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BALLYDEHOB, a
village, in the parish of SKULL, Western Division of the barony of WEST CARBERY,
county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 8 miles (W. S. W.) from Skibbereen;
containing 601 inhabitants. The village is situated on a new line of road,
formed by the Board of Works from Skibbereen to Rock island; and derives its
name from it position at the confluence of three streams, whose united waters
are crossed by a handsome stone bridge, below which they expand into a small but
secure haven, near the termination of Roaring Water bay. It consists of a long
and irregular street containing about 100 houses, some of which are large
and well built; and is rapidly increasing in size and importance, particularly
since the formation of the new road, which has made it a considerable
thoroughfare, aided by its propinquity to the copper mines of Cappach and the
slate quarries of Audsley's Cove and Filemuck, which renders it well adapted for
business. Fairs for horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and pedlery are held on
Jan. 1st, Feb. 2nd, March 12th, Easter Tuesday, Whit_Tuesday, June 29th, July
15th, Aug. 15th, Sept. 8th, Oct. 10th, Nov. 1st, and Dec. 8th. A penny post to
Skibbereen has been recently established; and here is a station of the
constabulary police. A chapel of ease was built in 1829 by the late Board of
First Fruits, at an expense of £600; it is a small handsome edifice, in the
early English style of architecture, without a tower. A large and handsome R. C.
chapel was also erected in 1826; and there is a place of worship for Wesleyan
Methodists. A school, in connection with the Kildare-Place Society, and another
at Liskeencreagh, are supported by the Cork Diocesan Association; and adjoining
the R. C. chapel is a large school for boys and girls, built in 1835 by the Rev.
J. Barry. Here is a dispensary, a branch to that at Skull, which see.
Ballyvourney
(1837)
BALLYVOURNEY, a parish in the barony of West Muskerry, county of Cork and
province of Munster, eight miles from Macroom; containing 3681 inhabitants. St.
Abban, who lived to a very advanced age and died in 650, founded a nunnery in
this place, which he gave to St. Gobnata, who was descended from O'Connor
the Great, Monarch of Ireland. Smith in the history of Cork, notices the church
of this establishment, but it has fallen into decay. The parish of which the
name signifies "the town of the beloved", is chiefly the
property of Sir Nicholas C. Colthurst, Bart; it is situated on the river
Sullane and on the road from Cork to Killarney and comprises 26,525 statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £6073.15 per annum.
The surface is very uneven, in some
parts rising into mountains of considerable elevation, the highest of which is
Mullaghanish: about one half is arable and pastureland with seventy acres of
woodland. Much of the land has been cultivated by means of a new line into
Macroom, which passes through the vale of Sullane and is now a considerable
thoroughfare; and great facilities of improvement have been afforded by other
new lines of road which have been made through the parish; but there are still
about 16,000 acres of rough pasture and moorland, which might be drained and
brought into a state of profitable cultivation. The River Sullane has its source
in the parish, on the mountains bordering on the county of Kerry and after
intersecting it longitudinally pursues an eastern course through the parish of
Clondrohid, to the town of Macroom, to the east of which, at the distance of a
mile, it discharges itself into the River Lee; there is also a lake called Lough
Ivoig. Fairs are held in May, July, September and November; and there is a
constabulary police station. The living is a rectory and a vicarage in the
diocese of Cloyne; part of the rectory is comprehended in the union of Clenore
and corps of the chancellorship of the cathedral of St Colman, Cloyne, and part
is united to the vicarage, forming the benefice of Ballyvourney, in the
patronage of the Bishop.
In
the Roman Catholic division, the parish is one of the three that constitute the
union or district of Kilnemartey; the chapel, a plain and spacious edifice, was
built in 1830. There are three daily pay-schools, in which are about seventy
boys and twenty girls. The ruins of the conventual church are very extensive and
interesting. In one of the walls is a head carved in stone, which is regarded
with much veneration. Near these ruins is a holy well, much resorted to on the
11th of February, the festival of Saint Gobnata, the patroness, and also on
whit-Monday; and near the well is a large stone with a circular basin or font
rudely excavated, the water from which is held sacred.
