Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

LUC
T. P. Poe; and Mount Pleasant, of E. Mac Farland, Esq.
On the river Liffey, and within the grounds of Weston
Park, is a salmon leap, from the Latin name of which,
“Saltus,” the barony of Salt derives its name; it con-
sists of a succession of rocky ledges, too extensive to
be cleared at one bound, and in passing over it the fish
consequently sustain great injury; it forms a beautiful
cascade, the picturesque effect of which is greatly in-
creased by the richly wooded banks of the river and
the tastefully embellished demesne of Leixlip castle. An
inquest was taken in the reign of Edw. II. to ascertain
to whom the right to the fish taken here belonged; and
another to enquire into the erection of certain weirs,
“obstructions to the boats passing to our good city of
Dublin with fish and timber.” The latter is supposed
to refer to a canal which at some very remote period
must have been carried along the bank of the Liffey.
In excavating the foundation for a mill, recently con-
structed at the salmon leap by Messrs. Reid and Co., the
masonry which formed part of the lock of a canal was
discovered; the sill of the lock is still to be seen, and
more masonry for the same purpose has been found
further down the river. At a later period a canal ap-
pears to have been formed along this line, as far as
Castletown, two miles above the salmon leap, by which,
according to tradition, coal was conveyed from Dublin
to that place, and of which some remains are still to be
seen. The flour-mills erected by Messrs. Reid and Co.
are capable of producing from 700 to 800 barrels weekly;
the water wheel is 28 feet in diameter, and in turning
5 pair of stones acts with a power equivalent to that of
60 or 70 horses.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin,
united to the vicarage of Leixlip, to the augmentation
of which the rectorial tithes were appropriated by act of
Wrn. III.: the tithes are included in the amount given
for Leixlip. A neat church with a tower and spire was
erected in the town in 1822, towards which the late
Board of First Fruits advanced £1100 on loan; and in
the same year a perpetual curacy was instituted here,
in the patronage of the Incumbent of Leixlip; the sti-
pend of the curate has been augmented with £20 per
ann. from Primate Boulter’s fund. In the R. C. divi-
sions the parish forms part of the union or district of
Palmerstown, Clondalkin, and Lucan; the chapel, a
very small edifice, is about to be rebuilt. There is a
place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists, erected in
1832. About 250 children are taught in two public
schools, of which the parochial school, with an infants’
school attached, was built and is supported by sub-
scription. The other is a national school. There are
three private schools, in which are about 70 chil-
dren. A poor-shop, with a lending library, and a
loan fund have been established; and a dispensary is
open to the poor of the neighbourhood. The vicinity
affords some highly interesting specimens of irregular
stratification of limestone, which occurs in parallel
layers separated by seams of decomposed calpe, dipping
uniformly at a small angle to the E. N. E. In a bank
on the left side of the Liffey, a few yards only above the
bridge, the strata become sinuous, forming curvatures
of nearly two-thirds of their respective circumferences;
and single slabs taken from the disturbed beds have an
arched outline, conforming to the general curvature of
the strata. At Canon Brook, for many years the resi-
322
LUL
dence of the late Mr. Gandon, architect, is a singular
cave, discovered by that gentleman; it consists of one
principal apartment and two side cells of smaller di-
mensions, curiously secured all round with stone, to
prevent the walls from falling in; many curious relics
of antiquity were found, consisting of celts, pieces of
bone curiously inscribed and sculptured, military wea-
pons of copper or bronze, and various others of more
recent date. The hill in which these apartments are
excavated is about 300 feet above the level of the vale,
and is called the Fort Hill, from its being crowned with
a fortification, the works of which are still in good pre-
servation. The monastery of St. Catherine, founded by
Waryn de Peche in 1220, though its endowment was
augmented by subsequent benefactors, was, on account
of its poverty, assigned, in 1323, to the abbey of St.
Thomas, Dublin; there are no remains. Opposite to
the gate of Col. Vesey’s demesne was a very ancient
and splendid cross, round the site of which it is still
the custom at R. C. funerals to bear the corpse previous
to interment. Above the modern bridge are some frag-
ments of an older structure, said to have been built in
the reign of John. Lucan gives the titles of baron and
earl to the family of Bingham.
LUDDENBEG, or LUDDON, a parish, in the ba-
rony of CLATMWILLIAM, county of LIMERICK, and pro-
vince of MUNSTER, 5½ miles (S. E. by S.) from Limerick,
on the old road to Cahirconlish; containing 837 inha-
bitants. It comprises 1183 statute acres of good land,
as applotted under the tithe act, of which about one-
half is in tillage: the substratum consists chiefly of
a mixture of basalt and limestone. It is in the dio-
cese of Emly: the rectory is impropriate in Viscount
Southwell, and the vicarage forms part of the union
of Cahirconlish. The tithes amount to £124, of which
£70 is payable to the impropriator, and the remain-
der to ‘the vicar. At Isertlaurence is a good glebe of
9 acres, and at Luddenbeg is another of 4½ acres. In
the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union
or district of Ballybricken, and has a small chapel at
Bohermore. At the foot of a gentle eminence are the
ruins of the old church, by some writers called an
abbey, on the walls of which are some figures rudely
sculptured in bas relief; and a little to the south stood
the castle of Luddenmore, a strong fortress, of which
scarcely a vestige can be traced.
LUKESWELL, a hamlet, in the parish of KILBEA-
CON, barony of KNOCKTOPHER, county of KILKENNY,
and province of LEINSTER, 5 miles (S.) from Knockto-
pher, on the road from Waterford to Kilkenny; con-
taining 10 houses and 53 inhabitants. It is situated
on the river Kilmacow, which has its source among the
“Welsh mountains,” in the vicinity.
LULLIAMORE, a parish, in the barony of CON-
NELL, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER,
4¾ miles (S. E.) from Edenderry, on the road from
Prosperous to Rathangan; containing 95 inhabitants,
and comprising 809 statute acres, as applotted under
the tithe act. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Kil-
dare, forming the corps of the prebend of Lulliamore,
and part of the union of Kilmague or Kilmaogue, in
the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to
£36. 1. 11. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the
union or district of Kildare and Rathangan. Lullia-
more is the property of Wm. Murphy, Esq.