KILMORE

KILMORE, a parish, in the barony of BALLINTOBBER, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 2 ½ miles (S. by W.) from Drumsna, on the road to Elphin; containing 5086 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the north and east by the river Shannon, which on the latter side expands into the picturesque Lough Bodarig; on the south it borders upon the lough of Gillstown. The approaches from Drumsna and Jamestown are by handsome bridges over the river, affording a facility of communication with those places, which are its chief markets. Of its entire extent, 5883 statute acres are applotted under the tithe act, of which about 1000 are waste and bog, and the remainder good arable and pasture land. The surface is greatly undulating; many of the hills afford good pasturage, though the tops are generally swampy and wet, and the arable land is under profitable cultivation. Limestone of very good quality is quarried for building and for agricultural purposes; and freestone, also of good quality, fit for mill-stones, abounds but is not worked. Near the shores of Lough Bodarig, which rise boldly from the water and are agreeably diversified, is Ballycommen, formerly the seat of the Earl of Roscommon, now occupied by Lieutenant Rodrick J. Hanly; and farther to the north is Cloonteen, a handsome and newly erected lodge, belonging to the Marquess of Westmeath.

A short canal, which has been made to avoid the rapids on the Shannon, crosses the north-eastern extremity of the parish; and between it and the river is Charlestown, the seat of Sir Gilbert King, Bart., beautifully situated in a richly embellished demesne, and approached by a noble avenue of lime trees, through which the small town of Drumsna, one of the prettiest in Ireland, is seen to great advantage. The other seats are Kilmore House, built in 1630, that of A. A'Hmuty, Esq, M.D.; Tully, of J. W. Kelly, Esq.; Lake View, of W. Mac Donnell, Esq.; Ashfort, of Hubert K. Waldron, Esq.; Ashfort Vale, of J. Watkins, Esq.; Fortview, of Erasmus Lloyd, Esq.; Moyglass, of the Marquess of Westmeath; Lowfield, of J. Wade Lawder, Esq.; Rushport, of Laughlin Conry, Esq.; Danyan, of P. O'Beirne, Esq.; Rhawrowanagh, of James Hogg, Esq.; Meelick, of Mr. Lawrence Mannion; Feeragh, of Mr. Owen Reynolds; Cartron, of Mr. Gilbert Hogg; Tooluscan, of Mr. J. Hogg; and Carrowquille Lodge, of the Rev. E. Keough, P. P. A fair is held at Danyan on the 25th of May, which is noted for milch cows; and petty sessions are held every alternate Thursday. There is a small barrack for the accommodation of six policemen.

The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Elphin, and in the patronage of A. A'Hmuty and J. W. Kelly, Esqrs., representatives of the Lawder family; the tithes amount to £200. The glebe-house, built in 1828 by a loan of £360, and a gift of £369 from the late Board of First Fruits, is a good residence; the glebe comprises nine acres of excellent meadow land, held by the rector, the Rev. R. Jones. The church, towards the erection of which the late Board granted a loan of £923 about the same time, is a neat building in good repair.

The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church; the chapel, at Danyan, is of modern erection. A school of about 30 boys and girls, and another of about 15 girls, are aided by subscriptions collected by the rector, who rents a small house for the former, and the latter is kept in his gate-house; and there are five private schools, in which the number of children fluctuates from 100 to upwards of 200. A loan fund has been established, under the superintendence of A. A'Hmuty, Esq., which, though of small extent, has been very beneficial to the poor. The late Mr. Lawder, of this parish, bequeathed £20 per ann., late currency, for clothing six poor men and six poor women; and a small donation was left by the Abbé O'Beirne, of Versailles, to the R. C. chapel, and for the erection of a school-house, which has not been built. An abbey was founded here, according to some, by St. Patrick, and a priory by Con O'Flanigan, in 1232; the latter was granted on lease, in 1580, to Tyrrell O'Farrell, at a rent of £3. 10., and subsequently to Sir Patrick Barnwell, who leased it to Dr. King, Bishop of Elphin. There are the remains of an old church near Ballycommen, named Tubber Patrick, where are also the remains of a nunnery. At that place is a fine spring, called by the old people Patrick's Well, whence the place takes its name. At Kilbride are the remains of another old church, with traces of a cemetery, said to have been formerly the parochial burial-place. There are several chalybeate and sulphureous springs in the parish.

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