Blackrock
(1837)
BLACKROCK, a chapelry in the parish of St. Finbarr, County of Cork and
province of Munster, two miles from Cork City: the population is included in the
return of the parish. This place is beautifully situated on a peninsula bounded
on the east and north by the River Lee and on the south by Lough Mahon and the
Douglas channel. The castle was originally built in 1604 by the Lord
deputy Mountjoy, to protect the passage up the river from the harbour to the
city, and was subsequently vested in the corporation who held their courts of
admiralty in it and by whom, having been some years since destroyed by an
accidental fire, it was rebuilt in 1829 by a design from Messers Payne and is
now assigned to the Mayor of Cork as an occasional residence during his year of
office.
A
schoolhouse connected with St. Michael's chapel was erected in
Ballintemple in 1836; a school for boys was established in 1834, at an expense
of £160, of which two-thirds were contributed by the National Board, and the
remainder by J.Murphy, esq. of Ringmahon castle; and there is a school for girls
supported by subscription. Here is a dispensary and near Ballintemple are two
private lunatic asylums. Citadella, belonging to Joshua Bull, Esq., was
established by the late Dr. Halloran in 1798, and has secluded pleasure grounds
for the use of the patients. Lindville belongs to Br. Osborne and is pleasantly
situated in a demesne of 14 acres. A temperance society was established in 1835.
At the village of Ballintemple, situated on this peninsula, the Knights
Templars erected a large and handsome church in 1392, which after the
dissolution of that order was granted, with its possessions to Gill Abbey. At
what period it fell into decay is uncertain; the burial ground is still used.
There are fragments of some ancient towers at Dundanion and Ring-Mahon, but
nothing of their history is known.
Blackrock
(1842)
BLACKROCK, a chapelry, in the parish of ST. FINBARR, county of the city of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2¼ miles (E. S. E.) from Cork: the population is included in the return for the parish. This place is beautifully situated on an peninsula bounded on the north and east by the river Lee, and on the south by Lough Mahon and the Douglas channel. The castle was originally built in 1604 by the Lord-Deputy Mountjoy, to protect the passage up the river from the harbour to the city, and was subsequently vested in the corporation, who held their courts of admiralty in it, and by whom, having been some years since destroyed by an accidental fire, it was rebuilt in 1829, from a design by Messrs. Pain, and is now assigned to the mayor of Cork as an occasional residence during his year of office. It is situated on a limestone rock projecting into the river, and consists of one bold circular tower of hewn limestone, containing a small banqueting room, from which there is a fine view over the river: from this tower springs a small turret rising to a considerable elevation and displaying from the upper part of it two brilliant lights; and attached to it is a water gate, with some low embattled buildings in the rear, which harmonise well with the principal feature of the castle. Numerous advantages resulting from its proximity to Cork, the beauty of its situation, the salubrity of its climate, and the excellent accommodations for bathing, have rendered this one of the most desirable places of residence in the South of Ireland. It has a penny post to Cork, and the railroad from Cork to Passage will, if carried into effect, pass through the village. The scenery is of the most varied and pleasing character, exhibiting numerous elegant villas and cottages, with lawns, gardens, and plantations reaching down to the margin of the Lee, which is here a noble expanse of water more than a mile broad, constantly enlivened by steam-boats and other vessels. Among the principal seats are Dundanion Castle, that of Sir T. Deane, Knt.; Beaumont, of W. Beamish, Esq., a noble mansion consisting of a centre and two wings, with two conservatories, situated in tastefully arranged grounds; Lakelands, of W. Crawford, Esq., Clifton, of J. Moore Travers, Esq.; Ring-Mahon Castle, of J. Murphy, Esq.; Besborough, of Ebenezer Pike, Esq.; Cleve Hill, of S. Perrott, Esq.; Castlemahon, of Sir W. A. Chatterton, Bart.; Ferney, of J. H. Manley, Esq.; Filtrim, of W. Fagan, Esq.; Ashton, of J. Cotter, Esq.; Prospect, of Cardenerry, Esq.; Rochelle, of T. W. Topp, Esq.; Carrigdure, of R. Nutter, Esq.; Sans Souci, of R. B. Shaw, Esq.; Carrigduve, of G. Sherlock, Esq.; Chiplee, of P. Maylor, Esq.; Ballinure House, of W. Crofts, Esq.; Lakeview House, of Miss Allen; Webbe Ville, of the Rev. C. Tuthill; Mary Ville, of J. Lindsay, Esq.; Lakeview, of