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MAG
£270 per annum. The church, situated in the town,
is a handsome edifice built in 1664, enlarged by the
addition of a north aisle in 1718, and ornamented
with a tower and spire in 1790; it has been recently-
repaired by a grant of £121. 0. 9. from the Eccle-
siastical Commissioners. In the R. C. divisions the
parish is the head of a union or district, comprising
also parts of the parishes of Woods-chapel, Desertlyn,
and Ballyscullion; the chapel is at Aghagaskin, about
a mile from the town. There are places of worship
for Presbyterians, in connection with the Synod of
Ulster, and Wesleyan Methodists. A free school was
founded here by Hugh Rainey, Esq., who, in 1710,
erected a school-house, and bequeathed money to pur-
chase an estate for its endowment; the estate was after-
wards sold under an act of parliament, subject to an
annual payment of £175 Irish currency, with which the
school is endowed; it is under the patronage and direc-
tion of the Lord Primate and John Ash Reiny, Esq.,
who resides at the school; 14 boys are clothed, boarded,
and educated for three years, and afterwards placed
out as apprentices with a premium. About 400 chil-
dren are also taught in four other public schools, of
which the parochial schools are supported by the rector,
the Marquess of Londonderry, and Sir Robert Bateson,
Bart.; and a female work school by the Marchioness
of Londonderry and Lady Bateson, by whom the school-
house was built: there are also four private schools,
in which are about 130 children. A dispensary and
a Ladies’ Clothing Society have been established in
the town. There are several forts in the parish, but
none entitled to particular notice.
MAGHERAGALL, or MARAGALL, a parish, in
the barony of UPPER MASSEREENE, county of ANTRIM,
and province of ULSTER, 2½ miles (W. by N.) from
Lisburn, on the road from Hillsborough to Antrim,
and close by the Lagan canal; containing 3102 inha-
bitants. During the war of 1641, this place was the
rendezvous of the insurgent forces, consisting of 8000
men, under Sir Phelim O’Nial and Sir Con Magennis,
previous to their attack on Lisburn; whence, after their
defeat, they returned to Brookhill, in this parish, then
the seat of Sir G. Rawdon, which they burned to the
ground, as well as a church, and slaughtered many of
the inhabitants of Ballyclough and its vicinity. The pa-
rish comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 6555½
statute acres, principally in tillage; the system of agri-
culture has been greatly improved. In the lower parts
the land is generally good, and, produces excellent crops,
but in the upper part it is inferior. It is stated that the
first application of lime, as manure, in the county, took
place here, in 1740, at Brook Hill, the residence of J.
Watson, Esq. There are about 50 acres of bog, but no
waste land. Limestone for building and agricultural
purposes is abundant and very good; basalt is also
found. The weaving of linen and cotton is carried on
for the Lisburn market, and for the manufacturers of
Belfast. The principal seats are Brook Hill, the resi-
dence of J. Watson, Esq., in whose demesne a small
river disappears, and, after passing under the hill,
re-appears; and Springfield, of Capt. Houghton. The
living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Connor, and in the
patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to
the see of Down and Connor. The tithes amount to
£300, of which £200 is paid to the bishop, and £100 to
333
MAG
the vicar, who also receives £46. 4. from Primate
Boulter’s augmentation fund: there is no glebe-house
or glebe. The church was rebuilt in 1830, by a loan of
£1000 from the late Board of First Fruits; it is a neat
edifice, with a large tower. There are places of worship
for Seceders, of the second class, and Wesleyan Metho-
dists. About 270 children are educated in the parochial
and two national schools; the former is partly supported
by the incumbent, and the school-house was built in
1826, chiefly at the expense of the Marquess of Hert-
ford. There are also five private schools, in which are
about 180 children. Remains of the old church, which
was destroyed in the civil war, exist near Brookhill, and
have been converted into a stable: many human bones
have been turned up by the plough; and silver and
copper coins of the reigns of Elizabeth, Jas. I., and
Chas. I., have been found on the estate of Mr. Wat-
son, and are in his possession. In the plantations are
two circular forts, in a perfect state, the smaller appear-
ing to have been an outpost to the larger. Opposite to
these are several large stones, the remains of a crom-
lech, here called the Giant’s Cave, on ploughing the
ground near which, in 1837, several urns were found
curiously engraved and containing human bones. The
late Commodore Watson was proprietor of Brook Hill,
where he resided for a short period before his return
to India, where he died of his wounds.
MAGHERA-HAMLET, an ecclesiastical, district,
in the barony of KINELEARTY, county of DOWN, and
province of ULSTER, 3 miles (S.) from Ballynahinch, on
the road from Dundrum to Dromore; containing 3223
inhabitants. This district, formerly called Temple-
moile, and sometimes Kilwilk, is situated within a mile
of the Ballynahinch baths, and comprises 1844 statute
acres, of which 753 are mountainous, and of the remain-
der, which is tolerably good land, a small portion is
rocky pasture: the system of agriculture is improving.
There are quarries of good slate, and of building stone,
which is raised chiefly for building and for the roads.
Part of the Slieve Croob mountain is within its limits,
and in it is the source of the river Lagan, which, after
flowing by Dromore and Lisburn, discharges itself
into Belfast lough. The living is a perpetual curacy,
in the diocese of Dromore, and in the patronage of
the Prebendary of Dromaragh; the stipend arises
from the tithes of 1200 acres applotted under the
act, amounting to £75, and an augmentation of £23. 2.
from Primate Boulter’s fund. The glebe-house, towards
which the late Board of First Fruits gave £450 and
granted a loan of £50, was built in 1830; the glebe
comprises 7 acres, bought by the same Board from
Col. Forde, for £450, and subject to a rent of £7- 7.
The church, a neat edifice with a square tower, situated
at the extremity of the district, with a view to accom-
modate the visiters of Ballynahinch spa, was erected
at a cost of £500, wholly defrayed by the late Board
of First Fruits, in 1814. The Ecclesiastical Commis-
sioners have recommended, on the next avoidance
of the prebend of Dromaragh, that the townlands
now forming the perpetual curacy be separated from
the prebend and formed into a distinct benefice. In the
R. C. divisions this is the head of a union or dis-
trict, comprising also the parishes of Magheradroll and
Anahilt, and called also the union of Dunmore, in which
are two chapels, one at Dunmore in this district, and