A-Z of Offaly in 1837
Print Page
King's County
Locations: A-B | C-D | E-K | L-N
P - W
Below is a list of links to the locations on this page
-
Parsonstown
Philipstown
Portarlington
Rahan
Rapesmills
Rath
Reynagh
Rhode
Roscomroe
Seirkyran
Shannon-Bridge
Shannon-Harbour
Shinrone
Templeharry
Tessauran
Tullamore
Wheery
PARSONSTOWN, or BIRR, a market and post-town, and a parish , in the barony of BALLYBRITT, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 18 miles (S.W.) from Tullamore, and 60 (W.S.W.) from Dublin, on the road from Tullamore to Roscrea; containing, with the village of Crinkle, 9457 inhabitants. The place derived its name of Birr from the abbey of Biorra, founded here by St. Brendan Luaigneus; or from Bior, the Irish term for the bank or margin of a river. It formerly constituted part of the ancient district of Ely O'Carrol in Ormond, in Munster, and did not form any portion of the King's county as at first erected into shire ground in the reign of Philip and Mary, being annexed to it under an inquisition of the 2nd of Jas. I. The castle of Birr was considered to be the chief seat of the O'Carrols, chieftains of the sept. A great battle was fought near it, in 241, between Cormac, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and the people of Munster: the place suffered much from the ravages of the Danes in 841 and 842, and in 1154 O'Hedersgool, king of Cathluighe, was killed at the church door. Soon after the English invasion, Hen.II. granted this district to Philip de Worcester and Theobald Fitzwalter, after which he sold it to William de Braosa and others. It was afterwards transferred to Hugh de Hose or Hussey, in which family it continued till the time of Jas. I. In 1533, Gerald, Earl of Kildare, then lord-deputy, laid siege to the castle in support of Ferganainim O'Carrol, his son-in-law, but soon raised the siege, in consequence of a wound received from one of the garrison. Lord Grey, when lord-deputy, took the castle in 1537, and one of the charge against him, which led to his execution, was that he had sanctioned the outrages committed by Ferganainim O'Carrol. This chieftain afterwards surrrendered his territory to Edw. VI., who restored it to him with the addition of the dignity of Baron of Ely during life. In the proceedings under the commission for the plantation of Ely O'Carrol, in the reign of James I., Birr and its appendages were assigned to Lawrence Parsons, brother of Sir Wm. parsons, the surveyor-general, in 1620; and, as in the grant the place is described as the castle, for, village, and lands of Birr, it must have been of some importance. In the same year the new proprietor obtained a licence to hold a market on Tuesday and two fairs, and seven years after, a further licence for a Saturday market and two additional fairs. The assizes for the county used to be held here at that period. On the breaking out of the war of 1641, William Parsons was made governor of Ely O'Corrol and Birr castle, which he garrisoned with his own tenantry. the next year an engagement took place between the garrison and the sept of the O'Carrols; and in the same year the castle was besieged by the Irish; but was relieved by Sir Chas. Coote, who three into it a supply of ammunition and provisions. The action was deemed so important that it procured for Sir Charles the dignity of Earl of Mountrath. But the next year the place feel into the hands of Gen. Preston, the commander of the forces of the confederate Catholics in Leinster, who kept possession of it until it was taken by Ireton in 1650; and a subsequent attempt by the Marquess of Clanricarde, to recover it for the king was baffled by the approach of Col. Axtell. At the time of the Restoration, it seems that the place was of some commerical importance, from the number of brass tokens then coined for the convenience of trade. In the war of 1688 the castle was again besieged by Cols. Grace and Oxburgh, and surrendered on terms which afterwards were made grounds of accusation against Sir Laurence Parsons, the governor, on which he was found guilty of high treason, but received a pardon after several reprieves. At this period Birr is mentioned by Sir Wm. Petty as sending two members to parliament. In 1689, the R.C. clergymen took possession of the church, tithes, and glebe, which they held till the battle of the Boyne. In 1690, the castle was again besieged by Gen. Sarsfield, the Duke of Berwick, and Lord Galway, but the siege was raised by Sir John Lanier for King William. A meeting of delegates from several volunteer corps was held here in 1781, and again in 1782, at which strong resolutions were passed relative to the great questions which then absorbed public attention. In 1799, a meeting of magistrates, convened to petition against the legislative union, was dispersed by the high sheriff and a body of artillery with three pieces of cannon, for which that functionary and the commander of the military were brought to the bar of the house of commons on the motion of Sir Laurence Parsons, when, instead of punishment, they received a vote of thanks for their conduct. Parsonstown, the name by which the place was called so early as the reign of Chas. I., on the Birr river, formerly called Comcor, a branch of the Lesser Brosna, is pleasantly situated, well built, and inhabited by some wealthy and many respectable families. It is also the centre of a fertile and extensive district, whence it draws large quantities of agricultural produce to be distributed in other parts, and sends into it in return the foreign articles required by the inhabitants. Archbishop Ussher says, that Birr was considered the centre of Ireland; and Sir Wm. Petty, in his survey, marks the church with the words "Umbilicus Hibernie" it is in 53o 6' 16" (N Lat) and 7o 38' 23" (W. Lon.); its geocentric latitude is 52o 55' 30" (North). It is the largest town in the county, and has risen to the highly improved state in which it now is chiefly during the period in which the present proprietor, the Earl of Rosse, has superintended its progress. The principal streets, which are formed of modern houses and laid out in straight