P. Kearney, Esq.; Templeville, of M. Murphy, Esq.; Rose Hill, of G. P. Rogers, Esq.; Lakeview, of W. Prettie Harris, Esq.; Temple Hill, of R. Hall, Esq.; Rosetta, of G. Frend, Esq.; Dean Ville, of J. Mac Muller, Esq.; Knockrea, of A. W. Webb, Esq.; Barnstead, of the Rev. W. R. Nash; Midsummer Lodge, of Miss Jones; Clover Hill, of C. Connell, Esq.; North Cliffe, of J. Mac Donnell, Esq.; Prospect Lodge, of C. Terry Crofts, Esq.; Flower Lodge, of R. Mac Mullen, Esq.; Rockville Cottage, of J. Cogan, Esq.; Clifton Cottage, of F. C. Cole, Esq.; and Rock Cottage, of M. Smith, Esq. Besides these seats there are numerous villas which are let during the summer. The land is naturally very fertile, and is for the most part enclosed in lawns, gardens, and pleasure grounds; the rest, deriving from its contiguity to Cork an abundant supply of rich manures, and having the advantage of inexhaustible quarries of limestone and plenty of sea sand, is in a high state of cultivation, and supplies the Cork market with a large proportion of its vegetables. The substratum is limestone of excellent quality, which is extensively quarried for various purposes. Between the fissures of the rocks, near its junction with the clay slate, are found numerous amethystine crystals, some of which are very large and clustery, and all are beautifully coloured; one specimen in the Cork Royal Institution weighs more than 40lb.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, serves as a chapel of ease to the cathedral church of St. Finbarr, Cork, and was built in 1827, at an expense of £2100, of which £9000 was given by the late Board of First Fruits, £100 by the corporation of Cork, and the remainder, with the exception of a few local subscriptions and the sale of pews, was defrayed by the dean and chapter, who appoint and pay the curate. It is a handsome edifice of hewn limestone, in the later style of architecture, with a tower crowned with battlements and pinnacles, and surmounted by a spire 60 feet high, which, with part of the tower and the western portion of the nave, was destroyed by lightning on Jan. 28th, 1836, but has been restored by aid of a grant of £310 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The R. C. chapel, erected in 1821, is a large and handsome building, and is a chapel of ease to the parochial chapel of St. Finbarr, or the South chapel: it was begun at the private expense of the late Dean Collins, aided by a subscription of £300, and was complete and elegantly fitted up by means of a bequest of £1100 from the late T. Rochford, Esq., of Garretstown, part of which, in 1834, was expended in the erection of a house for the officiating priest near the chapel. An Ursuline convent was removed hither from Cork, in 1825: it was founded in 1771, by the late Miss Honora Nagle, whose portrait is in the visiting room, and is the original of all the institutions of this class founded in Ireland. The community consists of 35 professed nuns and 6 lay sisters, and is governed by a superioress, her deputy, and a council of six. At this institution many of the daughters of the R. C. gentry are instructed; and in a separate building about 100 poor girls are gratuitously taught and partially clothed. The convent has a demesne of 42 acres, and is an ornamental building, consisting of a centre and two wings, with a frontage of 350 feet. The chapel, which is in the east wing, is fitted up with simple elegance and ornamented with four Ionic pilasters supporting a pediment, on the apex of which is a cross, and at each of the other angles a vase. It contains a neat monument to the Rev. Dr. Lyons, who was many years chaplain to the convent. A school-house connected with St. Michael's chapel was erected at Ballintemple in 1836; a school for boys was built in 1834, at an expense of £160, of which two-thirds were contributed by the National Board, and the remainder by J. Murphy, Esq., or Ring-Mahon Castle; and there is a school for girls, supported by subscription. Here is a dispensary, and near Ballintemple are two private lunatic asylums. Cittadella, belonging to Joshua Bull, Esq., was established by the late Dr. Hallaran, in 1798, and has secluded pleasure grounds for the use of the patients. Lindville belongs to Dr. Osborne, and is pleasantly situated in a demesne of 14 acres. A temperance society was established in 1835. At the village of Ballintemple, situated on this peninsula, the Knights Templars erected a large and handsome church in 1392, which, after the dissolution of that order, was granted, with its possessions, to Gill abbey. At what period it fell into decay is uncertain; the burial ground is still used. There are fragments of some ancient towers at Dundanion and Ring-Mahon, but nothing of their history is known.
