied by two sisters. On the townland of White-stone formerly stood the castle of that name, of which not a vestige can be traced; about 50 years since, several articles of gold and silver plate and other articles of value were found near its site, supposed to have been hidden there during the civil war of the 17th century.
RATHASPICK, a parish, in the barony of MOYGOISH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Sligo; containing, with the market and post-town of Rathowen (which is separately described), 2170 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the west by Lough Glynn, and on the south and east by the river Inny. It comprises 4542 statute acres, exclusively of a considerable portion of bog: the land is good for pasture and tillage, and the system of agriculture is improving. Limestone abounds, for which there are quarries, and there is also abundance of limestone gravel and marl. Petty sessions and fairs are held at Rathowen. A bridge of 12 arches crosses the Inny at Ballicorkey, which river here separates the dioceses of Ardagh and Meath. Newpass is the property of Sir George R. Fetherston, Bart; Ardglass, the residence of Major A. P. Bond; Rockfield, of M. Crawford, Esq.; Ardglass Cottage, of J. Atkinson, Esq.; and Newpark, of J. A'Hmuty, Esq. The living is an impropriate curacy, in the diocese of Ardagh, and in the patronage of Sir J. Bennett Piers, Bart., in whom the rectory is impropriate. The tithes amount to £128. 5., entirely payable to the impropriator: the curate's stipend is £92. 6. 7 1/2., of which £83. 2. is derived from Primate Boulter's augmentation fund, and £9. 4. 7 1/2. is allowed by the impropriator; he has also the glebe, comprising nine acres, valued at £18 per ann. and subject to a rent of £8. 11. 8. The glebe-house was built, in 1817, at a cost of £461. 10. 9 1/4., of which £415. 7. 8 1/4. was a gift, and the remainder a loan, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is a neat structure, with a square tower, built in 1814 by aid of a gift of £800, and enlarged in 1821 by a loan of £200 from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Russagh, and contains a chapel. About 90 children are taught in two schools aided by private subscriptions; one of which is under the patronage of M. Crawford, Esq., who gives the house and half an acre of land; and in two private schools are about 70 children; there is also a Sunday school. There are ruins of two castles; a curious rath; and remains of the conventual church of Kilmocahill, or Kilmichael, a monastery founded by the Petyt family, the possessions of which were given to Robert Nangle at the dissolution. There are several mineral springs.
RATHBARRY, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (W. S. W.) from Clonakilty, on the road from Cork to Skibbereen; containing 2748 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the southern coast, derives its name from an ancient fort, of which there are still some picturesque remains in Lord Carbery's demesne. This fortress, anciently called Rathbarry, now Castle Freke, was erected in the 15th century by Randal Oge Barry, and in 1602 was surrendered to Capt. Harvey for Queen Elizabeth, according to the treaty of Kinsale, and was retained by the English till the breaking out of the war in 1641. Soon after the commencement of hostilities, it was besieged by the insurgents, but was resolutely defended by its proprietor, Arthur Freke, Esq., who maintained it against all their attacks from the 14th of February till the 18th of October, when it was relieved by Sir Chas. Vavasour and Capt. Jephson, who conducted the owner and his garrison in safety to Bandon and set fire to the castle, to prevent its being occupied by the enemy. The insurgents, nevertheless, took the castle of Dundedy, which they kept till the spring of the year 1643, when they also obtained possession of the remains of Castle Freke; but in July they were driven from this place by Col. Myn, who restored the castle and placed in it a garrison which retained possession till the arrival of Cromwell. The parish comprises 4189 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the surface is very uneven, and towards the sea the land is cold and the soil sandy; but in the centre of the parish and around Miltown, more fertile. The vale in which Miltown is situated is very beautiful and in many parts has been richly planted by Lord Carbery and the incumbent. Castle Freke, the seat of Lord Carbery, a handsome castellated mansion, erected near the site of the old fortress of Rathbarry, is beautifully situated in a richly improved demesne, comprising 1000 acres, embellished with fine timber and thriving plantations, and with a beautiful and picturesque lake. Kilkerran House, the residence of M. Galway, Esq., in the grounds of which is also a fine lake, is also in the parish. Near the south-eastern extremity of the parish is the Red Strand, where great quantities of calcareous sand are obtained for manure. This sand is a formation from the debris or very minute shells, among which some small cornua ammonis may be seen in nearly a perfect state: it was some years since analysed and found to contain 79 parts in 100 of calcareous matter. It is a curious fact that this sand is confined to a narrow strand, about 1/2 an English mile wide, bounded at each end by high cliffs; and though other inlets and strands are near it on either side, their sands do not exhibit any calcareous matter but are all composed of silex and argil. The Red Strand sand is carried 16 English miles into the interior for manure; at that distance 20 bags, each containing about 3 cwt., are considered sufficient to manure a statute acre; at three miles distance from the Strand from 80 to 120 bags are laid on. More than 1000 horses and carts may be reckoned at the Strand in one day. This sand is esteemed the best on the southern coast, except the Bantry sand, as it is called, which is a distinct coral formation, a perfect calcareous mass. To the east of Galley Head, on the southern coast of the parish, are the Doolie rocks. Fairs are held at New Mill on March 25th, June 29th, and Sept. 29th, under a patent obtained by the lord of the manor; and a constabulary police force is stationed at Miltown, for which a barrack has been lately erected.
The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ross, and in the patronage of the Rev. H. Stewart; the rectory is partly appropriate to the dean and chapter of Ross, and partly impropriate in M. Roberts and J. W. Foote, Esqrs. The tithes amount to £411. 19. 10., of which £63. 7. 11 is payable to the appropriators, £174. 2. 10. to the impropriators, and £174. 9. 2. to the vicar. The glebe-house, an elegant villa embosomed in thriving plantations, was erected by the Rev. H. Stewart, the present incumbent, in 1831; the glebe comprises 5 1/2 acres, of which two only belong to the vicar. The church, a handsome and spacious structure in the later English style, with a square tower, was erected in 1825, at an expense of £1900, of which £900 was a gift from the late Board of First Fruits, and the remainder was defrayed by Lord Carbery; it is finely situated in the demesne of Castle Freke. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Ardfield; the chapel near Miltown is a neat edifice, with a fine altar-piece. About 160 children are taught in two public schools, of which the male and female parochial school is supported chiefly by Lord Carbery and the incumbent; a very handsome school-house, with apartments for the master and mistress, has been erected by his lordship at his own expense; there is also a Sunday school. On Galley Head, often mistaken for the old head of Kinsale, are the ruins of Dundedy castle; and on the eastern side of Redstrand are the ruins of the castle of Dunowen. The ploughland of Gahanave, comprising about 200 acres, from which the chancellor of the diocese derives his income, is in this parish.
RATHBEAGH, a parish, in the barony of CRANAGH, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N. E.) from Freshford, on the upper road from Kilkenny to Ballyragget; containing 736 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the river Nore, is supposed to be the ancient Argiodross, and the residence of Heremon, one of the sons of Milesius, who came into Ireland and laid the foundation of the Milesian dynasty in that kingdom. The parish comprises 2281 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, which are mostly in a state of profitable cultivation. The ancient manor-house of Clone, formerly the residence of Sir Toby Caulfeild, ancestor of the Earl of Charlemont, and now in the occupation of H. Nixon, Esq., is within the parish. Fairs are held on the 1st of May and November, and Dec. 6th, chiefly for stock, and are well attended; a constabulary police force is stationed here. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Freshford, or Aghour; the tithes amount to £215. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Lisdowney. About 220 children are taught in a school at Clone, in connection with the New Board, of Education. On the bank of the river Nore, at this place, is a mount 40 yards in length and 25 in breadth on the summit, and encircled by a double fosse.
RATHBEGGAN, a parish, in the barony of RATOATH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Dunshaughlin, on the mail road from Dublin to Enniskillen; containing 282 inhabitants. It comprises 2901 1/4 statute acres of arable and pasture land of good quality, of which the proportions are nearly equal, and it contains some quarries of building stone. Rathbeggan House is the seat of John Standish, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Drogheda, in whom the rectory is impropriate: the tithes amount to £161. 18. 9., of which £18. 9. 2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar; the glebe, comprising 7 1/2 acres, is valued at £15 per annum. The glebe-house was built in 1817, by aid of a gift of £450, and a loan of £100, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is a neat modern edifice, towards the erection of which the same Board gave £800, in 1817. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Ratoath.
RATHBIN.--See BURNCHURCH.
RATHBOURNEY, a parish, in the barony of BURREN, county of CLARE, and province of MUNSTER, 8 1/2 miles (W. S. W.) from Burren, on the road to Ennistymon; containing 848 inhabitants. It comprises 9440 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, a large portion of which consists of rocky mountain pasture, affording a rich though scanty herbage: there is also a portion of bog. The principal residence is Gregans, that of Fras. Martin, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kilfenora, forming part of the union of Dromcrehy and corps of the treasurership of Kilfenora: the tithes amount to £100. The church of the union, a small plain building without a tower, erected about 40 years since, is within the limits of the parish. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of the union or district of Glyn or Glenarragha, comprising also the parishes of Dromcrehy, Glaninagh, and Killonoghan. The chapel at Glenarragha was originally built by the late Marquess of Buckingham, and has been recently much enlarged. A glebe of 40 acres is allotted for the use of the parish priest, subject to a rent of £20 per annum; about 60 children are educated in a private school. At Gregans, on the border of the parish, are the ruins of the castle of that name.
RATHBOYNE, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER NAVAN, but chiefly in that of UPPER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. by E.) from Kells, on the road to Kilcock, and from Longford to Drogheda;. containing 1271 inhabitants. It comprises 3920 3/4 statute acres, nearly equally under grass and tillage; there is plenty of limestone. Ballybeg is the seat of T. O'Reilly, Esq.; and Charlesfort, of C. A. Tisdall, Esq. Mr. O'Reilly has a nursery of 100 statute acres, affording employment to about 80 persons. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Kells: the tithes amount to £276. 18. 5 1/2. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Ardbraccan; the chapel at Cortown is a handsome modern building, with a school contiguous. At Charlesfort is a school, the master of which is allowed £15 per ann., with a house and garden, and two tons of coal yearly, by C. A. Tisdall, Esq.; in these schools about 110 children are taught.
RATHBRAN.--See STRATFORD-on-SLANEY.
RATHCAHILL.--See MONEYGAY.
RATHCAVAN.--See RACAVAN.
RATHCLARIN, a parish, in the Eastern Division of the barony of EAST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 1/2 miles (S. by E.) from Bandon; containing 2775 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the northern shore of Court McSherry bay and intersected by the small river Arigideen, which here falls into the bay, comprises about 5800 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3500 per annum. The land is in general good and under a profitable system of cultivation, producing abundant crops, of which the principal are wheat and potatoes; but, on the south side of the parish, several large fields have been covered with sand drifted from a small inlet, and rendered utterly unavailable for agricultural operations; the hedge-rows and fences have disappeared, and the deposits are progressively increasing. The principal seats are Gortnahorna, the residence of J. M. Sealy, Esq.; Glenville, of R. B. Robinson, Esq.; Maryborough, of Major Broderick; Gortaglana, of Major M. Scott; Ballycallen Demesne, of H. Harris, Esq.; Ballycallen, of J. Harris, Esq.; Rathclarin Rectory, of the Rev. Thos. Waggett; and in the immediate vicinity of Kilbritain, Flaxfort, of the Rev. R. Taylor, P. P.; Riversdale House, of T. Bailey, Esq.; the residence of Francis Stowell, Esq.; and Harbourview, the bathing-lodge of J. Bowen, Esq., who has also built several neat cottages for the accommodation of visiters during the bathing season. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £650. The glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £100, is a very handsome residence; the glebe comprises 22 acres. The church is a small but very neat edifice, nearly in the centre of the parish, and was modernised and thoroughly repaired in 1835, at an expense of £314, defrayed by a grant from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union, comprising also that of Kilbritain, and parts of the parishes of Ringrone and Ballymodan: the chapel, a large and neat edifice, is at Kilbritain. About 280 children are taught in four public schools, of which the parochial male school is supported by the rector and the Association for Discountenancing Vice; and the female school by Mr. Seely, who, in 1836, erected a very handsome school-house; there are also two private schools, in which are about 180 children, and a Sunday school. Near the church is a holy well covered over by a small building; and about two miles to the north-west are the ruins of the very ancient church of Cloundereen, supposed to have been founded by the Knights Templars in 1296.
RATHCLINE, or RATHLINE, a parish, in the barony of RATHCLINE, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER; containing, with the greater portion of the market and post-town of Lanesborough, 3036 inhabitants. This place is situated on the bank of the river Shannon, and was distinguished for its castle at the base of the hill of Rathcline, about a mile from Lanesborough, said to have been originally built by the family of O'Quin, and to have been an object of frequent contention in the various internal wars of the country. After numerous vicissitudes it was dismantled by Cromwell's forces, and finally destroyed by fire in the war of the Revolution; there are still considerable remains, which from their fine situation on the margin of the Shannon have a very picturesque appearance. The parish comprises 8099 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is of indifferent quality; not more than one-third is under tillage, the remainder is in pasture; the surface is tolerably level, and there is a considerable tract of bog, in which are found oak and fir trees, which are used by the poor in roofing their houses. Limestone abounds and is quarried for building and for agricultural uses, and a speckled black and white marble is also found and made into mantel-pieces. The chief seats are Rathcline, the residence of L. White, Esq.; Clonbonney, of G. Davys, Esq.; and Mount Davis, of the Misses Davis. The weaving of linen is carried on in several parts of the parish, and great quantities of frieze are also made; there is a considerable trade in corn and eggs, for which the Shannon affords every facility. A very large fair for horses, cattle, and sheep is held on the 12th of February at Lanes-borough. Within the limits of the parish is the small island of Inchenough, or Inchiana, comprising about 50 acres of land, with 6 houses and 35 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardagh, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in R. C. and R. Armstrong, Esqrs. The tithes amount to £393. 10., of which £262. 6. 8. is payable to the impropriators, and £131. 3. 4. to the vicar; the glebe comprises 30 acres, valued at £45 per annum. The church, a spacious edifice, was erected at the expense of the Lanesborough family, in 1678, on part of the site of the ancient church in Lanesborough, which was called the abbey and is said to have been built by St. Patrick in the 4th century. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church: the chapel is large and has a tower at the west end; a small house is also appropriated as a chapel of ease. There are five private schools, in which are about 300 children. Near the ruins of the castle are those of the ancient church, said to have been destroyed from the opposite bank of the Shannon; part of the steeple is yet standing, and the cemetery is still used by the Roman Catholics. In one of the walls of the castle was a marble tablet with a very ancient inscription in the Irish character; from the hill at the base of which these ruins are situated is a very extensive and interesting view.