lines, terminate in Duke-square, in which there is a statue of the Duke of Cumberland, on a Doric pillar, 55 feet high, set up in 1747, in commemoration of his victory at Culloden. The castle, situated at one side of the town, may be said to have been rebuilt by the Parsons family: the centre of the building, which was consumed by an accidental fire in 1832, has been restored and improved. About 50 years since a brisk trade was carried on here in woollens, which gave employment to several hundred weavers and combers. At present the trade is principally confined to two distilleries, each of which produces about 95,000 gallons of spirits annually; but a great variety of minor manufactures is carried on. There was also formerly an intensive manufacture of glass, of which the only remains are the ruins of the glass-house. The market is well supplied with provisions of good quality: the fairs are held on February 11th, May 5th, August 25th, and December 10th. Large quantities of corn, flour, spirits, butter, cattle, sheep and pigs are sold here; and in return, timber, iron, drapery, groceries, coal, and most other articles for domestic consumption are brought in. The want of water carriage to facilitate the conveyance of commercial commodities is severely felt; a plan has consequently been proposed to form a navigation along the valley of the Brosna from Croghan bridge, about half a mile below the town, to the Shannon, from which river the Brosna is navigable for two miles for the largest barges; thence the line is proposed to be carried by a still water navigation until the channel of the river can be again made available, at about 2.½ miles below the town. The sessions-house consists of a hall, a court, and offices for transacting business: at one end of it is the bridewell, the only one in the county; it has two day-rooms, eight cells, and two airing-yards. General sessions for the county are held here in rotation with Tullamore and Philipstown four times in the year; and petty sessions occasionally. A manor court, under a seneschal appointed by the Earl of Rosse, is also held here. The town is a chief constabulary police station. There are a fever hospital, a dispensary, and a mendicity institution. A reading-room is well supplied with newspapers and periodicals. In the centre of the town is an observatory, belonging to Thomas L. Cooke, Esq. The barracks, which are about an English mile distant, have accommodations for 48 officers of infantry, 1110 privates, and 15 horses, with an hospital for 100 patients: the building consists of two large squares, attached to which is an area for exercise.
The parish, which comprises 4018 statue acres, does not present any striking features of fertility or improvement. The principal seats are Ballyegan, the splendid residence of Bernard Mullins, Esq.; Tinnakilly, of Arth. Robinson, Esq.; Oakley Park, of the late Mr. Stoney; and Elm Hall, of Joseph Burke, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £276.18. 5.½. The glebe-house, in the town, was an old building in very indifferent repair, but a new one has lately been erected: the Glebe comprises 25 acres. The church erected in 1815, by aid of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits, is a stone edifice in the pointed style of architecture, with a steeple 100 feet high. In the R.C. divisions the parish, which is still called Birr, is part of the Bishop's mensal, and the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Loughkeen. Each of the parishes has a chapel: that at Birr is a splendid edifice, in the later English style, having two minaret's and a steeple, 150 feet high, with a fine bell; it is the cathedral of the diocese: and adjoining it is the neat and retired residence of R.T. Rev. Dr. Kennedy, R.C. Bishop of Killaloe. There are six other places of worship; three for Independents, one for the Society of Friends, and two for Wesleyan and Whitfield Methodists; that of the Wesleyans, erected in 1820, is a handsome building with a well-executed pediment of hewn stone. The walls and steeple of the old church are still standing; on the latter is a sculpture in stone of the arms of Sir L. Parsons, to whom the town was granted in 1620, and who died in 1628, impaled with those of his lady, Anne Malham. There are about 20 schools in the town and parish, four of which are free schools. The parochial school for boys is aided by an annual donation from the rector, as is also an infants' school; a male and female school is aided by an annual donation from E. Synge, Esq., and a female parochial school is supported by subscription: in all these there are about 400 children; and 15 private schools give instruction to 350 boys and 250 girls; there is also a Sunday school. Many curious relics of antiquity have been found in the neighbourhood of this parish, a collection of which, consisting of swords, spears, skeins, celts, and the Barnaan Cuilawn, found at Glankeen, are in the possession of Mr. Cooke, who has also a number of the brass tokens already noticed. Some instances of extraordinary longevity have been recorded; one person is named who lived to the age of 114 years. At Clonbela, about 2½ miles from the town, is a mineral spring. Lord Oxmantown, who devotes much time and thought to studies connected with astronomy and other branches of science, has a laboratory in which he has constructed machinery for polishing the largest specula for telescopes, by means of which he constructed a 25-feet reflector, the great speculum of which is 3½ feet in diameter. It stands on the lawn in front of Birr castle, and is moved by machinery somewhat similar in principle to that of Herschel's celebrated telescope, but simpler in construction, which also is the invention of his lordship. Mr. Cooke has here a seven-feet reflector, which is equatorially mounted on a cast-metal pillar in a very simple manner. Some documents and MS. accounts relative to the wars of 1641 and 1688 are in the possession of the Earl of Rosse. A history and description of Parsonstown was published in 1826; the work is anonymous, but is supposed to have been written by Tho. L. Cooke, Esq.
