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SKULL, a parish, in the Western Division of the barony of WEST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 11 1/2 miles (W. S. W.) from Skibbereen, on the road to Crookhaven; containing, with several inhabited islands in Roaring Water bay, 15,252 inhabitants, of which number, 385 are in the village. It is exceedingly wild and uncultivated, and appears in the earlier periods of Irish history to have been regarded as of very great importance from its numerous defiles and strongholds amidst its rocks; and in later times, from the erection of several castles by the various native septs, which from their situation and great strength would appear to have been impregnable. The castles of Dunbeacon and Dunmanus, on Dunmanus bay, were built by the sept of O'Mahony; the former to protect the boundary and pass between their territories and those of the O'Donovans. At Lemcon, in the south of the parish, are the remains of a castle which was taken, in 1602, by the Lord-President of Munster, on his return to Cork after the siege of Dunboy; to the east of these, on the shore of Roaring Water bay, are the. castles of Ardintenant and Rossbrin; and opposite to the former, on an island about a mile from the shore, are the remains of Black castle, which gave name to the island, all of which were erected by the sept of O'Mahony. At Liscaha are also the remains of a very extensive fort, surrounded by a double rampart and fosse, which gives name to that district, signifying "the Battle Fort," and where a sanguinary battle is said to have taken place between the Irish and the Danes, in which the latter were defeated with great slaughter. At Ratrovane is also a similar fort, surrounded by a mound of earth and strengthened with a massive stone wall, firmly built without mortar.

The parish forms the eastern portion of a peninsula extending from Dunmanus bay, on the north, to Roaring Water bay on the south, and comprising 84,000 statute acres, of which 24,204 are applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £7898 per annum. The surface is rocky and very uneven, rising in some parts into mountains of considerable elevation; the highest in a chain extending from east to west is Mount Gabriel, 1145 feet above the level of the sea; the whole are of the schistose formation, in some places passing into all the varieties of transition rock. About one-third of the land, consisting principally of small patches between the rocks, is under tillage; but the system of agriculture is in a very backward state, and spade husbandry is in general practice. There are some tracts of mountain which afford tolerable pasturage to numerous herds of young cattle; but the greater portion presents only a bare rocky surface, and appears to be wholly irreclaimable. There are also considerable tracts of bog, producing a good supply of peat, part of which might be reclaimed at a moderate expense. The principal seats are Ardmanah House, the residence of Major J. Wynne; Lemcon House, of R. E. Hull, Esq.; Rock Cottage, of J. O'Callaghan, Esq.; Gortnagruach, of R. Swanton, Esq.; Audley Lodge, of Capt. Forster, R. N.; Greenmount, of Capt. Long; Ballydehob Cottage, of the Rev. J. Barry, P. P.; and Ardirivema, of the Rev. L. O'Sullivan. The islands within the limits of the parish are Long island, Goat island, Castle island, Horse island, Dunmanus, Ballydehob, Carbery island, the Three Calves, and the islands of Carty and Moan. The largest of these is Long island, but the most valuable is Horse island, abounding with copper ore of good quality, which is found also in other parts of the parish. Some very extensive mines have been opened on the summit of Cappach hill by the proprietor, Lord Audley; they were subsequently worked by the Irish Mining company, but are now rented by the West Cork Mining company, who have for a time suspended their operations here while they are working the mines in Horse island, about a mile and a half distant; the ore found at Cappach and Horse island is very pure. The same company, in 1835, opened very extensive slate quarries at Audley's Cove and at Tilemuck, in this parish, in which 500 men are constantly employed; the slate is of excellent quality, compact, hard, and durable; and great quantities have been already sent to London and other English markets, where it is in great demand. Trials for copper ore and slate have also been made with success in various parts of the parish, the working of which will be highly beneficial, by providing constant employment to the dense population of this wild and hitherto almost unknown portion of the country. The mines and quarries now in progress are situated close to the shores of Roaring Water bay, upon a small creek called Audley's Cove, from which their produce can be readily shipped for any British port. The bay is accessible to vessels of 600 tons' burden; and the harbour of Skull is well sheltered, the ground level, and the water in the anchorage averaging from three to four fathoms; the entrance is perfectly safe, and at all times practicable, there being only one rock, which is situated nearly in the centre, and is dry at two hours' ebb. A new line of road parallel with the shore, and leading from Skibbereen to Rock island and Crookhaven, has been constructed, which will materially benefit the trade of the place. The village contains 79 houses, several of which are modern and well built. A fair for cattle, sheep and pigs is held at Skull on the 5th of January, and fairs are also held in the village of Ballydehob, which see. A constabulary police force is stationed here and also at Ballydehob; and there are coast-guard stations on Long island and at Skull, which latter is a detachment from the station at Crookhaven, in the district of Skibbereen. A manorial court is held at Lemcon, every third Monday, at which debts under £5 are recoverable; there is also an ecclesiastical manor belonging to the bishop of Ross, for which a court is held occasionally; and petty sessions are held at Towermore every alternate week.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork, and in the alternate patronage of the Crown and the Bishop: the tithes amount to £850. The glebe-house is a handsome residence, and the glebe comprises 63 3/4 acres. The church, towards the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £207, is a small plain edifice, erected in 1720. At Ballydehob is a very handsome church, in the later English style, erected in 1829 as a chapel of ease, at an expense of £600, a gift from the late Board of First Fruits; divine service is also performed in three schoolrooms in the parish. In the R. C. divisions the parish is divided into East and West Skull, which latter forms part of the union of Kilmore; in the eastern division are two chapels, one at Ballydehob and the other at Skull, in which also is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. About 340 children are taught in six public schools, of which three are supported by the rector; and there are nine private schools (in which are about 230 children), a Sunday school, and a dispensary. Near Towermore, on the road to Rock island, are the remains of a cromlech, called "the Altar;" and on the road to Four-mile-Water are those of another, with an imperfect circle of upright stones. On the shores of Dunmanus bay are the beautiful remains of the ancient church of Kilcoma; and at Bawnaknuckane are the ruins of an ancient religious house and seminary, and of the ancient castle of Rossbrin, in which was written the Psalter of that name by a bard of the O'Mahony family. An ancient skein, or sword, was found in the churchyard in 1835; and at Quoilahmore a great number of silver coins of the reign of Anne were recently discovered.

SLADE, a village, in the parish of HOOK, barony of SHELBURNE, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 7 1/2 miles (S. S. W.) from Fethard; containing 164 inhabitants. The place is situated on the bay and small harbour to which it gives name. It contains about 30 houses, and is chiefly inhabited by fishermen; the scenery derives some interest from the remains of Slade castle, which was built here at an early period by the Hay family. The harbour is situated about one mile to the eastward of Hook lighthouse, and is fit only for small vessels, being dry at low water. Between the quay heads are 11 feet of water at high spring tides, and from 8 to 9 feet at neap tides; but the pier is in a very dilapidated state. In the bay to the north-east of Hook lighthouse vessels may anchor in good ground, under shelter from northern and western winds.

SLANE, a post-town and parish (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the barony of SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 6 3/4 miles (W. S. W.) from Drogheda, and 22 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Londonderry, and on the river Boyne; containing 2516 inhabitants, of which number, 896 are in the town. This place is of very high antiquity, and in the earliest ages of Christianity was the seat of a small diocese, of which St. Eirc, who had built himself a hermitage, was consecrated first Bishop by St. Patrick, and died in 514. On the neighbouring hill an abbey for Canons Regular was founded at a very early period, into which the young Dagobert, king of Austrasia in France, who was banished from his own country when only seven years of age, was received in 653, and educated; he continued to reside in it 20 years, till recalled to France and restored to his throne. This establishment was many times plundered and the monks massacred by the Ostmen of Dublin, to whose ravages it was peculiarly exposed; in 1172 the town was sacked and burned by Dermod Mac Murrough and a party of the English; and it was again plundered by the English in 1175, from which period it seems to have continued in decay till the year 1512, when it was restored by Sir Christopher Fleming, Lord of Slane, who placed in it two friars, who then resided in the hermitage of St. Eirc. On the settlement of the English in Meath, the town became a borough, and in the reign of Hen. VI. ranked as one of the middle class. The Fleming family having been engaged in the civil war of 1641, the estate escheated to the Crown, and subsequently became the property of the Right Hon. William Conyngham, ancestor of the Marquess Conyngham. The place is within four miles of Oldbridge, where the battle of the Boyne was fought; and the bridge of Slane has been on many occasions considered and defended as a pass of importance. The town is pleasantly situated on the northern bank of the river, which is navigable from its estuary at Drogheda up to Navan: it consists of 143 houses, which are chiefly modern and of neat appearance, and the richness of the surrounding scenery renders it one of the most attractive places in the county. The market has been discontinued: fairs for cattle and pigs are held on the 2nd of April, June, and Sept., and on Nov. 8th; petty sessions on alternate Fridays; and it is a chief constabulary police station.

The parish comprises 5855 1/2 statute acres, for the most part of indifferent quality: there is no bog, except in the vicinity of the town. About 30 years since coal-works existed, but they proved unproductive, and were abandoned. On the river, adjoining the town, are very extensive flour and corn-mills, the property of Blayney Townley Balfour, Esq., worked by seven pairs of stones; they have an excellent supply of water and are capable of grinding 1000 barrels of wheat weekly. To the west of the town is Slane Castle, the seat of the Marquess Conyngham; it is a spacious and elegant structure, in the later English style of architecture, with embattled turrets and pinnacles, comprising part of the ancient castle of the Flemings: it is beautifully situated on an elevated site, on the steep banks of the Boyne, and surrounded by an extensive and richly wooded park of about 900 statute acres, through which that river winds: the interior of the castle is very handsome, particularly the circular room, which has a splendid groined ceiling, and is adorned with some good paintings, among which is a fine picture of the battle of the Boyne, and Sir Thos. Lawrence's portrait of Geo. IV., in his robes, who visited the Marquess here in Aug. 1821. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Crown; the tithes amount to £407. 15. 6. The glebe-house was built in 1807, at an expense of £1046, British currency, which was defrayed partly by a gift of £100, partly by a loan of £500, from the late Board of First Fruits, and the residue by the then incumbent. The glebe comprises 12 acres, and, with some houses on it, is valued at £41 per annum. The church is a neat edifice, with a handsome steeple, after a design by Johnston, erected in 1712; it was enlarged in 1830, by aid of a loan of £200 from the same Board, and has been recently repaired by a grant of £134 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising the parishes of Slane, Gernonstown, Rathkenny, Stackallen, Dunmoe, and Fennor, and containing three chapels, one in Rathkenny, and two in this parish, of which one "is a neat structure, situated in the town. About 180 children are educated in the public schools, of which the parochial schools are under the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity; one for females is supported by the Dowager Marchioness Conyngham; and the other is a national school. There is also a private school, in which are about 150 children. Of the ancient castle of Asigh, on the right bank of the Boyne, there remains only a square massive tower, commanding an extensive southern view of the hills of Taragh and Skryne: about 30 yards northward are the ruins of a small chapel. There are the ruins of a monastery and college on the hill of Slane; and of a hermitage in the Marquess Conyngham's park. In the vicinity of the town are the ancient mounts or tumuli of New Grange; the principal is a large mound of earth, 70 feet high and 300 feet in circumference at the top, covering an area of an Irish acre; it is irregular in its form, and was surrounded at the base by a circle of huge upright unhewn stones, several of which remain. On removing part of the materials, in 1699, a large stone was found, covering the entrance to a gallery 62 feet long, leading to a central arched cavern with three offsets, forming together in their ground plan a rude cross; the entrance to the gallery is only three feet wide and two feet high, at first decreasing in breadth, and farther on formed of large upright stones on each side, with others extending horizontally to form the roof, which is high enough to admit of approach in an upright position; the dome in the centre of the cross is of octagonal form and about 20 feet high, with a coved roof formed of courses of flat stones successively projecting; in the right branch of the cross is a large stone vase, within the excavated part of which are two circular cavities of less than a foot in diameter; several of the stones are sculptured with rude ornaments and devices. When this cavern was first opened, two human skeletons were found entire, and also some horns and bones of deer. Slane gives the inferior title of Viscount to the Marquess Conyngham.

SLANES, a parish, in the barony of ARDES, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Portaferry; containing 589 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the eastern coast, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 946 1/2 statute acres, the whole of which is under cultivation, and produces excellent crops of corn, flax, and potatoes. Here is Slane's Point, between which and Carney Point is a cluster of rocks and shoals, one of which, called the South rock, is three miles (E. N. E.) from Carney Point, and on it there is a light-house, called the Kilwarlin Light, erected by the Corporation for the Improvement of the Port of Dublin: it is a revolving light, elevated 52 feet above the sea at high water, with 10 lamps of a bright colour, appearing once in a minute and a half: two bells are also kept tolling in foggy weather, by means of clock work, to warn mariners of their proximity to danger: the rocks and shoals extend a mile at least to the eastward of the lighthouse. Here is a coast-guard station. On the shore are the remains of a large castellated edifice, called Newcastle, which has given name to the district; from this is the communication with the light-house, and here are the residences of the keepers. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Down, forming part of the union of Ballyphilip, and of the corps of the chancellorship of Down; the tithes amount to £106. 13. 5 1/2. There is no vestige of a church, but the burial-ground remains, where once stood an extensive edifice, traditionally said to have been a wealthy abbey: the Protestants attend divine service at Portaferry church. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Upper Ardee.

SLATEY, SLEATY, or SLETTY, a parish, in the barony of SLIEVEMARGUE, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 1 1/4 mile (N. N. W.) from Carlow; containing 189 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the river Barrow, comprises 656 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £728 per annum. Knockbeg is the residence of W. Carruthers, Esq.; and here is also that of Gerald Byrne, Esq. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, united to that of Shruel, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £60, and the gross value of the benefice is £106. 3. 1. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Killeshin. Here is a hedge school of 10 boys and 4 girls. St. Fiech is said to have founded a church and bishoprick here, in the fifth century, the latter of which was afterwards transferred to Leighlin; in the churchyard are two stone crosses of remote antiquity; and there are ruins of a small church called Slieb-teach, or "The House near the Mountains," which is said to have been originally a place of great importance.

SLIERUAGH.-- See RATHPATRICK.

SLIGO (County of), a maritime county of the province of CONNAUGHT, bounded on the east by Leitrim, on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west and south by Mayo, and on the south-east by Roscommon. It extends from 53° 53' to 54° 26' (N. Lat.), and from 8° 3' to 9° 1' (W. Lon.); and comprises an area, according to the Ordnance survey, of 434,188 statute acres, of which 257,217 are cultivated land, 168,711 are unimproved mountain and bog, and 8260 are under water. The population, in 1821, amounted to 146,229; and in 1831, to 171,508.

This county was included in the territory of the Nagnatae in the time of Ptolemy, the chief city of which tribe, Nagnata, is supposed by some to have been somewhere near the site of the town of Sligo. It was afterwards possessed by a branch of the O'Conors, called for the sake of distinction O'Conor Sligo. The families of O'Hara, O'Dowd, Mac Donagh, and Mac Ferbis, were also heads of septs in different districts. After the landing of the English under Hen. II., it gradually fell, together with the rest of Connaught, into the hands of the great English leaders, of whom the Burghs or De Burgos were the most powerful in these parts. Yet this revolution was not effected without a protracted struggle, in the course of which a great battle was fought at Assadar, now Ballysadere, where O'Nial, dynast of Tyrone, was defeated with great slaughter in an attempt to restore Cathal Croobhderg to the throne of Connaught, from which he had been driven by Charles Carragh, aided by William De Burgo. Not many years after, the site of the present town of Sligo being deemed a suitable position for defence, a castle was erected there in 1245, by Maurice Fitz-Gerald, then lord-deputy, which was destroyed in 1271, by O'Donel, but rebuilt in the beginning of the ensuing century by Richard, Earl of Ulster. The county was regarded as part of Connaught, which, with the exception of Roscommon, was then also considered by the English as a single county, until the 11th of Elizabeth, when the province was divided into seven counties, of which Sligo made one. About the same time O'Conor Sligo had tendered his submission to Sir Henry Sidney, lord-deputy, and had obtained a grant of his lands under the crown of England at a rent of £100 per annum, with a covenant to pay five horses and 130 beeves every Michaelmas, in lieu of cess, and to bring twenty horsemen and forty foot-soldiers into the field whenever summoned to attend a general hosting. During the disturbances by which the north and west of Ireland were distracted at the close of Elizabeth's reign, several actions took place in the county, in one of which the monastery of Ballymote was burned by the Irish. But the most remarkable incident connected with the county at that period was the defeat and death of Sir Conyers Clifford, who had succeeded Sir Rich. Bingham in the presidency of Connaught; he had been sent by the Earl of Essex to Belleek, at the head of 1400 foot, and a body of horse, consisting of 100 English and a number of Irish auxiliaries: in proceeding through the Curlew mountains, he pushed forward with his infantry through a defile, where he was suddenly attacked by O'Rourk, chieftain of Breffny, at the head of about 200 men, with such impetuosity that he was killed on the spot, together with several of his officers and 120 men, and the rest were driven back upon the cavalry, whose appearance checked the pursuit, and gave the fugitives an opportunity of escaping without further loss. On the breaking out of the war of 1641, the county was overrun by the De Burgos; and though Sligo was taken from them the year after, by Sir Frederic Hamilton, it fell into their hands again, and remained in their possession until finally subdued by Ireton and Sir Charles Coote. In the war of 1688, Sligo was in the possession of the troops of Jas. II., but they vacated it after raising the siege of Derry, through a stratagem contrived by Lieut.-Col. Gore: the forces of Wm. III. were, however, too much exhausted to follow up their advantage, so that the country fell again into the possession of the Irish, and the town surrendered the following year to Lord Granard. During the French invasion, in 1798, General Humbert, after the battle of Castlebar, instead of proceeding towards Dublin, turned northwards through this county in the hope of being able to co-operate with a larger force destined to act upon the north of Ireland: he was stopped at Collooney by the city of Limerick militia, commanded by Col. Vereker, afterwards Lord Gort, who, though much inferior in numbers, gave him such a check as induced him to turn towards Longford, where he was surrounded by the whole of the army under the Marquess Cornwallis, and forced to surrender at discretion.