RATHCONNELL, or TURIN, a parish, in the barony of MOYASHEL, and MAGHERADERNAN, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (E. N. E.) from Mullingar, on the road to Castletown-Delvin, and near Lough Hoyle; containing 2946 inhabitants. Between two tracts of land of a moory nature, at this place, was a celebrated pass, noted in the Irish annals for the defeat of the Irish army under Gen. Preston by the retreating forces of Sir Richard Grenville, accompanied by the famished garrison of Athlone and the Protestant inhabitants: the pass had been fortified to intercept their retreat, and was bravely defended; but the English horse, unexpectedly finding themselves able to pass the moory ground contiguous, changed the fortune of the day, and the victory was complete. This parish contains 12,440 statute acres, according to the county assessment under an improving state of agriculture; much of it is fine grazing land, and the arable produces good crops of corn and potatoes: there are about 400 acres of bog, with some limestone and black stone. Petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays at Knockdrin. In the parish are several fine seats, among which are Knockdrin Castle, the handsome residence of Sir Richard Levinge, Bart.; the house, which is castellated and of Gothic architecture is situated in a fine demesne adorned with an extensive lake, and including the high hill of Knockdrin, crowned by a large rath, and covered with plantations. Clonlost is the ancient family seat of J. Nugent, Esq.; Reynella, the elegant residence of the late R. M. Reynell, Esq., now the property of a minor, situated in a fine demesne, adorned with a lake and extensive plantations; Cooksborough, the fine mansion of the Cooke family; Killymon, the residence of R. N. Reynell, Esq.; Rathconnel, of J. Adamson, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. R. Crone. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Marquess of Drogheda; the rectory is impropriate in Nicholas Ogle, of Dysart, Esq. The tithes amount to £369. 4. 7., half of which is payable to the impropriator, and half to the vicar. The glebe comprises 23 acres, valued at £31. 18. 11. per ann., and subject to a rent of equal amount: the glebe-house was built at an expense of £738, defrayed partly by a gift of £369 and a loan of £214 from the late Board of First Fruits, and the residue by the incumbent. The church is a neat building with a tower and spire, in complete repair, erected in 1798 at an expense of £831, of which £461 was a gift, and the residue a loan, from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, also called Turin, comprising this parish and those of Taghmon, Stonehall, and Tyfernon, in which union are two chapels; that of Rathconnell, at Turin, is a modern building. The parochial school, at Kuockdrin, has been endowed by Sir R. Levinge, Bart., with a house which cost £350, and an acre and a half of land; about 10 children are educated in it. A school at Reynella was built at a cost of £200; and there is a private school, in which are 50 children. At Turin is a dispensary. In the northern extremity of the parish is a ruined church, and at Rathconnel is also another fine ruin of a church: here are several raths.
RATHCONRATH, a parish, in the barony of RATHCONRATH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 1/2 miles (S.) from Ballynacargy, on the road from Dublin by Mullingar to Athlone; containing 2862 inhabitants, of which number, 235 are in the village. A tumultuous body of insurgents assembled in Sept. 1798, at the hill of Skeagh, in this parish, but they afterwards dispersed, excepting a party that took post at Wilson's Hospital, and were there encountered by the soldiery. The parish comprises 7563 statute acres; the land is of good quality; there is very little waste; about one-fourth is arable, and the remainder good pasture. The common substratum is limestone and black flag-stone: there are quarries of the former in almost all parts of the parish, and from one on the lands of Mount D'Alton the stones for the chambers of the locks on the Royal Canal have been taken, as well as for the bridges, for a considerable distance. Great facility is afforded for inland navigation by the Royal Canal, which passes near the northern and eastern boundaries of the parish. A patent exists for four fairs, which are not held. At Meares Court and Ballinacarra are corn-mills. On the road to Ballymore are two remarkable rocks, called the Cat and the Mouse; and close to them is a spring, called the Swallow, the waters of which immediately commence a subterraneous course of one mile. In the parish are the two hills of Rathconrath and Skeagh, and the small lake of Ballinacarra. In the village is a constabulary police station. On the banks of a fine sheet of water stands Mount D'Alton, formerly the residence of the ancient family of D'Alton, who were lords of Rathconrath, and now counts of the Holy Roman Empire: the house, which is now the residence of O. W. C. Begg, Esq., was built in 1784 by Count Richard D'Alton, a distinguished officer in the Austrian service; at the rear is a pyramidal monument, thirty feet high, erected by this gentleman and his brother, Gen. J. D'Alton, in honour of the Empress Maria Theresa, the Emperor Joseph II., and King George III. On three sides it is adorned with their profiles in white marble, and on the fourth with the arms of the family and a suitable inscription. Meares Court is the seat of J. Devenish Meares, Esq.; Glencarry, of R. H. Kelly, Esq.; Rathcaslin, of T. Banon, Esq.; Irishtown, of J. Banon, Esq.; and Oldtown, of E. Banon, Esq.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Earl of Lanesborough; the tithes amount to £267. The glebe-house was built in 1818, at an expense of £1569 British, of which £323 was a gift, and £415 a loan, from the late Board of First Fruits, the residue having been supplied by the incumbent. The glebe comprises 24a. 0r. 14p., valued at £27. 14. per annum. The church was built in 1809. nearly on the site of the ancient church, at an expense of £738 British, which was a gift from the before-mentioned Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, also called Miltown, comprising this parish and those of Moranstown and Kilmacnevin; and containing two chapels, of which that at Miltown was originally built at the expense of Christopher, Count D'Alton, who endowed it with one acre of land; it is in the presentation of O. W. C. Begg, Esq., of Mount D'Alton. The other chapel is at Empor, in Kilmacnevin. About 230 children are educated in two public schools, of which one in the village is entirely supported by the rector; the other at Miltown is a national school: and there are two private schools, in which are about 117 children. Ruins exist of the old church: at Washford are the remains of an ancient monastic institution: the old castles of Loghan, or Mount D'Alton, Corkan, and Miltown, are in existence; adjoining the former is a cave, in which teeth and bones of gigantic size were found in 1780. Scattered over the parish are many raths, some of them very large, and one, in particular, is a fine specimen of this species of fortification, having circumvallations and other works. At Mount D'Alton were born Gens. James D'Alton and Richard, Count D'Alton, Knight of the military order of Maria Theresa, and Governor of the Austrian Netherlands in the reign of the Emperor Joseph II. of Germany, to whom he was Chamberlain and a Privy Counsellor; he died at Treves in 1790, on his route from Brussels to Vienna.
RATHCOOL, a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. N. E.) from Kilkenny; containing 1225 inhabitants, and comprising 5110 1/2 statute acres. Within its limits is Sandsford's Court, the property of Michael Warren, Esq.; and at Johnswell is a station of the constabulary police. The living is a vicarage, united to that of Kilkyran, and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter, to whom the rectory is appropriate: the tithes of the united parishes amount to £330, of which £220 is payable to the appropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of St. John's; the chapel is at Johnswell, where there is also a school of about 100 children, under the patronage of Mr. Warren.
RATHCOOL, a parish, in the barony of MIDDLETHIRD, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 1 1/4 mile (N. W.) from Fethard; containing 1611 inhabitants. It comprises 5759 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; of the land, which is of superior quality, about two-thirds are in tillage, and the remainder, with the exception of about 150 acres of woodland, in pasture. There are several handsome seats, of which the principal are Derrylusker, that of Mrs. Palliser; Ardsalla, of Lieut.-Col. Geo. Gough; Annsgift, of Major Gough; Rocklow, of Benj. Frend, Esq.; and Coolmore, of M. Villiers Sankey, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, forming part of the union of Fethard: the tithes amount to £365. About 20 children are educated in a private school. There are some remains of the castle of Slanestown, and near the demesne of Rocklow is a large moat or rath.
RATHCOOLE, a post-town and parish, in the barony of UPPERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (S. W.) from Dublin, on the road to Naas; containing 1409 inhabitants, of which number, 602 are in the town. This place, anciently called "Radcull," appears from various records to have been incorporated prior to the time of Hen. III., and to have had burgesses. In the 24th of that reign (1240), it is recorded that "Lucas, Archbishop of Dublin, grants to the burgesses of Radcull common of pasture and turbary in the mountain of Slescol with his men of Newcastle near Lyons, at 4s. per annum." The town, which is about a quarter of a mile in length, contains 112 houses irregularly built, and has a patent for holding fairs on April 23rd, June 18th, and Oct. 9th, but these fairs have not been held for some years. It is the head station of the constabulary police for the district of Uppercross, and the residence of the chief constable. The parish comprises 4005 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is fertile, and generally under profitable cultivation; about 600 acres of common were enclosed in 1818. To the west of the town is a range of heights branching off from the chain of hills on the confines of the county of Wicklow, in a north-western direction, comprising the hills of Rathcoole, Windmill, Athgoe and Lyons, the formation of which is generally clay-slate loose and conglomerate, and grauwacke slate, with occasional alternations of granite, and some red conglomerate sandstone. The principal seat is Johnstown, the handsome residence of J. Kennedy, Esq., in a tastefully disposed and well-cultivated demesne of 200 acres. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, united to the rectory and vicarage of Calliaghstown, and in the patronage of the Archbishop; the rectory forms part of the corps of the deanery of St. Patrick's, Dublin. The tithes amount to £310, of which £60 is payable to the dean, and the remainder to the vicar; the glebe-house is a good residence, and the glebe comprises 15 acres, of which 6 were allotted from the common on its enclosure in 1818. The church, for the repair of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £111, is a neat plain edifice. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Saggard. A school, in which are about 70 children, is supported by J. D. La Touche, Esq., and there is a private school of about 40 children, also a dispensary. A school was endowed here for 50 Protestant girls by the late Mrs. Mary Mercer, which was removed some years since to the parish of Castleknock. This place formerly gave the title of Viscount to the family of Tracey, to which James Tracey, Esq., of Geashill, in King's county, is at present prosecuting his claim before the House of Lords.
RATHCOONEY, a parish, in the North Liberties of the county of the city of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (E. N. E.) from Cork, on the mail coach road to Dublin; containing, with the village of Glanmire and part of Riverstown, 2988 inhabitants. In 1716 a battle was fought at Lower Glanmire, in this parish, between a regiment that had turned out for arrears of pay and posted themselves in the village, and a regiment which was brought up from Cove with two pieces of cannon to reduce the former to submission, which, after an obstinate conflict, they effected, when three of the ringleaders were shot by sentence of a court martial. The parish, which is bounded on the east and northeast by the river Glanmire, and on the south by the estuary of the Lee, comprises 4982 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and chiefly under tillage. The soil is light and shallow on the hills, but richer on the lower grounds; the system of agriculture is improving; there is very little waste land, and scarcely any bog. Sea-weed and sand, which are obtained with facility, are the principal manures, and the crops are in general of good quality. There are numerous gentlemen's seats and good houses in the immediate vicinity of the village of Glanmire, under which head they are noticed. The woollen manufacture was established here in 1822, by Messrs. Lyons and Hanly, whose factory, in a secluded part of the vale of Glanmire, contains 30 looms, and affords employment to 200 persons. The bleach-greens of Messrs. Thorley and Son, at Annasilla, employ 100 persons; and the St. Patrick's beetling-mills, belonging to the same firm, afford employment to 100 more. The produce of these manufactories and others in the neighbourhood is sent by land carriage to Cork, a distance of five miles, the road being the principal entrance into Cork from Dublin, Clonmel, Kilkenny, and Cashel. At this point it is hilly and dangerous: to avoid the hills a new line of road was sought for, intended to pass over the Glanmire river and along its banks, to join that part of the present road running along the side of the river Lee into Cork; it would be a perfect level and a most delightful drive, but its execution has been successfully opposed. Spring Hill Mills, belonging to Mr. J. Daly, produce annually about 10,000 barrels on the average, and employ a considerable number of men. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork, united to the rectories and vicarages of Cahirlog and Little Island, together forming the union and the corps of the prebend of Rathcooney, in the cathedral of St. Finbarr, Cork, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £500; the glebe comprises 19 1/2 acres, and the gross value of the benefice is £1078. 4. The church, situated in the village of Glanmire, is a plain neat edifice, with a tower and spire, built in 1784 by subscription of the several parishes of the union, on ground presented by Robert Rodgers, Esq. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Upper Glanmire; there is a chapel of ease at Spring Hill. Of the different schools, two are under the patronage of the parish priest, and a school of about 100 girls is supported by Mrs. Hickie. The children employed in the woollen factory are obliged to attend a school for three hours every evening, the school-house and teacher being provided by Messrs. Lyons and Hanly, who make no deduction or charge in money or labour as an equivalent. S. McCall, Esq. left an annuity of £18, late currency, and Quinton Hamilton, Esq., the interest of £500, to be distributed annually among the poor. A repository for the sale of wearing apparel to the poor at reduced prices, payable by small instalments, was established at Glanmire, in 1835, under the patronage of the Rev. T. Woodroffe and a committee of ladies, but it has failed to accomplish its intended purpose: there is a dispensary. On the townland of Rathcooney are the ruins of the old church, attached to which is the burial-ground of the parish. Near this is an old edifice, now almost in ruins, formerly the residence of the family of St. Leger, who possessed very considerable property in the parish. There are several raths.
RATHCOR, a village, in the parish of CARLINGFORD, barony of LOWER DUNDALK, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 1/2 miles (S.) from Carlingford, on the bay of Dundalk; containing 45 houses and 274 inhabitants.