PHILIPSTOWN, a market and post-town (formerly the assize town of the county and a parliamentary borough), in the parish of KILLADERRY, barony of LOWER PHILIPSTOWN, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 7 miles (S.E.) from Tullamore, and 47 (S.W.) from Dublin; containing 1454 inhabitants. This place, the ancient name of which was Dingan and Killaderry, was the chief seat of the O'Conors, chieftains of the surrounding district, then called Offaly, of which they retained possession until the year 1546, when Brian O'Conor having united his forces with Patrick O'More, chieftain of the neighbouring territory of Leix, made an incursion into the county of Kildare and burned a great part of Athy, whereupon Sir Wm. Brabazon, then Lord-Justice of Ireland, caused them to be proclaimed as traitors, marched a large force into Offaly, which he laid waste with fire and sword, and forced O'Conor to take refuge in Connaught. Sir William then, to secure his newly acquired possessions, erected a castle here, the name of which, in the subsequent reign of Philip and Mary, when the territories of Offaly and Leix were reduced to shire ground under the names of the King's and Queen's counties, was changed from Dingan to Philipstown, in honour of the king, and the place made the assize town of the former of these counties. In 1569, it obtained a charter of incorporation from Elizabeth, which conferred the same liberties and free usages as the town of Naas enjoyed; also a Thursday market and other minor privileges; this charter was followed by a grant of lands in the next year. In 1673, Chief-Justice Bysse obtained for it a licence to hold two fairs. Another charter granted to it in the 4th year of Jas. II., conferred on it the privilege of returning two members of parliament. Afterwards, during the war of that period, it was burned by the same king's troops. At the Union it was deprived of the right of returning representatives, in consequence of which the borough gradually declined, until at length the corporate jurisdiction fell into total desuetude. The act of the 2nd and 3rd of Wm. IV., by which the assizes have been removed from Philipstown to Tullamore, has completely extinguished its political importance and reduced it nearly to the rank of a village.
The town has little to recommend it. In size and population it is small, and its situation, being nearly surrounded by bog, is extremely uninteresting. Its public buildings are a court-house, formerly the county court, but now used only for holding sessions; a prison, until lately the county gaol, erected at the commencement of the present century; a large cavalry barrack, containing accommodations for 12 officers, 131 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 82 horses, with an hospital for 16 patients; the church, a neat small building; and a large and handsome R.C. chapel. The town is paved at the expense of the county, but it is not lighted. The market, which continues to be held on Thursday, is large and improving. Fairs are held on Jan. 3rd, March 18th, May 15th, June 14th, Aug. 17th, Oct. 18th and Dec. 3rd: four of these, termed the new fairs, from having been instituted about the year 1820 are held in a part of the town called Molesworth-street, so named from Viscount Molesworth, of whose estate the town formerly formed a part. Quarter sessions are held here four times in the year and petty sessions every second Thursday: the magisterial duties within the borough have been performed by the county justices for a series of years beyond the memory of man. A large dispensary is supported in the usual manner. The Grand Canal passes close to one end of the town. During the progress of that work, the line terminated for some time at Philipstown and produced a sensible effect on the growth of its prosperity; but when the canal had been extended to Tullamore, that place drew to it all those advantages, and Philipstown sank still lower in trading importance. Here is a school for boys, under the superintendence of the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity; and there are two other public schools. The ruins of the castle are still to be seen covered with ivy. Philipstown gives the inferior title of Baron to Viscount Molesworth. -See KILLADERRY.
PORTARLINGTON, a borough market, and post-town, partly in the parish of CLONEHORKE, barony of UPPER PHILIPSTOWN, KING's county, but chiefly in the parish of LEA, barony of PORTHEHINCH, QUEEN's county, and province of LEINSTER, 9 ½ miles (N.E.) from Maryborough, and 34½ (W.S.W.) from Dublin; containing 3091 inhabitants. This place, anciently named Coltodry, or Cooletetoodra, corrupted into Cooletooder, as it is still sometimes called, derives its present appellation from Lord Arlington, to whom, with a large extent of country, it was granted in the reign of Chas. II.; and its prefix from a small landing-place on the river Barrow, on which it is situated. Its only claim to antiquity attaches to the decayed castle and village of Lea, in the neighbourhood, the town of Portarlington having arisen only since the grant above named, included a charter of incorporation constituting it a borough, though then only in its infancy. Lord Arlington subsequently disposed of his interest in the town to Sir Patrick Trant, upon whose attainder, as a follower of Jas. II., the possessions became forfeited to the Crown and were granted by Wm. III. to Gen. Rouvigny, one of his companions in arms, whom he created Earl of Galway. The Earl settled here a colony of French and Flemish Protestant refugees, and though the estates were taken from him by the English act of resumption, yet the interest which the new settlers had acquired by lease was secured to them by act of parliament in 1702, and they were made partakers of the rights and privileges of the borough. The estates which had been sold to the London Hollow Sword-blade Company, passed from them to the Dawson family, now Earls of Portarlington, by purchase, since which time the town has attained a very considerable degree of prosperity. The French language continued to be spoken among the refugees for a considerable time; but at present they are scarcely to be distinguished from the other inhabitants, except where their names afford evidence of their foreign extraction.
