Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

ROS
seats are Juane, that of P. Jackson, Esq., situated in
an extensive., highly cultivated, and richly planted
demesne; and Mount Butler, the handsome and plea-
sant residence of Capt. Smith. Near the town but
not within the parish, are Verdant Hill, the residence
of the Rev. Mr. Townsend; Corville, of the Hon. F.
Prittie; Golden Grove, of W. P. Vaughan, Esq.;
Mount Heaton, of Mrs. Hutchinson; Mona Incha, of G.
Birch, Esq.; Glen Albert, of Albert F. Maxwell, Esq.;
Killavella, of F. Jackson, Esq.; the Grove, of Smith,
Esq.; Ashbury, of Mrs. Bridge; Dungar Park, of
Mrs. Evans; Laurel Hill, of S. Palmer, Esq.; Low-
lands, of Mrs. Rollestone; and Mill Park, of Adam
Acres, Esq. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the
diocese of Killaloe, episcopally united, in 1779, to the
rectory and vicarage of Kyle, and in the patronage of
the Bishop: the tithes amount to £484. 12. 3¾. The
glebe-house, towards the erection of which the late
Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £100 and a
loan of £775, in 1812, is a good residence; the glebe
comprises about 1¾ acre, and the gross income of the
benefice amounts to £596. 6. 1¾. The church, towards
the repair of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
have granted £160, is situated near the site of the an-
cient abbey, and was erected in 1812. In the R. C.
divisions the parish is the head of a union or district,
comprising also the parish of Kyle, and containing a
chapel in each parish. There are places of worship for
the Society of Friends and Primitive Methodists. About
260 children are taught in three public schools, of which
one is supported by the trustees of Erasmus Smith’s
charity and endowed with two acres of land by Lady
Caroline Darner, who also contributed £300 for the
erection of the school-house; and there are seven pri-
vate schools, in which are about 200 children. A
dispensary was established in 1809 by the late Drs.
Smith and Powell; and in 1830 the Earl of Portarling-
ton gave a plot of land as a site and £50 towards the
erection of a suitable building. A fever hospital and
house of recovery was established by subscription in
1824; it contains four sick wards and two convales-
cent wards, and is capable of accommodating 32 sick
and 24 convalescent patients. A cholera hospital was
erected in 1832, which contains two wards and is ca-
pable of receiving 40 patients.
The only remains of the ancient abbey is the western
gable, with an arched door now forming an entrance to
the present churchyard; on each side of the arch are
two flat niches, and above the doorway is a figure of the
patron saint, Cronan, but much, mutilated. In the
churchyard is part of a circular cross, which, with an-
other stone now forming part of the wall, is called the
shrine of St. Cronan, and is rudely sculptured with a
representation of the Crucifixion and other figures. On
the opposite side of the road, to the north-west of the
old church, is an ancient round tower; it is about 80
feet high and in good preservation, and is covered with
a dome roof of wood; around its base are two tiers of
stone steps, and about 15 feet from the ground is a
circular arched doorway, above which, at an elevation of
15 feet, is a pointed window. There are also some
remains of the Culdee establishment of Mona Incha,
where, from the time of St. Columba, who flourished
early in the 6th century, and was the founder of that
order, subsisted till the beginning of the 17th century a
528
ROS
fraternity of monks remarkable for their learning and
sanctity, who strenuously resisted the usurpations of
the see of Rome, and are mentioned by Archbishop
Ussher as existing in the earlier part of his time. In
the north-western part of the town are the remains of
the Franciscan friary, still in tolerable preservation;
the tower of the ancient church forms the entrance to
the R. C. chapel. In a street called the Mall is still
standing a circular tower, forming a portion of the
castle erected by King John, which has been recently
roofed; and in the centre of the town, and in good pre-
servation, is the lofty square castle built by the Ormond
family, part of which has been appropriated as a depôt
for military stores for the use of the troops quartered in
the barracks. St. Canice here wrote a copy of the four
gospels, called Glass Kennic, or “the Chain of Canice”,
which till the time of Archbishop Ussher was preserved
in the abbey of this place; there was also a curious
copy written by Dimma, a scribe, the son of Aengus,
son of Carthin, which was also kept there in a curiously
ornamented box, and was most probably the manuscript
in the possession of Sir William Betham, Ulster King
at Arms. There is a chalybeate spring at Corville, near
the town.
ROSENALLIS, or OREGAN, a parish, in the ba-
rony of TINNEHINCH, QUEEN’S county, and province of
LEINSTER, on the road from Emo to Birr, through
Clonaslee; containing, with the greater part of the
post-town of Mount-Mellick (which is separately de-
scribed), 8463 inhabitants. The parish is said to have
derived its name from Rossa Failgea, eldest son of
Cathavir O’More. The north-eastern extremity of the
Slieve Bloom mountains is included in it. The Barrow
rises in Tinnehinch hill, and after receiving the tributary
stream of the Owenass, or Onas, quits the parish near
Mount-Mellick. The soil is cold, but capable of great
improvement by the application of lime, which is much
used, as is also a compost of clay, bog mould and the
refuse of the farm-yard. In the Slieve Bloom moun-
tains are quarries of a soft white sandstone, which
hardens when exposed to the air, and is susceptible of a
high polish; it is in great demand throughout the
country for chimney-pieces and hearth-stones; a coarser
kind is used for flagging. Another peculiarity of these
mountains is the fertility of their northern side, which
is interspersed with neat farm-houses and cultivated
enclosures to its summit, while its southern side is
mostly a heathy waste. Iron ore was formerly raised,
but is not now. There is a large tract of bog in
this district, affording an abundant supply of fuel.
Tillage is more attended to than grazing: there are but
few flocks of sheep. The chief crops are potatoes,
wheat, barley and oats. Near Mount-Mellick are three
public nurseries. Besides the fairs which are held in the
last-named town, there is one at Tinnehinch on Oct. 29th
solely for pigs. Comfortable farm-houses are thickly
scattered through the parish, and there are several good,
mansions, of which the principal are Capard, the resi-
dence of John Pigott, Esq., situated on the side of a hill
commanding an extensive view of the adjacent country,
with the towns of Mount-Mellick, Maryborough, Port-
arlington, Mountrath, and Monastereven; Rynn, of
Mrs. Croasdaile; Summergrove, of J. Sabatier, Esq.;
and the Glebe, of the Rev. Geo. Kemmis. The manu-
facture of woollen cloths, stuffs and cottons is carried