Kilmore

Armagh

Kilmore

KILMORE, a parish, partly in the barony of LOWER ORIOR, but chiefly in that of O'NEILLAND WEST, county of ARMAGH, and province of ULSTER, on the road from Armagh city to Belfast city (county Antrim); containing, with the post-town of Richhill (which is described under its own head), 14 037 inhabitants.

This place, anciently called 'Kilmore-Aedhain,' derived that name from the foundation of a church in the territory of Huadneth, by St. Mochtee, the founder of Louth, by whom it was dedicated to St. Aedan. The parish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey 17,274 .50 statute acres, of which 4799.75 are in the barony of Lower Orior, and 12,474.75 in that of O'Neilland West. The soil is fertile ; the system of agriculture is highly improving ; there is no waste land and only a small quantity of bog. There are several quarries of whinstone, which is raised for building ; and limestone is found in great abundance, and quarried both for building and for manure. The surrounding scenery is finely varied, and towards the south and east are some beautiful views extending to the sea, and comprehending the mountains of Mourne.

The principal seats are Richhill Castle, the property and residence of Miss Richardson, situated in an extensive and embellished demesne ; Westfield, of H Clendining, Esq.; Bell-view, of G. Langtrey, Esq. ; Killynahanvagh, of Major T. Atkins ; Anna Hill, of H. Walker, Esq.; and Course Lodge, of J. Orr, Esq.

The linen manufacture is carried on to a considerable extent, employing a great number of persons ; and a court is held at Richhill on the first Friday in every month for the manor of Mullalelish and Legacony, in which debts under 40s., are recoverable.

The living is a. rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, constituting the corps of the chancellorship of the cathedral of Armagh, in the patronage of the Lord-Primate; the tithes amount to £1213. 4s. 4d. The glebe-house, towards which the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £100, was erected in 1793; it is a spacious and handsome residence, situated in grounds tastefully disposed ; the glebe comprises 679 acres of profitable land. The church, with the exception of the ancient tower, was rebuilt in 1814, at an expense of £2800, of which £2000 was a loan from the same Board ; and in 1825 the massive square tower was surmounted by a lofty octagonal spire covered with copper, at an expense of £300, of which half was defrayed by the rector and the remainder by subscription; it occupies a commanding eminence, and is seen to great advantage at a distance. A church was built in 1775 at Mullyvilly, for the accommodation of the parishioners in that part of the parish : the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Rector.

The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church ; there are two chapels, both small buildings, situated respectively at Richhill and Mullavilly.

There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class, and for the Society of Friends and Independents.

About 550 children are taught in eight public schools, of which two are supported by the rector, two by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's fund, one by Miss Richardson, of Richhill Castle, and two are endowed with an acre of land each by the rector, who also built the school-houses. There are also two private schools, in which are about 70 children, and six Sunday schools in connection with the Established Church and the several dissenting congregations, two of which are aided by annual donations from the rector and Mr. Caulfield.

A payment of £3. 1s. 6d., is annually made to the poor, arising from land near the village, called the Honey Pot field ; and Mr. Atkinson, of Greenhall, in 1827, bequeathed £50, of which the interest is annually divided by the rector among the Protestant poor. There are a mendacity association and a voluntary poor fund.

In the townland of Castle Roe are extensive ruins of the castle which gave name to the district, and which is said to have been founded by Rory O'Nial in the reign of Elizabeth ; it occupied a lofty eminence, commanding the entire country. The former glebe-house was part of the ancient abbey, and contained several dormitories and cells with narrow lights and very massive walls ; but the only vestige of the abbey is the holy well, enclosed in the rector's garden. On a high hill in the parish, Cromwell is said to have had an encampment.

Kilmore

Cavan

Kilmore

KILMORE, a parish, and the seat of a diocese, partly in the barony of CLONMAHON but chiefly in that of UPPER LOUGHTEE, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER. 3.25 miles (S.W.) from Cavan town, on the road to Killesandra; containing, with part of the market-town of Ballinagh , 7161 inhabitants.

This parish, which derives its name, signifying the Great Church; from the abbey of Cella Magna, founded here at an early period by St. Columba, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 16,886 statute acres, of which 2154 are in Lough Oughter, and 14,114 are applotted under the tithe act. The soil is various, and the land in some parts under profitable cultivation ; there are some quarries of good building stone, and gold and silver have been found in some parts.