The town is pleasantly situated on the river Barrow, by which it is divided into two portions, and which, in an easterly direction, makes a sweep round that portion which is in Queen's county, forming a tongue of land on which is a large square with a market-house in the centre. It consists principally of one main street, which forms part of the Dublin road by Monastereven, and enters the market-place on the south, and being continued at a right angle from the market-place on the west, is carried by a bridge over the river through that part which is in King's county; and at the western extremity of the town branches off on the north-west, forming the road to Clonegown, and on the south-west to Mountmellick. A short street on the north side of the square leads over another bridge into the road to Rathangan and Edenderry, and on the east of the square are various ranges of building. The streets are well formed, the roadway being made and repaired with broken stone, and the footpaths partly flagged and partly paved; the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from pumps, which are very numerous; the houses are well built, and the external appearance of the town is superior to any of the same size in the county; the whole number of houses is 485. It is principally inhabited by private families, as a pleasant place of residence, and as affording, from the number and high reputation of its scholastic establishments, great facilities for public education. Above the Tholsel, or Town-house, are three rooms, the largest of which is occasionally appropriated as an assembly-room; a reading-room is well supported by subscription. There is a small manufactory for tobacco, and another for soap and candles; the only trade is merely what is requisite for the supply of its numerous respectable inhabitants. A branch of the Dublin Grand Canal from Monastereven to Mountmellick passes close to the town. There are two markets, one on Wednesday by charter, and the other on Saturday by custom; they are well supplied with butchers' meat and provisions, and occasionally with fish. Fairs, four of which are by charter and four of recent appointment by act of parliament, are held annually on Jan. 5th, March 1st., Easter-Monday, May 22nd, July 4th, Sept 1st, Oct. 12th, and Nov. 23rd, for cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs. A chief constabulary police station has been established here in the Queen's county part of the town, and a station also on the King's county side.
By charter of incorporation granted by Chas. II., in 1667, the government of the borough is vested in a sovereign, twelve burgesses, two portreeves, and as many freemen as the burgesses may choose to nominate. The sovereign is elected annually from among the burgesses; and a recorder, who may be either a burgess or not, is appointed by the Earl of Portarlington; the appointment of freemen has been for some time discontinued, and there is at present only one. The borough by its charter was empowered to return two members to the Irish parliament, which it continued to do from the year 1692 till the period of the Union; since which time it has returned one member to the Imperial parliament. The right of election, formerly vested in the corporation, was by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap 88, extended to the £10 householders; and as the ancient limits of the borough were but very imperfectly defined and had little relation to the elective franchise, a new boundary has been drawn round the town, comprehending an area of 933 statute acres, of which the limits are minutely detailed in the Appendix. The number of electors registered up to June 1836 was 202, of whom 189 were £10 householders and 13 resident freemen or burgesses: the sovereign is the returning officer; and he is also a justice of the peace within the precincts of the borough. The lord of the manor has power to appoint a seneschal, and to hold courts leet and baron; and also court of record, the former for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s., and the latter for the determination of all pleas or actions wherein the debt or damage does not exceed the value of £200. There being no prison within the manor, all decrees or executions issuing from these courts are directed against the goods of the defendant; an appeal from the decision of these courts lies to the judge of assize on the circuit. The courts are held in a suite of rooms, well adapted to the purpose, above the market-house. Petty sessions are held every Wednesday in the market-house, at which six magistrates frequently attend.
Two churches were built in the town at the time of the settlement, dedicated respectively to St. Michael and St. Paul, in the reign of Wm. III., and endowed severally with a rent of £40 late currency reserved upon lands let in perpetuity; St. Paul's was a appropriated to the French and Flemish settlers, and St. Michael's to the use of English Protestants in the town; in consequence of this arrangement the former of these is called the French church, and the latter the English. The income of the French church was augmented with £50 per ann. by parliament many years since; and the late Board of First Fruits increased the stipend of the minister of the English church to £100 per annum. It is in the diocese of Kildare, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The English church, situated on the eastern side of the square, has a handsome spire; the French church is in the street leading westward to the river, and till within the last twenty years divine service was performed in the French language. In the R.C. divisions Portarlington is the head of a union or district, called Portarlington, Emo and Killinard, and comprising parts of the parishes of Clonehorke and Coolbanagher, and the parish of Lea, with the exception of the townland of Inchcoolley. Chapels are respectively situated at Portarlington, Emo and Killinard: that in Portarlington having been found too small for the increasing congregation, a new chapel is now being erected near the old one, and, when finished, will be a handsome edifice in the pointed style; the principal front will consist of a tower, with pinnacles at each angle and surmounted with a fine spire, 140 feet high. There is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. Two free schools, one for boys and the other for girls, maintained by grants made by the Earl of Galway, are kept in a house that was once a boarding school for young gentlemen; there are also two schools supported by subscription and aided by the Board of National Education, in which are about 160 children of both sexes; and a Sunday school, commenced many years since by some ladies of the town, and carried on by gratuitous teachers. A mendicity institution, with a fund of about £300 per ann., raised by subscription, has done much towards the diminishing the pressure of extreme poverty in the town. A savings' bank, opened a few years since, has now a capital of deposits from the poorer classes, amounting to £6100. A loan fund, which commenced with a capital of £100, is operating very beneficially: Col. Armstrong, and Chidley Coote and Maunsell Dames, Esqrs., have taken an active part in its formation. A dispensary is supported in the usual manner. About a mile to the south of the town is Spire Hill, so called from the erection of an obelisk on it by the late Viscount Carlow, for the purpose of giving employment to the poor in a season of scarcity: the flatness of the surrounding country renders it visible at a great distance; the sides of the hill are richly wooded, and it has winding walks through the plantations to the summit. The more remarkable remarkable seats in the vicinity are Woodbrook, the residence of Major Chetwood; Indiaville, of Capt. C. L. Sandes; Lawnsdoun, of Lieut.-Col. Robt. Moore; Rathleix, of Jas. Dunne, Esq.; Garryhinch, of Chas. Joly, Esq.; Huntingdon, of Capt. C. Coote; Labergerie, of J. D. Clarke, Esq.; Barrow-Bank, of J.W. Johnstone, Esq.; Annamore, of Capt. Chas. Hendrick; Clonehurk, of H. Warburton, Esq.; and Benfield, of L. Dunne, Esq. A Chalybeate spring in Mr. Shrewcraft's grounds is said to be efficacious in scorbutic cases; its chief component parts are nitre and sulphur. Portarlington gives the title of Earl to the Dawson family.