This county is partly in the diocese of Elphin, partly in that of Killala, but chiefly in that of Achonry. For purposes of civil jurisdiction it is divided into the baronies of Carbery, Coolavin, Corran, Leney, Tiraghrill, and Tyreragh. It contains the borough, sea-port, market, and assize town of Sligo; the market and post-towns of Ballymote and Collooney; the market-town of Coolaney; and the post-town of Dromore West: the principal villages are Ballysadere (which has a penny post), Tubbercorry, Ardnaree, Easkey, Grange, and Riverstown. It sent four members to the Irish parliament, two for the county, and two for the borough of Sligo; since the Union its representatives in the Imperial parliament have been the two members for the county at large, and one for the borough. The election takes place in the town of Sligo. The constituency, as registered to the beginning of 1837, consisted of 268 freeholders of £50, 195 of £20, and 542 of £10; 1 leaseholder of £50, 5 of £20, and 4 of £10; 4 rent-chargers of £50 and 20 of £20; making a total of 1039 registered electors. The county is in the Connaught circuit: the assizes and general sessions of the peace are held at Sligo; general sessions of the peace are also held four times in the year at Ballymote and Easky, in each of which towns there are a court-house and bridewell, but the county gaol and court-house are in the town of Sligo. The district lunatic asylum is at Ballinasloe, but the greater part of the lunatics belonging to the county are kept in the county gaol: the county infirmary and fever hospital are in Sligo; there are dispensaries at Ballymote, Carney, Castleconner, Collooney, Coolaney, Dromore West, Riverstown, St. John's Sligo, and Tubbercorry. The local government is vested in a lieutenant, 10 deputy-lieutenants, and 83 other magistrates. There are 31 constabulary police stations, having a force of a stipendiary magistrate, a sub-inspector, five chief officers, 34 constables, 120 men, and six horses. The Grand Jury presentments for 1835 amounted to £22,231. 17. 7 1/2., of which £1382. 11. 1. was for the making and repairing of the roads, bridges, &c., of the county at large; £9167. 18. 7 1/4. for those of the baronies; £6936. 8. 10 1/2. for public buildings, charities, officers' salaries and incidents; £3202. 11. for the police; and £1542. 8. 1 1/2. for repayment of advances made by Government. In the military arrangements the county is included in the western district, and contains a barrack for cavalry at Sligo, affording accommodation for seven officers, 96 non-commissioned officers and men, and 60 horses.

The surface is much varied, having near the sea coast extensive plains backed by lofty mountains. The interior is hilly, with several lakes interspersed with some rivers, which, though not of great length or size, add much to the beauty of the scenery by their romantic borders and precipitous currents. The western part of the county, which stretches along the southern shore of Donegal bay, is chiefly bog, backed likewise by a range of lofty hills. Benbulben, in the north, is not more remarkable for its great elevation than from the singularity of its shape: it forms the western extremity of a range extending from Lough Erne; its northern side is nearly perpendicular; the only access to its summit, which is a table land of some extent and covered with a rich variety of plants, is by the south. Thence to the town of Sligo the country is an extensive plain richly cultivated. Knocknaree, a mountain of considerable elevation and with an extensive base, situated on the peninsula formed by the estuaries of Sligo and Ballysadere rivers, is a very striking object in every point of view. The Ox mountains extend along the western verge of the county into Mayo: the whole of the south is rugged and hilly, rising into the high range of the Curlews on the border of Roscommon. There are three lakes remarkable alike for size and beauty: the most northern is Lough Gill, near the town of Sligo, on the east; it is about nine miles long and three broad, studded with islands, some of which are richly wooded, and others present an expanse of verdant meadow. Of these islands two only are inhabited, namely, Innismore, called also Church Island, from the remains of a monastic building, the cemetery of which is still used as a place of interment and where the incumbent of St. John's, on his presentation, still takes possession; and Cottage Island, so called from a beautiful modern lodge erected on it. Besides these, there are 16 other islands, all more or less wooded. Lough Arrow, nearly of the same size as the preceding, but more irregular in its outline, and equally beautiful for the picturesque variety of its scenery, contains the three islands of Innismore, Innisbeg, and Annaghgowla: there is fine fishing in this lake in April and May. At the most southern extremity of the county, and forming part of its boundary on the side of Roscommon, is Lough Gara, equally picturesque and irregular, and also studded with islands, the chief of which are named Derrymore, Inse, Inchymore, and Inchybeg. In the Ox mountains is Lough Calt, or the High Lake, surrounded by cliffs that seem to have been thrown up by some extraordinary convulsion of nature: the lake, which is about a mile long by half a mile in breadth, is well stocked with trout of a small size, of which it is said that, while those which feed on one side of it are peculiarly ill-flavoured and misshapen, having heads exceeding the body in size, those found in other parts are of good shape and flavour. Two rocky islets near its centre are covered during the summer months with flocks of gulls and other aquatic birds. More northwards, in the same range of mountains, is Lough Easkey. The sea-coast is indented by numerous bays. Near the northern extremity is the harbour of Mullaghmore, where a pier, which has fifteen feet depth at high water, has been built at the expense of Lord Palmerston, for the accommodation of the fishermen. This part of Lord Palmerston's estate is much injured by the spreading of the sand over the surface to the depth of several feet, which is attributed to the pulling up of the bent that grew along the shore. Further south is Milkhaven, an inlet of some extent, but difficult of access, and fit only for vessels of small draught; at its entrance is Carrig-na-Spaniahg, or "the Spanish rock," so called from the loss of one of the vessels of the Armada which struck upon it. At Rinoreen Point, improperly called Gessigo, the coast expands into Sligo bay, by an opening five miles broad to its further extremity at Aughris head. On the northern side is the elevated peninsula of Raughly, connected with the sand hills on the shore by a narrow neck of land. The bay then divides into three inlets, of which that in the middle leading to Sligo is the only one of importance, the others being rocky and nearly dry at low water: the northern from the shores of which come the Lisadill oysters, is called Drumcliffe bay; the southern is the embouchure of Ballysadere river, at the entrance of which is a very profitable turbot bank. Ballysadere river is navigable to the village, where there is as good anchorage for shipping as at Sligo: during the last three years there has been a considerable export from it of oats and oatmeal, and an import of coal. Salmon are prevented from going up this river by a ledge of rock which crosses it and forms a very fine waterfall. The passage up to Sligo, which is five miles from the coast, is tortuous and difficult; vessels of large size must lie at the mouth, as there is only ten feet of water at the quay; they are, however, well protected by Oyster island and Coney island, which form a natural breakwater at the entrance; the former of these islands has a bed of oysters of large size but inferior in flavour to those of Lisadill. South of Coney island is Magin's island, of small dimensions. Innismurray lies two leagues out at sea on the northern coast, rising into a precipitous cliff towards the ocean, but shelving down like steps on that towards the land: it has but one entrance, called by the inhabitants "the Hole:" a description of it is given under its own head. From Aughris head the coast takes a western direction along a rocky shore to the opening into Killala bay, and thence to the mouth of the Moy, which forms the boundary of the county, and opens into the harbours of Ballina and Killala.

The climate is very temperate, but so variable that the best barometers are uncertain as to the indications of wet or dry weather. The whole county may be called a tillage country, although there are numerous tracts more peculiarly suited to the fattening of cattle. In the north the soil is either a thin turf moss, on a freestone gravelly bottom, or a thin sandy loam skirted with large tracts of bog. In proceeding southward the soil becomes less moory, deeper, and richer. The vicinity of Sligo presents a plain of great fertility, resting on a substratum of limestone or calcareous gravel. The central baronies to the south of the town are the most fertile, being covered, except where interrupted by hills, with a very rich deep soil, well suited to the growth of wheat, potatoes, and every kind of green crop. In the most southern extremity the soil changes its character with the aspect of the surface, the rocky mountain tracts being covered with a stratum of freestone gravel and rock, interspersed with land of excellent quality fit for every kind of tillage or for pasturage. In the west the soil is light and gravelly, with large tracts of black bog and moory mountain, much of which is capable of improvement, but the best land in the entire county is around Ballymote. Throughout most parts there occurs a substratum called lac-leigh, which is corrupted Irish for "a grey flag;" it is found from nine to twelve inches beneath the surface, and is, when undisturbed, perfectly impervious, and therefore retentive of water. Silicious marl in a concrete state seems to be its principal ingredient. It effervesces slightly with acids, is of a leaden grey colour, and when dug up and exposed to the atmosphere, resolves into a coarse-grained friable powder. Its presence would be a complete bar to the progress of tillage, were it not that experience has proved that, when dug up and well incorporated with the superincumbent soil, it improves the compost, and, when broken through, the ground below consists of a limestone gravel, into which the water retained by the stubborn shell is immediately absorbed. Trenching the land for potatoes breaks the stratum, and carries off the water so effectually that no other drains are necessary.

The size of farms varies from three acres and even less to 400 or 500; those of larger size were formerly held by several tenants in partnership, and consisted usually of a small portion of tillage land to which an extensive tract of coarse mountain and bottom land was annexed, but this mode of tenure is on the decline: most of the large farms are now held by one individual and consist chiefly of pasture land. Tillage has increased rapidly; the principal crops are oats and potatoes, very little wheat being sown. The rotation system and green crops are common with the gentry, and, through the laudable exertions of Mr. Cooper, and Major O'Hara, who have formed farming societies for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge, and for improvements in rural economy by means of premiums, they are gradually extending among the small farmers. A pair of horses abreast and driven by the ploughman is now often seen; a pair of asses may also be frequently seen ploughing instead of horses. Oxen were formerly used under the plough, but never at present. In the mountainous districts much of the tillage is performed by the spade or loy. Natural manures are found in the greatest abundance in every part; sea-sand, which is collected in large quantities along the coast, proves an excellent manure for potatoes, when spread some time before the seed is planted, as otherwise the potato produced by it is wet; lime, marl, and sea-weed are also used. Vast beds of oyster shells stretch along different parts of the shore, and are even found in the interior, at some miles from the coast, at. an elevation of 60 feet above high water mark; they make the best manure; even the sand in which they are imbedded is so impregnated with calcareous particles as to be used beneficially for the same purpose. The fences in some parts are broad ditches faced with stone or sods, and sometimes planted with quicksets; in others they are dry stone walls, which give a denuded and sterile appearance to the parts in which they are used. The soil is peculiarly adapted to pasturage; the rich low lands fatten bullocks of the largest size for the Dublin and English markets. On the hilly districts towards the west, sheep are grazed in large flocks, and on those in the interior herds of young cattle are reared. On some of the mountains the sheep and horses are subject to a disease called the staggers, that often proves fatal, yet horned cattle feeding on the same pasture are never subject to it. Near Ardnaree cattle are affected with a disease called "crasson," in every apparent symptom similar to the gout; in the early stage of the complaint, feeding with hot bran has proved an infallible remedy. The favourite breed of cattle is a cross between the Durham and the native cow; that between the long-horned Leicester and the native is also much esteemed; equal attention is paid to the breed of sheep. Around Sligo and Ballymote are some excellent dairy farms, and butter is made by all the small farmers, by much the greater part of which is shipped at Sligo for the British market. Good horses are brought from Galway and Roscommon; the native breed is small, light, and unsightly. Pigs are numerous, of large size and very profitable. Goats, which are sometimes seen on the small farms and near the mountains, are of small size and by no means numerous. The land indicates a strong tendency to produce timber spontaneously: the escars are generally covered with brushwood; and even among the clefts of the rocks in the mountain glens the oak, hazel, yew, holly, and beech shoot forth, requiring only protection from the inroads of cattle to come to maturity. Around the mansions of the gentry there are large and thriving plantations; planting forest trees in hedgerows is becoming every year more customary. The only trees that thrive near the coast are the sycamore and the willow, whose pliancy allows them to give way under the pressure of the blasts from the Atlantic. Alder also flourishes for a time in these exposed situations, but soon decays. The arbutus grows spontaneously, but does not attain the same size as in the south-western counties. Myrtle is to be seen in great abundance in sheltered situations.

The county forms the north-western extremity of the great central floetz limestone field of Ireland, interrupted in two places by the mica slate formation, one to the south of Lough Gill, the other along the western - mountain range, which in its utmost extent stretches from Foxford in Mayo, by Collooney, to Manor-Hamilton in Leitrim. This range is very narrow, seldom exceeding three miles, and at Collooney being less than a quarter of a mile in breadth. It is generally succeeded by beds of red or yellowish sandstone or by limestone. The sandstone formation is of very unequal thickness and irregular in its arrangement, in some places rising into mountains, in others not exceeding 20 or 30 feet in height: it is sometimes, though rarely, interstratified with red or grey sandstone slate, in which case its resemblance to that of the coal formation has led to expensive and illusory attempts to obtain this valuable mineral. Iron-ore is abundant in many places, particularly at Ballintogher and at the base of the Ox mountains. Near Screevenamuck are extensive excavations whence the ore was raised as long as timber could be procured to make charcoal for smelting it: the last furnace was extinguished in 1768. Lead-ore has been found in several parts of the limestone district, and worked for some time feebly and unprofitably. A silver mine, which produced some specimens of very pure metal, was worked near Ballysadere. Iron pyrites and sulphate of copper are often found in small detached pieces, and some pure specimens of the latter metal were found in the Awenmore and Collooney rivers; black oxyde of manganese is often seen on the surface and very large pieces of the ore have been found in several parts. At the foot of some of the mountains, and in the beds of some rivers, carbonate of copper and various kinds of ochre, all indicative of extensive mineral deposits, have been discovered; as also very large and beautiful amethysts in the neighbourhood of Ballymote.

The linen manufacture was introduced into Sligo by the spirited exertions of Lord Shelburne, who, in 1749, brought thither a colony of weavers and settled them on his estate at Ballymote, then a thinly inhabited and almost uncultivated waste, whose population was employed solely in the herding of cattle. The death of this nobleman for a time checked the progress of the manufacture, but it revived under the guidance of Mr. Fitzmaurice, who, on succeeding to the estate, after having made himself practically acquainted with all the processes of the trade, superintended the establishment in person, and thus powerfully stimulated those engaged in it. Each weaver was provided with a cottage, half a rood of land for a potato garden, and grass for a cow, thus affording him the means of subsistence for his family without allowing his time or thoughts to be distracted from his main business by the details of a small farm. This well-devised exertion gave a turn to the public mind throughout the country, and led to the establishment of the manufacture on a general scale, which flourished for many years. The manufacture of unions, a mixed fabric of linen and cotton, has been introduced and is carried on extensively. Mr. Fitzmaurice also encouraged the erection of bleach-greens upon a large scale, and having built very extensive bleach-works near the town of Denbigh, in North Wales, he purchased the brown linens in every market of Sligo and the adjoining counties, and thus greatly benefited both Wales and Ireland. The linen trade is still the staple of the county, and though by no means so prosperous or extensive as formerly, a brisk trade in it is still carried on: there are four bleach-greens in full operation, finishing nearly 40,000 pieces annually, which are principally shipped for England and generally destined for the American markets. Coarse woollen cloths and friezes are made for domestic use, and a very extensive trade is carried on in the purchase of flannels, druggets, stockings, and other fabrics of Connaught manufacture. Merchants from many parts of Ireland, but particularly from Ulster, come to Sligo to meet the Connaught factors. The only other branches of trade, except as connected with the port of Sligo, are tanning, distilling, and brewing. Kelp is made around the greater part of the coast, but since the reduction of the duty on barilla, this source of employment has declined considerably, and by much the greater portion of the plant now collected is used as manure, being dried by the peasantry near the shore, by whom it is sold to the farmers of the interior, who draw it home to distances of 20 miles and upwards. Fish is taken in large quantities off the coast, of which cod, haddock, and turbot are the most abundant kinds, except herrings, which appear here in vast shoals; but as the boats and nets are badly constructed and very incomplete in their equipments, little advantage is taken of this productive source of wealth. Sprats are also taken in great quantities; indeed this is the only kind of fishing for which either the boats or tackle are adapted. Oysters of excellent flavour are found in several beds: those of Lissadill are the most sought after; great numbers are sent to Dublin, where they are sometimes more highly esteemed than even the Carlingford oysters. A very extensive and profitable salmon fishery is carried on at Ballina, on the river Moy, which separates this county from Mayo; there is another very valuable fishery at the town of Sligo, and others of minor importance in some of the smaller inlets.