BLARNEY, a village, in the parish of GARRYCLOYNE, barony of EAST MUSKERRY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N. W. by W.) from Cork, containing 417 inhabitants, It is situated on a river of the same name, over which is a handsome bridge of three arches, on the road from Cork to Kanturk, and comprises 57 houses, which are small but well built and slated. The noted castle of Blarney was built in 1446, by Cormac McCarthy, surnamed Laidir, who was descended in a direct line from the hereditary kings of Desmond or South Munster, and was equally distinguished by his extraordinary strength and feats of chivalry as by elegance and grace both of body and mind. It is situated on an isolated rock of limestone rising boldly over the junction of the rivers Blarney and Comane, and is the third castle occupying the site: the rise was rather a hunting post of Dermot McCarthy, King of South Munster, and was built of timber; the second was built in the year 1200, and the present structure was raised on its foundations, which are still visible. In the reign of Elizabeth it was the strongest fortress in Munster, and at different periods withstood regular sieges, but was treacherously taken by Lord Broghill in 1646, and the army of King William demolished all the fortifications, leaving only the tower remaining. Donogh McCarthy, who commanded the forces of Munster, was first summoned to parliament in the reign of Elizabeth by the title of Baron of Blarney; and Chas. II., in 1638, conferred the title of Earl of Clancarthy on the head of this family, the last of whom was dispossessed after the siege of Limerick; and the estate, comprising all Muskerry, was forfeited to the crown for the earl's adherence to the cause of Jas. II. On the sale of the forfeited lands in 1692, the Hollow Sword Blade Company purchased all the land around this place, and more than 3000 acres in the parish were allotted to a member of the Company, and are now held by his descendant, George Putland, Esq., of Dublin. Justin McCarthy, of Carrignavar, the only lineal descendant of that family, holds a part of the ancient inheritance. The castle was purchased in 1701 by Sire James Jefferyes, governor of Cork, who son after erected a large and handsome house in front of it, which was the family residence for many years, but is now a picturesque ruin. The top of the castle commands a very fine view over a rich undulating tract intersected by the rivers Blarney, Comane, and Scorthonac, and bounded on the north-west by the lofty chain of the Boggra mountains. On the east is the Comane bog, many years since an impenetrable wilderness, and the last receptacle for wolves in this part of the country: that river, which takes its name from its serpentine course, flows through the bog and joins the river Blarney under the walls of the castle; and their united waters receive a considerable accession from the Scorthonac, a rapid stream which rises in the Boggra mountains. The interest which both natives and strangers take in the castle arises more from a tradition connected with a stone in its north-eastern angle, about 20 feet from the top, than from any other circumstance: this stone, which bears an inscription in Latin recording the erection of the fortress, is called the "Blarney stone," and has given rise to the well known phrase of "Blarney," in reference to the notion that, if any one kisses it, he will ever after have a cajoling tongue and the art of flattery or of telling lies with unblushing effrontery. Few, however, venture upon this ceremony, from the danger in being lowered down to the stone by a rope from an insecure battlement 132 feet high. The "groves of Blarney" are of considerable extent and very interesting; and beneath the castle are some spacious natural caves, one of which was converted into a dungeon by some of its early proprietors: it is entered by a very strong door, near which is a solitary window scarcely admitting a ray of light, and there are several massive iron rings and bolts yet remaining. Stalactites and stalagmites of beautiful formation and very compact are found in these caves.