RAHAN, or RAGHAN, a parish, in the barony of BALLYCOWAN, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 3½ 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 agricultural purposes, and there is an adequate quantity of bog. The only seat is the Lodge, and 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 the Marquess of Downshire. The tithes amount to £209.18.10., of which £138.9.2½ 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 £107.7.8¼., arising from a stipend of £55.7. 8 ¼. 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 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 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, 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.
RAPESMILLS, 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.
RATH, a village in the parish of DRUMCULLEN, 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.
REYNAGH, a parish, in the barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER on the road from Parsonstown to Banagher bridge and Galway; containing, with the post-town of Banagher, 4271 inhabitants. This place takes its name from a monastery founded here by St. Regnacia, sister to St. Finian, who died in 563. The establishment, which is called Kill-Rignaighe, was placed under the superintendence of Talacia, mother of St.Finian, who was abbess for some time; but no further details of its history are recorded. The parish is situated on the river Shannon, and comprises 6555 statute acres, of which a very large proportion is bog; part is waste land, chiefly sand and hills; and the remainder, which is chiefly under tillage, is of very indifferent quality. The system of agriculture is in a very backward state, though, from the abundance of limestone, which is quarried both for building and agricultural uses, the lands under a better system might be easily improved. About half a mile from Banagher, on the road to Parsonstown, is Carrigcastle, the demesne of H.B. Armstrong, Esq., with the extensive flour-mills, established in 1818 and employing 20 persons : in the ruins of an adjoining castle coins of Queen Elizabeth and several skeletons were found. Mount Carteret is the property of John Priaulx Armstrong Esq.; the glebe-house, the residence of the Rev. John Burdett; and Claremount, of the late Henry Goode, Esq. There are extensive flour and oat-mills at Garrycastle. The Shannon affords facility of conveyance by steam -boats to Limerick, and the canal to Dublin. Fairs are held on May 1st and Sept. 15th, for horses, cattle, and sheep; and petty sessions are held at Banagher every Monday. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath; one-half of the rectory is impropriate and at present the subject of litigation; the other half is annexed to the vicarage, which in 1798 was united to the vicarage of Gallen, and is in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £288.7.8., payable in moieties to the impropriator and the vicar. The glebe-house was rebuilt in 1800, and has been enlarged by the present incumbent, at an expense of £664.12.3¾.: the glebe comprises 94 acres, valued at £173.18. per annum, and there is also a glebe at Gallen of 137 acres, valued at £155.12.3.; the gross income of the benefice, including tithe and glebe, amounts to £681.7.11. per annum. The church, a handsome structure in the later English style, with a tower surmounted by a well-proportioned spire, and in very good repair, was erected in 1829, at an expense of £2030 British, advanced on loan by the late Board of First Fruits. There is also a church in the parish of Gallen. In the R.C. divisions this parish is in the diocese of Ardagh, and the head of a union called Banagher, comprising also the parish of Gallen; the chapel at Banagher is a large plain edifice, and there is also a chapel in Gallen. About 340 children are taught in two public schools; and there are seven private schools, in which are about 350 children. There is also a royal free school at Cuba house, near Banagher, which see; and a dispensary. There are some remains of the Danish rath called Garrycastle, also the ruins of Streamstown castle, and of an ancient church called All Saints, near which is a holy well.
RHODE, a hamlet, in that part of the parish of BALLYBURLEY which is in the barony of LOWER PHILIPSTOWN, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (W.) from Edenderry; containing 55 inhabitants. It consists of 12 houses, situated in the midst of a rich grazing district, on the estate of J. Wakely, Esq., whose residence, Ballyburley, adjoins the hamlet. In the vicinity are also Rathmoyle, the residence of Geo. Rait, Esq., Clonin, of S. Rait, Esq., Coolville, of T. Grattan, Esq.; and Greenhill, of F.L. Dames, Esq., mostly environed by plantations. In the hamlet is a substantial and spacious R.C. chapel belonging to the union or district of Catropetre, or Edenderry. According to Archdall, an abbey was founded at Liethmore, in the vicinity, by St. Pulcherius (called in Irish St. Mochoemoc), who died in 655.
ROSCOMROE, A parish, in the barony of BALLYBRITT, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (S.E. by E.) from Parsonstown, on the road from Roscrea to Tullamore; containing 1287 inhabitants. It is situated on the confines of the Queen's county, and is bounded on the east by the Slieve Bloom mountains, forming part of the union of Kinnitty: the rectory is impropriate in the representatives of the late J. Curtis. Esq. The tithes amount to £88.12.3¾., of which £33.4.7½ is payable to the impropriators, and the remainder to the vicar: the glebe comprises 20 acres. In the R.C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Kinnitty.