The rivers of the county are few, and short in their course, but generally rapid; that which flows from Lough Gill is usually called the Sligo river, from its passing through the town, but its proper name is the Garvogue. The water of Ballysadere, also thus named from the town, but properly called the Awenshien, is formed by the river Arrow, which flows from the lake of that name, and forms a junction with the Owenmore and the Owenbeg, near the town of Collooney; the united waters form the first-named river, and flowing northward to Ballysadere, over a succession of cascades, form the greater horn of Sligo bay. The river Moy rises in the Ox mountains and flows nearly south, through the barony of Leney, where it enters the county of Mayo, flowing westward through the barony of Gallen, and shortly after turning due north it meets the waters of Loughs Conn and Cullen; thence it proceeds by Foxford to Ardmore, where it becomes the boundary between Sligo and Mayo; thence by Ballina, Rosserick Abbey, and Moyne, to the sea, where it opens into the spacious bay of Killala. The entrance of the Moy, which had been impassable for vessels of any size in consequence of the bar at its mouth, has been rendered navigable for ships of large burden, which can now come up to the town of Ballina; this important improvement is chiefly owing to the exertions of John Levington, Esq., a merchant in the town. The Eask rises in Lough Eask between the Ox-mountains and Knocknaree, and flows due north to the sea parallel with the Moy. There are many smaller rivers and streams, particularly among the mountains, all tributary to one of those above mentioned. The roads are numerous in the eastern part of the county, and generally well laid out and in good order. A new line, lately completed between Ballysadere and Ballina, through the western baronies into Mayo, must prove of incalculable advantage, by facilitating the communication between the two counties, and affording a vent for the produce of the district it traverses, which was hitherto nearly unprofitable for want of such an outlet. The road is constructed on the most scientific principles.

At Drumcliffe are the remains of a round tower of coarser construction and smaller dimensions than any other now known; it is considerably injured by time: at the same place are two stone crosses, one in a perfect state, the other much mutilated and decayed. About two miles from Sligo, on the Dublin road, the ground is overspread to a great extent with druidical circles, called, by the peasantry, Giants' Graves: one of them, called Lugna Clogh, is a cromlech of large stones, under which human bones have been found. The name of Giants' houses has been given to a number of grottoes hollowed out of the west side of the hill or rock of Corron, to which access is obtained only by a steep and very difficult entrance: their origin or use has not been satisfactorily ascertained. About a mile from Castleconnor several vaulted square rooms have been discovered, built of large stones and communicating with each other by an exterior circular passage; in the centre is a cavity unconnected with any of the other chambers; it is conjectured to have been either a granary or a cemetery of the Ostmen. On Innismurray island are some small chapels of great antiquity, in one of which is a rudely sculptured statue of wood, said to represent St. Molasse, the patron; these relics are more particularly described in the account of the island, which see. A circular stone fort, called Knockamoyle Skreen, stands on the summit of a high hill near Skreen church. Many cairns and remains of what seem to have been places of defence are visible on Knocknaree mountain. The vestiges of monastic institutions are very numerous: the ruins of those of Ballysadere, Ballindown, Ballinley, Ballymote, Bennada, Clonymeaghan, Court, Innismore, Innismurray, and Sligo, are still remaining; some of them are large and very handsome; those of Bile, Drumcliffe, Drumcollum, Drumratt, Killaraght, Kilmacoen, Kilnemanagh, and Skreen have been converted into parish churches; those of Achonry, Agharois, Akeras, Ardnary, Ardseinlis, Athmoy, Caille, Caillevinde, Cashel, Craobhgrellain, Druimederdalogh, Druimlias, Druimna, Echenach or Enaceich, Emlyfadd, Enachaird, Gleandallain, Kilchairpre, Killuathren, Kilrasse, Knockmore, Snamluther, and Templehouse are known only by name. In the yard which surrounds the church of Kilmacteige, near Bennada, are the ruins of an ancient building, said to have been a college, but no particulars of its history are known. The principal ancient castles, all more or less in ruins, are those of Ardnaglass, Bahy, Ballyhara, Ballymote, Ballynafad, Castleconnor, Enniscrone, Lackan, Memleck, Newtown, O'Gara, Rallee, Roselee, Sligo, and Tanrago. The modern residences of the gentry, which are very numerous and in many instances highly ornamental, are more particularly noticed in their respective parishes.

The habitations of the peasantry are very mean but progressively improving: the walls are sometimes of stone, but more generally of sods roofed with sticks and thatched with heath and straw, or rushes, in alternate layers. The fuel is turf: the use of coal brought from England, Wales, and Scotland, in trading vessels which return laden with grain, is confined to the town of Sligo and its vicinity. The food is potatoes with an occasional admixture of oaten bread, milk, eggs, fresh or salted herrings, and other sea-fish. The clothing is chiefly home-made frieze. The women are dressed in stuffs and druggets of domestic manufacture; cottons for upper garments are now much worn, and few are to be seen without stockings and shoes, at least on Sundays and holidays. The English language is generally spoken through every part of the county, but elderly people in the mountainous districts still speak Irish. A striking difference is perceptible between the population here and that of the northern counties: the former is a much more diminutive race, and the character of the countenance indicates a different origin. Early marriages are encouraged, and the ceremony is attended with much expense: the favourite season for marrying is from Christmas to Lent, being that least occupied in agriculture. The disputes arising at fairs or markets, or in their dealings with each other, were frequently and are still occasionally decided by arbitration before persons chosen by the parties at variance: these judges are called Brehons, and are generally recompensed for the loss of time devoted to hearing the cause by being regaled with whiskey at the expense of the parties; but these customs are falling into disuse, and most of the disputes are now taken to the petty or quarter sessions. Attendance on the wakes of deceased friends and neighbours is another source of expense. The estimation in which a man has been held during life is judged of by the attendance on these occasions and at his funeral: to be absent is therefore considered a serious offence, and much expense is incurred in procuring the necessary refreshments for the numbers that attend. Although this ancient custom of waking the corpse and attending the funeral is still kept up, the Irish cry or howl is now rarely heard. In the mountain parish of Kilmacteige there is a tract of country which for several years has scarcely ever been free from a low malignant typhus fever, of which great numbers die after a lingering illness of fifteen or twenty days: the cause is attributed to the moist and chilly nature of the soil, and not to any peculiarity in the dietetics of the people. In the same parish are two wells much resorted to for devotional purposes: one of them, called Tubber Art, is celebrated for its efficacy in restoring to health persons whose cases had proved hopeless under the ordinary modes of treatment. In a rock near the entrance to the old church in Innismore, or Church Island, in Lough Gill, is a cavity called "My Lady's Bed," in which women who lie down and repeat a certain formulary believe themselves to be secured from the peril of death in childbed. Among the natural curiosities may be mentioned a singular peculiarity in a stream in Glenduff, in which, when the wind blows strong from the south-west, at every gust the stream, which flows perpendicularly down the mountain, is divided into two, and one part flows to the bottom, while the other is carried back up the mountain, and as long as the gust continues the channel of the stream is quite dry. At the base of Knocknaree mountain is a chasm, commonly called "The Glen," apparently formed by some violent convulsion of nature: it is about a mile long, of considerable breadth and depth, in several parts well furnished with trees and enlivened by small cascades. Sulphureous and chalybeate springs are found among the mountains of Tyreragh, where also the common spring and river waters are peculiarly pure and pellucid. This county gives the title of Marquess to the family of Browne.

SLIGO, a sea-port, assize, borough, market and post-town, in the barony of UPPER CARBERY, county of SLIGO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 20 3/4 miles (S. W.) from Ballyshannon, and 103 3/4 (N. W.) from Dublin; containing 15,152 inhabitants. This place, which is the chief town of the county, is indebted for its importance to one of the first English settlers in Ireland. So early as 1242 a castle was erected here by Maurice Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, and at that time Lord Justice of Ireland. The same Earl, in 1252, founded also a monastery, which he dedicated to the Holy Cross, for friars of the order of St. Dominick, the origin of which establishment has by some writers been erroneously ascribed to O'Conor Sligo. In 1270 the town and the castle were destroyed by O'Donell; but the monastery escaped the ravages of that chieftain, and the castle was afterwards rebuilt by Richard, Earl of Ulster, in 1310. In 1360 the town was again destroyed by fire, and in 1394 it was plundered and burnt by Mac William Burgh. In 1414 the monastery was wholly consumed by an accidental fire, and for its restoration Pope John XXII. granted indulgences to all who should visit it and contribute towards the expense of rebuilding it. In 1416 it was rebuilt by Bryan Mac Dermot Mac Donchaigh, or Mac Donagh: and in 1454 Bryan Mac Donagh, sole monarch of Toroilill (now the barony of Tiraghrill), was interred within its walls. It continued to flourish till the dissolution, when it was granted to Sir William Taaffe. At the commencement of the reign of Jas. I., a grant of a market and two annual fairs to be held here was made to Sir Jas. Fullerton; and in 1613 the town was made a parliamentary borough by charter of incorporation. In 1621, it received a charter of the staple, incorporating a mayor, two constables and merchants, with the same powers as those of Youghal. In 1627 Sir James Craig had a fresh grant of a market and two fairs, which in 1674 were granted to William, Earl of Stafford, and Thomas Radcliffe, Esq. In the war of 1641 the town was taken without opposition by Sir Chas. Coote, at the head of an arrny of 4000 infantry and 500 horse. By his occupation of this post, Sir Charles had the means of keeping a check upon the royalists of the neighbouring counties; but the R. C. Archbishop of Tuam with great zeal collected forces for the recovery of the town, in which attempt he was joined by Sir Jas. Dillon, who was sent by the confederates to Kilkenny with 800 men to his assistance, and having forced his way into the town was on the point of expelling the parliamentarians, when he was suddenly alarmed by the intelligence of an army being on its approach to their relief. Upon this the confederated forces retired, and in their retreat were attacked and routed by Sir Chas. Coote; the archbishop was killed in the action, and among his papers were found the important documents that exposed the connection of the King with the Catholic party. The parliamentarians afterwards abandoned the town, which, though threatened again by Sir Chas. Coote on his advance against Limerick, in 1651, was retained by the Catholics till the termination of the war. In the war of the revolution it was taken by the brave Enniskilleners, who also defeated a large body of James's forces that were advancing against it, and took from them a considerable booty; but the garrison was shortly after driven out by Gen. Sarsfield, and the place was finally reduced by the Earl of Granard.

The town is now the property chiefly of Lord Palmerston and Owen Wynne, of Hazelwood, Esq. It is advantageously situated on the banks of the river Garvogue, which connects Lough Gill with the bay of Sligo, opening to the Atlantic; the river is about two miles and a half in length, and the town is situated on the extremity of it nearest the sea, where it is narrowest. This river is navigable from Lough Gill to the town; but a weir across it prevents the navigation thence to the sea, to the great injury of the commercial interests of the place. The greater portion of the town is on the south side of the river, in the parish of St. John, and is connected with the smaller portion, in the parish of Calry, on the north side, by two bridges. The streets are irregularly formed, which detracts much from its internal appearance, though the houses are chiefly of respectable character, and there are several of a superior order; as seen, however, in combination with the surrounding scenery, it forms an interesting and pleasing feature in the landscape from many points of view in the vicinity: the total number of houses is 2238. It is lighted and paved under a local act of the 43rd of Geo. III., the provisions of which are stated in the subsequent account of the corporation; and the inhabitants are supplied with water from public pumps, kept in repair by the commissioners appointed under the above-named act. A public library and two reading-rooms are supported by subscription; and a newspaper is published every Saturday. There is a small theatre, which is very irregularly attended; races are generally held annually in August on the race-course of Bomore, about five miles from the town; and a regatta is held on Lough Gill, which is very numerously attended. The barracks for cavalry are capable of accommodating 7 officers and 96 non-commissioned officers and privates, with stabling for 60 horses; an excellent hospital for 15 patients is annexed to them. There are a few linen and stocking weavers, who work on their own account, but no large factories; the linen trade, formerly carried on here to some extent, has almost ceased, and the linen-hall is unoccupied. A distillery belonging to Messrs. Martin, Madden, and Co., manufactures 120,000 gallons of whiskey annually and affords employment to 55 persons; there are four public breweries, and several manufactories for soap, candles, snuff, tobacco, hats, ropes, and cables; also several extensive flour-mills. The trade is facilitated by the river, which is navigable through Lough Gill and supplies the town with turf and other necessaries. The maritime trade of the port is the chief source of the prosperity of the town, and its rapid increase may be ascertained from the fact that, in the year 1800, the number of vessels that entered the port was 65, of the aggregate burden of 4100 tons; while in the year 1830, the number of vessels was 540, and their aggregate burden, 57,015 tons. In 1834, 47 vessels in the foreign trade entered inwards and 2 cleared outwards, and 354 in the coasting and cross-channel trade entered inwards and 508 cleared outwards: there were 17 vessels belonging to the port in that year. The principal exports are corn, butter, and provisions; and the chief imports, iron, timber, salt, and every article of West India produce, which are distributed over a very large tract of country, this being the only port of importance between Londonderry and Galway. The amount of duties paid at the customhouse, in 1826, was £33,565; in 1830, £36,325; and in 1836, £35,864. The amount of excise duties collected in the revenue district of which this town is the head, for 1835, was £44,180. The custom-house and the King's warehouses, which are the property of the crown, are well adapted to the purposes for which they were built; and the quays, which are very commodious, and are kept in good repair by the commissioners, have a depth of water of 12 feet at spring tides, which will allow vessels of 300 tons' burden to moor close to them. Many emigrants from this and the neighbouring counties sail hence annually for America. The principal markets are on Tuesday and Saturday for provisions and agricultural produce; they are well attended. A market for corn and another for butter are open daily in buildings erected for them by Owen Wynne, Esq. Fairs, chiefly for cattle, are held on the 27th of March, the Saturday after the 1st of May (O. S.), 4th of July, 12th of August, and 9th of October. There is a large salmon fishery in the river, with which is connected a pond, the property of Abr. Martin, Esq., so constructed that the fish can easily enter but cannot quit it, by which means there is a supply of fresh salmon at all times. A chief constabulary police station has been established here; and it is also the residence of the inspecting commander of the Sligo coast-guard district, which comprises the five subordinate stations of Inniscrone, Pallocherry, Pullendiva, Rochley, and Mullaghmore.