The principal seats are Lismore Castle, that of Major Nesbitt ; the Rocks, of J. C. Tatlow, Esq. ; Castle Corby, of J. Whit-thorne, Esq. ; Belleville, of Capt.. A. Fleming ; Bingfield, of H. T. Kilbee, Esq. ; Drumheel, of R. Bell, Esq. ; Lisnamandra, of G. L'Estrange, Esq. ; Drumcorbin, of G. T. B. Booth, Esq. ; Tully, of Major R. Stafford ; and Hermitage, of R. Stephens, Esq.

The living of Kilmore is a vicarage, united by royal authority, at an unknown date, to the vicarage of Ballintemple, and the rectory and vicarage of Keadue together forming the union and the corps of the deanery of Kilmore, in the Diocese of Kilmore and in the patronage of the Crown ; the rector is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £350, of which £127. 17s. 4d., is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar the aggregate tithes of the benefice are £843. 10s. 6d The glebe comprises 270.50 acres of profitable land, and 26.75 of bog; there is also, in the parish of Ballintemple a glebe of 103.50 acres, besides which are 436 .50 acres of profitable land and 47 acres of bog belonging to the deanery, though not in any of the parishes within the union.

The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church ; there are two chapels, situated respectively at Ballinagh and Drumcor, the latter built in 1809, at an expense of £150.

About 350 children are taught in six public schools, of which two are parochial, and three are supported by Lord Farnham ; there are seven private schools, in which are about 330 children, and three Sunday schools. In the church-yard are interred the remains of the venerable Bishop Bedell whose death was occasioned on accelerated by the severities he endured while in the hands of the insurgents in 1641. In such esteem was this exemplary prelate held, even by those who had hastened his decease, that they attended his funeral obsequies with the most unbounded demonstrations of respect and sorrow. In the same vault was also interred Bishop Cumberland. On Trinity island are the remains of an abbey ; and on a small island in Killekeen lake are the ruins of the Castle of Cloughoughter, in which Bishop Bedell was confined.

Kilmore

Meath

Kilmore

KILMORE, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DEECE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, .50 a mile (S. E.) from Summerhill, on the road from Dublin to Navan; containing 1266 inhabitants.

It comprises 4000 acres, about one-third of which are arable, and the remainder pasture land, with about 16 acres of ornamental plantations, and two nurseries.

The principal seats are Larch Hill, the residence of S. E.Watson, Esq., the grounds of which are embellished with grottoes and temples; and Philpotstown, the handsome residence of T. Walsh, Esq.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £330. 13s. 4d. There is a glebe-house, which cost £1300, towards which the late Board of First Fruits, in 1813, gave £250 and lent £500: the glebe comprises 12 acres, and is beautifully laid out as a landscape garden. The church is a small ancient building, and the churchyard is judiciously planted.

In the Roman Catholic divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, called Moynalvey, containing Kilmore, Galtrim, Kiltale, and Dirpatrick; there are chapels at Kilmore and Galtrim, the former a large building in the village of Moynalvey, which was erected in 1834, by subscription, of which the greater part was contributed by members of the Established Church. On the outside is a fine bust of our Saviour, after Michael Angelo, presented by Miss Gregory.

Here is a school for all denominations, superintended and entirely supported by the rector, Dr. Tighe Gregory, and containing about 30 children; also a private school of about 60 children. A dispensary, Dorcas institution, repository, and poor shop, have been founded by Dr. Gregory, who intends to erect dwellings for destitute widows and orphans.

In the churchyard is a curious round stone, placed on a pillar by the present incumbent, by whom it was discovered. The crucifixion is represented on one of its sides, and the crown of thorns, bleeding heart, &c., on the other. Dr. Gregory also found a fiat stone, dated 1575, containing a representation of the crucifixion, with a legible inscription in Latin, and a defaced one in Irish, and a request to pray for the soul of Roger Mac Mahon Guineff, or Guiness.

