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under the sea from the mines at Ballycastle to this
island, which he thinks has been separated from the
opposite coast by some convulsion of nature. Barley
of excellent quality and cattle are sent off from this
place; the former is chiefly purchased by Scottish
merchants. Kelp was formerly made in great quan-
tities; its manufacture was the chief source of wealth
to the inhabitant but since the bleachers have dis-
continued the use of it, there is very little demand;
the chief markets for it are Campbelltown and Glas-
gow There are two storehouses, one for kelp and
one for barley, erected by the Rev. Mr. Gage, pro-
prietor of the island, for the purpose of collecting the
produce of his tenantry; there is also a mill for grind-
ing oats. The horses, cattle, and sheep are all small.
Church bay, though affording good anchorage, is entirely
exposed to the violence of the western winds, during
the prevalence of which no vessel can ride here in safety;
the only other havens are some small creeks on the
eastern side, of which the principal is Port Ushet,
where the small craft belonging to the island shelter
during the winter. The inhabitants of this part of the
island are principally fishermen, who make short voyages
and carry on a little trade by way of barter; they all
speak the English language; but in the western part of
the island the Irish language is universal, and the in-
habitants, from want of intercourse with strangers,
have many peculiarities; they are a simple, laborious,
and honest people, entertaining an ardent affection
for their island, which alone they regard as their
country, and speak of Ireland as of a foreign land.
They are very dexterous in seeking for the nests of sea
fowl, for which purpose they swing themselves down
the face of the precipices by means of a rope secured
to a stake on the summit. Both Catholics and Protes-
tants generally live together in the greatest harmony,
undisturbed by the difference of religion; they frequent-
ly intermarry; scarcely was an individual ever known
to emigrate formerly, but many young men have gone
to America of late years. There is neither any town nor
regular village; the dwellings of the inhabitants are
irregularly scattered throughout the island. The pro-
prietor, the Rev. R. Gage, is constantly resident and
acts as magistrate. A coast-guard station for one officer
and six men, one of the eight that constitute the dis-
trict of Ballycastle, has been established here.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Connor,
and in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount
to £60, which is augmented with £27. 14. from Primate
Boulter’s fund. The glebe-house has been condemned
as unfit for residence, and the curate has a house and
garden rent-free provided by the incumbent, who pays
him a stipend of £60. The glebe comprises 15 acres,
valued at £18. 15. per ann., making the gross income
of the benefice £106. 9. The church, towards the
erection of which the late Board of First Fruits contri-
buted a gift of £800, is a neat small edifice with a
square tower, erected in 1815. The R. C. chapel is a
plain building. About 180 children are taught in three
public schools. There are some slight remains of the
ruined fortress called Bruce’s castle, of the original foun-
dation of which there is nothing upon record. Nearly
in the centre of the island are some small tumuli; in
one of these was found a stone coffin, near which was
an earthen vessel, and a considerable number of human
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bones; and on the small plain where these tumuli are
placed have been found brazen swords, spear-heads,
and a large fibula, which are deposited in the museum
of Trinity College, Dublin. Near the Black Rock, on
the south of Church bay, are four remarkable caverns,
which, though penetrating a basaltic mass and at a
point remote from any calcareous formation, have cal-
careous stalactites depending from the roof, which by
their continual dropping have deposited an incrusta-
tion, about an inch in thickness, on the floor beneath.
RATHLINE.—See RATHCLINE.
RATHLYNAN, or RATHLINEY, a parish, in the
barony of CLANWILLIAM, county of TIPPERARY, and
province of MUNSTER, 3½ miles (N. E. by E.) from Tip-
perary, on the road to Thurles; containing 1354 in-
habitants. It comprises 2657 statute acres of land,
generally good and mostly in tillage. The river Mul-
teen flows through the parish, within the limits of which
are Lacken, the residence of John Smithwick, Esq.;
and Mount William, of Jas. Mahon, Esq. At the cross
of Donaskeigh is a station of the constabulary police.
It is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel,
forming part of the union of Ballintemple; the tithes
amount to £200.
RATHMACKNEE, a parish, in the barony of FORTH,
county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, 4
miles (S. by W.) from Wexford, on the road to Kilmore;
containing 549 inhabitants. It comprises 1569¾ statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act. Limestone
quarries have been opened on the estates of Sir Wm.
Geary and H. K. G. Morgan, Esq., and the produce is
sold to the tenantry at a low price: the value of these
quarries might be greatly increased by a short cut to
Wexford harbour, thus opening a conveyance for the
limestone into the interior of the county. There is a
flour-mill near the church. The living is a rectory and
vicarage, in the diocese of Ferns, and in the patronage
of the Corporation of Dublin: the tithes amount to
£139. 2. 11., and there is a glebe comprising 12 acres of
cultivated land. The glebe-house, the residence of the
Rev. Fras. Pentland, towards the erection of which the
late Board of First Fruits, in 1809, contributed £100
as a gift and £224 as a loan, is situated near the church,
and sheltered by a small but thriving plantation. The
church is a neat edifice in the later English style, erec-
ted in 1813 at an expense of £800, being a gift from
the same Board. In the R. C. divisions the parish is
the head of the union or district called Piercestown,
comprising also the parishes of Drinagh, Killiane, Kil-
mocree, Kildavin, and Rathaspeck; and containing the
chapels of Piercestown, Kilmocree, and Mourntown, of
which the first is in Rathmacknee and the last in Kil-
davin. A school of about 50 children, partly supported
by Thos. Walker, Esq., of Belmont, is held near the
chapel. Adjoining the church is the ancient castle of
Rathmacknee, one of the most perfect of the numerous
castles in this county; it consists of a massive square
tower with the greater part of the walls still surround-
ing it, and about 70 years since it was inhabited by an
ancestor of H. K. G. Morgan, Esq., the present pro-
prietor. The castle and church of Rathmacknee, with
the surrounding trees, form a very pleasing group of
objects. In the church-yard are two ancient tombs,
one of which appears to have been the sepulchre of
a former minister, or priest, of this parish.