Sligo bay is situated between Aughris Head and Rinoran Point, which last is in the charts improperly named Gessigo: it is about five miles in breadth at the mouth, and extends as much inland; the upper part divides into three inlets, of which the central one only, leading to the town, is of importance, as each of the others has a bar and is nearly dry at low water. On the north side is Raughly, a small peninsula of rising ground, connected by a low narrow neck with some sand hills on the shore; at its south-west side is the Wheaten rock, extending nearly half a mile N. E. and S. W., and partly dry at spring tides. At the south end of Raughly, about two cables' length off the shore, are the Bird rocks; about half a mile to the eastward a vessel may lie in moderate weather in 2 1/2 fathoms, and there is a small pier with 12 feet of water inside the point. At the distance of one mile south from Raughly is the point of the reef called Bungarr, or Black rock, extending to the north end of Coney island, having the western part entirely and the rest nearly dry at low water; a lighthouse has been erected on it, and the channel into Sligo lies close along its north side: shallows from this point towards Lissadill form the bar of Sligo, on which are only 10 feet at low water. Ships drawing 12 feet of water should take half flood into the harbour, for with westerly winds there is generally a heavy sea between Raughly and the point of Ross. By a charter dated the 20th of March, 11th of Jas. I., the town was incorporated under the name of the "Provost and free Burgesses of the borough of Sligo;" the corporate body to consist of a provost, 12 free burgesses, and a commonalty. The provost, who is elected annually, is judge of the borough court, which is a court of record with civil jurisdiction to the amount of £3. 6. 8., and still continues to be held weekly: he is also clerk of the market. The burgesses are elected for life by the provost and the other burgesses. Usage, confirmed by a judgment of the court of King's bench, has given the right of admission to the freedom wholly to the provost and burgesses. The charter also constitutes the corporation a guild mercatory: the subordinate officers are a town-clerk and recorder, a weighmaster and two serjeants-at-mace. A charter granted by Jas. II., in the 4th year of his reign, has not been acted upon. By a local act of the 30th of Geo. II., c. 21, it was directed that the corporation should be conservators of the port and should maintain a ballast-office; and subsequently, by an act of the 40th of Geo. III., c. 49, for the management of the concerns of the town, amended by another of the 43rd of Geo. III., c. 60, commissioners were appointed, consisting of the representatives of the county and borough, the provost and burgesses, and 24 others, resident in the town or within five miles of it, and to be elected by holders of houses of the yearly value of £20, who are empowered to regulate the paving, flagging, lighting, watching, and improving the town; to regulate the markets, and also the carriages and porters; to improve the quays and to make and repair the docks and wharfs; to improve the port and harbour, to regulate the pilotage, and to assess taxes at a maximum of 2s. 6d. in the pound on all houses of the annual value of £5 and upwards, for defraying the expenses incurred in the execution of these duties. The commissioners are also empowered to raise a fund for these purposes to the amount of £2000 for the town, and £6000 for the harbour. The boundary of their jurisdiction is fixed at a distance of a mile from the market cross in every direction. By letters patent of Chas. II., in the 27th of his reign, the town and certain lands were erected into the manor of Sligo, with a court baron with civil jurisdiction to the amount of 40s., a court of record with civil jurisdiction to the amount of £100, and a court leet to be held before the seneschal; no manor courts are now held. The only property belonging to the corporation consists of about 19 1/2 acres of land, which was formerly a common, let at £98. 3. 4. per ann.; and a plot of a rood of ground, formerly a pound, but now built upon, let at £10 per annum. The charter also conferred upon the provost and burgesses the privilege of returning two members to the Irish parliament, which they exercised till the Union, since which time they have returned one member only to the Imperial parliament. The right of election, previously vested in the corporation, has by the recent act for amending the representation been extended to the £10 householders within the borough, the limits of which are the same as those defined by acts for the purpose of local taxation already referred to, and are minutely described in the Appendix. The provost is the returning officer. The assizes and the general sessions of the peace for the county are held here, the latter four times in the year; petty sessions for the division are also held every Thursday. The court-house, though a spacious and well-arranged building, to which are attached the public offices, is too limited for the public business. The county gaol is a handsome and substantial building, erected on the polygonal plan at. an expense of £30,000; the governor's house is in the centre, and the debtors' ward and the hospital form two advanced wings; it is well adapted to the classification of the prisoners, each of whom has a separate sleeping cell; it has a tread-mill for hard labour, a school, and a surgery and dispensary within its walls: and all its departments are under excellent regulations, and it is in high repute for discipline and good order.

The borough comprises the greater part of the parish of St. John and part of the parish of Calry, the former on the south, and the latter on the north side of the river. The patronage of the parish of St. John has been lately given to Trinity College, Dublin, the Provost and Senior Fellows of which will present the next and all the succeeding incumbents. The soil is fertile, the lands generally in a good state of cultivation, and the system of agriculture much improved. The scenery is pleasingly diversified and in many parts beautifully picturesque; the view of the town at the head of the bay, environed by mountains and embosomed in a richly cultivated country, is strikingly romantic, especially in the approach from Dromahaire; and on the road from Manor-Hamilton is a point where, emerging from the mountains, a spacious and magnificent scene, embracing the whole of the town with its surrounding district, opens at once on the view. The approach to Sligo by the Dublin road is also very beautiful, having Lough Gill with Hazelwood demesne on the east; the bay of Sligo, with its two bold headlands of Benbulben and Knockaree, on the west; and in the centre the highly picturesque town of Sligo. Among the various residences that embellish the neighbourhood the most conspicuous is Hazelwood, the seat of Owen Wynne, Esq., a noble mansion, situated on a peninsula stretching into Lough Gill, and surrounded by a richly wooded demesne, commanding beautiful views over the lake and its wooded islands, terminated by the mountains which rise from its shores on the south. Adjoining Hazelwood is the beautiful demesne of Holywell, lately the residence of the Hon. and Rev. Jos. Butler, brother of Lord Carrick and rector of Dromahaire. There are also in the vicinity of the town the following seats, besides those noticed in the accounts of the parishes of St. John and Calry, which see: Craig, the seat, of the Hon. Robert King; Lissadill, of Sir Robt. Gore Booth, Bart.: Kivinsfort, of G. Dodwell, Esq.; Primrose Grange, of G. D. Meredith, Esq.; Glen House, of M. Walsh, Esq.; Rathcarrick, of Roger Walker, Esq.; Clover Hill, of W. C. Chambers, Esq.; Clogher, of R. Holmes, Esq.; Ballyglass, of Gowan Gilmor, Esq.; Millbrook, of J. C. Simpson, Esq.; Seafield, of W. Phibbs, Esq.; Moneygold, of J. Soden, Esq.; Ballytevreare House, of H. Griffiths, Esq.; Grange, of the Rev. C. West; Cairnsfort, of Major Bromhead; Belleville, of F. O'Beirne, Esq.; Dunally, of W. Parke, Esq.; Colga, of Travers Homan, Esq.; Seamount, of Jeremy Jones, Esq.; Thornhill, of Lieut. H. J. Clifford, R. N.; Farm Hill, of Dr. Walker; and Ballywillen, of H. Bolton, Esq. The neighbourhood is resorted to as a bathing-place, but not to any great extent. The church of St. John's parish is an old cruciform building, in excellent repair, in the later style of English architecture, with a massive square tower at the west end. The glebe-house is situated on a glebe of one acre close to the church. The church of Calry, which is also in the town, is a respectable building in the Gothic style, with a well-proportioned spire; it was erected in 1822, at an expense of £3500, in which is included the expense of the erection of a house, offices, and garden-wall for the perpetual curate, whose appointment belongs to the vicar of St. John's. The R. C. chapel of the parish of St. John is a structure of spacious dimensions; and there is also in the town a small Dominican convent, with a chapel attached to it. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster (of the third class), Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists in connection with the Established Church. St. John's parochial school is supported by the incumbent and the proceeds of charity sermons; a school for children of both sexes is supported in connection with the National Board of Education; a school is also supported by the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity and the Incorporated society; the St. John's female school, in which a large Sunday school is also held, is supported by subscription; and there is a female school in the parish of Calry. The late William Draper, Esq., left £18 per ann. to be divided among three Protestant servant girls who had served three years in a Protestant family. The county infirmary is a handsome building of hewn limestone, erected in 1819 at an expense of £3000: it contains six wards for 30 patients, with officers' apartments and every other requisite. The fever hospital is a well-arranged and handsome structure in an airy and healthful situation on the summit of a hill; it contains eight wards, and has a dispensary attached to it: these three institutions are within the same enclosure; there is also a dispensary in the parish of St. John. A mendicity association is supported by private subscriptions and donations. There are some remains of the beautiful and spacious monastery of Sligo, serving to convey some idea of its former magnificence: they consist of three sides of the cloisters, with a finely vaulted roof, and are separated from the quadrangle by a long scries of pillars, of which several are sculptured, and of pointed arches, in the early English style of architecture. The great east window of the church is of beautiful design and highly enriched with tracery; the high altar, which is embellished with sculpture in relief, is almost hidden by the accumulation of disinterred bones; the nave is spacious, and the roof is supported by ranges of pillars at intervals of four feet from each other; the central tower is complete, with the exception only of the battlements; to the right of the high altar is the tomb of O'Conor, with the effigies of himself and his lady, and there are numerous vaults and cells.

SLYGUFF, a parish, in the barony of IDRONE EAST, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. by E.) from Leighlin-bridge, on the road from Goresbridge to Bagnalstown, and on the river Barrow; containing 2092 inhabitants. This parish comprises 6381 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and extends from the eastern bank of the river Barrow to the summit of Mount Leinster, a distance of seven miles; there is a considerable quantity of bog. Fairs are held on Feb. 12th and Nov. 1st for general farming stock. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Lorum; the rectory is appropriate to the Dean and Chapter of Leighlin. The tithes amount to £319. 12. 3 1/2., of which £221. 10. 9 1/4. is payable to the dean and chapter, and £98. 1. 6 1/2. to the vicar. Divine service is performed every Sunday in a school-house in the parish. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the unions or districts of Borris and Dunleckney. At Killoughternane is a national school, and at Ballinree is a school endowed by Miss Newton, in both which are about 150 children. The ruins of the ancient church within a burial-ground stand beautifully above the course of the river Barrow. Here are also the ruins of Ballylaughan castle, formerly belonging to the Kavanaghs, from whom it passed to other proprietors about the close of the sixteenth century. It is a picturesque pile, and, though now roofless, is about 50 feet high, with projecting round towers in front, flanking the gateway, which is arched with hewn stone. The walls are about five feet thick, and the second floor, supported by an arch, still remains, and is gained by a flight of steps. It is now the property of Col. Bruen, who intends to restore it. About eighteen yards distant is another ruin, 30 feet square and 20 high, with walls of equal thickness; and beyond this is a third, of smaller dimensions. Near them is a large old dwelling-house of the Beauchamp family. In 1806 was found an ancient cloak-clasp of gold, weighing 4 oz., and beautifully carved, which was purchased by the Dublin Royal Society for £20.

SMARMORE, a parish, in the barony of ARDEE, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. S. W.) from Ardee, on the road to Slane; containing 444 inhabitants. This parish comprises 1596 statute acres, according to the Ordnance survey: the land is of first-rate quality, and about two-thirds are under tillage: there is no bog. Smarmore Castle, the seat of Geo. Taaffe, Esq., is in a demesne of about 520 statute acres, well planted and tastefully laid out; it is of some antiquity, but considerable additions have been made to it by the present proprietor; in the demesne are three Danish raths. The parish is in the diocese of Armagh, and is a vicarage, forming part of the union of Ardee: the rectory is impropriate in G. Taaffe, Esq., and the entire tithes have merged in the rental of the land. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union of Ardee.

SMERWICK, county of KERRY.-- See DUNURLIN.

SMITHSBOROUGH, a village, in the parish of CLONES, barony and county of MONAGHAN, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (W. S. W.) from Monaghan (to which it has a penny post), on the road to Clones; containing 244 inhabitants. This place is called after a gentleman named Smith, who here established monthly fairs, in the latter part of the last century, only one of which, that held on Whit-Monday for black cattle, is now kept up. The village consists of 58 houses, and contains a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Seceding Synod, a modern structure; and a dispensary. It is a constabulary police station; and there is a school of about 60 children.

SMITHSTOWN, a village, in the parish of KILSKYRE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (N.) from Crossakeel; containing 15 houses and 122 inhabitants.

SNEEM, a maritime village, in the parish of KILCROHANE, barony of DUNKERRON, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 12 miles (W. S. W.) from Kenmare: the population is returned with the parish. It is situated at the upper extremity of the harbour of that name, formed by the estuary of the Sneem river and other mountain streams, which flow thence into the northern side of the bay of Kenmare. The harbour is frequented chiefly by fishing vessels. The village, which is irregularly built, has been lately somewhat improved by the erection of some new houses; and a new road hence to the pass of Cameduff, on the mail road between Killarney and Kenmare, is now in progress through an extensive boggy tract, part of which surrounds the village. A penny post to Kenmare has been lately established. Petty sessions are held generally once a month; and a constabulary police force is stationed here. Fairs are held seven times in the year for general farming stock, and for flannel and frieze. Here are the parochial church, and the principal R. C. chapel of the district of Ballybog; also the parochial school, and a school held in the chapel. A dispensary has been lately established.

SOLAR, a parish, in the barony of UPPER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, on the road from Larne to Cushendall; containing 259 inhabitants. It is bounded on the east by the sea, and is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor, forming part of the union and corps of the prebend of Connor: the tithes amount to £19. 17.

SOLDIERSTOWN.-- See AGHALEE.

SOLLOGHODBEG, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 3/4 miles (N.) from Tipperary, on the road to Burris-o-leagh; containing 758 inhabitants. This parish is situated near the confines of the county of Limerick: a considerable part of it belongs to the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charities, and is chiefly in the hands of cottier sub-tenants. The soil is in general a fine loam or wet clay much in want of draining. Limestone abounds, especially at the hill of Solloghodbeg, but the management of the dairy is more attended to than tillage, as being more profitable. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Emly, forming part of the union of Cullen: the tithes amount to £110. 8. 10.

SOLLOGHODMORE, a parish, in the barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (N. W.) from Tipperary, on the road to Limerick; containing 2791 inhabitants. It is situated on the borders of the county of Limerick and to the south of the parish of Solloghodbeg, which it much resembles in its agricultural character: there is neither bog nor waste land. Tillage is in a backward state; the land being deemed better adapted for pasture than grain: the farmers confine themselves very much to the management of the dairy. Much attention has been paid by Lord Stanley to the improvement of the stock, to which end he has imported several Durham bulls, which his tenants have the use of gratuitously. A copper mine was worked at Gortdrum in 1825, but the workings were soon abandoned. The seat of Lord Stanley at Ballykisteen, on the Limerick road, is an elegant modern building, situated in a very fertile and improving part of the country, and commanding a fine view of the range of the Galtee mountains. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Emly, forming part of the union of Cullen: the tithes amount to £314. 15. 4 1/2. There is a R. C. chapel at the village of Solloghod. A boys' school, founded by Lord Stanley, to the master of which he allows a salary of £25 per annum., is in connection with the Board of National Education; the mistress of a girls' school, also founded by his lordship, receives £20 per annum from him: each has a house and a small plot of ground: the usual attendance at the schools is from 40 to 60 children. There are some traces of Danish encampments.

SOWEY, county of SLIGO.-- See BALLYNAKILL.

SPA, a watering-place, in the parishes of BALLYNAHAGLISH and CLOGHERBRIEN, barony of TRUGHENACKMY, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (W.) from Tralee: the population is returned with the respective parishes. This place, which is generally called the "Spa of Tralee," is finely situated on the northern shore of Tralee bay; and its excellent bathing strand and mineral spa, the latter of which is a strong chalybeate, together with the salubrity of its situation, and the fine views it affords of the Tralee and Dingle mountains, attract numerous visiters during the season, for whose accommodation several neat and commodious lodges have been erected. On the strand, which at low water is nearly three miles in length, races are generally held in the course of the season; and a regatta in the bay has been lately established. Near the centre of the bay are the small rocky islets called the Samphire, to the larger of which aquatic excursions are often made; and the drive along the strand, from the Spa to the town of Tralee, affords a delightful succession of marine and mountain scenery. Off the shore, to the west of the Spa, is an excellent oyster bed, which is allowed to be dredged gratuitously by poor persons, who furnish an abundant supply during the season at the rate of 3d. per 100. Among the seats and lodges in the immediate vicinity are Frogmore Lodge, the residence of the Rev. Barry Denny; Plover Hill, of George Gun, Esq.; Oyster Hall, of Barry Collins, Esq.; and the lodges of Danl. Supple, jun., W. Neligan, R. O'Connell, and O. Stokes, Esqrs.

SPANISH, or GREEN, ISLAND, in the parish of CREAGH, Eastern Division of the barony of WEST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (W.) from Skibbereen; containing 12 inhabitants. It is situated in the mid-channel of the river Ilen, where it flows into the harbour of Baltimore; and comprises 120 acres of land, some part of which is rocky, but the greater part is under cultivation, and produces tolerably good crops.

SPIDDLE, or SPIDDAL, a village, in the parish and barony of MOYCULLEN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 9 miles (W.) from Galway, on the bay of Galway: the population is returned with the parish. Here is a pier, built by the Fishery Board, which is the only place of shelter for boats on this side of the bay. In the R. C. divisions it is considered a parish, united with that of Minna, in which union are two small thatched chapels, one at Spiddal and the other at Minna.

SPIKE ISLAND, in the parish of TEMPLEROBIN, barony of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 1 1/2 mile (S.) from Cove, in the harbour of Cork; containing 205 inhabitants. This island is situated in the middle of Cork harbour, and acts as a natural breakwater, preserving the bay within perfectly smooth, while that portion of it which is without is very much agitated. It comprises 180 acres of fertile land, which, previously to its occupation by Government, in 1811, as an Ordnance depot for the south of Ireland, afforded good pasturage, but was uninhabited. The substratum is, on one side, a compact dove-coloured limestone, and on the other a clay-slate, uniting with the former in a remarkable manner. On the high ground in the centre are extensive artillery barracks; on the western side is a large and handsome military hospital; forts, bombproof, have been constructed to defend the entrance of the harbour, and around the shores are several houses occupied by persons connected with the establishment. The principal entrance is on the north, where is a commodious pier, with a water-gate, near which are three small towers, with apartments for the gate-keeper, sentinel, and others; the battery is very strong and well mounted, and is the only salute battery on the southern coast. The barracks are frequently used by regiments under orders for foreign service when waiting for the arrival of transports or detained by contrary winds; and detachments are sent hence to Hawlbowling island, and Carlisle and Camden forts. The only place of worship is the chapel of the garrison. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the district of Monkstown, in the diocese of Cork.

