Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

SAG
the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to
£86. 5., of which £52. 10. is payable to the impropri-
ator, and the remainder to the bishop; the glebe com-
prises 14 acres, valued at £21. 14. per annum. There
is no church, but divine service is regularly performed
in a private house licensed by the bishop. In the R. C.
divisions the parish is the head of a union or district,
comprising also the parish of Rathaspick, in each of
which is a chapel; that of Russagh is situated near the
village of Rathowen. There is a private school, in
which are about 85 children; also a Sunday school.
There are some remains of the old church with its
cemetery; and some Danish raths and mineral
springs.
RUTLAND, an island, in the parish of TEMPLE-
CROAN, barony of BOYLAGH, county of DONEGAL, and
province of ULSTER, 18 mites (N.) from Narin: the
population is returned with the parish. This island,
anciently called Innismacdurn, received its present name
from its proprietor, an ancestor of the Marquess of
Conyngham, in compliment to Charles, Duke of Rut-
land, who was at that time Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
At the time of Pynnar’s survey here was a small old
castle with a bawn, where a few English families had
settled. It is situated off the north-western coast, form-
ing one of the group of islands called the Rosses, and
contains about 180 acres, chiefly rocky and coarse
mountain land, with a considerable quantity of bog.
The harbour is narrow and fit only for small vessels.
The inhabitants, in each of the years 1784 and 1785,
realised £40,000 from the herring fishery off the coast;
and the great abundance of herrings found here at
that time induced Col. Conyngham to expend £50,000
in building houses and stores and forming a town here,
and in constructing roads through the mountains on
the coast to the champaign country in the interior.
From that period the fishery began to decline, and in
1793 it entirely failed; and though it afterwards began
to revive, it never regained its former prosperity. The
females are employed in knitting coarse yarn stock-
ings. On the 16th of September, 1798, James Napper
Tandy landed here from the French brig Anacreon from
Brest, with three boats full of officers and men, ac-
companied by Gen. Rey and Col. Blackwell; but after
remaining for a day and a night, hearing that the
French, who had landed at Kilcummin, had surrend-
ered and been, made prisoners, they re-embarked. On
the island is a coast guard station, forming one of the
seven that constitute the district of Dunfanaghy; a dis-
pensary is maintained in the usual way.
S
SAGGARD, or TASSAGGARD, a parish, in the
barony of NEWCASTLE, county of DUBLIN, and province
of LEINSTER, 1 mile (B. by S.) from Rathcoole, on the
roads leading from Dublin to Blessington and Naas;
containing 1673 inhabitants, of which number, 266 are
in the village. This parish comprises 4260 statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the surface is
mountainous, but the lower grounds are in good cultiva-
tion; limestone is quarried, and the mountains abound
542
SAI
with peat. The principal seats are Saggard House, the
residence of P. Smith, Esq.; Kingswood, of Mrs. Walsh;
and Ashtree Cottage, of J. Wade, Esq., where the
Saggard hounds are kept. The village is pleasantly
situated near the Tallaght hills, and contains 71 houses,
neatly built. The manufacture of paper is carried on
in mills belonging to Mr. M c Donnell, at Swift’s Brook,
where was formerly a residence of Dean Swift. Fairs
are held on Corpus Christi day, Oct. 10th, and Nov. 8th.
The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin, and in
the patronage of the Archbishop, partly appropriate to
the deanery of St. Patrick’s, Dublin, and partly consti-
tuting the corps of the prebend of Saggard in the cathe-
dral of St. Patrick. The tithes amount to £250, of
which £110 is payable to the dean, and the remainder
to the prebendary. The church has long been in ruins,
and the parishioners attend the church of Rathcoole;
the churchyard is still used as a burial-place. In the
R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or dis-
trict, comprising also the parishes of Newcastle and
Rathcoole, and part of the parish of Tallaght. There
are chapels at Saggard and Newcastle; on the west
side of the former is a monument of marble to the
Rev. A. Hart, P. P., and dean of Maynooth, with his
effigy in bass relief. About 100 children are taught in
a public school near the village. A monastery is said
to have been founded here by St. Mosacre, who flour-
ished about the middle of the 7th century, of which
there is no further record; perhaps it was destroyed in
1131, when this place was ravaged by the septs of the
Byrnes and O’Tooles.
SAINTFIELD, or TONAGHNIEVE, a post-town
and parish, in the barony of UPPER CASTLEREAGH,
county of DOWN, and province of ULSTER, 9 miles
(N. W.) from Downpatrick, and 78½ (N. by E.) from
Dublin, at the termination of the mail coach road
branching from Dromore, by way of Ballinahinch; con-
taining 7154 inhabitants, of which number, 1053 are in
the town, which consists of one long street, intersected
by a shorter one, comprising 213 houses, the greater
number of which are built of stone and slated. At this
place the first battle was fought in the north of Ireland
during the disturbances of 1798, on June 9th, when the
York Fencibles were beaten back and retreated to Cum-
ber. The proprietor and lord of the manor, N. Price,
Esq., improved the town in 1802, when he erected a large
market-house and hotel, since which time Saintfield has
been rapidly improving, and is now one of the most
flourishing towns in the county. According to the Ord-
nance survey, the parish comprises 13,333¾ statute
acres, 280 of which are roads and waste, and 118
bog; the land is good and nearly all arable. The weav-
ing of fine linen cloth, cotton cords, and hosiery, gives
employment to a great number of the working classes
at their own houses. Here is a chief constabulary po-
lice station; a manor court is held every third Satur-
day in the court-house, at which debts to the amount of
£10 are recoverable; petty sessions are also held in the
court-house on alternate Tuesdays. Mr. Price gave
premiums for the encouragement of a market and fairs,
so that they rank amongst the best in the North of Ire-
land; the market is held every Monday, and the fairs
take place on Jan. 26th, the second Thursday (O. S.) in
Feb. and March, the third Thursday in April and May,
June 26th, July 30th, Aug. 26th, the third Thursday in