Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

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There are places of worship for Presbyterians and Wes-
leyan Methodists. About 250 children are taught in
two public schools; and there are three private schools,
in which are about 100 children, and a Sunday school:
the parochial school is about to be rebuilt on a larger
scale, at the expense of the vicar. There are several
mineral springs, which are warm in winter and cold in
summer; one is said to have a petrifying quality, equal,
if not superior, to the celebrated waters of Lough Neagh.
In various parts of the parish are several small forts:
and on a hill to the west of the church is a cave, 34
yards in length, divided into four chambers, of which
the farthest is circular and larger than the others. The
headland of St. John’s Point was anciently the site of a
preceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.
There are still some slight remains of the church on the
estate of Capt. Browne, near which several stone coffins
of singular form were dug up recently, together with
massive gold ornaments and curious coins; the church
itself, as far as can be conjectured from its ruins, was
of very singular construction, its style of architecture
much resembling the Egyptian. There is also a fine
spring of clear water, covered over with stones taken
from the ruins of the church.
RATHNAVEOGE, a parish, in the barony of IKER-
RIN, county of TIPPERARY, and province of MUNSTER,
4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Roscrea, on the south side
of the mail road from Dublin to Limerick; containing
1387 inhabitants. It comprises 4227 statute acres, of
which about 3300 are nearly equally divided between
tillage and pasture: the remainder is waste. Within its
limits is part of Benduff mountain, on the north-eastern
side of which rises a stream that joins the river Nore at
a short distance from its source in the Slieve Bloom
mountains. The seats are Lisduff, the residence of
Wm. Smith, Esq.; Honey Mount, of John Lloyd, Esq.;
Summer Hill, of W. T. Shortt, Esq.; and Newgrove,
of Westrop Smith, Esq. It is a rectory and vicarage,
in the diocese of Killaloe, forming part of the union of
Dunkerrin: the tithes amount to £253. 9. 8¾. In the
R. C. divisions also it is in the union or district of
Dunkerrin. Some remains of the old church and castle
of Rathnaveoge still exist. At a short distance from
the latter is the ruined castle of Ballynakill, the pro-
perty, and formerly the residence, of the Minchin
family; it is surrounded by a high wall regularly for-
tified, and the buildings appear to have been of consider-
able extent.
RATHNEW, a parish and village, in the barony of
NEWCASTLE, county of WICKLOW, and province of
LEINSTER, at the junction of the roads from Dublin,
Rathdrum, and Bray to Wicklow; containing, with the
post-town of Ashford and village of Bolinalea (both
separately described), 3718 inhabitants, of which num-
ber, 544 are in the village of Rathnew. This place,
called also Newrath, derives its name from an ancient
rath, and is intersected by the river Vartrey, over which
is a picturesque bridge. The village contains 107
houses; and at Newrath-bridge is a superior family
hotel, kept by Messrs. Nolan, which has long been cele-
brated for the beauty of its situation and the excellence
of its internal arrangements. A constabulary police
force is stationed in the village, and petty sessions are
held there on alternate Mondays. The parish comprises
4913 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act:
506
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the land is generally good, the system of agriculture
improving, and there is neither waste land nor bog.
The principal seats are Rosanna, the residence of D.
Tighe, Esq., beautifully situated in a rich demesne
embellished with some remarkably fine timber, particu-
larly the sweet chesnut tree; Clonmannon, of R. H.
Truell, Esq., finely situated in tastefully disposed
grounds, commanding some interesting sea views and
mountain scenery; Clermont, of J. A. Leopard, Esq., from
which is a fine view of the sea; Upper Tinakelly, of
the Rev. Mr. Dixon, commanding an extensive view of
the coast from Bray Head to Wicklow Head; Crona-
kiry, of J. Beddy, Esq.; Ballina Park, of H. W.
Bryan, Esq., in the grounds of which is a rath; and
Coolawinney, of R. Cotter, Esq. It is a rectory, in the
diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, forming part of the
union and corps of the prebend of Wicklow in the ca-
thedral of St. Patrick, Dublin: the tithes amount to
£377. 1. 6½. In the R. C. divisions it is also part of
the union of Wicklow; there is a chapel at Ashford.
At Clonmannon is a school supported by,R. H. Truell,
Esq. In the village of Rathnew are the ruins of the
ancient church, to which is attached a burial-ground;
and on the townland of Miltown are the ruins of a
castle. Near the Cherry Orchard is a remarkably fine
oak tree, which at three feet from the ground measures
21½ feet in girth. While on a visit at Rosanna the late
Mrs. Tighe, aunt of the present proprietor, and eminent-
ly distinguished for her mental endowments and poetic
talents, composed her celebrated poem of “Psyche;”
she was also the author of several other admired poems,
and died in 1810, aged 36.
RATHOWEN, a market and post-town, in the
parish of RATHASPICK, barony of MOYGOISH, county of
WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 10½ miles
(N. W.) from Mullingar, on the road to Longford, and
50 (W.) from Dublin; containing 605 inhabitants. The
town comprises 97 thatched and 12 slated houses, the
parish church, the R. C. chapel of the union of Russagh
(in which a small school is held), and the market-house,
where a market is held every Tuesday; there are fairs
on May 15th and on the second Tuesday in December:
it is also a constabulary police station.
RATHPATRICK, or BALLYPATRICK, a parish,
in the barony of IDA, county of KILKENNY, and province
of LEINSTER, 3½ miles (E. by N.) from Waterford, on
the road to New Ross; containing 1617 inhabitants.
This parish is situated on the river Suir, at its con-
fluence with the Ross river: it comprises 6298 statute
acres. On the top of the great hill of Drumdorony,
about 300 acres are occupied by a quarry of breccia, for
millstones, which are of so good a quality as to have
formerly been exported to England; they are still sent
coastwise to Cork, Dublin, and other Irish ports: some
of the largest are five feet in diameter, and 16 inches in
the eye. The stones are near the surface and appear
above it; they are shipped ‘with ease into vessels at
the base of the hill, in the Ross river, opposite to the
Great Island, which it encircles previous to its junc-
tion with the Suir: from this hill another of less eleva-
tion extends southward, forming the south-eastern angle
of the county, and commanding a magnificent prospect
of the banks of the Suir and the harbour of Waterford.
The principal seats are Bellevue, the residence of Patrick
Power, Esq., beautifully situated on the banks of the