About 2.50 miles north-west from the present are the ruins of an ancient church, and of a castle, called Arodstown; the remains of a church are also visible at Moynalvey, about a mile to the south of which cells, extending a considerable distance under ground, were discovered in 1834; and near them is a tract still retaining the name of "the college." To the south of the parish, sepulchral remains have been discovered within a considerable embankment: these ruins, between which are visible the remains of fortified stations, encircle the parish; and in the centre stands an ancient bush on a mount, known by the name of Killa-more, the "great hill," and Seach-na-Killa-more, or the "bush of Kilmore." The number of these antiquities creates an opinion that Kilmore was formerly a place of religious importance.

Kilmore

Monaghan

Kilmore

KILMORE, a parish, in the barony and county of MONAGHAN, province of ULSTER, 2.50 miles (w. by N.) from Monaghan town, on the road to Clones ; containing 5095 inhabitants.

According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 8689.50 statute acres, including a detached portion of 334.25 acres, several small lakes, and some bog.

The principal estates are Ballyleck, the residence of the Hon. R. Westenra ; Brandrim, of Owen Blayney Cole, Esq. ; and Rosefield, of Ralph Dudgeon, Esq.

The Ulster Canal will pass through the northern part of the parish.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Clogher, and in the patronage of the Bishop. The tithes amount to £286. 3s. There is a glebe-house, towards the erection of Which the late Board of First Fruits gave £100 in 1792 ; the glebe comprises 43 acres. The church is a plain edifice with an elegant tower, erected in 1788, and for the repair of which £109 was lately granted by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

In the Roman Catholic divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Drumsnat, and has a chapel at Corcahan.

There are eight public schools, in which about 520 children are educated ; and two private schools, in which are 60 children ; also a Sunday school supported by the curate.

Kilmore

Wexford

Kilmore

KILMORE, a parish, in the barony of BARGY, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 9 .50 miles (S.S.W.) from Wexford town; containing 1796 inhabitants.

This place is situated on the eastern shore of the lough formed by the burrow of Ballyteigue, a long narrow sand bank extending from Ballyteigue for nearly four Irish miles, to the entrance of the lake at its western extremity; the burrow abounds with rabbits, and the lake with a variety of wild fowl. The parish comrises 3331 statute acres, which are partly good grazing an but principally under tillage ; the soil is fertile, and the system of agriculture has been much improved ; with the exception of the burrow, there is neither bog nor waste land. Limestone exists on the lands of Ballycross, but has not yet been quarried ; an abundance of sea manure, or tag weed, procured at spring tides and after storms, affording an excellent dressing for the lands. Good building stone is found on the townland of Sarcilla.

The seats are Ballycross, that of J. Rowe Esq. ; Ballyharty, of S. Green, Esq.; Ballyseskin, of H.. Archer, Esq. ; and Ballyteigue, of J. Young, Esq.

At Crossfarnogue Point is a small pier, where coal is occasionally landed ; and more than 100 boats averaging four men each, all of which rendezvous here, are engaged in the herring, lobster, and cod fisheries of this coast. The construction of a good pier at this point, which might be accomplished at an expense of about £I500, would afford protection to the numerous fishing vessels frequenting the places and enable the fishermen to render more effectual assistance to vessels in distress. The steam-boat Water Witch was wrecked of this place in 1833, and several lives were lost. The present pier is small and of very rude construction, having been built by the fishermen themselves, about 25 years since. The tide at this point risks from 11 to 12 feet at high water of springs, and 6 feet at neap tides. A coast-guard station, one of the six forming the district of Wexford, has been established at the point.

The parish is in the diocese of Ferns; the rectory is impropriate in John Rowe, Esq., of Ballycross,. and the vicarage forms part of the union of Tomhaggard. The tithes amount to £453. 2s. 8.50d., of which £337. 7s. 8.50d., is payable to the impropriator, and £115. 15s. to the vicar.

In the Roman Catholic divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Mulrankin, Tomhaggard, and Kilturk, in each of which, except the last there is a chapel ; that of Kilmore is a spacious building, erected in 1803, adjoining which a house for the priest as been lately built.

There are two schools under the New Board of Education, chiefly supported by the proceeds of an annual charity sermon and a public dinner : a parochial school house, also has been recently erected. Near Crossfarnogue Point, where was formerly a telegraph, are the remains of Ballyteigue castle, formerly belonging to the Whitty family, and now incorporated with the modern mansion of J. Young, Esq.