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RAT
under an excellent system of cultivation, but not more
than half of the parish is under tillage: upwards of
2000 acres are rough mountain pasture, moor or tur-
bary. The uplands form part of the hilly tract called
Nagle’s mountains, which originate here and extend
westward to the Bogra range. The eastern extremity
of Nagle’s mountains, about three miles north of
Rathcormac, is very lofty and appears as if it had been
cut down vertically from the summit to the base: on
its highest point is a large conical pile of stones, called
Cairn-Thierna, “The Lord’s cairn or pile,” so named, ac-
cording to some, from having been the place where the
Tierna or chieftain assembled his followers and chose
their leaders 3 or, according to others, from having been a
place of pagan worship to the sun. This range is entirely
of clay-slate: in the lower grounds limestone is very abun-
dant, particularly at Ballyvarry; much of the mountain
tract, hitherto uncultivated, is reclaimable; and the bog,
from which the turf has been entirely cut away in many
places, might be brought into a profitable state at a
small expense, as it lies remarkably well for drainage.
There are several large and handsome seats: the prin-
cipal arc Lisnegar, the elegant mansion of the Rt. Hon.
Lord Riversdale, in the midst of a small but highly
improved demesne, comprising a great variety of rural
scenery within a limited compass; Kilshannick, the
ancient mansion and winter residence of Edm, Roche,
of Trabolgan, Esq.; Ballyglissane, of F. G. Reeves,
Esq.; Shanbally, of John Welsh, Esq.; Bushy Park,
of R. G. Campion, Esq.; Kildinon, the highly improved
property of Edm. Roche, Esq.; the glebe, the residence
of the Rev. W. Bourne; Ballinahina House, of Gerard
Barry, Esq.; and Ballinahina Cottage, of the Rev.
Dr. Barry, the parish priest of Fermoy for half a cen-
tury, and for a long period the R. C. vicar-general of
Cloyne. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of
Cloyne, and in the patronage of the Rev. Percy Smith,
of Headborough, county of Waterford: the tithes
amount to £842, and there is a glebe-house, with a
glebe of 31a. 1r. 34p. The church, an ancient build-
ing, was much enlarged and improved in 1828, by a
loan of £250 from the late Board of First Fruits.
In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union
or district, comprising also that of Gortroe; in each
parish there is a chapel; that at Rathcormac is a large
cruciform edifice, with a small square tower at the south
transept, erected in 1816 on a site given by Lord Rivers-
dale. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Me-
thodists, also a fever hospital and dispensary. There
are nine schools in the parish: the parochial schools
are supported by the rector and by a subscription of
£10 per ann. from the Hon. George Colley; there is a
school at Kildinan in connection with the Board of
National Education, and another at Rathcormac, with
accommodations for 400 pupils, built at a cost of £250;
a Sunday school is under the superintendence of the
Protestant clergymen: the remainder are private schools.
The total number of children in the day schools is 320,
of whom 197 are boys and 123 girls. At Shanbally,
near Kildinan, are the ruins of an ancient castle, once
the strong hold of the great Earl of Desmond.
RA.THDOWNEY, a post-town and parish, in the
barony of UPPER OSSORY, QUEEN’S county, and pro-
vince of LEINSTER, 15 miles (S. W.) from Maryborough,
and 56¼ (S. W.) from Dublin, on the road to Temple-
494
RAT
more; containing 6654 inhabitants, of which number,
1214 are in the town. This town, in 1831, contained
211 houses, which are in general indifferently built and
of neglected appearance; the streets are ill paved, and
the place has few indications of prosperity. There are
an extensive brewery and a boulting-mill. Fairs are
held on Jan. 27th, April 1st, May 6th, July 10th,
Sept. 12th, Nov. 1st, and Dec. 15th; and a patent was
obtained in the reign of Geo. III. for a weekly market
and three additional fairs, none of which are held: fairs
are held at Errill on Jan. 14th and March 11th. Petty
sessions are held in the town every Saturday, and a con-
stabulary police force is stationed at Errill and Lavally.
The parish comprises 13,406 statute acres, as applotted
under the tithe act; the land, of which about one-third
is in pasture, and the remainder under tillage, is of
very excellent quality, and the system of agriculture
improved; there is but very little bog and no waste
land; limestone abounds and is quarried for building
and burning. The principal seats are Harristown, the
residence of M. H. Drought, Esq.; Beckfield, of T. Roe,
Esq.; Johnstown Glebe, of the Rev. M. Monck; and
Lackland, of the Rev. R. Young: and in the vicinity of
town, though not within the parish, are Ballybrophy,
the residence of S. White, Esq.; Old Park, of Robt
White, Esq.; Middlemount, of Robt. Roe, Esq.; Grants-
town, of — Vicars, Esq.; Kilbredy, of Jas. Drought,
Esq.; Belmont, of J. Roe, Esq.; Levally, of R. Fitz-
gerald, Esq.; Knockfin, of Capt. Mosse; and Erken-
dale, of W. Owen, Esq. The living is a vicarage, in
the diocese of Ossory, episcopally united, in 1816, to
the rectories of Glashare and Kildellig, and in the pa-
tronage of the Bishop; the rectory is appropriate to
the dean and chapter of the cathedral of Kilkenny.
The tithes amount to £750, of which £500 is payable
to the dean and chapter and the remainder to the
vicar: the glebe-house, towards which the late Board
of First Fruits granted a gift of £100 and a loan of
£1200, in 1814, and on which the present rector laid
oxit £400 more, making the whole cost £1700, is a
handsome residence; and the glebe comprises 267
acres: the gross income of the benefice is £950. The
church, towards the erection of which the late Board
of First Fruits granted a loan of £1000, in 1815, is a
handsome edifice in the later English style, with a well
proportioned spire. In the R. C. divisions the parish
is in the union or district of Grogan, comprising this
and the parishes of Donamore, Skeirke, Coolkerry, and
Rathsaran, and containing three chapels, situated at
Rathdowney (a spacious plain building,) Grogan and
Killismista. There is also a place of worship for Wes-
leyan Methodists. There is a parochial school at Rath-
downey, and a school at Castle-Fleming; the latter is
supported by R. H. Stubber, Esq., and divine service is
performed in the school-house every Sunday evening
during the summer months: there are national schools
for both sexes at Rathdowney and Errill; about 200
children receive instruction in all these schools. There
are also six private schools, in which are about 450
children, a Sunday school, and two dispensaries, one
in the town and the other at Errill. At Ballagh, Clon-
byrne, and Castle-Fleming are the ruins of ancient cas-
tles; at Cloneve, near Harristown, are trifling remains
of an old church and burial-place; and at Errill, those
of a church and monastery, and the remains of a very