RATHCORE, a parish, partly in the barony of UPPER DEECE, but chiefly in that of LOWER MOYFENRAGH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S. W.) from Summerhill, on the road to Edenderry; containing, with the post-town of Enfield (which is separately described), 3455 inhabitants, of which number, 73 are in the village of Rathcore. This parish, which is situated on the Royal Canal and on the road from Dublin to Athlone, is bounded on the south by the river Blackwater, which here separates it from the county of Kildare. It comprises 14,303 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is of good quality and the greater portion of it under tillage; the system of agriculture is improved, there is no waste land, and but a very moderate portion of bog: there is a quarry of good limestone at Newcastle. The principal seats are Johnstown, the residence of J. H. Rorke, Esq.; Rahinstown, of R. G. Bomford, Esq.; Ryndville, of R. Rynd, Esq.; Newcastle, of C. Lennon, Esq.; and Ballinderry, the property of the Hon. R. T. Rowley, and the residence of Thos. Murphy, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to the see. The tithes amount to £807. 13. 10., of which £438. 9. 2 1/2. is payable to the bishop, and £369. 4. 7 1/2. to the vicar. There is a good glebe-house, and the glebe comprises 41 acres, valued at £62. 2. per annum. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Rathmolion; the chapel is a spacious and handsome edifice, situated at Kilcorney, on the estate of Lord Decies. A school-house is now being erected near the church, from funds chiefly supplied by the vicar and by John Bridges, Esq., of London; there are four private schools, in which are about 180 children.
RATHCORMAC, a market and post-town, (formerly a parliamentary borough), and a parish, in the barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 14 miles (N. E.) from Cork, and 111 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing 5143 inhabitants, of which number, 1574 are in the town, which is situated on the river Bride, and on the mail road from Cork to Dublin. It comprises one principal street with some smaller diverging from it, and consists of 244 houses, several of which are well built of stone. At the entrance from Cork are several picturesque cottages, erected by the Hon. Chas. L. Tonson. It is a constabulary police station, and the dep6t for the staff of the South Cork militia. The only manufacture carried on is that of leather by Mr. Wm. O'Connell, in whose tannery upwards of 10,000 hides, 32,500 calf-skins and 500 horse-skins are annually prepared for the markets of London, Bristol, Liverpool and Leeds. The manor mill, under the patent of Chas. II., has been rebuilt at an expense of £1500 by Mr. D. Cummins, and is capable of grinding 5000 bags of flour annually. A small market is held in the market-house on Saturday; and there are fairs, which are small and not well attended, on Aug. 12th, and Oct. 31st. Petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays, and the seneschal occasionally holds a manor court for the recovery of debts under 40s. The town was erected into a free borough by Chas. II., in 1682, and obtained the right of returning two members to the Irish parliament, the elective franchise being vested in the freeholders and inhabitants: it was disfranchised at the Union.
The parish comprises 12,984 statute acres, of which about one-sixth is mountain and bog. The soil is very varied in character; in the lower parts it is good and under an excellent system of cultivation, but not more than half of the parish is under tillage: upwards of 2000 acres are rough mountain pasture, moor or turbary. The uplands form part of the hilly tract called Nagle's mountains, which originate here and extend westward to the Bogra range. The eastern extremity of Nagle's mountains, about three miles north of Rathcormac, is very lofty and appears as if it had been cut down vertically from the summit to the base: on its highest point is a large conical pile of stones, called Cairn-Thierna, "The Lord's cairn or pile," so named, according to some, from having been the place where the Tierna or chieftain assembled his followers and chose their leaders; or, according to others, from having been a place of pagan worship to the sun. This range is entirely of clay-slate: in the lower grounds limestone is very abundant, particularly at Ballyvarry; much of the mountain tract, hitherto uncultivated, is reclaimable; and the bog, from which the turf has been entirely cut away in many places, might be brought into a profitable state at a small expense, as it lies remarkably well for drainage. There are several large and handsome seats: the principal are Lisnegar, the elegant mansion of the Rt. Hon. Lord Riversdale, in the midst of a small but highly improved demesne, comprising a great variety of rural scenery within a limited compass; Kilshannick, the ancient mansion and winter residence of Edm. Roche, of Trabolgan, Esq.; Ballyglissane, of F. G. Reeves, Esq.; Shanbally, of John Welsh, Esq.; Bushy Park, of R. G. Campion, Esq.; Kildinon, the highly improved property of Edm. Roche, Esq.; the glebe, the residence of the Rev. W. Bourne; Ballinahina House, of Gerard Barry, Esq.; and Ballinahina Cottage, of the Rev. Dr. Barry, the parish priest of Fermoy for half a century, and for a long period the R. C. vicar-general of Cloyne. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Rev. Percy Smith, of Headborough, county of Waterford: the tithes amount to £842, and there is a glebe-house, with a glebe of 31a. 1r. 34p. The church, an ancient building, was much enlarged and improved in 1828, by a loan of £250 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also that of Gortroe; in each parish there is a chapel; that at Rathcormac is a large cruciform edifice, with a small square tower at the south transept, erected in 1816 on a site given by Lord Rivers-dale. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists, also a fever hospital and dispensary. There are nine schools in the parish: the parochial schools are supported by the rector and by a subscription of £10 per ann. from the Hon. George Colley; there is a school at Kildinan in connection with the Board of National Education, and another at Rathcormac, with accommodations for 400 pupils, built at a cost of £250; a Sunday school is under the superintendence of the Protestant clergymen: the remainder are private schools. The total number of children in the day schools is 320, of whom 197 are boys and 123 girls. At Shanbally, near Kildinan, are the ruins of an ancient castle, once the strong hold of the great Earl of Desmond.
RATHDOWNEY, a post-town and parish, in the barony of UPPER OSSORY, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 15 miles (S. W.) from Maryborough, and 56 1/4 (S. W.) from Dublin, on the road to Templemore; containing 6654 inhabitants, of which number, 1214 are in the town. This town, in 1831, contained 211 houses, which are in general indifferently built and of neglected appearance; the streets are ill paved, and the place has few indications of prosperity. There are an extensive brewery and a boulting-mill. Fairs are held on Jan. 27th, April 1st, May 6th, July 10th, Sept. 12th, Nov. 1st, and Dec. 15th; and a patent was obtained in the reign of Geo. III. for a weekly market and three additional fairs, none of which are held: fairs are held at Errill on Jan. 14th and March 11th. Petty sessions are held in the town every Saturday, and a constabulary police force is stationed at Errill and Lavally. The parish comprises 13,406 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land, of which about one-third is in pasture, and the remainder under tillage, is of very excellent quality, and the system of agriculture improved; there is but very little bog and no waste land; limestone abounds and is quarried for building and burning. The principal seats are Harristown, the residence of M. H. Drought, Esq.; Beckfield, of T. Roe, Esq.; Johnstown Glebe, of the Rev. M. Monck; and Lackland, of the Rev. R. Young: and in the vicinity of town, though not within the parish, are Ballybrophy, the residence of S. White, Esq.; Old Park, of Robt. White, Esq.; Middlemount, of Robt. Roe, Esq.; Grantstown, of -- Vicars, Esq.; Kilbredy, of Jas. Drought, Esq.; Belmont, of J. Roe, Esq.; Levally, of R. Fitzgerald, Esq.; Knockfin, of Capt. Mosse; and Erkendale, of W. Owen, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, episcopally united, in 1816, to the rectories of Glashare and Kildellig, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter of the cathedral of Kilkenny. The tithes amount to £750, of which £500 is payable to the dean and chapter and the remainder to the vicar: the glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits granted a gift of £100 and a loan of £1200, in 1814, and on which the present rector laid out £400 more, making the whole cost £1700, is a handsome residence; and the glebe comprises 267 acres: the gross income of the benefice is £950. The church, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan of £1000, in 1815, is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a well proportioned spire. In the R. C. divisions the parish is in the union or district of Grogan, comprising this and the parishes of Donamore, Skeirke, Coolkerry, and Rathsaran, and containing three chapels, situated at Rathdowney (a spacious plain building,) Grogan and Killismista. There is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. There is a parochial school at Rathdowney, and a school at Castle-Fleming; the latter is supported by R. H. Stubber, Esq., and divine service is performed in the school-house every Sunday evening during the summer months: there are national schools for both sexes at Rathdowney and Errill; about 200 children receive instruction in all these schools. There are also six private schools, in which are about 450 children, a Sunday school, and two dispensaries, one in the town and the other at Errill. At Ballagh, Clonbyrne, and Castle-Fleming are the ruins of ancient castles; at Cloneve, near Harristown, are trifling remains of an old church and burial-place; and at Errill, those of a church and monastery, and the remains of a very ancient cross. Ledwich, the antiquarian, who was for many years curate of this parish, published an account of the antiquities of it and of the adjoining parish of Aghaboe.
RATHDOWLAN.--See BALLINADEE.
RATHDRUM, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of BALLINACOR, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (S. W.) from Wicklow, and 29 (S. W.) from Dublin; containing 2688 inhabitants, of which number, 1054 are in the town. This place, which is situated on the mail road from Dublin to Arklow, derives its name of Rathdrum, "The fort on the Hill," from its position on a lofty and commanding eminence, formerly the fortified residence of the ancient chieftains of the territory in the northeast of the county, then known by the name of Crioc-Cuolan. It was subsequently held by the Byrnes, but in 1595 was wrested from Pheagh Mac Hugh Byrne, the most active and formidable chieftain of these parts in his time, by Sir William Fitzwilliams, Lord-Deputy, the ancestor of the present Earl Fitzwilliam, who is proprietor of large estates in the county. The town, situated on the height to the west of the Avonmore, is small but neat, the houses well built and generally white-washed, with a few of superior appearance, among which the glebe-house, with its sloping lawn and tastefully disposed shrubberies, adds considerably to the general appearance. The manufacture of flannel was carried on here to such an extent that the Irish government deemed it necessary to appoint a seller of flannels to superintend it, under whom were a deputy and eight sworn meters, who resided in the town. A flannel-hall was erected in 1793, at an expense of £3500, by the late Earl Fitzwilliam, who received a toll of 2d. on every piece of 120 yards, which produced on an average about £300 per annum: the trade continued to flourish so long as the protecting duties on Irish woollens were maintained, but on their repeal it declined rapidly and is now nearly extinct: the few pieces at present made are purchased by the shopkeepers in the town. The apartments in the market-house, which forms a spacious square, and above the principal entrance of which is an escutcheon of Earl Fitzwilliam's arms, are now used for a court-house, a R. C. chapel, and schools. The manufacture of woollen cloth also flourished here, but owing to the same causes has declined within the last 12 years, and is now also extinct. A large factory at Grenane, on the Avonbeg, was burnt down during the disturbances in 1798. There are two breweries in the town. The market, held on Thursday, is well supplied with provisions: the monthly market for flannels, which was well attended by buyers from Dublin, has been discontinued for some time. Fairs are held in Rathdrum on the last Thursday in Feb., May, and Aug., and on April 5th, July 5th, Oct. 10th, and Dec. 11th; and at Ballinderry on April 21st, May 16th, Aug. 21st, Oct. 29th, the first Monday in Nov., and Dec. 2nd. Petty sessions for the barony are held on alternate Thursdays in the Flannel-hall, and there is a chief constabulary police station in the town.
The parish, which contains 33,863 acres, as applotted under the tithe act, is subdivided into the constablewicks of Ballinacor, Ballykine, Knockrath, and Rathdrum, and comprises the villages of Aghrim, Ballinaclash, Ballinderry, Cappagh, Clara, Greenan, Moycreddin or Carysfort, and Sheanna. It is centrally situated among some of the grandest and most picturesque scenery of this romantic county. At its southern extremity is the confluence of the rivers Avonmore and Avonbeg, better known, since it has been immortalised by the poetry of Moore, as "the Meeting of the Waters:" north of the town, the course of the Avonmore is through the vale of Clara to the Seven Churches, and, more westerly, the Avonbeg passes through the rugged and precipitous valley of Glenmalure, which terminates suddenly at the waterfall of the Esk. The western and by much the larger portion of the parish is occupied by mountain masses, rising above one another, and topped by the summit of Lugnaquilla, which towers over the rest to a height of 3070 feet above the level of Dublin bay at low water. These mountains are rich in minerals. The lead mine of Ballyfinchogue, about a mile from the barrack at Ballinacor, which has been lately purchased for a residence for the workmen, is now wrought by the Royal Irish Mining Company. The vein, which traverses alternate beds of granite and mica slate, is penetrated by means of an adit level. Its chief produce is common galena in a matrix of quartz, though white lead ore and other minerals are likewise found in small quantities. The annual produce is about 300 tons of galena, which was formerly smelted here, but now is merely washed and exported; the ore produces about 75 per cent, of pure metal. Arrangements are in progress to open another mine on Mr. Parnell's property on the opposite side of the glen. Excellent building stone is raised in great abundance. The arable lands, amounting to 5484 statute acres, are chiefly under tillage; the principal crop is oats: the remainder, with the exception of some moorland, is under pasture; the butter made here is of very superior quality and in high request in the Dublin market. Fuel is scarce, as there is very little bog. The eastern parts of the parish, and more particularly those along the rivers Avonmore and Avonbeg, are thickly studded with residences of the gentry and wealthy farmers. The most remarkable are Avondale, the mansion of John Parnell, Esq., situated in a finely planted demesne, which was the favourite residence of the late Sir John Parnell, Bart., once chancellor of the Irish exchequer; Ballinacor, the residence of Wm. Kemmis, Jun., Esq., surrounded by extensive plantations and commanding a fine view of the wild glen of Glenmalure; Kingston, the seat of T. M. King, Esq., a commodious house in the midst of beautifully disposed grounds, commanding fine views of Castle Howard and the Meeting of the Waters; Cassino, a pretty villa, the residence of F. Fetherston-H., Esq.; The Meeting, the neat ornamental cottage of N. Kempston, Esq., at the celebrated Meeting of the Waters, on a rustic seat in the lawn of which Moore is said to have composed the beautiful melody that bears this name; Corballis Castle, the residence of Mr. A. Manning; Ballyteigue, of Mr. W. Manning, and Prospect, of Mr. Wm. Gilbert, all commanding extended and richly varied views.
