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RAP
mation granted by Maurice M c Loughlin, King of Ireland,
to the abbey of Newry, and is in that deed described as
Bishop of Tirconnel, from the name of the territory in
which the church of Raphoe is situated. During the
prelacy of Carbrac O’Scoba, who succeeded in 1266,
part of the diocese was forcibly taken away by German
O’Cherballen, Bishop of Derry, and added to that see;
and in 1360, Patrick Magonail erected episcopal palaces
in three manors belonging to the see. The last R. C.
bishop, previously to the Reformation, was Donat Mag-
onail, who assisted at the Council of Trent in 1563;
and the first Protestant bishop was George Montgomery,
a native of Scotland, who was Dean of Norwich and
Chaplain of Jas. I., and was consecrated to this see in
1605. Robert Huntington, celebrated for his extensive
attainments in oriental literature and his assiduity in
collecting, during 12 years residence at Aleppo, a valua-
ble series of oriental manuscripts, of which many are in
the Bodleian library at Oxford, and who had, while
provost of Dublin University, been instrumental in
printing the Old Testament in the Irish language, was
appointed Bishop of Raphoe in 1701, but lived only 12
days after his consecration. John Pooley, who suc-
ceeded in 1702, repaired the palace and enlarged the
cathedral by the addition of a north and south transept,
rendering it perfectly cruciform. Since 1605 the see
had been held as a separate diocese till the passing of
the Church Temporalities act of the 3rd of Wm. IV., by
which it was enacted that, on the next avoidance, it
should be united to the see of Derry, which union, on
the decease of the late W. Bisset, D. D., in 1835, was
carried into effect and the temporalities became vested
in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It is one of the
ten suffragan bishopricks that constitute the ecclesiasti-
cal province of Armagh; and comprehends the greater
part of the county of Donegal, extending for 55 miles in
length and 40 miles in breadth, and comprising an esti-
mated superficies of 515,250 statute acres. The lands
belonging to the see comprise 1392 acres of profitable
land, consisting of the town parks; and the gross an-
nual revenue, on an average of three years ending on
Jan. 1st, 1832, amounted to £5787. 8. 2. The chapter
consists of a dean, archdeacon, and the four preben-
daries of Drumholm, Killymard, Inver, and Clonde-
horky. The consistorial court is held at Raphoe, and
consists of a vicar-general, two surrogates, a registrar,
deputy-registrar, and two proctors. The registrar is
keeper of the records, which are of modern date; all
prior to 1691 are supposed to have been destroyed when
the castle was taken by Cromwell, or when it was after-
wards plundered and burned by the soldiers of Jas. II.
The total number of parishes is 34, of which 5 are dis-
trict parishes, comprehended in 34 single benefices, of
which 5 are perpetual curacies; of these, 5 are in the
patronage of the Crown, 15 in that of the Bishop, 2 in
the patronage of incumbents, and the remainder in
lay and corporation patronage: there are 34 churches
and 28 glebe-houses. The cathedral, which is also the
parochial church, and to the repair of which the Eccle-
siastical Commissioners have recently granted £1005,
is a plain, ancient, cruciform structure with a square
tower, which was added to it by Bishop Forster in 1737,
as appears by that date on a stone over the door: there
is no economy fund. The Episcopal palace, formerly a
strong castle, is about a quarter of a mile from the
485
RAS
town: it is a handsome and spacious castellated build-
ing, pleasantly situated in tastefully disposed grounds.
The deanery-house, which is also the glebe-house of the
parish, was built in 1739, at an expense of £1680, and
has been subsequently enlarged and improved from their
own funds by various successive incumbents; it is plea-
santly situated about a mile from the town. In the
R. C. divisions the diocese is co-extensive with that of
the Protestant see; it comprehends 24 benefices, con-
taining 36 chapels, which are served by 50 clergymen,
of whom 24 are parish priests, and 26 are coadjutors
or curates; the bishop’s parishes are Conwal and
Aughnish; the cathedral is at Letterkenny where is
also the bishop’s residence.
The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese
of Raphoe, formerly united to the rectories of Stranor-
lar, Leek, and Killygarvan, and the chapelry of Letter-
macaward, from which, by act of council in 1835, it
was separated, and now solely constitutes the corps of
the deanery. The tithes amount to £900; and the
glebe comprises 150 acres, valued at £150 per ann.; the
other lands belonging to the deanery comprise 2701½
statute acres, extending over several parishes, which,
with the rents and renewal fines, produce £426. 5. 10.
per ann., making the gross annual revenue of the deanery
£1476. 5. 10. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the
head of a union or district, including also the parish of
Conwal, in which is a chapel. There is a place of wor-
ship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of
Ulster, of the second class. The Royal free grammar
school was founded by Chas. I., who endowed it with
lands in the western part of the county, comprising from
5000 to 6000 acres, of which 1400 are profitable, and the
remainder bog and mountain, producing together an
annual income of £550: the school-house was rebuilt
in 1737, and enlarged in 1830, and is a spacious and
handsome building; attached to it is a valuable library,
containing more than 3000 volumes, founded by Bishop
Forster and Dr. Hall for the use of the clergy of the dio-
cese. In this and in three other public schools, of
which the parochial school is partly supported by an-
nual donations from Col. Robertson’s fund, about 280
children are taught; an infants’ school and a female
working school are also supported by the Dean, and
there are six private schools, in which are about 200
children, and four Sunday schools. An asylum for four
poor clergymen’s widows was founded by Bishop Fors-
ter, who endowed it with lands now producing to each
£50 per ann.; the house, which is spacious and well
adapted for the purpose, was purchased by the founder
during his lifetime, and is situated in the town: there
is also a dispensary.
RASHARKIN, a parish, in the barony of KILCON-
WAY, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 2½
miles (E.) from Kilrea, on the road to Ballymena; con.
taining 7481 inhabitants. This parish, called also Rath-
Arkin and Magherasharkin, lies on the border of the
county of Londonderry, from which it is separated by
the river Bann: it is 6 miles long and 5 broad, and
comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 19,337¾
statute acres, of which a very large quantity is mountain
waste land, or bog; the remainder is of a light soil, but
of excellent quality for flax, potatoes, oats and clover;
the system of agriculture in some parts is very good, in
others the reverse. The linen manufacture is carried