MOURNE, or MOURNE-ABBEY, also called BALLINAMONA,
a parish, partly in the barony of FERMOY,
partly in that of EAST-MUSKERRY, but chiefly in that of
BARRETTS, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER,
S¾ miles (S.) from Mallow, on the mail road to Cork;
containing 4148 inhabitants. It was anciently called
Temple-Michael, from a preceptory of the. Knights
Templars, founded here in the reign of King John, by
an Englishman named Alexander de St. Helena, which,
on the suppression of that order in Ireland, in 1307,
was granted to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem,
commonly called the Knights Hospitallers; and on the
general dissolution of religious houses, its possessions
were granted to Cormae McTeige McCarthy. His descendants,
who retained these possessions until they
were forfeited in the civil war of 1641, were styled
"The Masters of Mourne." In 1571, a sanguinary
battle was fought here between the forces of James,
Earl of Ormonde, and those of Cormae Oge McCartie, in
which the former were defeated with the loss of above
1000 men; and John and Gerald, two brothers of the
Earl, were taken prisoners. By an inquisition taken at
Cork in 1584, it appears that this place was an ancient
corporate and walled town, destroyed in the reign of
Edw. IV. by Murrough O'Brien, who appeared in arms
against the government, and destroyed several towns in
Munster. The parish, which is bounded on the west by
the river Clydagh, in its course to the Blackwater, comprises
11,061 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe
act, and valued at £10,675.7.4. per annum, of which
about 4000 acres are arable, about 3500 pasture, and the
remainder, with the exception of about 75 acres of woodland,
consists of mountain and waste, a large portion of
which is reclaimable: the state of agriculture is gradually
improving. Slate of a rough quality is found at Carrigduff,
and was formerly worked to some extent. Fairs
are held at Ballinamona on Whit-Monday, Aug. 21st,
and Dec. 5th, for cattle and pigs. At Quartertown are
two extensive flour-mills, worked by the river Clydagh.
The northern part of the parish, containing the townlands
of Gortnagrague and Quartertown, is within the jurisdiction
of the manorial court of Mallow, held every three
weeks by the seneschal of C. D. O. Jephson, Esq., lord of
the manor. The seats are Quartertown, the residence of
J. D. Croker, Esq.; Harrietville, of the Rev. J. Lombard,
commanding a picturesque view of the town of Mallow;
and Rock vale House, the recently erected mansion of
S. G. Beamish, Esq. The late Lord Muskerry built, a
splendid mansion in the vicinity, on which he is said to
have expended upwards of £30,000; but before it was
inhabited, it was taken down, and the materials sold; the
foundations still remain. The living is a rectory and
vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, and in the patronage of
the Crown. The tithes amount to £553. 16.11.: there is
a glebe of 5½ acres near the town of Castle-Lyons, 14
miles distant. The church, situated at Ballinamona, is a
small plain building, with a square tower: it has lately
undergone a temporary repair, but has been condemned
by the provincial architect, and will probably soon be
rebuilt. In the R. C. divisions the greater part of the
parish forms the head of the union or district of Ballinamona,
comprising also the parish of Grenagh and
part of Rahan, and containing the chapels of Burnfort,
Monaparson, and Grenagh: the remainder is included
in the Mallow district. It is in contemplation to
erect a new chapel at Ballinamona. The parochial
school, of about 50 children, is partly supported by the
rector, under whose superintendence a Sunday school is
also held; and there is a private school of about 60
children. The extensive, but now uninteresting ruins of
Mourne Abbey, stand between the old and new roads
from Cork to Mallow; they appear to have been surrounded
by a high walled enclosure, the angles of which
were defended by strong bastions. The skeleton of the
church, said to have been 180 feet long, still remains,
but destitute of the mouldings and other ornamental
parts of the masonry. On the summit of a ridge on
the opposite side of the Clydagh, which here separates
the baronies of Muskerry and Barretts, is Castlemore,
an ancient ruined structure of gloomy appearance, with
a tower attached: it was built by the Barretts, and long
continued the chief residence of the head of that family.
In a sequestered valley in the southern part of the
parish are the picturesque ruins of the ancient church
of Kilquane. On removing the foundations of the old
church at Ballinamona, for the erection of the present
one, a large spur and an ancient spear were discovered.
At Quartertown is a mineral spring.