The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the patronage of the Corporation of Dublin, to which it was granted, together with the tithes and a large extent of land belonging to the Priory of All Saints, in that city, after the dissolution of the monasteries: the tithes amount to £553. 16. 10. The glebe-house has been already noticed: the glebe consists of 11 1/2 acres. The church, situated in the town, was erected in 1796, aided by a private loan and voluntary subscriptions to the amount of £1000, and by the sale of the materials of the old building: it is now in a dilapidated state, and it is in contemplation to take it down and rebuild it, for which purpose the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have granted£1058. Divine service is at present performed in the Flannel-hall. One of the bells, on which there is an inscription in ancient characters, is said to have belonged to one of the churches at Glendalough. There are chapels of ease at Ballinaton and Moycreddin or Carysfort, served by curates appointed by the rector. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church; part of the Flannel-hall has been fitted up as a chapel, and a good house has been erected by Earl Fitzwilliam, near the town, as a residence for the parish priest: there are also chapels at Clara, Moycreddin, and Grenane. The Wesleyan Methodists have a meeting-house in the town. In Rathdrum is a large school-house, with a garden and teacher's house, in which 80 children of each sex are instructed, 40 of each gratuitously: the rent is paid by the rector, and the teacher receives his salary from the funds of Erasmus Smith's charity: the school requisites are provided by private subscription. There is also a school in the Flannel-hall, aided by an annual donation of £20 from Earl Fitzwilliam: schools are supported at Ballinacor by Mr. Kemmis, at Avondale by private subscription, and at Ballinaclash and Ballinderry by the rector. At Carysfort is a royal endowed school: in all these about 220 boys and 180 girls are educated: there are also five Sunday schools. A dispensary was established in 1812, and there is a lending library of about 300 volumes attached to the church. Mr. John Tate, of Fannaneerin, bequeathed lands in Knockrath, of the value of £100 per ann., to be employed in loans of £5, free of interest, for a year, and for assisting the families of the sick, infirm, and aged poor with small donations; £50 per annum of this fund is appropriated to the dispensary. A charitable association was formed in 1829, by subscription, to relieve the wants of the necessitous poor in their own houses, and for encouraging industry. On Drumkitt hill is a chalybeate spring of considerable efficacy.--See CARYSFORT.
RATHDRUMMIN, a parish, in the barony of FERRARD, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. E.) from Dunleer, on the road from Drogheda to Dundalk; containing 640 inhabitants. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1211a. 0r. 27p.: the land is good and almost entirely in tillage, and the state of agriculture is much improved. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, united by act of council, in 1810, to the rectory of Carrickbaggot and vicarage of Port, and in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes amount to £82. 6. 3 1/2.; and the gross value of the benefice, including the glebes, comprising 13 acres, and valued at £25 per ann., is £310. 4. 3. The glebe-house was erected in 1810, by aid of a gift of £369, and a loan of the same amount from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is a neat structure, rebuilt in 1814 at an expense of £461, being a loan from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Clogher, Mayne, and Parsonstown, and containing the chapels of Walshstown, in the parish of Rathdrummin, and Hacketscross in Clogher. Near the church is a large rath attributed to the Danes, consisting of an elevated area, 130 yards in circumference.
RATHERNON, a parish, in the barony of CONNELL, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 5 3/4 miles (N. E.) from Kildare, containing 1010 inhabitants. This parish comprises 3437 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: it is situated on the bog of Allen, by which it and the parish of Kilmaogue are entirely insulated, forming what is called the Isle of Allen; its chief feature is the hill of Allen. On its northern border are the ruins of Ballyteigue castle. Limestone is found under the greater part of this tract, but the hill of Allen is wholly composed of trap: at the northern extremity of the hill, about a quarter of a mile distant, is a slight eminence called the Leap of Allen, composed of red sandstone conglomerate, arranged in beds varying in thickness. The greenstone of the hill, combined with greenstone porphyry, appears all round the base, on the sides and on the summit, in protuberant masses without any stratification. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Kildare, forming part of the union of Kilmaogue: the tithes amount to £118. 4. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Allen and Miltown. There are ruins of the old church.
RATHFARNE, a village, in the parish of KILLUCAN, barony of FARBILL, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 1/2 miles (N.) from Kinnegad, on the road from Killucan to Trim; containing 259 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Deel, which is here crossed by a long causeway or bridge of three arches, and in 1831 contained 45 houses: it is a station of the constabulary police. A market is held on Tuesday for corn, of which a large quantity is sold. Here is one of the two R. C. chapels belonging to the district of Killucan; also a National school. Adjoining the village are the remains of an old castle, the walls of which extended across the river; and at Kilcollan, in the vicinity, are the ruins of a church with a cemetery attached.
RATHFARNHAM, a parish, in the barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S.) from Dublin, on the road to Rathdrum; containing 4573 inhabitants, of which number, 1572 are in the village. The castle of Rathfarnham was built by Archbishop Loftus, who was Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth. On the breaking out of the war of 1641, Sir Adam Loftus held it with a garrison, as an outpost to protect the city of Dublin against the incursions of the septs of O'Toole and Byrne from the neighbouring mountains of Wicklow; in 1649 it was taken by the forces of the Duke of Ormonde. Adam Loftus, grandson of Sir Adam, was created baron of Rathfarnham in 1685. At the commencement of the insurrection of 1798, the village was the scene of a skirmish between a detachment of the King's troops and a party of the insurgents, in which several of the latter were killed and others taken prisoners. Near the village is a lofty bridge of a single arch over the river Dodder, the road from which is thickly shaded by the plantations of the demesnes on each side: the place itself is a long straggling street, with very little to attract attention. The country around is studded with numerous beautiful and richly planted seats, and presents a great variety of picturesque rural scenery. Petty sessions are held in the village every Wednesday: it is a metropolitan police station, and has a dispensary; a fair is held in it on the 10th of July. Near the bridge is a woollen factory, which employs about 100 persons; there are also paper and corn mills near it, which are worked by the waters of the Dodder and the Cruagh river, that form a junction here: at Rathgar are extensive calico print-works. The small villages of Roundtown and Templeogue are in the parish: in the latter are the ruins of a church with a small burial-ground still used as a cemetery attached to it. Archbishop Alan states, in his "Repertorium Viride," that the church was a chapel appendant to the church of Kilmesantan without the marches or pale; that it was built on the hither side of the Dodder, as being a safe place to hear divine service in during times of war; and that from its late erection it had the name of Templeogue, which signifies "New Church," given to it. The castle, now the property of the Marquess of Ely, is a large and stately mansion in the centre of a fine and thickly planted demesne, the principal entrance to which is a very beautiful gateway, built in the style of a Roman triumphal arch, besides which there is a very lofty pointed Gothic gateway leading to the village: the entrance to the house from the terrace on which it stands is by a portico of eight Doric columns which support a dome painted in fresco with the signs of the zodiac: the great hall is ornamented with a number of ancient and modern busts on pedestals of variegated marble, and has three windows of stained glass, in one of which are the arms of the Loftus family. The collection of family portraits and paintings by the old masters has been removed, in consequence of a determination to take the building down and to divide the demesne into a number of small plots for the erection of villas. The other more remarkable seats, besides those described in the articles on Roundtown and Rathgar, are Ashfield, the residence of Sir W. C. Smith, puisne baron of the Exchequer; Beaufort, of R. Hodgens, Esq.; Landscape, of H. O'Callaghan, Esq.; Whitehall, of W. P. Matthews, Esq.; Newtown, of John Kirby, Esq., LL.D., M.D., in the grounds of which there are some very fine evergreens; Rathfarnham House, of the Rev. H. McClean; Bolton Hall, of P. Jones, Esq.; Barton Lodge, of W. Conlan, Esq.; Sallymount, of J. Watson, Esq.; Edenbrook, of E. Conlan, Esq.; Ballyroan, of A. Reilly, Esq.; Brook Lodge, of R. Hutchinson, Esq.; Mount Browne, of Mrs. Johnson; Old Orchard, of P. Larkin, Esq.; Ballyhill, of the Rev. G. Browne; Butterfield House, of J. Wright, Esq.; Nutgrove, of P. Jones, Esq.; Washington Lodge, of the Rev. J. Burnett; Fairbrook, of Thos. Murphy, Esq.; Rusina, of B. Brunton, Esq.; Old Orchard House, of J. Sweeny, Esq., and Whitehall, of T. Laffan, Esq., an out-office of which is built in the shape of a pottery furnace, with a winding flight of steps on the outside to the top, whence there is a commanding prospect of the surrounding country.
The parish comprises 2724 statute acres. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, and one of the parishes which constitute the archdeaconry of Dublin: the tithes amount to £315. The church is a plain building of rough stone with hewn stone quoins, of very plain outward appearance, but fitted up within very neatly: in it is a mural tablet to the memory of Barry Yelverton, first Lord Avonmore, whose remains are in the cemetery, as are also those of the late Archbishop Magee. The church was enlarged and a tower and spire added to it, in 1821, at a cost of £900, being a loan from the Board of First Fruits, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £270 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions this is the head of the union or district of Rathfarnham, Crumlin, and Bohernabreena, comprising the parishes of Rathfarnham, Crumlin, Tallaght, Cruagh, and Whitechurch. There are large chapels at Rathfarnham, Crumlin, and Bohernabreena, the last in the parish of Tallaght: near the first-named is a good house for the priest. Near the village is a convent of nuns of the order of Loretto: the building is a large brick mansion, which had been the seat of the late G. Grierson, Esq. The sisterhood have a boarding school for young ladies and also superintend a free school of upwards of 100 children, which is aided by the Board of National Education; the pupils receive a suit of clothes annually. Attached to the nunnery is a small chapel very elegantly fitted up: the sisterhood have lately purchased the convent of the nuns of St. Clare at Kingstown. The parochial school is aided by an annual donation from the archdeacon of Dublin; a school for boys in connection with the R. C. chapel is supported by subscriptions and a charity sermon; another school is in connection with the London Hibernian Society. Wilkes, the celebrated comedian, was a native of this parish.
RATHFEIGH, or RATHFAYGTH, a parish, in the barony of SKREEN, county of MEATH, and province or LEINSTER, 8 miles (S.) from Slane, on the mail road from Dublin by Slane to Londonderry; containing 385 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2897 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is of indifferent quality and mostly in tillage. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Skryne or Skreen: the tithes amount to £180, and there is a glebe of 2 acres, valued at £5. 10. per annum. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Skryne: there is a chapel at Rathfeigh. About 40 children are educated in a private school. The ruins of the church still remain.
RATHFRILAND, a market and post-town, partly in the parish of DRUMBALLYRONEY, but chiefly in that of DRUMGATH, barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 16 1/2 miles (W.) from Downpatrick, and 57 1/4 (N.) from Dublin, on the mail road from Newry to Downpatrick; containing 200 . inhabitants. This town was founded, soon after the Restoration, by Alderman Hawkins, of London, to whom, in acknowledgment of his very important services during the parliamentary war, Chas. II. granted the whole of the extensive manor, which is now the property of his lineal descendant, Gen. Meade. The benevolent alderman, at his own cost, provided food, clothing, and lodging for 5000 Protestant royalists, who, during the calamitous progress of the war, had fled to London for protection; collected in England £30,000 for the purchase of corn, wearing apparel, and other necessaries for the support of such as had not been able to effect their escape; and, with the assistance of a few of his friends, raised the sum of £45,000 for the public service and the use of the king. The town is situated on an eminence, previously the site of an ancient fortress, about three miles to the north of the Mourne mountains; and consists of a spacious square, and five principal and several smaller streets, containing together 447 houses, which are in general well built and of handsome appearance, surrounding the crown of the hill. The principal streets communicate with five great roads from different parts of the county, but, from the acclivity of the site, form steep entrances into the town, from which in every direction are extensive and interesting views of the surrounding country. A considerable traffic is carried on with the adjacent district, and the town itself is the residence of numerous respectable families. The market is on Wednesday and is amply supplied; and fairs are held on the second Wednesday in April (O. S.), the Wednesday after Trinity, the second Wednesday in September (O. S.), and the second Wednesday in December. The market-house is a handsome building in the centre of the square; the lower part is appropriated to the use of the market, and the upper part contains accommodation for holding courts. A constabulary police force is stationed in the town, and petty sessions are held on alternate Fridays. The manorial court, with which has recently been incorporated that for the manor of Gilford, is held on the first Tuesday in every month before the seneschal; its jurisdiction extends to pleas of debt to the amount of £100, which may be recovered by civil bill process. The parish church of Drumgath, a small neat edifice with a tower on the north side, is situated on the south side of the square: it was originally founded by Alderman Hawkins, and rebuilt in 1818. There are also in the town a spacious R. C. chapel, and places of worship for the Society of Friends, Presbyterians, Covenanters, and Wesleyan Methodists, and a dispensary. On the very summit of the hill round which the town is built are some slight remains of the ancient castle of the powerful sept of the Magennises, Lords of Iveagh, commanding the entire country for ten miles round; a modern house was erected on the site in 1812, when, in digging the foundation, many small cells were discovered, in some of which were found human bones, pieces of armour, coins, and other relics.
RATHGAR, a district, partly in the united parishes of ST. PETER and ST. KEVIN, barony of UPPERCROSS, and partly in the parish of RATHFARNHAM, barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/2 mile (S.) from Dublin: the population is returned with the respective parishes. This place, which is on the road from Dublin, by way of Rathmines, to Roundtown, consists of several ranges of pleasant houses and numerous detached villas, of which the principal are Rathgar House, the residence of J. Farran, Esq.; Rathgar, of P. Waldron, Esq.; Rokeby, of C. Pickering, Esq.; Mote View, of J. Powell, Esq.; Mountain Prospect, of P. Nolan, Esq.; Roseville, of Miss Moore; Fair View, of Mrs. Fox; Prospect Villa, of J. Houston, Esq.; Maryville, of J. Jennings, Esq.; Prospect Lodge, of R. Clarke, Esq.; Primrose Cottage, of T. Alley, Esq.; and the handsome residences of G. Wall and W. Haughton, Esqrs. There is an extensive bleach-green, with printing-works belonging to Messrs. Waldron, Dodd, Carton, & Co., for muslin, calicoes, and silks; the works are set in motion by a steam-engine of 30-horse power, and a water-wheel of equal force, and afford employment to 300 men. In the immediate vicinity are some quarries of good limestone, which are extensively worked; and strata of calp limestone have been discovered alternating with the limestone in several places, here, as well as in the quarries at Roundtown and Crumlin, inclined at a considerable angle and exhibiting other appearances of disturbance.