SPRINGVILLE, a village, in the parish of BURRY, barony of UPPER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S. W.) from Kells; containing 33 houses and 171 inhabitants. Here is Springville, the seat of P. O'Reilly, Esq.

STABANNON, a parish, in the barony of ARDEE, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Ardee, on the road to Castle-Bellingham, and on the river Dee; containing, with the villages of Drumgoolstown and Rootstown, 2221 inhabitants, of which number, 279 are in the village of Stabannon. According to the Ordnance survey, this parish comprises 4376 3/4 statute acres of land of the best quality, mostly under an improved system of tillage. At Drumgoolstown is a bleach-green, conducted by Messrs. J. and R. Crawley. The only gentleman's seat is Charleville, belonging to Lieut.-Col. Tisdall; it is pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Dee, and is one of the oldest houses in the county, having been built in 1640. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, episcopally united from time immemorial to the vicarage of Richardstown, and in the patronage of the Vicars Choral of St. Patrick's cathedral, Dublin, to whom the rectory is appropriate; the tithes amount to £498. 10., of which £298. 10. is payable to the vicars choral, and £200 to the incumbent, who receives no part of the tithes of Richardstown. The glebe-house, within a very short distance of the church, was erected in 1818, at an expense of £738, British currency, of which half was a loan and half a gift from the late Board of First Fruits: the glebe comprises 20 acres of excellent land, of which 15 belong to the vicars choral, and five, valued at £12. 10. per annum, to the incumbent. The church is a neat modern structure in good repair, built at an expense of £784 British currency, being a loan from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Kilsaran: the chapel was partly erected in 1800, and enlarged in 1827. There are two private schools, in which about 130 children are taught. The ruins of Rootstown castle, on an eminence, afford abundant evidence of its ancient magnificence: it was a lofty quadrangular pile, strengthened by a rectangular projection at one corner.

STACKALLEN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. E.) from Navan, on the road to Slane, and on the navigable river Boyne; containing 837 inhabitants. It comprises 2223 statute acres, as ap-plotted under the tithe act. Stackallen House is the handsome residence of Viscount Boyne, whose ancestor, Gustavus, first Viscount, commanded a regiment in King William's army in the battle of the Boyne: he was interred in the church of Stackallen in 1723, as have also been many other branches of the family. The mansion is a spacious structure, and stands in a fine, well-planted demesne. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, united by act of council, in 1800, to the rectories of Gernonstown and Dunmoe, and in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop. The tithes amount to £192; and the gross value of the benefice, tithes and glebe inclusive, is £551. 10. 4. The glebe-house, closely adjoining the church, was built in1815, at an expense of £1490, defrayed by a gift of £100 and a loan of £600 from the late Board of First Fruits, and the residue by the then incumbent. The church is a neat plain edifice in good and permanent repair, built about 200 years since; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £280 for its repair. The parochial school is aided by an annual donation from the incumbent; and a female school, in which the children are clothed, is supported by the Hon. Mrs. Hamilton; in these schools about 110 children arc taught.

STACUMNEY, a parish, in the barony of NORTH SALT, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (S. by W.) from Leixlip, on the road from Lucan to Celbridge; containing 112 inhabitants. This parish, in which is situated the elegant seat called Stacumney House, is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Leixlip. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Celbridge.

STAFFORDSTOWN, a parish, in the barony of SKREEN, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (E.) from Navan, on the road to Dublin, by Ashbourne; the population is returned with the parish of Follistown. It comprises about 520 statute acres, mostly grazing land of excellent quality, and contains Staffordstown House, the property of the Rev. R. Butler, vicar of Trim. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, entirely impropriate in the Rev. R. Butler; the tithes amount to £40: the rector of Skreen performs the occasional duties, without any remuneration. Here is an ancient burial-ground, in which some of the members of the Cusack family, the former owners of the Statfordstown property, are interred.

STAGONIL.-- See POWERSCOURT.

STAHALMOCK, or STAHOLMOY, a parish, in the barony of LOWER KELLS, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. S. W.) from Nobber, on the road from Kells to Ardee; containing 756 inhabitants, and comprising 1409 1/4 statute acres of good land. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Meath, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £110, and there is a glebe of 21 acres, valued at £47 per annum. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Kilbeg, Newtown, Robertstown and Emlagh, and containing the chapels of Stahalmock and Carolanstown.

STALEEN, a hamlet, in the parish of DONORE, barony of LOWER DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/4 miles (W. S. W.) from Drogheda, on the road to Navan; containing 20 houses and 88 inhabitants. It is the property of Wm. Sharman Crawford, Esq., who has a house here in which he occasionally resides.

STAMCARTHY, or STUMCARTHY, a parish, in the barony of SHILLELOGHER, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/4 miles (N. W.) from Knocktopher, on the road from Stoneyford to Pilltown and Carrick-on-Suir; containing 1066 inhabitants, and comprising 1452 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ossory, forming part of the union of Kells: the tithes amount to £35. 18. 5 1/2. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Ballyhale; the chapel, a neat modern building, is in the village of Stoneyford. About 120 children are educated in three schools, one of which, for infants, is supported by Mrs Flood.

STAMULLEN, a parish, in the barony of UPPER DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 5 3/4 miles (S. by E.) from Drogheda, on the road by Balbriggan to Dublin; containing 1322 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the eastern coast, comprises 4285 1/4 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is chiefly under tillage, and in a state of profitable cultivation; limestone is quarried for agricultural and other uses, and there is a due proportion of bog. The principal seats are Gormanston Castle, the residence of Viscount Gormanston, a spacious and lofty structure, with a domestic chapel attached, and situated in an extensive and richly embellished demesne; Harbourstown, of M. O'Farrell Caddell, Esq., a handsome modern mansion with a demesne comprising more than 400 acres tastefully laid out and well planted, and commanding an extensive view from the summit of a tower within the grounds, which forms a conspicuous landmark to mariners; Stedalt, of W. Walsh, Esq., pleasantly situated in a demesne of 230 acres; and Delvin Lodge, of -- Shaw, Esq., beautifully situated on the banks of the river Delvin, which here separates the parish from the county of Dublin. The village is pleasantly situated, and in the immediate neighbourhood are numerous handsome cottages. Off the coast are the Cargee rocks, which are dry at half ebb, and on which a beacon is placed; the coast comprehending the shores of Meath and Louth, from this place to Carlingford lough, is for the greater part a broad shallow strand free from shoals or other obstructions. Petty sessions are held for the district on alternate Wednesdays at Julians-town. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Julianstown; the rectory is impropriate in Capt. Geo. Pepper. The tithes amount to £425, of which £350 is payable to the impropriator and £75 to the vicar; the glebe comprises about four acres, valued at £27. 19. per annum. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Julianstown, Ballygarth, and Moorechurch, in which are three chapels; the chapel in the village of Stamullen is a handsome modern edifice, with an altar of Sienna marble, the gift of Lord Gormanston, who also presented a fine painting of the Crucifixion for the altar-piece, and contributed largely towards the erection of the building. About 90 children are instructed in two public schools, supported by Lord Gormanston and Mr. Caddell, and there is a dispensary. There are some remains of the ancient church, the cemetery of which is the burial-place of the Preston family, ancestors of Viscount Gormanston, who takes his title from this estate.

STAPLESTOWN, county of CARLOW.-- See BALLINACARRIG.

STEWARTSTOWN, a market and post-town, in the parish of DONAGHENRY, barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 16 miles (N. W.) from Armagh, and 82 (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road to Coleraine; containing 1010 inhabitants. This place, also called Steuartstown, derives its name from its founder, Sir Andrew Steuart, to whom Jas. I. granted the surrounding district; in 1608 he erected here a strong bawn of limestone, which afterwards was converted into a castle, and laid the foundation of a village according to the conditions of the grant. The present town consists of a spacious square and three principal streets, and contains 204 houses, well built of stone and roofed with slate; many of the houses are large and handsome, several of modern erection, and the whole place has an appearance of cheerfulness and prosperity. The manufacture of linen cloth and a fabric called unions (a mixture of linen and cotton) is carried on to a considerable extent; and the town derives a good inland trade for the supply of the neighbourhood, and considerable traffic, from its situation on a great public thoroughfare. The market is on Wednesday; and fairs for cattle, sheep, and pigs are held on the first Wednesday in every month (O. S.). The market-house is a handsome building in the centre of the town. A constabulary police force is stationed here; a court is held monthly for the manor of Castlestewart, at which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable; and petty sessions on alternate Tuesdays. The parish church is situated in the town, in which are also a R. C. chapel, two places of worship for Presbyterians, some large school-houses, and a dispensary. There are some remains of the old castle, but they have long been in a neglected state, and retain scarcely any traces of their original character. The country around exhibits much picturesque scenery, and is embellished with several handsome seats. About two miles from the town, in an extensive and improved demesne, with a fine park, is Stewart Hall, the seat of the Earl of Castle-Steuart, who derives his titles of baron and earl from this place.

STICKILLEN, a parish, in the barony of ARDEE, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (E.) from Ardee, on the road to Annagasson and the sea coast; containing 294 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the river Dee, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 1361 3/4 statute acres of excellent land, chiefly under tillage. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh, forming part of the union of Ardee; the rectory is impropriate in Viscount Ferrard. The tithes amount to £116. 14. 6., of which £100 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 Ardee. The ancient burial-ground still exists.

STILLORGAN, a parish, in the barony of HALF-RATHDOWN, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. E.) from Dublin, on the road by Donnybrook to Bray; containing 2001 inhabitants, of which number, 650 are in the village. This parish comprises only 648 statute acres, of which about three-fourths are meadow and pasture, chiefly demesne lands, and the remainder principally garden grounds. There are numerous handsome seats and pleasing villas beautifully situated and commanding some fine sea views and mountain scenery, with extensive prospects over Dublin bay. The principal are Stillorgan House, the residence of J. Verschoyle, Esq., anciently the property of the Allens, ancestors of the present Viscount and Baron Allen of Stillorgan; Carysford House, the seat of the Right Hon. W. Saurin, beautifully situated in grounds tastefully laid out; Stillorgan Abbey, of A. R. Blake, Esq., a handsome residence in the Elizabethan style, built in 1833 near the site of the old abbey; Mount Eagle, of H. D. Grady, Esq.; Obelisk Park, of H. Perry, Esq., so called from a lofty obelisk erected in the grounds by Lady Pierce, for the employment of the poor during the scarcity of 1741; Thornhill, of J. George, Esq.: Carysford Lodge, of T. Goold, Esq.; Stillorgan Park, of J. Busby, Esq.; Beaufield, of H. Darley, Esq; Oatlands, of M. Pollock, Esq.; the Grove, of J. Hughes, Esq.; Woodview, of G. W. Boileau, Esq.; Riversdale, of J. W. Barlow, Esq.; Stillorgan, of R. Guinness, Esq.; Dunstaffnage Lodge, of R. H. Sheehan, Esq.; Talbot Lodge, of Capt. Newenham; Limeville, of H. B. Reeves, Esq.; Rose Hill, of Mrs. Drevar; Maryville, of L. H. Thomas, Esq.; Oakley Park, of R. Everard, Esq.; Jane Villa, of Mrs. Wilson; Elm Grove, of Mrs. Richards; Littleton, of W. Wilson, Esq., M.D.; and Waltersland, of W. H. Smith, Esq. The village is within the delivery of the Dublin twopenny post, and is a constabulary police station; there is also a constabulary police station at the village of Newtown Park. Close to it is an ale and beer brewery, which has been carried on for more than 80 years by the family of Darley: it has been for more than 40 years in the possession of the present proprietors, who have also an extensive brewery and malting concern at Bray.

This parish, together with that of Kilmacud, constitutes the perpetual curacy of Stillorgan, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the patronage of the Dean of Christ-Church, Dublin: the tithes amount to £101. 10. 9 1/4., the whole payable to the incumbent; the glebe, which is situated in the parish of Kill, comprises 9 acres. The church, a neat edifice, was enlarged in 1812 and again in 1833, for which the late Board of First Fruits, in the former instance, granted a loan of £800, and in the latter a gift of £500. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Booterstown, and also part of that of Sandyford and Glancullen. About 150 children are taught in three public schools, and an infants' school is supported by Charles Doyne, Esq., of Newtown Park; there are also a dispensary in the village, and an institution for bettering the condition of the poor and suppressing mendicity. Adjoining the grounds of Waltersland is a field called Silver Park, from the great number of silver coins and ornaments found there. On clearing the rocky ground, more than 100 graves were discovered, together with numerous spear heads and other warlike instruments, confirming a tradition that a battle had been fought there; there were also discovered some urns of baked clay, containing ashes and burnt bones, and a small chamber, about a foot and a half square, formed of four upright stones, with one on the top and one at the bottom.

STONEHALL, a parish, in the barony of CORKAREE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 6 1/4 miles (N.) from Mullingar, on the road from Rathowen to Castletown-Delvin; containing 632 inhabitants. The parish, which comprises 2441 statute acres of good land, one-half of which is arable and the remainder pasture, borders on the north-east upon the most picturesque portion of Lough Dereveragh, over which rises the hill of Knockbody, commanding a view of a range of heights to the south: to the west are other high hills, at the bottom of which, and on the side of a small lake, are the vestiges of the old parish church: the land is principally under tillage, with some bog, marshy land and mountain. Mornington, the seat of Owen Daly, Esq., is in the parish. It is in the diocese of Meath, and is one of the three parishes forming the union of Taghmon, or Multifarnham, but the tithes, amounting to £90, are wholly impropriate in the Marquess of Headfort: it is also a perpetual curacy, comprising the parishes of Stonehall and Multifarnham, and in the patronage of the Incumbent of Taghmon; the income of the perpetual curate is £113. 2. 3 3/4., arising from £64. 12. 3 3/4, payable by the rector of Taghmon, £37 from the augmentation fund of Primate Boulter, and the glebe of 11 1/2 acres, valued at £11. 10. per annum. The glebe-house, which is 1 1/2 mile from the church, was built in 1817 by a gift of £450 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits: both glebe-house and glebe are in the parish of Multifarnham. The church, a plain badly constructed edifice, in indifferent repair, was built in 1809 by a gift of £600 from the same Board. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Rathconnell. In the hill of Polnagoth there is a remarkable cavern of considerable depth.

STONEPOUND, county of WEXFORD.-- See CLONROCHE.

STONEYFORD, a village, partly in the parish of ENNISNAG, barony of SHILLELOGHER, but chiefly in that of CHURCH-JERPOINT, barony of KNOCKTOPHER, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (S.) from Kilkenny, on the road to Waterford; containing 74 houses and 445 inhabitants. It is a chief station of the constabulary police, and has a penny post to Thomastown. Petty sessions are held every alternate week. Here is a neat R. C. chapel, also a dispensary and fever hospital, maintained in the customary manner; and schools for boys and girls, and one for infants, are patronised by Mr. and Mrs. Flood, of Flood Hall.

STRABANE, an incorporated market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), partly in the parishes of LECKPATRICK and URNEY, but chiefly in that of CAMUS-JUXTA-MORNE, barony of STRABANE, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 12 miles (S. S. W.) from Londonderry, 14 1/4 (N. W. by N.) from Omagh, and 107 (N. N. W.) from Dublin, on the mail coach road, and at its junction with that from Sligo, to Londonderry; containing 4700 inhabitants. Little notice of this place occurs prior to the 14th century, when a Franciscan monastery of the third order was founded here, which flourished only for a short time and ultimately merged into the abbey of Scarvaherin. This place was formerly in the district of Munterlony, but on the formation of part of the territory of Tir-Owen into the county of Tyrone, in 1591, it was made the head of the barony of Strabane. It appears, however, to have been merely an inconsiderable village till the plantation of Ulster by Jas. I., who, in 1611, granted the surrounding district to the Earl of Abercorn, who, previously to the year 1619, had erected a strong castle, around which he built a town of 80 houses, and settled 120 families, mustering together 200 armed men, for whom, in 1612, he obtained a charter of incorporation and other valuable privileges. He also erected three water-mills for grinding corn, and began to build a church. The town now ranks the third in the county, and promises to rival Omagh and even Dungannon. In 1641 it was besieged by Sir Phelim O'Nial, who took the castle and carried off the Countess of Abercorn and detained her as a prisoner till ransomed by the payment of a large sum of money. The Irish forces of O'Nial remained for a long time in possession of the castle, till it was at length retaken by the troops under the command of Col. Sir G. Hamilton, brother of the Earl of Abercorn. In the war of the Revolution it was garrisoned for the Protestants, and on the 14th of March, 1688, afforded an asylum to the inhabitants of Dungannon and its neighbourhood, when abandoned by Col. Lundy; but in the following month it fell into the hands of the enemy, and on the 18th of April, Jas. II. arrived in person at this place and passed the ford to Lifford. From Lifford he proceeded to Londonderry, but finding that city in a state much more opposed to his views than he had anticipated, he returned to the castle of Strabane on the 20th, and received a deputation who surrendered to him the fort of Cul-more.

