DUNEANE,
a parish, in the barony of UPPER TOOME, county of ANTRIM,
and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (W. N. W.) from Randalstown,
on the road from Belfast to Londonderry;
containing 6812 inhabitants.
This parish
is bounded on the west by Lough Beg and the river Bann,
and on the south by Lough Neagh, in which, at the distance of
half a mile from the shore, is a group called the Three Islands,
which are within its limits. It comprises, according to the Ordnance
survey, 13,1288 statute acres, of which 1628¼ are in Lough Neagh,
415¾ in Lough Beg, and 29½ in the river Bann. About two-thirds
of the land are in a state of good cultivation, one-tenth is bog, and
the remainder waste: the soil is fertile and the system of agriculture
greatly improved. Basaltic stone is quarried in large quantities for
building and for repairing the roads.
The principal
seats are Reymond Lodge, that of Earl O'Neill ; Moneyglass,
of J. Hill, Esq. ; St. Helena of ?? Reford, Esq.
; and Brecart, of Capt. O'Neill.
The weaving
of calico and union cloths, and also linen, is carried on extensively.
The living
is a vicarage in the diocese of Connor,
united from time immemorial to the rectory of Cranfield,
and in the patronage of the Marquess of Donegal ; the rectory
is appropriate in W. Cranston, Esq., of Belfast. The vicarial
tithes, as returned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1831, amounted
to £240, and of the whole union to £270 ; there is neither
glebe nor glebe-house. The church is a small plain edifice, nearly in
the centre of the union.
The R.
C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church
; there are chapels at Moneyglass and Cargin, the former
built in 1826.
There
is also a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with
the Synod of Ulster, of the third class.
About
840 children are taught in nine public schools, of which the parochial
school is aided by donations from the vicar; and there are eight Sunday
schools. There are some remains of a circular camp, called Ballydonnelly
fort, similar to the Giant's Ring in the county of Down.