RATHGOGAN, a parish, in the barony of ORRERY and KILMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, on the mail road from Limerick to Cork; containing, with the post-town of Charleville (which is separately described), 5809 inhabitants. It is supposed to have derived its name from the great number of raths or forts in the immediate neighbourhood, and appears to have had an ancient castle, of which nothing more is known than that in 1642 it was besieged by the insurgents, and relieved by some English forces under the command of Lord Inchiquin. The parish comprises 3068 statute acres, as rated for the county cess, of which 2969 are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £3816 per ann.: the land is mostly in pasture; limestone abounds and is burnt for manure, and the state of agriculture is gradually improving. The surrounding country has a rather bleak aspect. The seats are Saunderspark, that of C. Saunders, Esq.; Fortlands, of Andrew Batwell, Esq.; Springfort, of the Rev. J. Brace; Belfort, of -- Reeves, Esq.; Knight Lodge, of Dr. Bernard; and Moatville, of Mrs. Ryan. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne; the rectory is partly appropriate to the rector of Kilpeacon, in the county of Limerick, and partly with the vicarage is united to the vicarage of Ballyhea, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £326. 15. 11., of which £102. 11. 2. is payable to the rector of Kilpeacon, and the remainder to the incumbent: the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £624. 2. 9. Of the parochial glebe, only a few perches near the church are at present known; that of the union comprises 9a. 0r. 29p. The church is in the town of Charleville. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Charleville, comprising also small portions of the parishes of Ardskeagh, Ballyhea, and Shandrum: the chapel is situated in the town, and there is also a chapel at Ardnagehy. There are 16 schools in the parish, in which about 500 children are educated; of these, the endowed school and the National school are noticed under the head of Charleville, in which place are also an infants' school, supported by subscription, and a Sunday school under the superintendence of the vicar: the remainder are private schools. Near Moatville are the ruins of the ancient mansion of Lord Orrery, burnt in the war of 1688; and the neighbourhood is remarkable for the great number and the perfect state of those earthworks usually called Danish forts or raths; they are generally of a circular form and most of them are surrounded by a rampart and fosse. At Ballysallagh, or Ballysally, are the ruins of an old church with a cemetery attached.
RATHGORMUCK, or RATHCORMUCK, a parish, in the barony of UPPERTHIRD, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Carrick-on-Suir; containing 2252 inhabitants. This parish, which takes its name from an ancient rath, is situated on the confines of the county of Tipperary, and contains a constabulary police station. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, forming part of the union of Mothell; the rectory is impropriate in the Duke of Devonshire. The tithes amount to £408. 7. 6. of which £241. 4. is payable to the impropriator, and £167. 3. 6. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union of Mothell, or Rathgormuck, and contains a chapel. About 10 children are taught in a school supported by an annual donation from Lady Osborne; and there are two private schools, in which are about 130 children.
RATHGRAFF, or CASTLE-POLLARD, a parish, in the barony of DEMIFORE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, on the road from Dublin to Granard, and on the river Glore; containing, with the post-town of Castle-Pollard, 3612 inhabitants. This parish, also called Rathgarth and Rathgarrue, comprises 5181 3/4 statute acres of land, chiefly arable and producing good crops: limestone abounds, for working which there are some large quarries: there is very little bog. Within the parish are the hills of Sliebuoy and Loughanstown. Fairs for live stock are held at Castle-Pollard, and petty sessions every Wednesday. Kinturk is the seat of W. D. Pollard, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, united by act of council, in 1676, to the vicarages of Lickbla, Faughley and Mayne, and to the curacies of St. Feighan-of-Fore, Favoran, Beatae-Mariae-de-Fore, and Kilpatrick, forming the union of Rathgraff, in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £187. 9., of which £83. 6. 3 1/2. is payable to the impropriator; the gross value of the benefice is £609. 11. 4., including £42, the value of 31 acres comprised in three glebes. The glebe-house is a good comfortable building in Castle-Pollard. The church is a handsome building, surmounted with a spire, in the Gothic style, and in excellent repair, having been rebuilt in 1821, at a cost of £2769, being a loan from the late Board of First Fruits, one third of which is repayable in annual instalments by the Earl of Longford and W. D. Pollard, Esq., the remainder by the united parishes: there is also a church in the parish of Mayne. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Castle-Pollard, comprising the parishes of Rathgraff, Lickbla, and Favoran, in which union are four chapels, two in Rathgraff, one in Castle-Pollard, and another at Millcastle. The parochial school, at Castle-Pollard, in which about 40 boys and 30 girls are taught, is aided by subscriptions annually from the vicar, Lord Longford, and Mr. Pollard: there are six private schools, in which are about 180 boys and 30 girls; and a Sunday school. Ruins exist of the old church of Rathgraff.
RATHHENDRICK, a village, in that part of the parish of LOGHAN which is in the barony of UPPER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER; containing 18 houses and 96 inhabitants.
RATHJORDAN, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (S.) from Cahirconlish, on the road from Limerick to Hospital; containing 400 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1063 1/4 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; some of the land is remarkably good, but, being generally in small holdings, agriculture as a system is altogether unknown, and the land is cultivated in a very slovenly manner; the chief crops are oats and potatoes, but wheat is becoming more general than formerly. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Emly, forming part of the union and corps of the precentorship of Emly: the tithes amount to £70. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Herbertstown and Hospital. Not far from the ruins of the old church is a holy well, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, much frequented by the peasantry, especially on the anniversary of the saint.
RATHKEALE, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of LOWER CONNELLO, county of LIMERICK, and province of LEINSTER, 14 miles (S. W. by W.) from Limerick, and 93 3/4 (W.) from Dublin; containing 8800 inhabitants, of which number, 4972 are in the town. It was a place of importance from a very early period, being the site of a priory of Augustinian canons of the order of Aroasia, founded and endowed with 12 marks annually by Gilbert Harvey, in 1289, and further endowed by Eleanor Purcell, a descendent of Harvey, who also caused it to be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The town and neighbouring district formed part of the possessions of the Earls of Desmond, who had three strong castles in the town, one of which was intended to guard the passage of the Deel. After the battle of Monasternenagh, fought in 1579 between Sir Nich. Malby and Sir John Desmond, the latter fled to this place, whither he was pursued and forced to retreat to Askeaton, where he was again defeated by Sir Geo. Carew. On the landing of the Spaniards at Smerwick, in 1580, the queen's forces, commanded by the Lord-Deputy Grey, the Earl of Ormonde, and others, assembled here; and on the Lord-Deputy leaving the place, Capt. (afterwards Sir Walter) Raleigh remained behind in ambush and surprised a number of the Irish who had collected to plunder the deserted camp, for which gallant service the corporation presented him with the freedom of the town, and he in return repaired the castles of Rathkeale and Matrix. In 1654, the town was fixed on for the place of election for the member to represent the counties of Limerick, Clare, and Kerry in Cromwell's parliament, into which he proposed to introduce 100 members for Ireland: but though the corporation is frequently noticed in history, nothing is known of its origin, charter, or constitution, further than that it was disfranchised by Cromwell, on the ground that the town had refused his army a sufficient supply of provisions, and its privileges were never after restored.
The town is situated on the mail road from Limerick to Tralee, on both sides of the river Deel; in population it is second only to Limerick in the county; it consists principally of a single street, a mile in length, with smaller streets and lanes branching from it. The river passes through the middle of the main street, and is crossed by a bridge now in a dilapidated and dangerous state. There are several large and handsome houses, most of which are uninhabited, and a few good shops; but the town in general presents a poor and mean appearance: a number of Palatines settled in the town and neighbourhood, whose neat cottages and farm-steads form a striking contrast to most of the adjacent dwellings. The market, which is large and well supplied, is held on Thursday; the fairs are on Feb. 7th, April 4th, June 1st and 19th, Aug. 5th, Sept. 18th, and Nov. 18th; those of June 19th, and Sept., which are chiefly for horses, are very much frequented; those of April and Sept., are for horned cattle, great numbers being sold; the remaining fairs are chiefly for sheep and pigs; all the transactions in the market and fairs are carried on in the open street. The town is a chief constabulary police station; the quarter sessions for the district are held in it in January, March, June and October; and petty sessions every Thursday. The court-house is a large and convenient old building, but much out of repair. The bridewell is one of the largest in the county, containing three day-rooms, three airing-yards, and eight cells: it is under good regulations. The fever hospital, built in 1830 near the town, at an expense of £400, has accommodation for 25 intern patients; and there is a dispensary.
The parish comprises 10,705 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £11,868 per annum. The surface is undulating: the soil in some parts light, in others a stiff clay. About five out of eight parts of the land are under tillage; two in meadow, demesnes and plantations; and one is rough pasture and marsh; besides which there are about 120 acres of common, and 100 of exhausted bog. The system of agriculture is improving; the principal crops are wheat, potatoes, oats, and barley, with some flax and clover. The population is almost wholly agricultural, the only manufacture being that of linen on a small scale for domestic use. The flour-mill at Castle Matras has been fitted up by the proprietor, J. Southwell Brown, Esq., in the most complete manner and with the most improved machinery, which is propelled by the current of the river Deel: the mill can grind 20,000 barrels of wheat annually, and gives employment to 100 persons. A lead mine at Curraghnadaly, a mile from Rathkeale, is about to be worked: there are indications of the same metal at Mount Brown, three miles distant. The surrounding country is highly interesting, presenting a number of rich and varied prospects embellished with numerous seats and flourishing woods and plantations: the most remarkable are Beechmount, the residence of T. Lloyd, Esq.; Ballywilliam, of T. M. Maunsell, Esq.; Mount Brown, of J. S. Brown, Esq.; the glebe-house, of the Rev. C. Warburton, chancellor of the diocese; Knocknakilla, of the family of the late T. Studdart, Esq.; Rathkeale Abbey, the property of the representatives of the late Geo. Lake, Esq., and now the residence of J. Hewson, Esq.; Wilton House, of W. K. Brown, Esq.; Deansfort, of Mrs. Brown; Mount Southwell, of F. Brown, Esq.; Enniscoush, of J. Hewson, Esq.; Stoneville, of H. Massy, Esq.; the Glebe Castle, of the Rev. C. T. Coghlan, the incumbent of the adjoining parish of Kilscannel, the origin of the singular name of which has not been ascertained; and Castle Matras, or Matrix, also of J. Southwell Brown, Esq. This castle, which stands about a mile from the town, was erected in the reign of Elizabeth, and is a square castellated building, 90 feet high; it was besieged by Cromwell, but the only traces of injury it retains are the marks of a few cannon shot. It stands on a prominent situation on the banks of the Deel, forming a picturesque object in the landscape, and commanding extensive views of the surrounding country, including the Shannon, and the Clare and Tipperary mountains; it has lately been put into a state of complete repair, in doing which due attention was paid to preserve its original character by its proprietor, who proposes to make it his permanent residence. All these are within the parish; not far distant from the town are Altavilla, the residence of T. G. Bateman, Esq.; Riddlestown, of Gerald Blennerhassett, Esq.; Clonard, of J. F. Massey, Esq.; Elm Hill, of I. Studdert, Esq.; Glenville, of John Massey, Esq.; Cahermoyle, of W. Smith O'Brien, Esq.; and Nantinan House, of T. H. Royse, Esq.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Limerick, united from time immemorial to the rectories and vicarages of Kilscannel, Clounagh, and Clounshire, and to the rectory of Dundonnell, together constituting the union of Rathkeale and the corps of the chancellorship of the cathedral of Limerick, in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £656. 6. 2., and of the benefice to £1247. 13. The glebe-house was erected in 1819, by aid of a gift of £100 and a loan of £1500 from the late Board of First Fruits: the glebe comprises 10 acres, in two portions, one near the church, on which the Glebe Castle stands; the other a mile distant, on which the glebe-house is built. The church is a very handsome edifice, in the early English style, with a lofty square tower, embattled and crowned with crocketed pinnacles: it was erected in 1831, near the site of the former church, and is built of black marble raised from a quarry on the river's bank near the town: it stands on a gentle eminence west of the river, close to the old site of Castle-Southwell. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also part of Kilscannell parish, and the whole of the ancient parishes of Rathnasaire and Kilcoleman. The chapel, an ancient and plain building, with a new front, is in the town; in which there are also places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists and Independents. There are two free schools under the London Hibernian Society, and a school supported by Col. White: in these schools are about 140 boys and 100 girls: there are also nine private schools, in which are about 200 boys and 70 girls. At the upper end of the Main-street are the ruins of the ancient priory, already noticed; the tower and western gable are complete, and the side walls nearly so; but the building was small and its architectural details are by no means interesting. Two miles to the north of the town are the fine ruins of Liosnacoille castle, built by the Mac Sheehys, who were introduced into this part of the country by the seventh Earl of Desmond in 1420; and two miles to the south is Ballyallinan Castle, on the eastern bank of the Deel, built by the O'Hallinans; the latter was taken in 1600 from Rory Mac Sheehy, by Dermot O'Connor, in execution of a plan for delivering the Sugan Earl of Desmond to the English, but he was shortly after besieged in it, and compelled by his own followers to surrender.
RATHKELTY.--See RAHELTY.
RATHKENAN, a parish, in the barony of KILNEMANAGH, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 4 1/2 miles (S. W.) from Thurles; containing 235 inhabitants. It is a perpetual cure, in the diocese of Cashel, annexed to that of Holy Cross, and in the patronage of the Archbishop: the rectory is impropriate in Carew Hamilton, Esq. The tithes amount to £43. 12. 1.