The town is situated on the river Morne, near its confluence with the Fin, and consists of ten principal and several smaller streets; it contained 836 houses in 1831, since which time several more have been built and great improvements made, among which are the newly constructed roads to Londonderry, Newtown-Stewart, and Castlefin. The houses generally are well built and many of them are spacious and handsome, especially in such of the principal streets as are of more recent formation. Over the river Morne is a bridge, which has been recently widened; and over the Foyle, by which name the united rivers Morne and Fin are called, is another, to which three arches have been added. The appearance of the town is strikingly prepossessing, and the effect is further increased by the thriving orchards attached to the houses and in the immediate neighbourhood, producing apples, pears, and cherries in abundance. The manufacture of corduroys and other cotton fabrics was formerly carried on here to a limited extent; and in the neighbourhood are several bleach-greens, none of which at present are in operation. The principal trade is in grain, of which more is sold in this market than in any other in the county; great quantities are annually shipped for Liverpool, Glasgow, and other ports. The provision trade is also very extensive; more than 1000 tierces of beef and 2000 barrels of pork are annually cured here for the English market. There is a large ale and beer brewery of some celebrity, chiefly for the supply of the town and neighbourhood, yet considerable quantities are sent to Londonderry, Coleraine, Lifford, Donegal, and other places. The chief exports are wheat, oats, barley, flax, pork, beef, butter, eggs, and poultry; and the imports, timber, iron, staves, groceries, and articles of general merchandise. The trade of the place is much facilitated by the Strabane canal, which meets the river Foyle at Leck, about three miles below the town, and is navigable for vessels of 40 tons' burden. It was constructed in 1793, at an expense of £12,000, defrayed by a grant from the Commissioners of Inland Navigation, aided by the Marquess of Abercorn, and brought into the town by two locks. On its banks are large ranges of warehouses and stores for grain, with wharfs and commodious quays, well adapted to the carrying on of an extensive trade. Near the town, on the river Foyle, is a salmon fishery, which belonged formerly to the corporation of Lifford, but is now the property of the Earl of Erne; great quantities of fish are annually taken. The market is on Tuesday, and is largely supplied with corn, provisions, and brown linen; and fairs are held on the first Thursday in every month, and on the 12th of May and November (O. S.), for horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. The market-house is a commodious and handsome building; and the grain and meal markets, built by the corporation in 1823, are large and well arranged; over the principal gateway are the arms of Strabane.

Jas. I., in the 10th of his reign, made the town a free borough, and granted the inhabitants a charter of incorporation, by the title of the "Provost, Free Burgesses and Commonalty of the borough of Strabane", with a weekly market, two annual fairs, and the power of returning two members to the Irish parliament, holding a court of record and other privileges. By this charter the corporation consists of a provost, twelve free burgesses, and an indefinite number of freemen, assisted by a recorder, chamberlain, two serjeants-at-mace, and other officers. The provost, who is also clerk of the market and judge of the borough court, is annually elected on the 29th of Sept. from the free burgesses, by a majority of that body; if no election takes place, he continues in office till the next appointment. The free burgesses fill up vacancies as they occur, from the freemen, by the provost and a majority of their own body, and also admit freemen by favour only. The corporation continued to return two members to the Irish parliament till the union, when the borough was disfranchised. The court of record held before the provost had jurisdiction to the amount of 5 marks, but after the abolition of arrest for small sums, the business of the court declined, and it has since fallen into disuse. The corporation has no property but the tolls of the fairs and market, which are under their regulation. There is a chief constabulary police station; the quarter sessions for the county are held here in April and October; petty sessions on alternate Tuesdays, and a court for the manor of Strabane, every month, at which debts to the amount of 40s. are recoverable. The church built here in 1619, by the Earl of Abercorn, has, since the parliamentary war of 1641, been the parish church of Camus-juxta-Morne: it has been enlarged from time to time and is now a handsome cruciform structure in the Grecian style, with a cupola, and the arms of the founder over the principal entrance. There are a spacious R. C. chapel, and two places of worship for Presbyterians and two for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. A handsome school-house, with apartments for the master and mistress, was erected in 1826 by the Marquess of Abercorn, who endowed it with £40 per ann.; and there is a fever hospital, with a dispensary attached. About one mile from the town, on the road to Londonderry, is a chalybeate spring, containing iron, magnesia, and sulphur, held in solution by carbonic acid gas. Of the castle built by the Earl of Abercorn, nothing now remains; the site is occupied by a dwelling-house and merchant's stores. Strabane gives the inferior titles of Baron and Viscount to the Marquess of Abercorn.

STRABOE, a parish, in the barony of RATHVILLY, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (W.) from Tullow: containing 195 inhabitants. It is situated on the north side of the county, and on the confines of the county of Kildare; and comprises about 500 statute acres. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Rathvilly: the tithes amount to £115. 10. 2 1/2. In the R. C. divisions also it is part of the union or district of Rathvilly.

STRABOE, a parish, in the barony of MARYBOROUGH EAST, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 2 3/4 miles (S. E.) from Mountmellick, on the road from Portarlington to Maryborough; containing 2176 inhabitants. The parish, which is situated near the river Onas, and watered by one of its tributary streams, comprises 5335 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is generally productive, and limestone of good quality is quarried for agricultural and other uses. The principal seats are Shara House, the residence of T. Kemmis, Esq.; Eyne House, of Capt. R. Lavers; Straboe, of the Rev. T. Kemmis; Derry, of J. Baldwin, Esq.; and Knocknagrove, of M. Dillon, Esq.: at Shara is a foundry, and there is a constabulary police station at the Heath. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming part of the union of Maryborough; the rectory is impropriate in -- Lewis, Esq. The tithes amount to £300, of which £200 is payable to the impropriator, and £100 to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Maryborough; there are some remains of the ancient parish church, and a well held in much esteem, near which are the walls of a castellated mansion, erected on the site of the ancient castle of Morett, one of the fortresses originally built by Lord Mortimer, and held for many ages by the Fitzgeralds against the O'Mores. The present remains have a stack of chimneys on each side-wall and gable, with a turret at one of the angles; but the interior is wholly destroyed. About 200 yards to the south, beyond a rivulet that runs through a small valley, is a building apparently an ancient chapel. Shara castle, in this parish, called formerly Lion, or Shelaw castle, was, in 1397, the head of a manor belonging to Sir Robt. Preston; it was besieged and taken by the insurgents in the war of 1641, and in the following year surrendered to Sir Chas. Coote, from whom it was retaken by Owen Roe O'Nial in 1646 and finally surrendered, in 1650, to Cols. Reynolds and Hewson, by whom it was demolished; the few remains that existed were wholly removed some few years since.

STRADBALLY, a parish, in the barony of DUNKELLIN, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 miles (S.) from Oranmore, on the road from Galway to Gort: containing, with the village of Claran-bridge, (which is described under its own head) 1053 inhabitants. The parish, which comprises 4291 statute acres, is situated in the interior of an inlet that proceeds eastward from Kilcolgan Point and receives two rivers which flow through the parish, the Kilcolgan river, frequently called the Carnamart, and the Claran, nearly dry in summer and meeting the sea at Claran-bridge. The surface for the most part consists of large tracts of naked limestone rock, yet affording, in all those places that are covered with soil, a very nourishing herbage for sheep, and where tilled throwing up excellent crops notwithstanding its bad culture: the sea weed collected from the shore is the only manure used, and the too frequent application of it has been found very exhausting: ash timber thrives well. The district is supplied with peat for fuel from Connemara and the coast of Clare by the inlet, which is navigable for small craft to the village. There is a weekly market on Tuesday at Claran-bridge, and four fairs on the first Thursday after the 11th of Feb., May, Aug., and Nov. The chief traffic, both in the markets and fairs, is in wheat, oats and pigs, which last are bought up by the agents of the provision merchants. There are also fairs at Tubberbracken in May and October, the latter chiefly for turkeys. Kilcornan, the; residence of T. N. Redington, Esq., situated near the village, of which he is proprietor, is about to be enlarged and improved according to the Tudor style of architecture. In the demesne are the ruins of a castle, said to have belonged to a celebrated heroine of the Clanricarde family, named Norah Burke, but better known, from her cruelties, by that of Norah na Kaun, or "Norah of the heads." Lavally is the residence of T. Lynch, Esq. Several old monuments in the neighbourhood during the three last centuries bear the names of members of this family. Rahasane, lately the residence of R. T. French, Esq., and now of his sisters and coheiresses, is a fine, thickly wooded demesne.

The parish is in the diocese of Kilmacduagh: the rectory is appropriate to the see and to the archdeaconry: the vicarage forms part of the union of Kilcolgan. The tithes amount to £115. 9. 10., of which £28. 17. is payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, £55. 2. 10. to the archdeacon, and £31. 10. to the vicar. The R. C. parish, which is also called Kilcornan and Claran-bridge, is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and has two chapels: the old chapel is in a retired situation; a stone over the entrance bears the date 1763: the modern chapel at Claran-bridge, a plain slated building, was erected by the late C. and T. Redington, Esqrs., father and grandfather of the present proprietor. A monastery near the village was also built by the same gentlemen, and has been endowed with seven acres of land, on condition that the tenantry on the Kilcornan estate should be educated gratuitously at the school attached to the establishment. An institution of the religious sisters of charity is about to be endowed, and the building erected by Mrs. Redington, widow of the late Mr. Redington, on a piece of ground given by the present proprietor on similar conditions to the former: his lady contributes £25 per ann. and supplies books and other school requisites to a female school, for which also she has built a school-house: 165 boys are educated in the former of these schools and 66 in the latter. Near Lavally is the holy well of Tubberbracken, "the Well of the Trout," not much frequented at present. Not far from Kilcornan are the ruins of an old church in a cemetery now not used from a superstitious notion of the peasantry. The castle of Dunkellin, now in ruins, the property of the Marquess of Clanricarde, gives the inferior title of Baron to that nobleman.

STRADBALLY, a parish, in the barony of CORKAGUINEY, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 10 miles (N. E. by N.) from Dingle, on the Connor-Hill road to Tralee; containing 1253 inhabitants, of which number, 425 are in the village. It is situated on St. Brandon's bay, and comprises 5790 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the soil is in general light, and there are some patches of bog: the state of agriculture is gradually improving. A new road, in continuation of the line from Dingle made a few years since, is now in progress through the parish, and will be extended to Knockglass, in the parish of Kilgobbin, where it will form a junction with the mail road to Tralee. The village of Stradbally comprises about 60 small houses, mostly thatched; and within the limits of the parish are Hillville, the residence of John Jas. Hickson, Esq., and Stradbally Lodge, of Geo. Hickson, Esq., both commanding fine views of the bay and mountain of St. Brandon. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, forming part of the union of Ballynacourty, also called the union of Kilflyn: the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Cork. The vicarial tithes amount to £185. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Castle-Gregory. In the cemetery adjoining the village are the ruins of the old church.

STRADBALLY, county of LIMERICK-- See CASTLECONNELL.

STRADBALLY, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of STRADBALLY, QUEEN'S county, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (E.) from Maryborough, and 38 (S. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the road to Cork; containing 2392 inhabitants, of which number, 1799 are in the town. This place, anciently called "Mon-au-Bealing", was the site of a Franciscan monastery founded in the 12th century by the chief of the O'Mores, which, in 1592, was granted with all its possessions, comprising several castles, to Francis Cosbye and his heirs, to hold as of the Castle of Maryborough, in capite, by knight's service, at a yearly rent of £17. 6. 3., and to provide nine English horsemen. This grant was, in 1609, confirmed and renewed by Jas. 1st to Richard, son of Alexander Cosbye, together with the manor and lordship of Timahoe. The town is one of the most pleasant in the county: it is situated on the banks of a small river which flows into the Barrow, in a vale surrounded by lofty hills, and in a district richly embellished with cultivated demesnes. The principal street is spacious: the number of houses, in 1831, was 306, mostly well built: the river is crossed by a bridge of three arches. The southern branch of the Grand Canal passes along the eastern side of the barony into the vale of the Barrow, opening a communication with Dublin and the towns on that river, but there are no manufactures, nor is any trade carried on, excepting that arising from the produce of two flour-mills on the stream that runs through the town. The market is on Saturday; and there are fairs on May 6th, July 10th, Aug. 21st, Sept. 14th, and Nov. 21st. A chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town; general sessions of the peace are held here twice in the year, and petty sessions on alternate Fridays. The court-house is a neat building, and attached to it is a small bridewell, containing three cells, two day-rooms and an airing-yard. There is a dispensary, and also a savings' bank.

The parish comprises 1373 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act: the land is good, and much of it in demesne; the system of agriculture is improved, and very excellent limestone is procured, which is used for building and other purposes. The vicinity is beautifully varied. Stradbally Hall, the residence of T. P. Cosby, Esq., is a handsome mansion adjoining the town, and situated in a highly embellished demesne, within the limits of which was formerly the ancient castle of the O'Mores. Brockley Park, formerly occupied by the Earl of Roden, and now the residence and property of W. D. Farrer, Esq., is pleasantly situated on the opposite side of the town. In the vicinity are also Ballykilcavan, the seat and improved demesne of Sir Edw. Welsh, Bart.; Kellyville, the residence of Thos. B. Kelly, Esq.; Timogue, of Thos. Budds, Esq.; Ballymanus, of M. Dunne, Esq.; Moyanna, of J. Lyons, Esq.; Vicarstown, of Jas. Grattan, Esq.; Rahinduffe, of Mrs. Baldwin; Derry, of John Baldwin, Esq.; Lohihoa, of R. Dexter, Esq.; Clopook, of Mrs. Mahon; and Esker, of T. Bailey, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, united by act of council, in 1774, to the vicarage of Moyanna, and in the patronage of T. P. Cosby, Esq.: the rectory is impropriate in the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin. The tithes amount to £208. 14. 2., of which £139. 9. 7. is payable to the impropriators, and the remainder to the vicar. The glebe-house is a good residence, and the glebe comprises 12 acres; the gross tithes of the benefice amount to £207. 13. 9. The church, a handsome building in the town, was erected in 1764 by subscription; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £321 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Moyanna, Corclone, Timogue, Fossey, and Kilcolmanbrook: the chapel in the town is a spacious edifice, and a handsome chapel has been lately erected at Timahoe in the Gothic style, capable of accommodating 4000 persons. About 80 children are taught in the national school, which is wholly supported by Mrs. Cosby; and there are several private schools. There was formerly a charter school, for which a building was erected at an expense of £3000, of which sum, £300 was a gift from the late Poole Cosby, Esq. A battle is said to have been fought at Stradbally bridge between the first settlers of the Cosby family and a native sept, in which the leaders on both sides were killed. Near the town are the ruins of an old church, the walls of which are about six feet thick and of considerable height: under one end is the mausoleum of the Cosby family. Four miles to the south is the Dun of Clopoke, an isolated rock, in which are various singular cavities; it has a level summit, formerly encompassed with a rampart of stone, and was a fort of the O'Mores; the ascent is steep and rugged; it is now remarkable only for the romantic views which it commands along the range of hills in its vicinity and the rich pastures of Timogue.

STRADBALLY, a maritime parish, in the barony of DECIES-WITHOUT-DRUM, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 7 miles (S. by W.) from Kilmacthomas, on the mail coach road from Waterford to Cork and on the river Tay; containing 3642 inhabitants, of which number, 752 are in the village. The parish comprises 10,302 acres, of which 150 are waste land. The village consists of one long street, with smaller ones diverging from it; the houses are well built and command fine marine views; it is a place of some resort during the bathing season, but the accommodations are inconsiderable. Petty sessions are held once a fortnight; and it is a constabulary police station. Here was formerly a productive salmon fishery, which has totally declined. A new road from Stradbally to Kilmacthomas, shortening the distance one mile, has been lately made. South-west of the village, on a very steep cliff, a signal station-house was erected by the Government during the late war; it has been purchased by J. Hewson, Esq., who calls it Island Castle; he is enlarging and improving the building, with a view of making it his residence; the sea view here is of almost boundless extent, and the cliff on which the house stands is nearly perpendicular, measuring 370 feet from the summit. Near the shore is Woodhouse, the seat of R. Uniacke, Esq., a large and well built mansion, situated in a beautiful valley through which the river Tay winds its course; his ancestor, in 1742, obtained a premium for having planted round it no fewer than 152,640 trees, which form a noble wood, having flourished remarkably, though so near the sea. Woodhouse was anciently called Torc-Raith, or Tar-Cora, and was the residence of a branch of the Geraldines. The other seats are Fahagh, that of Pierse Richard Barron, Esq.; Glenview, of Pierse Marcus Barron, Esq.; and Carrickbarron, the property of Lady Osborne, but occupied by Pierse George Barron, Esq.

