Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

MAC
are some slight remains of the old church at Lynn, and
also of an ancient castle, formerly the residence of
the Swift family, and there are numerous raths in
the parish.
LYONS, a parish, in the barony of SOUTH SALT,
county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles
(S.) from Celbridge; containing 158 inhabitants. This
parish, which is situated on the Grand Canal, comprises
1904 statute acres, of which about 160 are woodland,
and the remainder divided in nearly equal portions
between pasture and tillage. The soil is fertile and
the system of agriculture improved, and there is a
very small portion of waste land. Lyons Castle, the
splendid seat of Lord Cloncurry, takes its name from
an ancient town and castle which were destroyed in
the war of 1641; of the former there are no traces,
and of the latter, only one of the principal towers,
which, with the remains of the ancient church, forms an
interesting feature in his Lordship’s demesne. The
present structure is a castellated mansion of granite,
consisting of a spacious centre connected by semicir-
cular colonnades with a stately pavilion at each extrem-
ity: the interior contains many superb apartments, of
which some are beautifully embellished in fresco by
Gabrielli, an artist brought from Rome by his Lordship
for that purpose; and in addition to the numerous
antiques and choice works of art with which his lord-
ship’s collection is enriched, one of the pavilions is
appropriated as a gallery of statuary and sculpture by
the first masters, as a study for native artists. The
demesne, which is very extensive and tastefully laid out,
includes the hill of Castlewarden, on which are the
remains of an ancient fortification; and nearly in the
centre is a picturesque lake. A constabulary police
force is stationed here. The parish is in the diocese of
Kildare, and is a rectory, forming part of the union of
Kill; the tithes amount to £76. 16. 6. In the R. C.
divisions it is part of the union or district of Kill and
Lyons; the chapel, a neat plain building, erected in
1810, is embellished with a bronze crucifix, 2½ feet high,
given by Pope Pius VII. to Lord Cloncurry, and
together with an elegant font of white marble brought
from Rome, presented by his Lordship to the chapel.
There is a national school, in which about 90 children
are taught, under the patronage of Lord Cloncurry.
M
MACDARA, an island, in the parish of MOYRUS,
barony of BALLYNAHINCH, county of GALWAY, and
province of CONNAUGHT, 15 miles (S.) from Clifden, on
the western coast: the population is returned with the
parish. It comprises about 29 statute acres, and con-
tains the ruins of an ancient stone-roofed church or
chapel, which is traditionally said to have been the
residence of the patron saint of Connemara.
MACETOWN, a parish, in the barony of SKREEN,
county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4½ miles
(N. E.) from Dunshaughlin, and near the road from
Ratoath to Navan; containing 419 inhabitants It
comprises 1572¾ statute acres, as applotted under the
326
MAC
tithe act; the land is of medium quality. It is a cha-
pelry, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union
of Kilmessan: the rectory is impropriate in the Mar-
quess of Drogheda. The tithes amount to £68, or
which £58 is payable to the impropriator, and £10 to
the incumbent. In the R. C. divisions it is part of the
union or district of Skryne. Here are the ruins of an
ancient castle.
MACLONEIGH, a parish, in the barony of WEST
MUSKERRY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER,
2 miles (S.) from Macroom; containing 1520 inhabitants.
It is bounded on the north by the river Lee, and com-
prises 3826 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe
act, and valued at £2876 per ann.: in some places the
soil is deep and loamy, in others inclined to stiff clay,
and in others light and friable; about two-thirds of the
land are under tillage, and the remainder consists of
rough mountain pasture and bog, of which latter there
is a considerable portion near the river; agriculture is
in a very backward state, the old heavy wooden plough
being still used, and much of the land is cultivated with
the spade. The seats are Castleview, the residence of P.
Ronayne, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. R. J.
Roothe. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Cork, forming
part of the union of Kilmichael: the tithes amount to
£250. The glebe-house, a neat mansion, stands on a
glebe of 48 acres of good land: the church of the union
is in Kilmichael. In the R. C. divisions also it is part
of the union or district of Kilmichael: the chapel at
Toames is a small neat edifice, erected in 1831. The
parochial school is supported by the rector; another
school is aided by a bequest of £10 per ann. from the
late Mrs. Margaret Browne, of Castleview; and there is
a national school at Toames, for which a school-house
was built in 1833, at an expense of £90. In these
schools collectively about 190 children are educated.
The ruins of the old church are situated near the glebe-
house; it was a spacious edifice, nearly 80 feet long, of
which the gables and south walls are still nearly entire;
the doors and windows are of hewn stone, but of rude
construction.
MACOSQU1N, or CAMUS-juxta-BANN, a pa-
rish, in the barony of COLERAINE, county of LONDON-
DERRY, and province of ULSTER, 2 miles (S S. W.) from
Coleraine, on the road to Dublin; containing 6639 in-
habitants. The place derived its latter name, which is
the more ancient, from the foundation of a monastery at
Cambos or Camus, on the river Bann, by St. Comgal, in
580; and the former, by which it is more generally
known, from the Cistercian abbey of St. Mary de Fon-
tana or Macosquin, founded in 1172 by the family of
O’Cahan. Both these establishments, of which the
former became very celebrated as the resort of numerous
pilgrims, continued to flourish till the dissolution, and
were granted in 1609 by Jas. I. to the Irish Society, by
whom the church of the latter was made parochial
The parish, which is chiefly the property of the Richard-
son family by purchase from the Merchant Tailors
company, is situated on the river Bann, by which it
is bounded on the east, and comprises, according to
the Ordnance survey, 17,804¼ statute acres, of which
65¾ are in the river Bann, and 12,923 are applot-
ted under the tithe act, and valued at £6851. 5. per
annum. The land is generally of good quality, in a
profitable state of cultivation, and well fenced and