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RAT
of the village of Glanmire, tinder which head they are
noticed. The woollen manufacture was established here
in 1822, by Messrs. Lyons and Hanly, whose factory, in
a secluded part of the vale of Glanmire, contains 30
looms, and affords employment to 200 persons. The
bleach-greens of Messrs. Thorley and Son, at Annasilla,
employ 100 persons; and the St. Patrick’s beetling-
mills, belonging to the same firm, afford employment to
100 more. The produce of these manufactories and
others in the neighbourhood is sent by land carriage
to Cork, a distance of five miles, the road being the
principal entrance into Cork from Dublin, Clonmel,
Kilkenny, and Cashel. At this point it is hilly and
dangerous: to avoid the hills a new line of road was
sought for, intended to pass over the Glanmire river
and along its banks, to join that part of the present
road running along the side of the river Lee into Cork;
it would be a perfect level and a most delightful drive,
but its execution has been successfully opposed. Spring
Hill Mills, belonging to Mr. J. Daly, produce annu-
ally about 10,000 barrels on the average, and employ
a considerable number of men. The living is a rec-
tory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork, united to
the rectories and vicarages of Cahirlog and Little
Island, together forming the union and the corps of
the prebend of Rathcooney, in the cathedral of St.
Finbarr, Cork, and in the patronage of the Bishop.
The tithes amount to £500; the glebe comprises 19½
acres, and the gross value of the benefice is £1078. 4.
The church, situated in the village of Glanmire, is
a plain neat edifice, with a tower and spire, built in
1784 by subscription of the several parishes of the
union, on ground presented by Robert Rodgers, Esq.
In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the
union of Upper Glanmire; there is a chapel of ease at
Spring Hill. Of the different schools, two are under
the patronage of the parish priest, and a school of about
100 girls is supported by Mrs. Hickie. The children
employed in the woollen factory are obliged to attend
a school for three hours every evening, the school-
house and teacher being provided by Messrs. Lyons and
Hanly, who make no deduction or charge in money
or labour as an equivalent. S. M c Call, Esq. left an
annuity of £18, late currency, and Quinton Hamil-
ton, Esq., the interest of £500, to be distributed an-
nually among the poor. A repository for the sale of
wearing apparel to the poor at reduced, prices, payable
by small instalments, was established at Glanmire, in
1835, under the patronage of the Rev. T. Woodroffe and
a committee of ladies, but it has failed to accomplish
its intended purpose: there is a dispensary. On the
townland of Rathcooney are the ruins of the old church,
attached to which is the burial-ground of the parish.
Near this is an old edifice, now almost in ruins, for-
merly the residence of the family of St. Leger, who
possessed very considerable property in the parish.
There are several raths.
RATHCOR, a village, in the parish of CARLINGFORD,
barony of. LOWER DUNDALK, county of LOUTH, and
province of LEINSTER, 3½ miles (S.) from Carlingford,
on the bay of Dundalk; containing 45 houses and 274
inhabitants.
RATH CORE, a parish, partly in the barony of
UPPER DEECE, but chiefly in that of LOWER MOY-
FENRAGH, county of MEATH, and province of LEIN-
493
RAT
STER, 5 miles (S. W.) from Summerhill, on the road to
Edenderry; containing, with the post-town of Enfield
(which is separately described), 3455 inhabitants, of
which number, 73 are in the village of Rathcore. This
parish, which is situated on the Royal Canal and on
the road from Dublin to Athlone, is bounded on the
south by the river Blackwater, which here separates
it from the county of Kildare. It comprises 14,303
statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land
is of good quality and the greater portion of it under
tillage; the system of agriculture is improved, there is
no waste land, and but a very moderate portion of bog:
there is a quarry of good limestone at Newcastle. The
principal seats are Johnstown, the residence of J. H.
Rorke, Esq.; Rahinstown, of R. G. Bomford, Esq.;
Ryndville, of R. Rynd, Esq.; Newcastle, of C. Lennon,
Esq.; and Ballinderry, the property of the Hon. R. T.
Rowley, and the residence of Thos. Murphy, Esq. The
living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and in the
patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to
the see. The tithes amount to £807. 13. 10., of which
£438. 9. 2½. is payable to the bishop, and £369. 4. 7½.
to the vicar. There is a good glebe-house, and the glebe
comprises 41 acres, valued at £62. 2. per annum. In
the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of
Rathmolion; the chapel is a spacious and handsome edi-
fice, situated at Kilcorney, on the estate of Lord Decies.
A school-house is now being erected near the church,
from funds chiefly supplied by the vicar and by John
Bridges, Esq., of London; there are four private schools,
in which are about 180 children.
RATHCORMAC, a market and post-town, (formerly
a parliamentary borough), and a parish, in the barony
of BARRYMORE, county of CORK, and province of MUN-
STER, 14 miles (N. E.) from Cork, and 111 (S. W.) from
Dublin; containing 5143 inhabitants, of which number,
1574 are in the town, which is situated on the river
Bride, and on the mail road from Cork to Dublin. It
comprises one principal street with some smaller diverg-
ing from it, and consists of 244 houses, several of which
are well built of stone. At the entrance from Cork
are several picturesque cottages, erected by the Hon.
Chas. L. Tonson. It is a constabulary police station,
and the depôt for the staff of the South Cork militia.
The only manufacture carried on is that of leather by Mr.
Wm. O’Connell, in whose tannery upwards of 10,000
hides, 32,500 calf-skins and 500 horse-skins are annu-
ally prepared for the markets of London, Bristol, Liver-
pool and Leeds. The manor mill, under the patent of
Chas. II., has been rebuilt at an expense of £1600 by
Mr. D. Cummins, and is capable of grinding 5000 bags
of flour annually. A small market is held in the mar-
ket-house on Saturday; and there are fairs, which
are small and not well attended, on Aug. 12th, and
Oct. 31st. Petty sessions are held on alternate Tues-
days, and the seneschal occasionally holds a manor
court for the recovery of debts under 40s. The town
was erected into a free borough, by Chas. II., in 1682,
and obtained the right of returning two members to the
Irish parliament, the elective franchise being vested in
the freeholders and inhabitants: it was disfranchised at
the Union.
The parish comprises 12,984 statute acres, of which
about one-sixth is mountain and bog. The soil is very
varied in character; in the lower parts it is good and