The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Lismore, episcopally united, in 1799, to the vicarages of Ballylaneen and Clonea, and in the patronage of the Duke of Devonshire, in whom the rectory is impropriate; the tithes amount to £795. 4. 4., of which £500 is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the incumbent; and the gross tithes of the benefice amount to £661. 3. 8. The church is a neat structure, with a tower and spire, rebuilt in 1786 by aid of a gift of £500 from the late Board of First Fruits; the churchyard is well planted, and adorned by the ruins of the ancient abbey, which, being overgrown with ivy, have a very picturesque appearance. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising the parishes of Stradbally and Ballylaneen, and containing three chapels, two of which are in this parish, at Stradbally and Fahagh, the latter built principally at the expense of the late James Bar-ron, Esq.; it is in contemplation to erect a new chapel in the village. A school for children of both sexes was endowed with £30 per ann., by the late Pierse Barron, Esq., who built the school house; a school is supported by Mrs. Uniacke, of Woodhouse, for children of both sexes, and there is also another public school; in these schools about 200 children are taught, and in a private school are about 50 children. The late Rev. P. Wall, P. P., left upwards of £100 to be distributed in clothing and other charities. On the estate of Fahagh are the remains of an ancient building which derives interest from having been the place of refuge of the Fitzgeralds. At Ballivoney the traces of an extensive building are scarcely visible, extending in length 180 feet, and in breadth 90, with an open wall in front; it is supposed to have belonged to the Knights Templars. Two miles south-west of the village, on a very steep cliff, are the ruins of a castle (of which the Irish name signifies "the house of fortification"), built by the Fitzgeralds, and defended on the land side by a deep trench, over which was a drawbridge. At Carrigahilla is a relic supposed to be druidical, consisting of an oval enclosure, 182 yards long by 33 broad, having a large upright stone in the centre and several smaller ones around it. One of the brotherhood of the Augustine friars, ruins of whose abbey are in the churchyard, was called the White Friar, and is the hero of many legendary tales.

STRADE, county of MAYO.-- See TEMPLEMORE.

STRADONE, a market and post-town, in the parish of LARAH, barony of UPPER LOUGHTEE, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Cavan, and 50 (N. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Virginia to Ballyhaise; containing 35 houses and 250 inhabitants. It is a station of the constabulary police, and has a dispensary. The market is on Monday; and fairs are held on Feb. 7th, March 28th, May 10th, June 24th, Aug. 16th, Oct. 10th, and Dec. 18th, for general farming stock. Stradone House, the residence of Major Burrowes, is a handsome mansion, situated in an extensive and finely wooded demesne adjoining the town.

STRAFFAN, a parish, in the barony of NORTH SALT, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Celbridge, on the road to Naas; containing 727 inhabitants. It comprises 2212 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, which is nearly equally divided between tillage and pasture; the soil is in general a strong stiff clay. The Grand Canal passes within two, and the Royal Canal within about four, miles of the parish. The principal seats are Straffan House, the modern seat of H. Barton, Esq.; Barberstown, of Capt. Robinson; Lodge Park, of A. Henry, Esq., J. P.; and Straffan Lodge, the neat residence of Mrs. Whitelaw. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin, forming part of the union of Celbridge; the rectory is impropriate in Mrs. Whitelaw; the tithes amount to £130, of which £80 is payable to the impropriator, and £50 to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions also it forms part of the union or district of Celbridge: the chapel is a neat edifice, situated in the village; connected with it is a Sunday and day school. A school for girls is supported by Mrs. Barton; and there are two private schools in which are about 60 children.

STRAIDKELLY, or STRAIGHTKELLY, a village, in the parish of TICKMACREVAN, barony of LOWER GLENARM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 1 1/2 mile (N. W. by N.) from Glenarm, on the old coast road to Belfast; containing 25 houses and 172 inhabitants. It is situated on the hill of Cloony, over which the old road passes at an elevation of nearly 200 feet above the level of the sea, while the new military road takes nearly a level course along the shore round the base of the hill, being not more than 15 feet above high water mark.

STRANGFORD, a small sea-port and post-town, in the parish of BALLYCULTER, county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (N. E.) from Downpatrick, and 79 3/4 (N. N. E.) from Dublin; containing 583 inhabitants. In the year 1400, the constable of Dublin city, with divers others, fought a great sea battle at Strangford against the Scotch, in which many of the English were slain. It is situated on the western side of the channel which forms the entrance of the lough to which the town gives name; it is a very small place, having only 119 houses, among which are a chapel of ease to the parish church of Ballyculter, a R. C. chapel, and a Wesleyan Methodist meeting-house: here is also a small quay for the convenience of the fishing boats, and of the passengers crossing the strait to Portaferry. It is a constabulary police station: fairs are held on Aug. 12th and Nov. 8th. The trade is chiefly in coal and timber. A school, in which are about 200 children, is supported by the Hon. W. Fitzgerald De Roos and the Rev. Charles Wolseley. Near this place are the remains of two castles called Welsh's and Audeley's; the former has been converted into the handsome dwelling-house of R. F. Anderson, Esq.; the latter, still in ruins, is on a hill which commands a view of the lough as far as Newtown, and is supposed to have been erected by one of the Audeleys, who settled in this county under John De Courcy. The lough of Strangford was formerly called Lough Coyne: it extends from Killard Point to Newtown, a distance of about 17 miles, from north to south; in some parts it is five and in others three miles in breadth, and at its entrance not quite one. It contains a vast number of islands and rocks. Six of the islands are inhabited; namely, Castle island, in the parish of Saul, containing 118 acres of land under cultivation, and on which are the ruins of a castle; Rea island, in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 103 acres, occupied by a farmer; Wood island, also in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 16 acres, and on which are large beds of shells, from 50 to 60 feet above the level of the sea, that are converted into excellent lime by burning; Tagart island, in the parish of Killyleagh; Islandbawn, in the parish of Killinchy, containing 30 acres of land; and Maghea island, in the parish of Tullynakill, containing 137 acres of land: it has a small quay, to which brigs can come up, and on it are the ruins of a castle, formerly the summer residence of the Knox family. Strangford Lough is a safe and deep harbour, admitting vessels of the largest draught, but, owing to the great rapidity of the tides and the rocks near its entrance, on which the sea breaks violently, it is not prudent for a strange vessel to attempt to enter. There are two passages to it, divided by a reef nearly in the centre of the channel, and half a mile long, called Rock Angus, corrupted into "the Rock and Goose," on which is a stone beacon, and at the south extremity a perch called the Garter, which is dry at half ebb; south-westward from this perch, at a cable's length, are the Pots rocks. The passage on the south side of Rock Angus has 2 1/2 fathoms of water, and is navigable only for small vessels. The tide runs in and out of the lough with such velocity as on some occasions to carry vessels against the wind. Strangford gives the title of Viscount to the family of Smythe.

STRANOCUM, a village, in the parish of BALLYMONEY, barony of UPPER DUNLUCE, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER; containing 29 houses, and 132 inhabitants. Fairs are held on April 20th and Dec. 29th.

STRANORLAR, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of RAPHOE, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER; 10 1/4 miles (W. by S.) from Lifford, and 118 (N. W. by N.) from Dublin, on the road from Strabane to Ballyshannon, and on the river Fin; containing 6114 inhabitants, of which number, 641 are in the town. The parish, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises 15,509 statute acres, of which 159 are under water. That part which forms the estate of Sir Edmund Hayes is under an improved system of agriculture, but the other part appears to be neglected. Here appear two veins containing spar, ochre, and apparently lead ore; they are in a limestone rock, and in the vicinity are great bodies of decomposed limestone, forming excellent manure, and some is quarried for building. The stupendous mountains of Barnesmore, alike remarkable for their perpendicular ascent and for their beautifully varied rocks and herbage, form the Gap of the same name, situated at the south-western extremity of the parish; through this gap a fine stream flows into Lough Esk, and it is also the pass between the north and west of Ireland, coastwise, and on the leading road to Donegal. The town comprises 116 houses, of which 20 are well built, the remainder being occupied by labourers and artisans. Here is a good hotel; also a market and court-house. The market, at which fine brown linen is sold, is held every Saturday; and there are fairs on March 29th, June 11th, July 6th, Aug. 12th, Oct. 10th, and Dec. 9th and 10th. Manor courts are held in the court-house before the seneschal on the first Saturday in every month; and petty sessions are held on alternate Wednesdays. The linen manufacture is partially carried on; there are two extensive bleach-greens near the town, one belonging to J. Johnston, Esq.; the other, adjoining Summer Hill, to J. and C. Johnston, Esqrs. In the neighbourhood are numerous gentlemen's seats, among which are Drumboe Castle, the residence of Sir E. Hayes, Bart., M.P., situated on a pretty lawn in the centre of an improved demesne; Tyrcallen, of H. Steevens, Esq., in a beautiful and extensively planted demesne, on the principal elevation in which the proprietor has erected an observatory; Edenmore, of J. Cochran, Esq., J.P., a neat mansion, in a small but handsome demesne, on the south bank of the Fin; Woodlands, a handsome modern residence, of J. Johnston, Esq., J.P.; Summer Hill, of C. Johnston, Esq.; Glenmore, of C. Style, Esq., a handsome mansion in improved grounds; the Glebe-house, of the Rev. T. Fullerton; and Cloghan Lodge, the occasional residence of Sir T. C. Style, Bart., near the romantic waterfall and salmon leap of this name on the Fin.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Raphoe, and in the patronage of the Crown; the tithes amount to £485. The glebe-house was built in 1812, at a cost of £692, British currency, of which £46 was a loan, and the remainder a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is an old building, to which the same Board, in 1825, granted a loan of £300 for the erection of a gallery. Prior to the 24th of March, 1835, this parish, forming part of the deanery of Raphoe, consisted of the two perpetual cures of Stranorlar and Kilteevock, but by an order in council of the above date it was disappropriated from the deanery, and erected into a separate and distinct parish, or benefice. It was provided, however, that the incumbent should pay to the perpetual curate of Kilteevock the same salary as had been paid by the dean. The R. C. parish is coextensive with that of the Established Church; there are two chapels, one in the town, and one about five miles westward. There are places of worship for Presbyterians, in connection with the Synod of Ulster (of the third class), for Seceders (of the second class), and for Wesleyan Methodists; also a dispensary. The parochial school has an endowment from Col. Robertson's charity; there is another under the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity; and four more are aided by subscriptions; in these schools are about 350 children. There are also two private schools, in which are about 130 children; and two Sunday schools.

STRATFORD-UPON-SLANEY, a market-town and a parochial district, in the barony of UPPER TALBOTSTOWN, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/4 miles (N. N. E.) from Baltinglass (to which it has a penny post), near the road to Wexford, through Tullow; containing 2833 inhabitants, of which number, 952 are in the town. This town, which is of recent date, owes its origin to Edward, late Earl of Aldborough, who, towards the close of the last century, conferred upon it his family name, "Stratford," and distinguished it from other places of that name by the adjunct which describes its situation on the Slaney. A battle was fought here during the disturbances of 1798. It is built on the summit of a considerable hill rising from the bank of the river, and is regularly laid out in streets and squares, and commands most extensive views, including the windings of the river. Adjoining the town, on the bank of the river, are extensive cotton and calico- . printing works, established in 1792, by Messrs. Orr and Co., the present proprietors; they employ from 800 to 1000 persons: the machinery is worked by water power, and the average number of pieces printed and finished weekly is about 2000. The market is on Tuesday and Saturday, and by the patent the town is entitled to two annual fairs, which have never yet been held. The district parish, also called Rathbran, is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Leighlin, endowed in 1792 by Edward, second Earl of Aldborough, with a rent-charge of £50 out of the Stratford estate, and in the patronage of Col. John Wingfield Stratford. The curate's stipend is augmented by a grant from the trustees of Primate Boulter's fund. The late Board of First Fruits, in 1813, contributed a gift of £450 and a loan of £100 towards the erection of the glebe-house, to which is attached a glebe of 10 1/2 acres. The church, a neat structure, was built in 1790 by the noble proprietor; and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £679 for its repair. There is a R. C. chapel, belonging to the union or district of Baltinglass; also a place of worship for Presbyterians of the Synod of Ulster, of the third class. Sunday schools are attached to the church and the R. C. chapel. A fever hospital, with a dispensary, was erected near the town in 1817; it is a neat building, comprising 8 wards containing 24 beds. Adjoining the church is a plot of two acres of freehold land, from which Lord Henniker takes his title of an Irish baron.

STREAMSTOWN, a village, in the parish of ARDNORCHER, barony of MOYCASHEL, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (N. E.) from Moate, on the road to Mullingar; containing about 20 houses and 99 inhabitants. It is a station of the constabulary police, and has a patent for fairs, but none are held.

STREET, a parish, partly in the barony of ARDAGH, county of LONGFORD, but chiefly in that of MOYGOISH, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 2 1/2 miles (N. E.) from Rathowen, on the river Inney and on Lough Dereveragh, and on the road to Granard; containing 4238 inhabitants. This parish comprises 9429 1/4 statute acres of good land, chiefly under tillage; its eastern side is composed of vast tracts of bog, through which the river Inny winds, and on the west it is bounded by the county of Longford. Here are quarries of very fine limestone, good black marble, and thin black flagstone. Colamber is the residence of S. W. Blackall, Esq.; and Kindevin, of R. Sproule, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Ardagh, and in the patronage of Fulke Greville, Esq., in whom the rectory is irnpropriate; the tithes amount to £369. 4. 7 1/2., one-half payable to the impropriator, and the other to the vicar. The glebe comprises 5 acres, valued at £16. 10. per ann.; the glebe-house was built by aid of a gift of £400 and a loan of £382, in 1812, from the late Board of First Fruits. The church is an ancient building, for the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £228: divine service is also performed in two school-houses, at each extremity of the parish on the evenings of the alternate Sundays throughout the year. The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church; the chapel is at Boherquil. The parochial school is aided by subscription, and there are two other schools, one aided by Mr. and Miss Blackall, and the other by the National Board; in these schools are about 180 children. There are also two private schools, in which are about 190 children. At Colamber are the ruins of an old castle, which was besieged by Oliver Cromwell; it formed the boundary of the English pale. There are the remains of an old church, with a burial-place, at Clonmore, anciently a monastery of the order of St. Bernard, and founded by St. Fintan, about the 13th century. Opposite the church is a large high moat. At Kennard, in this parish, was anciently a nunnery. In the midst of the bog is a mineral spring.

STROKESTOWN, a market and post-town, in the parish of BUMLIN, barony and county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, on the new road from Dublin to Ballina, 12 miles (W. by N.) from Longford, and 74 1/2 (W. N. W.) from Dublin; containing 1547 inhabitants. It consists of two streets intersecting each other at right angles; one is 49 yards wide, and the other 21: there are 261 houses, of which 100 are above the rank of cabins, some of them being very good houses of stone, covered with Welsh slate brought by land carriage from Sligo. The main street is terminated by the grand entrance to Lord Hartland's noble demesne, a new church being at the other end, on the highest ground in the town. The market is held weekly and is very numerously attended, giving a bustling appearance to the place. The country people, besides the ordinary articles of provision, bring a small quantity of linen, linen yarn, and tow, besides woollen stockings, webs of flannel, and a peculiar sort of stuff made with a thread somewhat between the texture of woollen yarn and worsted: these stuffs are dyed and dressed in the town. Abundance of eels and river fish, salt-water fish, and laver, a preparation of sea-weed, from Sligo, are brought to this market. About seven thousand barrels of wheat are sold here in the year, the surrounding lands being reckoned peculiarly favourable for its production. It is chiefly purchased for the flour-mills of Sligo; much grain is also sent to Richmond Harbour, at the head of the Royal canal, about seven miles distant, for the Dublin market, or for exportation. Fairs are held on the first Tuesdays in May, June, October, and November. In the town is a brewery. Races, supported by private subscription, take place on the course of Ballynafad, at the base of Slievebawn, between three and four miles to the south of the town. Quarter sessions are held here once a year for the northern half of the county; a sessions house and a bridewell on the new plan have been recently erected, the latter containing apartments for the keeper, a day-room, and cells for the prisoners. This is a constabulary police station; petty sessions are held on alternate Thursdays; and there is a dispensary. Bawn House, the noble mansion of Lord Hartland, is situated to the east of the town, in a demesne of more than 1000 acres: it consists of a centre with an Ionic portico, having a flat roof guarded by a balustrade, and heavy advancing wings, showing the original character of the whole edifice. Within a grove at a short distance from the front are the roofless ruins of an old church, some of the windows of which retain their ancient mullions, and in others some of modern workmanship have been supplied; the enclosed area has been selected for the site of a family mausoleum: the surrounding grounds are very beautiful. The church forms a regular octagon, and is a handsome building of limestone, with a tower and spire, in the Gothic style. A school is about to be established under the Board of Education. A bequest of £800 was made by the late B. Mahan for the poor of the parishes of the union. Chalybeate springs abound in the neighbourhood.