SEIRKYRAN, or ST. KEIRAN, a parish, in the barony of BALLYBRITT, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Parsonstown, on the road to Kinnitty; containing 1484 inhabitants. This place derives its name from St. Kieran the elder, who in the earliest period of the Christian church, founded a monastery here, and is said also to have made it the seat of a small bishoprick. So early did he exercise his mission that he has been styled the father of the Irish saints. This establishment was repeatedly plundered by the Danes and other freebooters; and in 1052 the see of Seir-Kieran was removed to Aghaboe, and thence finally to Kilkenny. To this see the manor anciently belonged, and it was recovered to the bishops by trial of single combat in 1284. In succeeding ages a monastery, dedicated to St. Kieran, was founded here for Canons Regular of the order of St. Augustine, of which the ruins are still to be seen: the possessions of this monastery, at the dissolution, were granted to Sir William Taafe, and by him assigned to James, Earl of Roscommon. The parish comprises 6480 statute acres, of which 162 are woodland, 64 bog and waste, the remainder being arable and pasture. Limestone is found, and agriculture is improving. Oakley Park is the seat of - Stoney, Esq.; and Grange House, of - Harding, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ossory, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in J. Curtis, Esq., The tithes amount to £162.17.5., of which £84.9.8 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar: the glebe comprises 12 acres, and the glebe house was built by a gift of £450 and a loan of £88, in 1814, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church stands on the site of the monastery, and is a very old building out of repair. The R.C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and contains two chapels, one at Clareen, and the other at Fancraft, both plain buildings in good repair. There are two private schools, in which about 120 children are educated. Ruins exist of the old fort of Ballybrit, once a place of some importance, and from which the barony has derived its name: at Drumoyle are the remains of a village. Here is the holy well of St. Kieran.
SHANNON-BRIDGE, a village, in the parish of CLONMACNOIS, barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (S.) from Athlone; containing 559 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Shannon, and derives its name and origin from a bridge which here crosses the river and connects King's county with that of Roscommon. The bridge is a handsome structure of stone, 140 yards in length; it consists of sixteen arches, exclusive of two over a parallel canal, the roadway being level throughout. At the western or Roscommon end is a tower and battery forming a tete-du-pont, with an artillery barrack for 2 officers and 44 men, and a magazine annexed. On a rising ground in the vicinity is an advanced redoubt. The village is a station of the constabulary police, and contains one of the two R.C. chapels belonging to the district, and the parochial school.
SHANNON-HARBOUR, a village, in the parish of GALLEN, barony of GARRYCASTLE, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (W.) from Cloghan; containing 199 inhabitants. It is situated at the junction of the Grand Canal with the river Shannon, and near the Upper Brosna river, which falls into the Shannon a little above it. Here is one of the stations of the Inland Steam-Navigation Company, from which, on the arrival of the canal packet-boat from Dublin, a steamer starts for Portumna, Killaloe, and Limerick. In the village, which in 1831 contained 33 houses, is a station of the constabulary police.
SHINRONE, a post-town and parish, in the barony of CLONLISK, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (W. by N.) from Roscrea, and 63 ¾ (S.W.) from Dublin; containing 2517 inhabitants, of which number, 1287 are in the town. This place was the scene of some hostilities during the war of 1641: the old castle of Cangort, which was garrisoned for the king, made a vigorous defence against the parliamentarians, by whom it was betrayed into the hands of its assailants, by whom it was burned. The town is well situated for trade in a fertile vale near the river Shannon, into which, near Banagher, falls the Lesser Brosna, that interests the parish: it contains 243 houses, several of which are neatly built, and in the parish are many eligible spots for the establishment of factories. The inhabitants principally employed in agriculture; the only trade is in flour, for which there are extensive mills at Keelogues, and two others on a smaller scale. The market is not regularly held; there are fairs, chiefly for stock, on July 9th and Nov. 21st. A constabulary police force is stationed in the town, and petty sessions are held every Tuesday.
The parish comprises 3847 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act : the land is of good quality; the greater portion is under tillage and based on a substratum of limestone; the system of agriculture is much improved, and there is an abundant supply of bog. The principal seats in the parishes forming the union are Cangort, the residence of G. Atkinson, Esq., a handsome mansion erected on the site of the ancient castle; Cangort Park of W. Trench, Esq., a handsome modern mansion in a demesne embellished with some fine old timer; Glasshouse, of T. Spunner, Esq., Corolanty, of R. Hammersley, Esq., Milltown, the property of the same gentleman; Oakwood, of D. Smith, Esq., Rutland, of C. H. Minchin, Esq.Corolanty, of Hammersley, Esq.; Clareen, of H. Smith, Esq., Derry, of A. P. Doolan, Esq.; Ballingor of F.H.Toone, Esq., Annaville, of J.Smith, Esq., Bellfield, of J. Walker, Esq; and Rathcahill, of B.F. White, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, united by act of council in 1782, to the rectory and vicarage of Kilmurry-Ely and the rectory of Kilcomin, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £193.16.11. ¼., the glebe-house, towards the erection of which the late Board of First Fruits made a gift of £100, was built in 1794, and the glebe comprises 21 ¾ acres, exclusively of 54 ¾ acres in the other parishes of the union, and the tithes of the whole benefice amount to £583.10.9 ½. The church, a handsome building, was erected in 1819, for which purpose the late Board of First Fruits granted a loan of £2300. In the R.C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parish of Kilmurry-Ely; in each of these there is a chapel. There are also two places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. About 230 children are taught in four public schools, of which one is partly supported by the rector and one by an annual donation of £25 from W. Trench, Esq., and there are three private schools, in which are about 85 children. A poor's fund and a loan fund are supported by subscription; and there are also a dispensary and a fever hospital. On the demesne of Corolanty are the ruins of an old castle; and there are two chalybeate springs in the parish, not much frequented.
