KILLORGLIN, a parish, chiefly in the barony of TRUGHENACKMY,
county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, but partly in the barony of
DUNKERRON, partly in MAGONIHY, 3 miles (S. W.) from Milltown,
on the road from Tralee to Cahirciveen; containing
7919 inhabitants, of which number, 893 are in the village.
The Moriarty family anciently possessed this
district, from which they were expelled by McCarty-
More. It was subsequently the property of the Fitzgeralds,
who bestowed the castle and manor on the Knights
Templars: on the dissolution of that order it reverted to
the Fitzgeralds, by whom it was forfeited in the Desmond
rebellion, when it was granted by Queen Elizabeth
to Capt. Conway, after whom it is sometimes called
Castle-Conway. It is now the property of the noble
family of Mullins. Including a detached portion, called
the West Fractions, it comprises 7129 statute acres,
of which 7006 are applotted under the tithe act, and
valued at £2738 per annum. The soil is light and
gravelly, and chiefly under tillage: agriculture is improving,
and there is a considerable quantity of bog and
limestone. There is a small flour-mill at Menus. The
river Laune divides the parish into two nearly equal
parts: it contains fine salmon, and is navigable for vessels
of 180 tons near to the village, which is a short
distance from its mouth. The village comprises 163
houses, and close to it is a bridge on the great line of
road. It exports corn and salmon, and imports iron,
timber, and salt. Fairs are held on Aug. 11th and Nov.
19th; the former is called Puck Fair, at which unbroken
Kerry ponies, goats, &c., are sold, and a male goat is
sometimes ornamented and paraded about the fair. It
has a penny post to Cahirciveen, Tralee, and Newcastle;
it is a constabulary police station, and has petty sessions
monthly. A manorial court is held occasionally, for the
recovery of debts under 40s.: the manor is nearly coextensive
with the parish, comprising 6l70½ statute
acres, and descended from Capt. Conway to the Blennerhassett
family, from which it was purchased, in 1797,
by Lord Ventry. The romantic glen of the river Cara is
on the western border of this parish. The principal
seats are Annagarry, the residence of R. Blennerhasset,
Esq.; Ardmoniel Cottage, of R. Rae, Esq.; Clifton
Cottage, of F. S. Walker, Esq.; Altavilla, of J. Morrogh,
Esq.; and Annadale, of C. Colter, Esq. The living
is a rectory, in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and in
the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £645,
of which £400 is payable to the rector, and the remainder
to the Mullins family, in whom the tithes of the
manor are impropriate. The church is a plain structure
with a square tower, erected on land given by the late
Rev. F. Mullins, and for the building of which the late
Board of First Fruits gave £800, in 1816. There is a
glebe-house, with a glebe of 11 acres. In the R. C.
divisions this parish is the head of a union or district,
including also the whole of Knockane, except Glencare,
and has a chapel built on an acre of land given by the
late Lord Ventry, and lately much improved and ornamented.
Here is a meeting-house for Methodists.
About 60 children are educated in a charity school,
and about 200 in private schools. At Droumavalley
are the ruins of an old church, to which a large burialground
is attached; and there are remains of the old
church of Killorglin at Dungeel, also extensive remains
of the castle of the Knights Templars, which till lately
was inhabited.
K1LLOSCULLY, a parish, in the barony of OWNEY
and ARRA, county of TIPPERARY, and province of
MUNSTER, 3 miles (E. N. E.) from Newport, on the
road from Dudley to Limerick; containing 2993 inhabitants.
It comprises 7340 statute acres, as applotted
under the tithe act; the surface is very mountainous,
including the Keeper mountain, the loftiest of the range,
the base and sides of which afford tolerably good pasturage,
and within the last few years the lower part has
been planted. To the south-east of it rises the river
Newport, which passes northward through the vale of
Glencolloo to Kilvolane, in its course giving motion to
several mills. There are other mountains also in the
parish, affording tolerable pasturage. The lands have
been lately much improved by draining; and a large
drain has been constructed by Lord Bloomfield, in order
to get access to a fine bed of marl, which affords a valuable
manure. There are several bogs, in which has been
found timber of large growth, lying horizontally at a
depth of from 10 to 20 feet below the surface. On Lord
Bloomfield's property is an extensive quarry, from
which the stone for building several houses on the estate
has been raised; a vein of copper ore has also been
discovered, but has not yet been worked; and slates
of good quality for roofing have been quarried, but not
to any great extent. The only seat at present is Green
Hall, the residence of H. White, Esq.; but Lord Bloomfield
is building a handsome lodge, in the Elizabethan
style, which commands many fine views, and has laid
out an extensive nursery, from which considerable
plantations have been made on the surrounding mountains.
The parish is in the diocese of Cashel, and is a
rectory and vicarage, forming part of the union of Kilnerath,
or St. John's, Newport: the tithes amount to
£323. 1. 6. The church, a neat edifice, for the erection
of which the late Board of First Fruits gave £900, and
to which Lord Bloomfield also contributed, was built in
1829, near the Keeper mountain. In the R. C. divisions
it forms part of the union or district of Ballinahinch,
and has a neat chapel with a school-house adjoining.
A school-house, in which 20 children are
taught, has been lately built on the townland of Drumban,
by Lord Bloomfield, and is supported by his lordship:
and there are two private schools, in which are
about 140 children. In the marl-pits have been found
the fossil remains of the elk, or moose deer, of very
large dimensions, some of which have been preserved
entire, and are to be seen at Laughton House.