Nick Reddan – Genealogist

Under this head very little can be noticed, as there are no indications of mines or minerals of any kind,unless indeed limestone be excepted, of which there are some bery fine quarries. It forms the substratum of the hills already described.

III. Modern Buildings &c.

The parish does not contain any public buildings, such as workhouses or infirmaries. An excellent slate house near the church has been lately buitl for the parish clertk, by general subscription of the gentlemen of the country, as a reward to him for shooting the leader of a banditti, which disturbed this neighbourhood in the year 1800. They assembled in large parties at night, mounted on horseback, and severely flogged those obnoxious to them, making farmers around comply with certain injunctions, and obliging them to have horses ready bridled and saddled at a certain hour everynight. These they abused very much by riding them constantly till morning. The captain of one of these parties named HOARD, coming one night to the house of FLOOD the clerk, demanded entrance, which FLOOD refused, remonstrating strongly at the same time, on the impropriety of such conduct. But as HOWARD persisted in his determination, FLOOD shot him dead on the spot; on which his party went off, leaving behind the dead body of their leader. In consequence of this, the country has never since been disturbed. FLOOD also received one hundred pounds from the Government, for his spirited conduct.

The high road from Limerick to Hospital, (famous for its horse fairs,) passes through Herbertstown, a long village consisting of thatched houses.

About a quarter of a mile to the west of the Glebe-house, but on the opposite side of the Comogue, and near the high road between Cork and Limerick, is the very beautiful and highly improved seat of Standish O'GRADY, Esq. And about a mile north of this, is Balinnaguard, the fine and extensive demise of Edward CROKER, Esq. It is highly ornamented with extensive plantations of aged oak, ash, beech, and elm.

IV. Ancient Buildings, &c.

On the opposite bank of the river, near the glebe-house of Balingoola, are the remains of a small abbey, called Little Friarstown. About four miles to the west of this, on the banks of the same river, are the ruins of a very large and magnificent building, called in Irish, Monister-a-Nenagh, or Monastery of the Friars. Mr ARCHDALL, in his Monasticon Hibernicum, gives a fine description of it, and says, there were two great battles fought near it, in one of which the Irish were totally defeated by the then Lord Deputy commanding the English forces, but in the second the Irish were victorious, and many English officers and soldiers were slain. A gentleman who lived near this abbey, on making a trench in onee of the fields adjoining, found a vast quantity of human bones promiscuously thrown together, which probably were the remains of those slain in these battles.

Near Balinguard is Rockstown Castle, built on a hill within two miles of Balingoola; at a short distance gfrom which place, are also the castles of Cahireely, Ballybricken, Skule, Williamstown, Rathmore, Glenogna, Kilpeacon, Lic-a-doon, Ballygrennan, Knockany, and Baggotstown. In the church is abeautiful monument belonging to the CROKER family, with the following inscription.

In Ralieghstown are the remains of an ancient building, defended at its four angles by four small square towers. It is not known by whom it was erected, but from the window frames and flankers, its date seems to be about the reign of Elizabeth or James I.

On the summit of the hills, mentioned in Sec. I are the remains of a kind of fortress or watch tower, from which stone walls seem to have extended in different directions, they have been connected by other walls, and these again fortified by small triangular buildings. They extend four or five miles, and seem to have been a strongly fortified Danish settlement.

In one of the islands of Lough-Gun, on the side nearest the land, stands a strong castle nearly perfect; on another side, at the termination of a causway, are the fine ruins of what the inhabitants call Black Castle. A small island in the middle of the lake was also strongly fortified, and the English troops were much annoyed from it at a different period of time, on their march between Cork and Limerick, as the old road between these places passes near it. These castles, if the tradition deserves credit, were built by the Lords of Desmond, one of whom, as related by the Abbé MC GEORGHEGAN in his history of Ireland, fought a desparate battle with the BUTLER family, but being defeated, he fled to his fortress in the lake of Gun, in the county of Limerick.

Near the lake are three stone circles, whether Druidical places of worship, or Scythian, introduced by the Danes, is doubtful. On the top of one of the highest hills adjoiniing the lake, called Knockfennel, is a Danish mound, and also a Cromleach. In one side of this hill which I very steep, and near the su,,it, is a deep cave called the foxes' den, to which some persons implicated in the rebellion of 1798, retired every night for fear of being arrested, if they slept in their own houses. Nearly opposite to this, in the island of Knock-a-doon, is a very large and deep cave, called red celler.

The middling classes speak English; the lower classes generally Irish. They are attentive and friendly to each other when sober. Their place of worship is at Herbertstown, at which they regularly attend both on Sundays and Holydays. After prayers many of them betake themselves to the different houses that retail spirrtis and beer, several of which the vilage contains; here they regale themselves and their friends, often continuingingg in them till night, and they seldom separate without fighting. They constantly fight at fairs, hurling matches, and race-courses; nay, oftentimes at their chapels,though their clergy do all in their power to prevent it, both by exhortation and ecclesiastical censures.

In this parish, and indeed in all those around it, assemblages are held on the tops of the highest hillson every St. John's eve, when they light up clears, which are bundles of straw tied on long poles, and as all the most elevated places for forty miles around appear one blase of fire, the effect is very brilliant. It is a pagan custom, and is conjectured to have been a mode of worship paid to the heathen diety Baal, as the irish at this day call the 1st of May "La Baal tine," that is, "the day of Baal's fire."