TEMPLEHARRY, a parish, partly in the barony of IKERRIN, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, but chiefly in that of CLONLISK, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 2 ½ miles (N.W.) from Moneygall, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Limerick, and on the small river Ollitrim (which forms its boundary on the south-west); containing 1156 inhabitants, and comprising 6480 statute acres, of which 3564 are reclaimable bog. Agriculture is greatly improved; there is abundance of limestone. Emell Castle, the seat of J. Stoney, Esq., commands from its summit a very extensive view; at its rear is the ancient castle. Ballintemple is the residence of R. Burriss, Esq.; and Silver Hill, of Mrs. Smith. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Killaloe, episcopally united, in 1799, to the rectory and vicarage of Cullenwayne, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £141.14.9., and the entire tithes of the union to £369.4.7 ¼. The glebe-house was erected by aid of a gift of £450 and a loan of £184, in 1812, from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 12 acres. The church is a plain modern structure, built by aid of a loan of £200 from the same Board, in 1814. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Dunkerrin. The parochial schools at Parke, in which are about 80 children, are aided by private subscriptions; the schoolhouse is an excellent slated building, with accommodations for the master and mistress, erected at an expense of £150, of which £100 was a grant from the Lord Lieutenant's school fund. There are two other schools, in which 90 children are taught. The remains of the ancient church and glebe house, being situated on an eminence, have a picturesque appearance. Here is the remarkable rath called Wolfe Hill, near which is a pass through a bog, formerly thickly wooded, in which a large party of the army of Wm. III. was destroyed by the O'Carrolls, the native sept of this district, from which circumstance the spot has since been called the "bloody Togher."
TESSAURAN, a parish, in the barony of Garrycastle, KING's county, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (N. by W.) from Cloghan, on the road to Shannon Bridge; containing 5587 inhabitants. This parish is situated between the river Shannon and the greater Brosna river, which latter runs into the former at its southern extremity: it comprises 5184 statue acres of red bog. Limestone is quarried both for building and agricultural purposes; and great facility is afforded by the Shannon and the Grand canal for the conveyance of agricultural produce to Dublin and Limerick. Petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays at Belmont. The seats are Moytown, the residence of Col. L'Estrange; Belmont, of Robert Baker, Esq.; Kilcummin, of Wm. L'Estrange, Esq.; and Hunstanton, of Major Carlton. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, united by act of council in 1804 to the vicarage of Farbane, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £200, and there is a glebe of 114 acres of profitable land, valued at £256.10. per annum.; there is also a glebe of 282 acres (exclusive of bog ) in the parish of Farbane: the gross value of the benefice, including the glebes, amounts to £876.19.2. per annum. The glebe-house was built in 1812 by the present incumbent, at an expense of £2119. The church is a neat edifice. built in 1806 by grant aid of a gift of £500 Irish currency, from the late Board of First Fruits, and enlarged in 1831 by private subscription, aided by a loan of £300 British, from the same Board; on this occasion Col. L'Estrange contributed £80. In the R.C. Divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Farbane; the chapel at High- street is a plain building of recent erection. In the national school at High-street, which is aided by £6 per ann. from a local fund, and a female school at Moytown, supported by Mrs. L'Estrange, about 90 children are educated; and there are two private schools, in which are about 130 children, and a Sunday school. A loan fund has been established for the benefit of the industrious poor. Of the abbey founded here about the commencement of the sixth century, and of which St. Trena was abbot, not a vestige exists. The old churchyard, which for the last two centuries has been the burial place of the L'Estrange family, is still used.
TULLAMORE, or KILBRIDE, a market, assize and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of BALLYCOWAN, KING's county, and province of Leinster, 20 miles (S.E. by E.) from Athlone, and 49½ (W. by S.) from Dublin, on the road to Parsonstown, and on the line of the Grand canal from Dublin to Shannon harbour; containing 7626 inhabitants, of which number 6342 are in the town. About the year 1790 this place was an insignificant village, consisting almost wholly of thatched cabins; but having been nearly destroyed by accidental fire, occasioned by the mismanagement of a fire balloon, it was rebuilt by the Earl of Charleville, the proprietor, in an improved manner. Its central situation in a very fertile agricultural district, and the circumstance of its being for some time the terminus of the Grand Canal, before it was extended to Shannon harbour, caused it to increase very rapidly in wealth and population, insomuch that an act of parliament was passed in 1833 to transfer the place of holding the assizes and transacting the county business to it from Philipstown, which had been the assize town from the time of the formation of the county in the reign of Philip and Mary. The small river Clodagh, a branch of the Brosna, passes through it, and is crossed by a neat bridge. The town is the chief mart for the agricultural produce of a large extent of country, which in return draws from it the requisite supplies of foreign articles and manufactures: several stores have been erected on the banks of the Grand Canal, which passes close to the town, and affords a direct communication between this central depot and Dublin by the canal is 57 miles. Various branches of industry are carried on here with considerable spirit: there is a large brick-manufactory in the town: a distillery produces from forty to fifty thousand gallons of whiskey annually; there is also a brewery. The market, which is held on a Tuesday and Saturday, is well supplied with provisions; a neat market-house has been built by Lord Charleville: fairs are held in May 10th, July 10th and Oct. 21st. The assizes for the county and the general sessions of the peace are held here, as also are petty sessions every Saturday. The new county court-house is a fine building in the Grecian style, containing all the requisite accommodations for the public business: the county gaol, erected in 1831, is a castellated building on the radiating principle. The town is a chief constabulary police station, and has a barrack capable of accommodating 3 officers and 85 non-commissioned officers and privates.