RATHKENNY, a parish, in the barony of LOWER NAVAN, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W.) from Slane, on the road from Moynalty to Drogheda, and close by the mail coach road from Dublin to Londonderry; containing 1995 inhabitants. This parish comprises 5430 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is of good quality; about two-thirds are arable and the rest pasture, except about 150 acres of bog. From the hill of Mullaha a view of seven counties is obtained. Here is a police station. The seats are Mullaha, the residence of Brabazon Morris, Esq.; and Rathkenny House, of T. Hussey, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of T. Hussey, Esq.; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Drogheda. The tithes amount to £384. 13. 6., of which £193. 2. 2 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The church is a small modern structure. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Slane: a large chapel has just been built, the front of which is faced with hewn stone; it is a neat Gothic edifice. Here is also a R. C. school, which it is in contemplation to place under the National Board. About 40 boys and 20 girls are taught in a private school. There are some remains of an ancient castle.
RATHKYRAN, a parish, in the barony of IVERK, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, near the road from Waterford to Carrick-on-Suir, 4 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Waterford; containing 1408 inhabitants, of which number, 120 are in the village. The parish comprises 4197 statute acres, and the village contains 22 houses. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, and in the patronage of the Vicars Choral of the cathedral of Kilkenny; the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter. The tithes amount to £203. 4. 4., of which £135. 9. 7. is payable to the dean and chapter, and £67. 4. 9 1/4 to the vicar. The church is in good repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and those of Aglishmartin, Portnescully, Poleroan, Clonmore, Ballytarsna, Tubrid, and part of Burnchurch, in which union are three chapels. At Moncoin is a school under the superintendence of the nuns, in which are about 250 girls; and in a private school are about 200 boys; there is also a Sunday school.
RATHLACKAN, a village, in the parish of LACKAN, barony of TYRAWLEY, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 5 1/4 miles (N.) from Killala: the population is returned with the parish. It is situated upon the north-western coast, and has a penny post to Killala.
RATHLIN, an island and parish, in the barony of CAREY, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 65 miles (N.) from Ballycastle; containing 1039 inhabitants. This island, which is situated off the northern coast of Antrim, nearly opposite to the town of Bally-castle, in lat. 54° 36' (N.), and lon. 9° 15' (W.), and which is regarded as the Ricnia of Pliny and the Ricina of Ptolemy, has received various appellations from different writers. By the Irish historians it is called Recarn, or Recrain; by Buchanan, Raclinda; by Mackenzie, Rachri; by Ware, Raghlin; and Raghery by Hamilton, who derives that name from Ragh Erin, signifying the "fort of Erin." Its present name, which has been adopted by all modern writers, is but a slight modification of that given to it by Ware. St. Comgall is said to have landed in this island with the intention of founding a cell, but was expelled by a band of soldiers. In the sixth century, however, a church was founded here by St. Columba, who placed it under the superintendence of St. Colman. But the foundation of this religious establishment is by some writers attributed to Lugard Laither, who was abbot about the year 590, and by others to St. Legene, abbot of Hy, by whom it was repaired about the year 630. In 790, a body of Danish pirates, in their first descent upon the coast, laid waste the whole island and destroyed the monastery, which was soon afterwards restored; it was again destroyed in 973, by the Danes, who martyred the abbot, St. Feradach; since which time no subsequent notice of it occurs. King John granted the island to Alan of Galway; and Robert Bruce, when driven from Scotland by the success of Baliol, his competitor for the crown, took refuge here, where he fortified himself in a castle, of which a fragment still remaining bears his name. In 1558, the Earl of Sussex, then Lord-Deputy, attacked the Scots who had taken possession of the island and expelled them with great slaughter; and so much did the place suffer from the repeated ravages of the English and Scots, that it is stated in a manuscript history of the country to have been totally uninhabited in 1580.
The island is about six miles and a half in length, and about a mile and a half in breadth near the centre; the eastern portion curves towards the main land, from the nearest point of which it is about three miles distant, forming a small enclosure which is called Church bay. It comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 3398 3/4 statute acres, including 30 1/2 acres under water: about three-fourths consist of rocks and stony pasture, and the remainder of arable land of medium quality. It is fully exposed to the northern ocean, and the tides running here with great impetuosity, the sea is often so rough as frequently to deter tourists from visiting it. The western side is rocky and mountainous, and the appearance of the coast strikingly magnificent; brown rocks and still darker masses of basaltic pillars are in some places contrasted with chalk cliffs: on the northern side the precipices towards the sea rise to the height of 450 feet without any projecting base. The soil is a light mould, intermixed with fragments of basalt and limestone; the valleys are rich and well cultivated, and arable land, meadows, and a variety of rocky pastures are scattered over the whole island. The substratum of nearly the whole island is basalt and limestone, and on the eastern side especially it forms beautiful ranges of columns, differing from those of the Giants' Causeway only in their dimensions, and in the greater variety of their arrangement, being found in the same places perpendicular, horizontal, and curved. Considerable beds of hard chalk extend for some distance along the southern shore, and in some places, as near Church bay, where they are intersected by basaltic dikes, the hard chalk or limestone is found to possess phosphoric qualities; beds of puzzolana are also found here, and on the shores a substance resembling pumice stone. Mr. Hamilton traces a vein of coal and iron-stone passing under the sea from the mines at Ballycastle to this island, which he thinks has been separated from the opposite coast by some convulsion of nature. Barley of excellent quality and cattle are sent off from this place; the former is chiefly purchased by Scottish merchants. Kelp was formerly made in great quantities; its manufacture was the chief source of wealth to the inhabitants, but since the bleachers have discontinued the use of it, there is very little demand; the chief markets for it are Campbelltown and Glasgow There are two storehouses, one for kelp and one for barley, erected by the Rev. Mr. Gage, proprietor of the island, for the purpose of collecting the produce of his tenantry; there is also a mill for grinding oats. The horses, cattle, and sheep are all small. Church bay, though affording good anchorage, is entirely exposed to the violence of the western winds, during the prevalence of which no vessel can ride here in safety; the only other havens are some small creeks on the eastern side, of which the principal is Port Ushet, where the small craft belonging to the island shelter during the winter. The inhabitants of this part of the island are principally fishermen, who make short voyages and carry on a little trade by way of barter; they all speak the English language; but in the western part of the island the Irish language is universal, and the inhabitants, from want of intercourse with strangers, have many peculiarities; they are a simple, laborious, and honest people, entertaining an ardent affection for their island, which alone they regard as their country, and speak of Ireland as of a foreign land. They are very dexterous in seeking for the nests of sea fowl, for which purpose they swing themselves down the face of the precipices by means of a rope secured to a stake on the summit. Both Catholics and Protestants generally live together in the greatest harmony, undisturbed by the difference of religion; they frequently intermarry; scarcely was an individual ever known to emigrate formerly, but many young men have gone to America of late years. There is neither any town nor regular village; the dwellings of the inhabitants are irregularly scattered throughout the island. The proprietor, the Rev. R. Gage, is constantly resident and acts as magistrate. A coast-guard station for one officer and six men, one of the eight that constitute the district of Ballycastle, has been established here.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £60, which is augmented with £27. 14. from Primate Boulter's fund. The glebe-house has been condemned as unfit for residence, and the curate has a house and garden rent-free provided by the incumbent, who pays him a stipend of £60. The glebe comprises 15 acres, valued at £18. 15. per ann., making the gross income of the benefice £106. 9. The church, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £800, is a neat small edifice with a square tower, erected in 1815. The R. C. chapel is a plain building. About 180 children are taught in three public schools. There are some slight remains of the ruined fortress called Bruce's castle, of the original foundation of which there is nothing upon record. Nearly in the centre of the island are some small tumuli; in one of these was found a stone coffin, near which was an earthen vessel, and a considerable number of human bones; and on the small plain where these tumuli are placed have been found brazen swords, spear-heads, and a large fibula, which are deposited in the museum of Trinity College, Dublin. Near the Black Rock, on the south of Church bay, are four remarkable caverns, which, though penetrating a basaltic mass and at a point remote from any calcareous formation, have calcareous stalactites depending from the roof, which by their continual dropping have deposited an incrustation, about an inch in thickness, on the floor beneath.
RATHLINE.--See RATHCLINE.
RATHLYNAN, or RATHLINEY, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 3 1/2 miles (N. E. by E.) from Tipperary, on the road to Thurles; containing 1354 inhabitants. It comprises 2657 statute acres of land, generally good and mostly in tillage. The river Multeen flows through the parish, within the limits of which are Lacken, the residence of John Smithwick, Esq.; and Mount William, of Jas. Mahon, Esq. At the cross of Donaskeigh is a station of the constabulary police. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, forming part of the union of Ballintemple; the tithes amount to £200.
RATHMACKNEE, a parish, in the barony of FORTH, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. by W.) from Wexford, on the road to Kilmore; containing 549 inhabitants. It comprises 1569 3/4 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. Limestone quarries have been opened on the estates of Sir Wm. Geary and H. K. G. Morgan, Esq., and the produce is sold to the tenantry at a low price: the value of these quarries might be greatly increased by a short cut to Wexford harbour, thus opening a conveyance for the limestone into the interior of the county. There is a flour-mill near the church. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ferns, and in the patronage of the Corporation of Dublin: the tithes amount to £139. 2. 11., and there is a glebe comprising 12 acres of cultivated land. The glebe-house, the residence of the Rev. Fras. Pentland, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits, in 1809, contributed £100 as a gift and £224 as a loan, is situated near the church, and sheltered by a small but thriving plantation. The church is a neat edifice in the later English style, erected in 1813 at an expense of £800, being a gift from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of the union or district called Piercestown, comprising also the parishes of Drinagh, Killiane, Kilmocree, Kildavin, and Rathaspeck; and containing the chapels of Piercestown, Kilmocree, and Mourntown, of which the first is in Rathmacknee and the last in Kildavin. A school of about 50 children, partly supported by Thos. Walker, Esq., of Belmont, is held near the chapel. Adjoining the church is the ancient castle of Rathmacknee, one of the most perfect of the numerous castles in this county; it consists of a massive square tower with the greater part of the walls still surrounding it, and about 70 years since it was inhabited by an ancestor of H. K. G. Morgan, Esq., the present proprietor. The castle and church of Rathmacknee, with the surrounding trees, form a very pleasing group of objects. In the church-yard are two ancient tombs, one of which appears to have been the sepulchre of a former minister, or priest, of this parish.
RATHMELTON.--See RAMELTON.
RATHMICHAEL, a parish, partly in the barony of UPPERCROSS, and partly in that of HALF-RATHDOWN, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (N. W.) from Bray, on the road to Dublin; containing 1297 inhabitants. This place appears to have attained a considerable degree of importance at a very early period; the vicars choral of St. Patrick's, Dublin, claimed as their ancient inheritance the town of Shanganagh , in this parish; and the whole of that extensive townland belonged, from the reign of Edw. I., to the family of Walsh, of Old Connaught, till the early part of the last century, when it was purchased by Lewis Roberts, Esq. It has since that time been divided into portions and let on leases in perpetuity by the heirs of that family, who hold the fee simple of the estate; the largest portion of the land, consisting of more than 100 plantation acres, has been for 40 years in the occupation of Gen. Sir George Cockburn, K. C. The parish, which is bounded on the east by the sea, comprises 2599 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4137 per annum. The soil is good and the system of agriculture improved; the only waste land is mountain, which affords rough pasturage, and there are about 8 acres of common. Granite is found in several places, and on the mountain of Shankill, near which there are mines of lead worked by the Mining Company of Ireland. Shanganagh, the seat of Sir G. Cockburn, is a spacious and handsome castellated mansion, almost wholly built by its proprietor: the interior contains many elegant apartments, an extensive and well-selected library, a fine collection of paintings by the best masters, a variety of marbles, antique casts, and bronzes, collected by Sir George while in Italy, and some fine specimens of Egyptian granite, mosaic work, and other articles of vertu. In front of the house is a handsome column of Grecian marble with a rich Corinthian antique capital, erected by the proprietor in commemoration of the passing of the Reform Bill. The views from the house are very rich and finely diversified, embracing woods, mountain, and sea; and the grounds are ornamented with a variety of statuary tastefully disposed. There are several other seats in the parish, which, from their elevated situation and proximity to the sea, command fine prospects. The principal are Shanganagh House, the residence of W. Hopper, Esq.; Clairmont, of J. Clarke, Esq.; Newbrighton, of W. Graves, Esq.; Newbrighton, of -- Dillon, Esq.; Air Hill, of W. Hall, Esq.; Chantilly, of R. Tilly, Esq.; Shankill House, of J. V. Fowler, Esq.; Sylvan Mount, of G. Hillas, Esq.; Skerrington, of J. Harvey, Esq.; Ellerslie, of W. Bigger, Esq.; Ballybride House, of the Hon. R. Plunkett; Springfield, of Mrs. Morgan; Lordello, of P. Morgan, Esq.; Abington, of -- Morigan, Esq.; Shanganagh, of -- Carter, Esq.; Johnstown, of -- Smith, Esq.; Cherrywood, of the Rev. J. Hunt; Emerald cottage, of Capt. J. S. Hore, R. N.; Shankill, of R. Maddock, Esq.; and Clifton Cottage, of Mrs. Morgan. The eastern side of the Scalp, which abounds with features of the rudest magnificence, is within the parish. The lead-works of the Mining Company afford employment to many persons. The ore is chiefly galena, but carbonate is found in small portions; in the immediate vicinity of the mines is a tower for making shot, and at Ballycorus are furnaces for smelting the ore not only of these but also of other mines in the neighbouring districts belonging to the same company; there are also works for rolling the lead and making pipes of all sizes. A patent exists for holding fairs near the present ruins of the ancient church, round which was formerly a considerable village, but none are now held.