VII. The Education and Employment of Children, &c.

This parish, as has already said, is united to the small parish of Kilkellane: the ancestors of Lord Kenmare presented it, but since the revolution, it has been the gift of the Government. The glebe-house was built by one of the CROKER family, who gave it together with eight acres of land to the church; at an annual rent of £14 sterling.

The impropriate tythes belong to Edward CROKER of Balinnaguard, Esq. The tythe has not encreased much in this parish, in consequence of a penalty of £10 for every acre turned up, over and above a certain number allowed by lease. For the tythe of potatoes, flax, wheat, and barly, the farmers pay on an average of ten shillings per acre, for meadows six, and for oats eight: the tythe for sheep is seldom demanded. Eight guineas per acre was paid by the present incumbent, for some meadow in this parish, which he had occasioned to take. For the tythe of these meadows the ususl price was paid, which is the one thirtieth part instead of the tenth. The farmers made thirty pounds per acre by their wheat last year, clear of all expenses. They paid as usual ten shillings per acre tythe, which is but one sixtieth:here therefore is no extraction in the collection. This is the node not only for Cahircorney, but also in sixteen parishes around it, with all of which the writer is well acquainted. The tythe is never asked for, nor paid in kind.

IX. Modes of Agriculture, Crops, &c.

The farmers generally meadow the low ground in this parish. They cultivate all kinds of grain, flax and potatoes. About the village of Herbertstown in particular, they raise a large quantity of flax, which when dressed they carry to the counties Kilkenny and Waterfordto sell. For the ground on which they raies it, they pay twelve guineas per acre, for which they take two crops, first of potatoes, the second of flax.

The lands have been leased for the last ten years on an average of five pounds per acre. The old takes are set at very moderate rents. The parish is divided into farms, containing from 100 to 10 acres. The land is extremely rich. The first crop is potatoes; the second wheat or flax;then barley or oats: of the latter they can raise many crops, and this without any manure. A large field in this parish had been turned up for potatoes, which gave a crop of very fine flax the following year; they then let it run into heart three years, then turned it up for potatoes and flax again, never putting any kind of manure during the whole time.

X. Trade, Manufactures, Commerce, &c.

As this is an inland country, little can be said with respect to commerce or navigation; nor is there any domestic spinning or weaving carried out in the parish.

X1. Natural Curiosities, remarkable Ocurrences, &c.

Whatever relates to any of these heads has been alc\ready taken notice of in the preceding sections.

List of Incumbents, from the First Fruits' Records.

Ecclin. De Carkorney, rect. impropriat. Vic. Ibm. Donaldus MC FEIG.

Richus MAYNE admiss. 29o, Junii 1638, per presentat. Johannis BROWNE, mil. Ad vicar. De Cahircorney et Kilkellan, 3l. 13s.2d.

Georgius BRICE admiss. Fuit 17o, die April, 1661, ad vicar, de Ballynord, Kilfrush, Kilkillan, Cahircorney, Any, Ballymonamore, Ballynloghy, et Dunmoore, als Knocklong, com Tipperary, et Dioc. Predict.

Constantin. KIEFFE, cler. Admiss. Fuit 12o, die Julii, 1681, ad vicarias de Cahircorney, et Kilcullane dioc. Imolacen. et com. Limerick.

Alphonsus CULLEN, collat. Fuit 20o, die Julii, 1681, ad vicariam de Cahircorney et Killcullane, com Limerick.

Henry BAYLY, A.M. Vicar Cahircorney and Kilkellane, 27 Jan. 1758, co. Limerick.

Thomas RYAN, V Cahircorney et Kilkelane 9 Aug. 1769, Limerick.

Patrick FITZGERALD, collated and instituted 8th October, 1807, V. Cahircorney et Kilkellane, vice Thomas RYAN, who eld from 9th of August 1769, and vacated by death, 10th June, 1807.

XII. Suggestions for Improvement, and Means for meliorating the Condition of the People

The people are improving rapidly in manners and dress; their houses are in general comfortable and clean; their farms well stocked and cultivated. There are few prone to drink; none to disaffection. They are much attached to their own clergy and religion, yet highly respectful and attantive to those of the established church, and greatly gratifiied when they walk with or talk familiarly to them.

Their greta fault is their propensity to fighting; but time will do away with this, as the people are becoming more sober and industrious, the magistrates more active, and the clergy more instructive. The parish of Cahircorney has many advantages; there is a large and fine mill at Ballingoola, where all the oats raised in this and the adjoining parishes are readily brought up. It is intersected by excellent roads, and is within eight miles of Limerick, and four of the market town of Bruff; yet its want of fuel is a great check on the encrease of its population, and the penalty already mentioned on that of its agriculture. The latter of these could be removed by the liberality of the landlord. The use of coal, which could behad on easy terms from Limerick, (particularly if the river Maigue were rendered navigable, which might be done,) would do away the impediment to the former.

Appendix.

Townlands of Cahircorney

Kilkellane parish is the estate of the present Chief Baron O'GRADY —

Cahircorney that of Edward CROKER of Ballinaguard, Esq.

Annual produce for 1813.