SUBULTER, a parish, in the barony of DUHALLOW, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (E.) from Kanturk, near the road to Mallow; containing 268 inhabitants. Knockninoss, in this parish, was, in 1647, the scene of a desperate battle between the forces of Lord Inchiquin and those of Lord Taafe. The former having taken the field with 4000 foot and 1200 horse, on Nov. 13th, encountered the Irish army, consisting of 7464 foot and 1076 horse, posted on the hill of Knockninoss. The English forces charged up the ascent, but the Irish stood their ground, and at first forced their assailants before them, some of the highlanders of Sir Alexander Mac Donell's or Mac Allisdrum's corps even driving part of them a considerable distance, and capturing their artillery and carriages; but Lord Inchiquin having found means to detach a party of horse round, so as to gain the summit of the hill, the right wing, commanded by Lord Taafe, and a great part of the main body fled; the left, commanded by Mac Allisdrum, stood its ground, but was at length forced to yield, both the leader and his men giving up their swords: but Lord Inchiquin having ordered that no quarter should be given, the whole were put to the sword, making the total number slain of the Irish army no less than 4000.

The parish, which consists only of the townlands of Subulter and Knockninoss, or Knocknanuss, comprises 382 1/4 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £522 per annum. The land is of good quality and chiefly in tillage: it is wholly occupied by John Leahy, Esq., of Subulter House. Limestone is found and burnt for manure. For all civil purposes, and for the performance of clerical duties, it is considered to form part of Kilbrin. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Cloyne, forming the corps of the prebend of Subulter, in the cathedral of St. Colman, Cloyne: the tithes amount to £63. 6. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Kilbrin. There is a school of about 60 children, gratuitously instructed by Miss Leahy.

SUMMERHILL, a post-town, in the parish of LARACOR, barony of LOWER MOYFENRAGH, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S. by E.) from Trim, and 17 (W. N. W.) from Dublin, by Dunboyne; containing 49 houses and 331 inhabitants. This town, which has a neat appearance, is pleasantly situated on the road from Dublin to Trim, by Kilcock, and also on that by Dunboyne, which latter is the nearer by three miles. It is a chief constabulary police station; petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays, and fairs on April 30th, June 9th, Sept. 22nd, and Nov. 25th. Here is a Presbyterian meeting-house, and contiguous to the town is Summerhill House, the seat of Lord Langford, situated in a noble demesne.

SUTTONS, county of WEXFORD.-- See KI.LMOKEA.

SWANLINBAR, a post-town, in the parish of KINAWLEY, barony of TULLAGHAGH, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER, 8 miles (N. W.) from Ballyconnell, to which it has a penny-post; containing 398 inhabitants. This town is supposed to have derived its origin from a rich iron mine in the neighbouring mountain of Cuilcagh, which was worked at a remote period to a very considerable extent. The ore was smelted into pig iron in furnaces about half a mile distant, and manufactured into bars at some works erected upon a powerful mountain stream which flows through the village: these works were continued till all the timber of the mountains was consumed in smelting the ore, when they were necessarily abandoned. In 1786 a considerable part of the town was destroyed by an accidental fire, which consumed 22 houses. It now contains 79 houses, and is situated on the old road from Ballyconnell to Enniskillen, and surrounded by the wild mountains of the barony: it is chiefly distinguished for its mineral waters, which are strongly impregnated with sulphur, earth, sea salt and fossil alkali, and in their medicinal effect are both alterative and diaphoretick, and are esteemed highly efficacious as a restorative from debility. From April to September it is the resort of numbers of the gentry of the surrounding district. The spa is situated in an enclosure tastefully laid out in pleasant walks and embellished with thriving plantations. Contiguous to the well is a handsome pump-room, in which the visiters usually take breakfast, and on re-assembling an excellent dinner is provided. The surrounding mountains afford ample scope for the researches of the mineralogist, and contain several natural and artificial caves; on the neighbouring townlands of Lurgan and Coolagh are strong indications of coal. A few linens are manufactured in the vicinity, besides other articles of clothing for the inhabitants. Fairs are held annually on Feb. 2nd, March 30th, May 18th, June 29th, July 27th, Aug. 18th, Sept. 3rd and 29th, Oct. 26th, and Dec. 1st and 29th. A chief constabulary police station has been established; and petty sessions are held on alternate Wednesdays. On the summit of the mountain of Cuileagh, is a fine spring of excellent water: on this mountain, which is intimately associated with much of the legendary history of the district, the Maguires anciently invested their chiefs with supreme command over the adjacent country of Fermanagh.

SWATTERAGH, a village, in the parish of MAGHERA, barony of LOUGHINSHOLIN, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of ULSTER, 3 1/2 miles (N.) from Maghera, on the road to Coleraine, and on the river Clady; containing 204 inhabitants and comprising 50 houses, which, with the exception of one, are small and indifferently built. Here is a small corn-mill, the water from which, after passing under the bridge, divides, and making a curious circuit, forms an extensive island. The country around is barren and badly cultivated, being esteemed the worst part of the Mercers' Company's estate; but a change may be expected, as the leases have lately fallen into their own hands. In the village is a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class; also a large and handsome school-house, chiefly supported by the rector and his lady.

SWINFORD, a market and post-town, in the parish of KILCONDUFF, barony of GALLEN, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 15 miles (S. E. by S.) from Ballina, and 140 (W. N. W.) from Dublin, on the road from Foxford to Ballaghadireen; containing 813 inhabitants. This improving town, which consists of one principal and two smaller streets, comprises 150 houses, nearly all of which are slated. The market is on Tuesday, for provisions; and there is a good market-house, in which petty sessions are held every Wednesday. Fairs take place on May 20th, July 2nd, Aug. 18th, Oct. 29th, and Dec. 18th: this is a chief constabulary and a revenue police station. In the town are the parish church, the R. C. chapel, and a dispensary.-- See KILCONDUFF.

SWORDS, a market and post-town (formerly a parliamentary borough), and a parish, in the barony of NETHERCROSS, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 7 miles (N.) from Dublin, on the road to Drogheda by Balbriggan; containing 3722 inhabitants, of which number, 2537 are in the town. The place appears to owe its origin to the foundation of a monastery here, in 512, by St. Columbkill, who presented to it a missal written by himself, appointed St. Finan Lobhair, or the Leper, its first abbot, and blessed the well there. The monastery continued long to increase in character and wealth, and the town in consequence rose to such a magnitude, that it had several additional places of worship, among which were chapels dedicated to St. Finan and St. Bridget, near the latter of which was an ancient cross, called "Pardon Crosse." It was repeatedly plundered and burnt by the Danes; and about the year 1035 it suffered in a similar manner from an attack by Conor O'Melaghlin, king of Meath, who was killed in the engagement, to revenge which his brother ravaged the whole district of Fingal with fire and sword. Notwithstanding these repeated injuries it still retained the character of a place of much importance: for when the bodies of Brian Boroimhe and his son Murrough, who fell in the arms of victory at the famous battle of Clontarf, were being conveyed to their final place of interment at Armagh, they were deposited for one night during the journey in the abbey of this town. On the foundation of the collegiate establishment of St. Patrick's, Dublin, by Archbishop Comyn in 1190, Swords was not only constituted a prebend of that church, but it is noticed by Archbishop Alan, in his Repertorium Viride as "the Golden Prebend, similar to that of Sarum in England;" and in the same work it is registered as giving name to one of the rural deaneries in the northern part of the diocese. King John granted to the same prelate the privilege of holding a fair there for eight days after the feast of St. Columbkill. It was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth in 1578. Jas. I., in 1603, granted to the Archbishop of Dublin a confirmation of the privileges of the town, together with a weekly market on Monday; in this document the place is called the Archbishop's manor of Swords. A grant of two additional fairs was made to it in 1699. On the breaking out of the war in 1641, the Irish army of the pale assembled for the first time at Swords, and on the 10th of the following January they were driven from it with the loss of 200 men, by Sir Chas. Coote, with scarcely any on his side except that of Sir Lorenzo Carey, a son of Lord Falkland, who was slain in the action.

The town occupies a pleasing situation on the steep banks of a small but rapid stream, which discharges itself northwards into the inner extremity of the creek or pill of Malahide: the creek, which comes within a mile of the town, is navigable for boats at high water. It consists chiefly of one wide street, a mile in length, formed of houses which, with but few exceptions, are of mean appearance. Fairs are held on March 17th and May 9th for cattle and pedlery; petty sessions on Wednesdays; and it is a constabulary police station. Its charter, already noticed, which bears date in the 20th year of the reign of Elizabeth, incorporates the place by the name of the "Bailiff and Burgesses within the Town of Swords." It was a potwalloping borough and sent two representatives to the Irish parliament, but was disfranchised at the union. By an order of the privy council of Ireland, dated Jan. 10th, 1837, under the Act of the 6th and 7th of Wm. IV., for extending the jurisdiction and regulating the proceedings of the Civil Bill Court, the county of Dublin is divided into two districts: the northern, called the district of Balbriggan, consists of the barony of Balrothery, so much of the parishes of Swords, Killossory, and Malahide as are in the barony of Coolock, and the barony of Nethercross, except the part of the parish of Finglass which is within that barony; the act of council directs that two general sessions of the peace are to be held annually at Balbriggan and two at Swords for this district: for the particulars of the southern district, named the district of Kilmainham, see KILMAINHAM.

The parish, according to the county book in the custody of the treasurer, contains 3536 Irish acres, of which 1227 are in the town and its liberties. The soil is good, and the system of agriculture rapidly improving.: there are several extensive corn-mills within the parish, and it is embellished with numerous seats and villas. Brackenstown, the seat of R. Manders, Esq., is a spacious mansion, situated in a demesne laid out with much taste, in which is a cemetery erected by the present proprietor's father, whose remains are interred there: this place was the residence of the Chief Baron Bysse in the time of Cromwell, who visited him here during his military expedition to Ireland. Balheary House, the residence of A. Baker, Esq., is a large square structure with several apartments of ample dimensions; in the saloon and dining-rooms are some fine pieces of tapestry, formerly the property of the Earl of Ormonde: the surrounding demesne, through which flow the small rivers of Fieldstown and Knocksedan, is well laid out, and commands a fine view of Howth and the Dublin mountains, with the town and environs of Swords, which, with its church, round tower, ruins of the monastery, and other interesting objects, presents a varied and picturesque scene in the foreground. Sea-field is the residence of J. Arthure, Esq.; Little Lissenhall, of R. Smith, Esq.; Newport, of P. Wilson, Esq.; the Vicarage, of the Hon. and Rev. F. Howard; Swords House, of Jas. Taylor, Esq.; Prospect Point, of Capt. Purcell; Cremona, of Lieut. Col: Gordon; and Mantua, of Mrs. Daly. The parish is a prebend, rectory, and vicarage, in the diocese of Dublin. In 1431 it was divided by Archbishop Talbot into three unequal portions, one of which was assigned to a prebendary of St. Patrick's, the second to the perpetual vicar, and the remainder to the Economy of the same cathedral, which was thereby bound to maintain six minor canons and six choristers, and to furnish lights and to keep the building in a proper state of repair. At present, the rectory in part constitutes the corps of the prebend of Swords; one of the other portions is appropriated to the Economy fund of St. Patrick's, Dublin; and the other, with the vicarage, is episcopally united to the rectory of Kinsealy, and the curacies of Killeek and Killossory, in the patronage of the Archbishop. The tithes amount to £273. 1. 2 1/2., of which £112. 13. 5 1/2. is payable to the dean and chapter, and the remainder to the vicar. There is a glebe-house, and a glebe of 33a. 2r. 20p. The church, completed in 1818 by aid of a loan of £2500 from the late Board of First Fruits, is a handsome building of hewn stone in the pointed style of architecture: the interior is fitted up neatly but without any display of ornamental decoration; a gallery, in which is an organ, extends across the west end: the east window is of modern painted glass. The belfry tower is that of the former church, which was allowed to remain when the rest of the edifice was taken down; it stands a little detached from the main building. Near it, in the same direction, is an ancient round tower, 73 feet high, which is of a ruder construction than most of the others now existing, but has been kept in good repair; it also differs from all the others by having on the vertex of its conical roof a small cross: near the summit are four round-headed windows opening to the four cardinal points, and at different heights are four other small square windows; an opening of about four feet high, apparently intended for the doorway, is nearly 24 feet above the ground. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, which comprises the parishes of Swords, Malahide, and Cloghran, and contains two chapels, one in the town, a spacious and neat edifice with a small tower and spire, the other at Balheary. The free school, which is situated in the town, owes its origin to circumstances connected with the Union. On the suppression of the elective franchise of the borough at that period, the claimants for shares of the £15,000 allowed as compensation for the loss of that right were very numerous: but all their claims were disallowed, and the sum was vested in the Lord Chancellor and several clergymen of high station, in trust to found a school here, for the daily education of the children of the place in reading, writing, arithmetic and such branches of manufacture as would be most likely to be useful to them during their future life; the surplus to be applied to apprentice fees for those pupils who had completed their school course, for premiums, and for the general encouragement of manufactures and agriculture in the district: upwards of 300 children receive instruction in the school, and 6 of each sex are apprenticed every May with a fee of £12 each: a dispensary attached to the institution is supported from the fund, and also a coal yard for selling fuel to the poor at low prices in times of scarcity. The old R. C. chapel has been converted into a school, which is in connection with the Board of National Education: there are 87 boys and 52 girls in it. Another dispensary is supported by Grand Jury presentments and private subscriptions in equal proportions.

The principal relics of antiquity still in existence are the ancient round tower and the archbishop's palace; the latter was a fortified structure in the centre of a court surrounded by embattled walls flanked with towers; these walls compose the whole of the existing remains, the enclosed area having been converted into a garden. The only evidence of the former existence of a nunnery, founded here at an unknown period, is the record of a pension granted by parliament, in 1474, to the prioress and her successors. To the south of the town, near the sea-shore, are the ruins of Seatown castle, once a chief seat of the Russell family: about a mile from the town, in the same direction, is Drynam, built by the same family in 1627, and now the property of Robt. Russell Cruise, Esq. Lissenhall, an ancient seat in the vicinity of Swords, belonged to the de Lacey family in the reign of Edw. I.; Sir Wm. Fitzwilliam resided in it. for some time, when he was Lord-Deputy of Ireland. Near Brackenstown House is a high rath, which commands a fine view of all the surrounding district: near Seafield is an old burial-ground, called Ballymadrouch.

SYDDAN, a parish, in the barony of LOWER SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (S. E.) from Nobber, on the mail coach road from Dublin to Londonderry; containing 1212 inhabitants. This parish formed part of the possessions of the abbey of St. Thomas, Dublin; the tithes and advowson were granted in the 2nd of Eliz. to Thomas Manners, gent. It comprises 5061 3/4 statute acres, nearly equally divided between pasture and tillage; the soil is of good quality and agriculture improving; some of the pasture land is particularly fine. Lime and marl, found in the low grounds at a small depth beneath the surface, form the chief manure; there is no bog. Some coarse yarn is spun here, and coarse linen cloth is woven for the Drogheda market. Petty sessions are held on alternate Mondays. The gentlemen's seats are Keiran House, the residence of J. Norris, Esq.; Moortown, of Gorges Henzill, Esq.; and Mentern, of A. Sallary, Esq., adjoining which is a corn-mill. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, united by act of council, in 1734, to the vicarage of Killeary and the rectory of Mitchelstown, and in the patronage of the Crown and the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in J. P. Eyton, Esq., of Holy well, in Wales. The tithes amount to £336. 18. 5 1/2., of which £253. 16. 11 1/4. is payable to the impropriator, and £83. 1. 6 1/4. to the vicar; and the gross value of the benefice, tithes and glebe inclusive, is £291. 3. 9. The glebe-house is half a mile from the church, and was built in 1788 at a cost of £484, of which £100 was a gift from the late Board of First Fruits, and the residue was defrayed by the then incumbent. The glebe comprises 20 acres, valued at £30 per annum, and there are glebes in each of the other parishes of the union. The church was built in 1753; it is a neat edifice, and for its repairs the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £180. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising this parish and those of Killeary and Innismott: there are three chapels in the union, two in Killeary and one in this parish at Newtown, with a school adjoining, in which about 100 children are taught; there is another school at Greenhill, in which are about 20 children.

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