BALLINTEMPLE,
a parish in the barony of ARKLOW, county of WICKLOW, and
province of LEINSTER, 4½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Arklow;
containing 1021 inhabitants.
This parish
is situated on the road from Arklow to Carlow, and on
the river Derry, which meets the Ovoca at the Wooden Bridge
hotel in the village, thence called the second ‘Meeting of
the Waters.’ The soil is fertile, and the system of agriculture
improving. Some of the streams descending from the mountain Croghan-Kinshela,
which towards the close of the last century was explored for gold, run
through this parish; and shafts have been sunk for copper, with a prospect
of success, though they are stopped at present from a disputed claim
to the royalty between the Earl of Carysfort and the Marquess
of Ormonde.
The living
is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, and in
the patronage of William Brian, Esq. : the tithes amount to £103.
16s. 11d. The church, built by aid of a gift of £800 and a loan
of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816, is in a state
of dilapidation from the dry rot. The glebe-house commands a beautifully
picturesque view of the woods of Ballyarthur and Knockname,
and from the upper grounds is an extensive and pleasing prospect over
the Vale of Ovoca: the glebe comprises 2½ acres.
In the
R. C. divisions the parish is included in the union or district of
Arklow ; the chapel is at Ballycowgue,
and attached to it is a school. The parochial school is supported by
weekly payments from the children. There is also a hedge school. In
the centre of the parish is an ancient cemetery.