The parish was separated from the union of Bray in 1826. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, constituting the prebend of Rathmichael in the cathedral of St. Patrick: the tithes amount to £250. The glebe-house is an inferior residence, built by Dr. John Lyon, the friend and cotemporary of Dean Swift; and there are a few acres of glebe. The church is in ruins; the Protestant parishioners attend the church of Bray. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kingstown, and Cabinteely, and part of that of Sandyford and Glancullen. The parochial school, at Laughlinstown, in which are about 40 children, is supported by subscription; and there is a private school, in which are about 60 children. An estate was bequeathed by F. Adair, Esq., to the parish of Powerscourt and the unions of Delgany and Bray, of the proceeds of which this parish receives a portion. Near the ruins of the ancient church, which occupy an elevated site commanding a view of the sea and the adjoining country, are the remains of an ancient round tower, consisting of the foundation and about two feet of the wall above ground: it has a singular under-ground gallery, mostly choked up, which is said to be extensive. The remains of a line of castles and intrenchments may be traced, commencing on the lands of Shanganagh, near Laughlinstown, and continued over the mountain beyond Rathmichael to Ballyman; in such as yet exist, the vaults appear to have been centred with wicker-work. There are several Druidical relics in the neighbourhood; also the ruins of Puck's castle and that of Shankill, said to have been besieged by Cromwell, and near which have been frequently found human skeletons, and coins of the reigns of Chas. I. and Jas. I. In a field belonging to Mr. Hopper was discovered, in ploughing, a stone coffin containing human bones. The glebe-house was for several years the favourite retreat of Dr. Leland, author of the History of Ireland, who was rector of the union of Bray, and who planted the shrubbery which now surrounds it.
RATHMINES, a considerable village and suburb of Dublin, in that part of the united parishes of ST. PETER and ST. KEVIN which is in the barony of UPPERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, on the old road to Milltown, 2 miles (S.) from the General Post-Office: containing 1600 inhabitants. This place is chiefly noted as the scene of the celebrated battle of Rathmines, which occurred Aug. 2nd, 1649: the Marquess of Ormonde, with the royalist army, consisting of about 7000 foot and 4000 horse, had fixed his headquarters at Old Rathmines Castle (now occupied by Mr. Jackson), on taking measures to invest the city of Dublin; but an action with the garrison being brought on by an attack upon the neighbouring castle of Baggotrath, the republican soldiers gained an advantage, which they pursued with vigour, and succeeded in putting to flight the whole of the forces under the Marquess of Ormonde, with the loss on the part of the latter of 600 slain and 1800 prisoners, among whom were 300 officers: the Marquess retired to Kilkenny. From the circumstance of cannon and musket-balls, and coins of the reign of Jas. I. being frequently ploughed up, it is conjectured that the conflict raged a considerable distance along the banks of the river Dodder. At the corner of the Rathgar road is a station of the city police: there is a small woollen factory belonging to Messrs. Wilans. Twelve years since Rathmines was only known as an obscure village; it now forms a fine suburb, commencing at Portobello bridge, and extending in a continued line of handsome houses, with some pretty detached villas, for about one mile and a half. Among the most conspicuous are Rathmines Castle, the residence of J. T. Purser, Esq., a castellated mansion in tastefully disposed grounds; Wood Park, of T. P. Haves, Esq.; Fort-Royal Hall, of J. Rutherford, Esq., whence is obtained a splendid view of the bay of Dublin, and the Dublin and Wicklow mountains; Campobello, of M. Roache, Esq.; Fortfield, of P. Boylan, Esq.; Gortnasheelah, of the Rev. J. B. McCrea; Rathgar House, of the Hon. Capt. Coote Hely Hutchinson; Bellwood House, of O. Willan, Esq.; Greenville, of J. Chadwick, Esq.; Rookerick, of Mrs. Codd; Chapel View, of G. Taylor, Esq.; Somerville, of Roderick Connor, Esq.; and Ashgrove, of G. Watson, Esq. A handsome church was erected in 1828, at a cost of £2600, defrayed by the late Board of First Fruits; it is in the pointed style of architecture, with a square tower surmounted with a lofty spire: the design is an imitation of the ancient roofed crypts, the roof being a solid arch, and the walls and ceiling in the interior forming a continued vault: it is a chapel of ease to the united parishes of St. Peter and St. Kevin. In the vestry is a parochial library, presented by the Rev. S. W. Fox. On the Rathmines road is a neat R. C. chapel, which is the parochial chapel for the union or district of St. Mary and St. Peter, comprising parts of the Protestant parishes of St. Peter, St. Kevin, St. Catherine, and St. Mary Donnybrook: in addition, there are R. C. chapels at Milltown, and at the nunneries at Harold's Cross and Ranelagh. Here is a female day school, partly supported by subscription; and a spacious school-house was erected in 1835, by subscription, near the Rathmines chapel, in connection with the new Board of Education.
RATHMOLION, a parish, in the barony of LOWER MOYFENRAGH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 .miles (W. by N.) from Summerhill, on the road to Longwood; containing 2674 inhabitants, of which number, 208 are in the village. The parish comprises 19,265 statute acres, mostly light and gravelly. The village consists of 33 houses, and about half a mile from it is a constabulary police station: fairs are held on April 19th, June 30th, and Sept. 29th. Tubbertinan, now the residence of Mrs. McEvoy, was formerly the seat of W. Nugent, Esq. Rathmolion House is the residence of R. Fowler, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of W. Snell Magee, Esq.; the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Darnley. The tithes amount to £438. 9. 2., of which £230. 15. 4 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The glebe-house was built in 1813, at a cost of £628, partly defrayed by a gift of £100 from the late Board of First Fruits, the remainder by the then incumbent: the glebe comprises 35 acres, valued at £43. 15. per annum. The church is a neat edifice, built in 1797, partly by private subscription and partly by parochial assessment, at an expense of £444; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £181 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising Rathmolion and Rathcore, in each of which is a chapel. About 80 children are educated in the parochial school, situated in the village, which is aided by the Bishop of Ossory, the Earl of Darnley, the rector, and R. Fowler, Esq., who also supports a school at Cullenter, the school-house of which he built, and allows the master an acre of land. There are also three private schools, in which are about 130 children. A dispensary is supported partly by subscriptions and by the aid of R. Fowler, Esq. At Castletown is an ancient Danish fort: and in the parish are the ruins of an old church.
RATHMORE, a parish, in the barony of RATHVILLY, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 7 miles (S. W.) from Baltinglass, on the road from Tullow to Castle-Dermot; containing 225 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the confines of the county of Kildare, by which it is bounded on the north-west, and on the river Slaney, which forms its south-eastern boundary. As applotted under the tithe act, it comprises 2374 statute acres, the greater part of which is in meadow and pasture, and the remainder in tillage; there is a very small portion of woodland and bog. Rathmore is a station of the constabulary police. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Rathvilly: the tithes amount to £160, and there is a glebe of 13 acres. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Rathvilly. About 120 children are educated in a school endowed by the late Mr. Disraeli, who bequeathed £3000 for its establishment and support: the school-house is a handsome building, consisting of a centre and two wings the former being appropriated as a residence for the master and mistress, who receive £30 per ann. each, and have the use of five acres of ground rent-free.
RATHMORE, a parish, partly in the barony of SOUTH SALT, partly in that of SOUTH NAAS, but chiefly in that of NORTH NAAS, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Naas, on the road from Dublin to Ballymore-Eustace; containing 1473 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which signifies the "Great Rath," comprises 7656 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, all arable and pasture. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, united by act of council, in 1833, to the vicarage of Kilteel, and in the patronage of the Archbishop; the rectory is impropriate in Col. L. Allen. The tithes amount to £336. 9. 5 1/2., of which £97. 13. 6 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and £238. 15. 10. to the vicar. The glebe-house was built by aid of a loan of £200 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1821; the glebe comprises 12 acres. The church is a small plain structure, with a square tower, erected by aid of a grant of £450, in 1766, from the same Board, which also granted for it, in 1824, £375, as a gift: it has lately been repaired by a grant of £187 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the R. C. divisions the parish is in the union or district of Blessington, in which are two chapels. In a school under the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity, and another supported by private subscriptions, about 100 children are educated: there is also a private school, in which are about 40 children. Near the church is a large rath.
RATHMORE, a parish, in the barony of LUNE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 1 3/4 mile (N.) from Athboy, on the road from Mullingar to Athlone and Drogheda; containing 1070 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1977 3/4 statute acres, the land being generally very good. Rathmore was formerly the seat of the Bligh family, of whom John Bligh, Esq., M. P., in 1721, acquired the title of Baron Clifton of Rathmore, in 1723, that of Viscount Darnley of Athboy, and in 1725, that of Earl of Darnley; some remains exist of the ancient castle, which was formerly part of the estate of Cruise and Plunket. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Athboy: the tithes, including those of Moyagher, amount to £184. 12. 3 1/2. In the old church, of which there are considerable remains now forming a picturesque object, is a monumental tablet to the memory of Lieut.-Gen. Thomas Bligh, general of horse at the battles of Dettingen, Val, Fontenay, and Melle, and Commander-in-Chief of the British troops at Cherbourg: he died in 1775, and was interred here. There is also a monument erected to the memory of Sir Francis Hopkins, Bart.
RATHMOYLAN, a parish, in the barony of GAUL-TIER, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (S. by W.) from Dunmore; containing 789 inhabitants. This parish is situated on St. George's channel, and contains the villages of Rathmoylan and Ballymacaw, chiefly inhabited by fishermen, whose occupation, however, is rendered very precarious from the rocky nature of the coast. It comprises 2082 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. By inquisition taken in 1537, this rectory and that of Killea were found to belong to the monastery of St. John the Evangelist, in the city of Waterford, and were subsequently in the possession of the family of Wyse, in right of their manor near that city. It is in the diocese of Waterford: the rectory is now impropriate in James Aylward, Esq., and the vicarage forms part of the union of Killea. The tithes amount to £166. 7. 9., of which £71. 0. 1. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. About 70 children are educated in two private schools. In the rocky cliffs on the coast are several caves formed by the violent action of the sea.
RATHMULLEN, a small sea-port, in the parish of KILLYGARVAN, barony of KILMACRENAN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (N.) from Ramelton: the population is returned with the parish. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, and consists of one main street: it has a penny post to Ramelton, and is both a constabulary police and coastguard station, the latter being included in the district of Dunfanaghy: petty sessions are held here. There are some remains of a religious house built by Mac Swine Fanagh, for Carmelites or White friars, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; also of a castle, said to have been built by him, which was destroyed at the time of the Reformation, but afterwards rebuilt by Bishop Knox. Part of this castle was for some time used as the parish church, previous to the erection of the present edifice.
RATHMULLEN, a parish, in the barony of LECALE, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER; containing, with the post-town of Killough (which is separately described), 2742 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the eastern coast and intersected by the road from Downpatrick, takes its name from an ancient rath to the south of the church, near which are still some vestiges of an ancient castle. The parish, which is bounded on the south by Dundrum bay, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey (including detached portions), 3369 3/4 statute acres, of which 9 1/2 are water, and the remainder principally under tillage. A considerable tract of sand-bank extends along the shore; about 80 acres are marshy land, and there is a small portion of bog; but, with the exception of the town parks, there is very little meadow or pasture. The surface is uneven and in some parts marked by rocky elevations; but the soil in general is rich, and the system of agriculture greatly improved. Coal is supposed to exist in the lands towards the coast, but no attempt has been hitherto made to work it. A lead mine was discovered some few years since, which on examination was found to contain a large proportion of silver. Janeville, the residence of Capt. Browne, is the principal seat; there are also many excellent farm-houses in the parish. During the season, some of the inhabitants are employed in the herring and lobster fishery; and a considerable coasting trade is carried on between Killough and the different ports in the channel, which is highly beneficial to the agricultural interests of the neighbourhood. St. John's Point, in this parish, is the most prominent southern headland between Dublin and the North of Ireland, and together with the adjacent bay of Dundrum has been more disastrous to shipping than any other part of the coast. From the number of wrecks that have occurred here, the erection of a lighthouse is imperatively called for, not only for the safety of trading vessels but also of the numerous fleets of fishing boats which annually rendezvous at Killough and Ardglass. This point is situated in lat. 54° 27' 40" (N.), and lon. 5° 24' 30" (W.); and a coast-guard is stationed here, which is one of the seven stations constituting the district of Newcastle. Fairs are held at Killough, as is also a monthly court for the manors of Killough, Hamilton, and Down, of which the two former are wholly within the parish. The detached townland of Rossglass was, in 1834, separated by act of council from the parish of Kilclief and united to this parish. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Down, and in the alternate patronage of the Earl of Carrick and Viscount Bangor; the rectory is impropriate in Viscount Bangor, Stephen Woolfe, Esq., and Miss Hamill. The tithes amount to £343. 6. 1., of which £113. 17. is payable to the impropriators, and £229. 9. 1. to the vicar. The glebe-house, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £450 and a loan of £150, was built in 1817; the glebe comprises 4 3/4 acres, valued at £5. 18. 9. per annum. The church, a small edifice in the Grecian style, situated on an eminence overlooking the bay, was built in 1701, from the proceeds of forfeited impropriations. At Killough is a chapel of ease, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Rathmullen. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Bright, and contains chapels at Killough and Rossglass.
There are places of worship for Presbyterians and Wesleyan Methodists. About 250 children are taught in two public schools; and there are three private schools, in which are about 100 children, and a Sunday school: the parochial school is about to be rebuilt on a larger scale, at the expense of the vicar. There are several mineral springs, which are warm in winter and cold in summer; one is said to have a petrifying quality, equal, if not superior, to the celebrated waters of Lough Neagh. In various parts of the parish are several small forts: and on a hill to the west of the church is a cave, 34 yards in length, divided into four chambers, of which the farthest is circular and larger than the others. The headland of St. John's Point was anciently the site of a preceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. There are still some slight remains of the church on the estate of Capt. Browne, near which several stone coffins of singular form were dug up recently, together with massive gold ornaments and curious coins; the church itself, as far as can be conjectured from its ruins, was of very singular construction, its style of architecture much resembling the Egyptian. There is also a fine spring of clear water, covered over with stones taken from the ruins of the church.
RATHNAVEOGE, a parish, in the barony of IKERRIN, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Roscrea, on the south side of the mail road from Dublin to Limerick; containing 1387 inhabitants. It comprises 4227 statute acres, of which about 3300 are nearly equally divided between tillage and pasture: the remainder is waste. Within its limits is part of Benduff mountain, on the north-eastern side of which rises a stream that joins the river Nore at a short distance from its source in the Slieve Bloom mountains. The seats are Lisduff, the residence of Wm. Smith, Esq.; Honey Mount, of John Lloyd, Esq.; Summer Hill, of W. T. Shortt, Esq.; and Newgrove, of Westrop Smith, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, forming part of the union of Dunkerrin: the tithes amount to £253. 9. 8 3/4. In the R. C. divisions also it is in the union or district of Dunkerrin. Some remains of the old church and castle of Rathnaveoge still exist. At a short distance from the latter is the ruined castle of Ballynakill, the property, and formerly the residence, of the Minchin family; it is surrounded by a high wall regularly fortified, and the buildings appear to have been of considerable extent.