The village, though now of little importance, was once the most thriving in the county, and between the years 1765 and 1782, when the linen manufacture was carried on, had not less than 13 mills in operation, erected by St. John Jefferyes, Esq., at an expense of about £20,000. The cotton trade was afterwards introduced and flourished for a time, but has decayed; and the only establishments now in operation are a spinning-mill belonging to M. Mahony, Esq., in which about 120 persons are employed in spinning and dyeing woollen yarn for the extensive camlet manufactory in Cork; and a paper-mill, erected by G. Jenkins, Esq., which employs about 170 persons. St. John Jefferyes, Esq., the proprietor of the village, has it in contemplation to rebuild it on an enlarged and improved plan. Just above it stands the parish church, which was repaired and enlarged in 1835, and is a very neat edifice. Fairs are held on Sept. 18th and Nov. 11th; here is a station of the constabulary police; and petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays. A national school, capable of accommodating 500 children, was built in 1836, at an expense of £300, of which the Commissioners gave £90, the parishioners £11, and the Rev. M. Horgan, P.P., gave the remainder; and there is a dispensary. -- See GARRYCLOYNE.
Buttervant
(1837)
BUTTERVANT, a post-town and parish in the barony of Orrery and Kilmore,
County of Cork and province of Munster, 22 miles from Cork and 121 from Dublin,
containing 5535 inhabitants, of which number 1536 are in the town. The parish
which is situated on the River Awbeg and is on the road from Mallow to
Charleville, was anciently named Bothon and was said to have derived its name
from the exclamation "boutez en avant", push forward, used by David de
Barry, its proprietor, to animate his men in a contest with the MacCarthys,
which was subsequently adopted as the family motto by the Earls of Barrymore,
who derived their title of Viscount from this place. It appears to have attained
considerable importance at an early period after the first invasion, from the
notices of it, which occur in ancient records still existing.
The town is situated on the banks of the River Awbeg, over which are two
bridges, one on the old and one on the modern road from Cork to Limerick; it
consists principally of one main street extending along the mail coach road and
in 1831 contained 204 houses. Immediately adjoining on the north-west, are the
barracks, an extensive range of buildings, occupying a spacious enclosed area of
nearly twenty-three statute acres, divided into two quadrangles by the central
range in which is an archway surmounted by a cupola and affording communication
between them.
The ruins of the abbey are finely situated on the steep bank of the river
Awbeg, and consist chiefly of the walls of the nave, chancel and some portions
of the domestic buildings; the upper part of the central tower, supported on
arches of light and graceful elevation fell down in 1814; the tomb of the
founder, David de Barry, is supposed to be the centre of the chancel but is
marked only by some broken stones which appear to have formed an enclosure.
Near the centre of the town are the remains of Lombard's Castle, a
quadrangular building flanked at each angle, by a square tower, one of which is
in nearly perfect condition, and with a portion of the castle, has been
converted into a dwelling house. At Lisgriffin are the ruins of an ancient
castle of the family of Barry. Some remains of the old town walls may yet be
traced; and in a burial ground at Templemary are the remains of an ancient
church or chapel. The title of Viscount Buttevant, conferred on the Barry family
in 1406, has been dormant since the death of the last Earl of Barrymore, but is
now claimed by James Redmond Barry, Esq., of Glandore in the county of Cork.
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