The parish originally formed part of the lands of the abbey of Durrow, on the dissolution of which they were divided into the two parishes of Dermagh, or Durrow, and Kilbride, which constituted a union until separated by an order of council. It contains 6262¼ statue acres, the greater portion of which consists of town-parks of highly cultivated land of good quality: the remainder is of an inferior description, and includes some boggy ground: it contains quarries of excellent limestone for building. The demesne of Charleville forest, the seat of the Earl of Charleville, extends to the town: it is remarkable for the judicious advantage taken of its great natural beauties. The mansion is a spacious modern structure, erected in the style of an English baronial castle from designs by Mr. Fras. Johnston the demesne contains about 1500 statue acres richly wooded, and comprises two artificial lakes, the larger of which is studded with islands. The Clodagh passes through it along a deep glen, forming several fine cascades overhung with trees; the largest of the cascades is seen to most advantage from an artificial grotto formed for the purpose of giving employmant during a season of scarcity. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, partly impropriate in the Earl of Norbury, and partly, with cure of souls, in the patronage of the Bishop : the tithes amount to £278.1.4., one-half of which is payable to the impropriator and the other to the incumbent. The glebe-house, which is near the church, was built by means of a gift of £323 and a loan of £415 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1815 : the glebe comprises 4½ acres, valued at £9. The church, situated about half a mile from the town, on the Portarlington road, was erected in 1818, in the Gothic style, after a design by Mr. Johnston, at an expense of £2769 a loan from the Board of First Fruits, and the residue, amounting to £4523, was a donation from the residue, amounting to £4523, was a donation from Lord Charleville: the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £700 towards its repairs. In the R.C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also that of Durrow: each parish has a chapel; that in Tullamore is a large building, to which several addition have been made in various styles of architecture. There are places of worship for Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, and a meeting-house belonging to the Society of Friends. A male and female school is supported by the Earl and Countess of Charleville, another school is in connection with the board of National Education, and a third under the London Irish Baptist Society; in all these 578 boys and 482 girls receive instruction; and in 15 private schools there are about 360 pupils. The county infirmary is in the town. The remains of a castle, built in 1626 by Sir Jasper Herbert, on the abbey lands demised to him by Queen Elizabeth for a term of years, and afterwards granted to him in fee by Jas. I., are still in existence; as also those of three small square castles built by some of his tenants at Ballestillenury, Aharne and Aughinanagh: the ruins of the first-named shew it to have been a building of some extent and grandeur, and an inscription over the entrance records the date and circumstances of its erection. Shrahikerne castle was built, as appears from an inscription on its ruins, in 1588 by John Briscoe, an officer in Queen Elizabeth's army: its name signifies "Kearney of the Shragh," the remains of whose family house, previously to the building of the castle, are also still to be seen. There are several sulphuro-chalybeate springs in the vicinity. Tullamore gives the subordinate title of Baron to the Earl of Charleville.
WHERRY, a parish in the parish of GARRYCASTLE, KING's county, and province of Leinster; containing, with part of the post-town of Farbane, 3555 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Brosna, comprises 16,732 statute acres, of which 80 are woodland and more than 7000 are bog; the remainder is divided in nearly equal portions between pasture and tillage. The arable land is of very good quality and favourable to the growth of corn; but the pasture, except the lowlands near the river, is indifferent, and the meadow land poor. The system of agriculture is slowly improving; there is abundance of limestone, which is quarried for agricultural purposes and building. The principal seats are Ballylen, the residence of the Rev. H. King, situated in a fine demesne; Killygally, of the Rev. H. Mahon; and Moyclare, of R. Lawder, Esq. Fairs are held at Farbane on Aug. 2nd and Oct. 20th: the Grand Canal passes within a quarter of a mile of the parish. It is a rectory, vicarage, and perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Meath; the rectory is impropriate in the Rev. J. Armstrong and the Rev. H. King; the vicarage forms part of the union of Tessauran; and the perpetual curacy, which is also called Farbane, is in the patronage of the incumbent. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5½.., of which one-half is payable to the impropriator and the other to the vicar. The glebe-house, annexed to the curacy, was built in 1818 at the expense of £500, of which £450 was a gift and £50 a loan from the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe comprises 20 acres, valued at £21 per ann.; and the income of the curacy is £99. 7. 8½ arising from the glebe, a stipend of £55. 7. 8½ payable by the incumbent, and a augmentation of £14 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The church of the perpetual curacy was built in 1804, at the expense of £461 British, of which £327 was raised by parochial assessment and the remainder by subscription; a belfry turret was added to it in 1819 by the same means. In the R.C. divisions the parish is in the diocese of Ardagh, and is the head of a union, called Farbane, comprising also the parish of Tessauran; in each parish is a chapel; that of Farbane is a handsome edifice lately erected. There are five private schools, in which are about 200 children; and a dispensary. There are remains of old castles at Cool and Kilcolgan.
King's County
Locations: A-B | C-D | E-K | L-N
Site Hosted by Dotser
A-Z of Offaly - About Offaly - Community History - Famous People - Photographs - Maps - Town Crests - 19th Century Offaly