RATHNEW, a parish and village, in the barony of NEWCASTLE, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, at the junction of the roads from Dublin, Rathdrum, and Bray to Wicklow; containing, with the post-town of Ashford and village of Bolinalea (both separately described), 3718 inhabitants, of which number, 544 are in the village of Rathnew. This place, called also Newrath, derives its name from an ancient rath, and is intersected by the river Vartrey, over which is a picturesque bridge. The village contains 107 houses; and at Newrath-bridge is a superior family hotel, kept by Messrs. Nolan, which has long been celebrated for the beauty of its situation and the excellence of its internal arrangements. A constabulary police force is stationed in the village, and petty sessions are held there on alternate Mondays. The parish comprises 4913 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is generally good, the system of agriculture improving, and there is neither waste land nor bog. The principal seats are Rosanna, the residence of D. Tighe, Esq., beautifully situated in a rich demesne embellished with some remarkably fine timber, particularly the sweet chesnut tree; Clonmannon, of R. H. Truell, Esq., finely situated in tastefully disposed grounds, commanding some interesting sea views and mountain scenery; Clermont, of J. A. Leopard, Esq., from which is a fine view of the sea; Upper Tinakelly, of the Rev. Mr. Dixon, commanding an extensive view of the coast from Bray Head to Wicklow Head; Cronakiry, of J. Beddy, Esq.; Ballina Park, of H. W. Bryan, Esq., in the grounds of which is a rath; and Coolawinney, of R. Cotter, Esq. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, forming part of the union and corps of the prebend of Wicklow in the cathedral of St. Patrick, Dublin: the tithes amount to £377. 1. 6 1/2. In the R. C. divisions it is also part of the union of Wicklow; there is a chapel at Ashford. At Clonmannon is a school supported by R. H. Truell, Esq. In the village of Rathnew are the ruins of the ancient church, to which is attached a burial-ground; and on the townland of Miltown are the ruins of a castle. Near the Cherry Orchard is a remarkably fine oak tree, which at three feet from the ground measures 21 1/2 feet in girth. While on a visit at Rosanna the late Mrs. Tighe, aunt of the present proprietor, and eminently distinguished for her mental endowments and poetic talents, composed her celebrated poem of "Psyche;" she was also the author of several other admired poems, and died in 1810, aged 36.
RATHOWEN, a market and post-town, in the parish of RATHASPICK, barony of MOYGOISH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 10 1/2 miles (N. W.) from Mullingar, on the road to Longford, and 50 (W.) from Dublin; containing 605 inhabitants. The town comprises 97 thatched and 12 slated houses, the parish church, the R. C. chapel of the union of Russagh (in which a small school is held), and the market-house, where a market is held every Tuesday; there are fairs on May 15th and on the second Tuesday in December: it is also a constabulary police station.
RATHPATRICK, or BALLYPATRICK, a parish, in the barony of IDA, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 1/2 miles (E. by N.) from Waterford, on the road to New Ross; containing 1617 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the river Suir, at its confluence with the Ross river: it comprises 6298 statute acres. On the top of the great hill of Drumdorony, about 300 acres are occupied by a quarry of breccia, for millstones, which are of so good a quality as to have formerly been exported to England; they are still sent coastwise to Cork, Dublin, and other Irish ports: some of the largest are five feet in diameter, and 16 inches in the eye. The stones are near the surface and appear above it; they are shipped with ease into vessels at the base of the hill, in the Ross river, opposite to the Great Island, which it encircles previous to its junction with the Suir: from this hill another of less elevation extends southward, forming the south-eastern angle of the county, and commanding a magnificent prospect of the banks of the Suir and the harbour of Waterford. The principal seats are Bellevue, the residence of Patrick Power, Esq., beautifully situated on the banks of the river in a well-planted demesne; Snow Hill, of -- Power, Esq,; Ringville, of Lady Esmonde; Springfield, of John Waring, Esq.; Kilmurry, of Geo. Giles, Esq.; Larkfield, of H. Snow, Esq.; and Mount Prospect, of J. Hackett, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Rossbercon; the rectory is impropriate in the corporation of Waterford. The tithes amount to £166. 10. 2 1/2., of which £l00. 0. 11 3/4. is payable to the corporation, and £66. 9. 2 3/4. to the vicar. On the next vacancy of the benefice, this parish is to be united to Kilculliheen. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, called Slieruagh, or Slieve-ruagh, comprising this parish and those of Kilculliheen, Ballygorum, Kilbride, Kilquane, Kilcolumb, and Kilmackavogue; in which union are a private and three public chapels, of which one is at Slieve-Rae, in this parish. At Ringville, a Lancasterian school is supported by Lady Esmonde; there are also a private school, in which are about 40 children, and a Sunday school. There are remains of an old castle in the demesne of Bellevue; and ruins of an old church at Rathpatrick, where several stones have been dug up, bearing inscriptions scarcely legible.
RATHREA, a parish, in the barony of ARDAGH, county of LONGFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S.) from Edgeworthstown; containing 1054 inhabitants. It is situated on the confines of the county of Westmeath, from which it is separated by the river Inny, and it comprises 2364 3/4 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which a large portion consists of bog and unprofitable mountain, and the arable land is but of ordinary quality; limestone abounds. There is a large flour-mill, worked by M. West, Esq. On the site of the old castle of Rathrea is Foxhall, the residence of R. M. Fox, Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Ardagh: the rectory is impropriate in R. M. Fox, Esq., and the vicarage forms part of the union of Kilglass. The tithes amount to £109. 15. 4 1/2., of which £38. 3. 6 1/2. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Lagan, and has a chapel at Ballycloghan. About 150 children are instructed in three private schools. In the demesne of Foxhall are the ruins of the old church, containing a monument to the memory of Sir N. Fox.
RATHREA, a parish, in the barony of TYRAWLEY, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 5 miles (W.) from Killala, on the road from Ballina to Crossmolina; containing 1851 inhabitants. It is bounded by the river Owenmore, and comprises 4119 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £1790 per annum. The land is mostly under tillage, and the state of agriculture is improving, though much of the old system is still adhered to: there is but little bog, and abundance of limestone. Fairs are held on March 17th, the Thursday after Trinity-Sunday, June 24th, Sept. 29th, and Dec. 26th, for cows, horses, and sheep, but they are not much frequented. The most remarkable seats are Farm Hill, the residence of Major Gardiner; Courthill, of John Gardiner, Esq.; Spring Hill, of Thomas Goodwin, Esq.; and Smithstown, of Arthur Pugh, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killala: the rectory is partly appropriate to the precentor and archdeacon of Killala, and partly to the vicars choral of the cathedral of Christ-Church and St. Patrick's, Dublin; the vicarage forms part of the union of Ballisakeery. The tithes amount to £160, of which £38. 15. is payable to the vicars choral, £38. 15. to the precentor, £2. 10. to the archdeacon, and £80 to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilfian. There are two public schools, of which the parochial school is aided by the rector; they afford instruction to 133 children. An old burial-ground on the land of Major Gardiner is still used as a cemetery.
RATHREGAN, a parish, in the barony of RATOATH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. by W.) from Dunshaughlin, on the road from Dublin to Trim; containing 325 inhabitants. This parish comprises 2481 statute acres of tolerably good land, mostly pasture. Here is a constabulary police station. Parsonstown is the residence of the Hon. Major Stanhope. It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Dunshaughlin; the tithes amount to £120, and the glebe, consisting of 23 acres, is valued at £40 per annum. The glebe-house of the union is within the parish; it was built in 1822 by aid of a loan of £562 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, called Batterstown, comprising the parishes of Rathregan, Ballymaglasson, Balfeaghan, Raddonstown, Kilcloon, and Moyglare; and containing three chapels. There is a school in the vicinity of the chapel of Rathregan.
RATHROE, a parish, in the barony of SHELBURNE, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (E.) from Arthurstown: the population is returned with the parish of St. James. This parish, which has long since merged for civil purposes into those of St. James and Dunbrody, is estimated to contain 3981 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. It is an impropriate curacy, in the diocese of Ferns, annexed to those of St. James and Dunbrody: the rectory is impropriate in Lord Templemore, to whom the tithes, amounting to £82. 18. 10., are payable. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the district of Hook.
RATHRONAN, a parish, in the Shanid Division of the barony of LOWER CONNELLO, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (W.) from Newcastle, on the road to Shanagolden; containing 3102 inhabitants. This parish comprises 18,153 statute acres, of which 17,869 are applotted under the tithe act; about 1000 acres are under tillage, 5000 meadow and rich pasture, and the remainder mountain pasture, plantation, and turbary. The land in the eastern portion is of good quality, being based on a substratum of limestone, and produces excellent crops under a good system of cultivation: the meadows and pastures are extremely rich; great numbers of sheep are fed on them annually, and the mountain districts afford good pasturage for numerous herds of cattle: there are not more than 300 acres of waste land, and much of the rougher kind is daily being brought into cultivation. The mountain range extends from the village of Ardagh to the confines of the county west of Arthea, where it joins the county of Kerry, a distance of more than 10 miles; the general formation is that of silicious grit and indurated clay or clunch, resting on a limestone base. Throughout the entire range are five several strata of coal, varying from 12 to 40 inches in thickness; but the two upper strata, not more than 16 inches thick, have only yet been worked, and that in a very inefficient manner; all the strata dip very rapidly. . Nodules of ironstone are found in the rivulets and also imbedded in the clunch; limestone is also abundant, and no district in Ireland seems better adapted than this for the establishment of iron-works. Flagstones of very large size are quarried in these mountains, and numerous escars are found almost exclusively of limestone. The principal seats are Glenville, the residence of J. Massey, Esq.; and Cahermoyle, of W. S. O'Brien, Esq.; the woods around these seats are extensive and luxuriant, and are very interesting from their situation in a fertile valley destitute of all timber but what is on the demesnes; the plantations of Glenville are very extensive, reaching to the summit of the mountain. Athea, or Temple Athea, is the only village in the parish; it is very small but picturesquely situated, and is a station of the constabulary police. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Limerick, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £133. The glebe-house, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £400 and a loan of £340, is a handsome residence, built in 1827; the glebe comprises 2 1/2 acres. The church is a small but very neat edifice, in the early English style, with a square tower, and was wholly rebuilt in 1820, on which occasion the late Board of First Fruits advanced a loan of £500. In the R. C. divisions the eastern portion of the parish forms part of the union of Ardagh, and the western portion is a parish of itself, called Athea, where the chapel is situated. About 80 children are taught in two public schools. Within the grounds of Glenville are some chalybeate and petrifying springs. There are some remains of a very ancient church, and not far from the parish church are the ruins of Ballyvohan castle.
RATHRONAN, a parish, in the barony of IFFA and OFFA EAST, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 1 3/4 mile (N.) from Clonmel, on the road to Fethard, containing 1010 inhabitants. The parish, which comprises 2543 statute acres, rests chiefly on a limestone substratum; the soil is very good, producing fine wheat and rich pasturage, without waste land or bog. A flour mill is situated on a stream which flows through the parish. Excavations have been made in quest of coal at an eminence called the Giant's Grave; the last shaft sunk in a black slaty rock passed through a thin bed of wavellite, at a depth of 40 feet; the proprietor is about to renew the experiment. Rathronan House is the elegant residence of Major-Gen. Sir. Hugh Gough, K. C. B. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, and in the patronage of the Duke of Devonshire; the rectory is impropriate in John Bagwell, Esq. The tithes amount to £203. 1. 6., of which £110. 15. 5. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The church, a neat building, was erected in 1825, on the site of the old church, at the sole expense of the lady of Gen. Sir Wm. Meadows, who endowed it with the interest of £1800, payable at the death of a Mrs. Meadows. At the Giant's Grave there is an upright stone, about eight feet high above the ground, on which two crosses are sculptured; that on one side of the stone is in raised relief, that on the other in has relief.
RATHSALLAGH, a parish, in the barony of UPPER TALBOTSTOWN, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (S.) from Dunlavan, on the road to Baltinglass; containing 271 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the western boundary of the county, and comprises 1753 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: agriculture is improving; the principal crops are oats and potatoes. It belongs entirely to E. Pennefather, Esq., whose mansion is the only gentleman's seat, though there are several respectable farm-houses. One of the largest fairs in the kingdom is held here on Sept. 4th, for horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, forming part of the union of Dunlavan; the rectory is appropriate to the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The tithes amount to £77. 16. 2., of which £49. 3. 10 1/4. is payable to the appropriators, and £28. 12. 3 3/4. to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is also within the union or district of Dunlavan. In the demesne of Rathsallagh is a school, maintained entirely by the Pennefather family. There is an old rath on the townland of Rathsallagh.
RATHSARAN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER OSSORY, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (W.) from Rathdowney, on the road from Dublin to Thurles; containing 868 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the west by the county of Tipperary, and comprises 2065 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £130, and the glebe comprises 114 acres. The glebe-house was erected by aid of a gift of £250, and a loan of £550, in 1820, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church was built in 1797, by aid of a gift of £500 from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Rathdowney, and contains a chapel. The parochial school, in which are about 50 children, is aided by a contribution from the rector, and a grant of £8 per annum from the Society for Discountenancing Vice.
RATHTOOLE, or BALLYCOR, a parish, in the barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, though locally in the barony of UPPER TALBOTSTOWN, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W. by N.) from Baltinglass, on the road to Ballitore; containing 238 inhabitants. It comprises 687 statute acres, and is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Timolin; the rectory is appropriate to the prebendaries and vicars choral of Christ-Church cathedral, Dublin. The tithes amount to £52. 10., of which £35 is payable to the appropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. At Ballycore is an ancient burial-place.
RATHUGH.--See RAHUE.