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cles Little Island with a wide but shallow channel on
the north, and a narrow winding stream of greater depth
on the south. It comprises about 1800 statute acres, of
which the island contains about 290 acres, forming a
delightful spot commanding a fine view of the city of
Waterford, the course of the Suir, and the adjacent
counties of Kilkenny and Wexford, terminated by the
lofty and picturesque mountains of Ury and Slieve Kielta.
On the island is a comfortable farm-house, near which
is an old castle, supposed to have been erected in the
sixteenth century; it is a strong square building with
lofty battlements, having a small pointed entrance arch-
way, above which is an oriel window with some rude
sculpture; a staircase, faintly lighted by loopholes, leads
to the summit, from which the view is singularly grand
and extensive: it is the property and occasional residence
of J. Fitzgerald, Esq. In the parish are several gentle-
men’s seats, of which the principal are May Park, the
residence of George Meara, Esq., pleasantly situated
near the banks of the Suir, and commanding some fine
views; Mount Pleasant, the handsome residence of S.
King, Esq., near the high road; Belmont, the seat of
J. Roherts, Esq., situated near the river; and Ballyna-
kill House, the property of N. Power, Esq., now occupied
by a tenant. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of
Waterford, with the vicarages of Ballygunner, Kilma-
cleague, and Kilmacomb episcopally united, together
forming the union of Ballynakill, in the patronage of
the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate to the Dean and
Chapter of Waterford. The tithes amount to £139.3. 6.
of which £84. 1.9. is payable to the dean and chapter,
and £55. 1. 9. to the vicar; and the tithes of the whole
benefice amount to £245. 0. 10. The church, a neat
edifice with a spire, was built by aid of a gift of £900
from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816. There is
no glebe-house: the glebe, situated in another part
of the union, comprises 10 acres. In the R. C. divisions
this parish forms part of the union or district of St.
John’s, Waterford. A Protestant school, endowed with
lands by Bishop Foy, and in which 47 boys are boarded
and educated, and at a proper age apprenticed, is sup-
ported under the control of the Bishop, Dean, and Mayor
of Waterford.
BALLYNAMALLARD, a village, in the parish of
MAGHERACROSS, barony of TYRKENNEDY, county of FER-
MANAGH, and province of ULSTER, 51/4 miles (N. by E.)
from Enniskillen, on the road to Omagh; containing
72 houses and 323 inhabitants. It is a constabulary
police station; and has fairs on Feb. 12th, Aug. 5th,
and Nov. 28th, of which only the first is kept and is a
good fair for horses. There is a penny post to Enniskillen
and Omagh. The parish church is in the village; and there
are also places of worship for Wesleyan and Primitive
Methodists, and a dispensary.—See MAGHERACROSS.
BALLYNAMONA, or MOORT0WN, a parish, in
the barony of SMALL COUNTY, county of LIMERICK.
and province of MUNSTER, 5 miles (N. E) from Bruff;
containing 513 inhabitants. This parish is situated
on the road from Hospital to Pallas-Greine, and com-
prises 1317 statute acres; the land is in general re-
markably good, resting upon a substratum of limestone,
through which appear some small rocks of basalt.
About one-fourth is under tillage, and the remainder
is meadow and pasture, with more than 100 acres of
turbary, which affords excellent fuel; the system of agri-
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BAL
culture is improved. It is a vicarage, in the diocese
of Emly, and is part of the union of Aney; the rectory
is impropriate in Edward Deane Freeman, Esq. The
tithes amount to £131, of which two-thirds are payable
to the impropriator and the remainder to the vicar. In
the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or dis-
trict of Hospital and Herbertstown. On the banks of
a small stream, close to the road, are the remains of the
castle built by the Raleighs in the reign of Elizabeth;
and not far from it are the ruins of the old parish
church.
BALLYNARD, or CAHIRFOSSORGE, a parish, in
the barony of SMALL COUNTY, county of LIMERICK, and
province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (N. E. by N.) from Bruff,
on the road from Limerick to Hospital; containing 867
inhabitants. This parish comprises 1366 statute acres,
as applotted under the tithe act: the land is in general
good, resting on a substratum of limestone, except in
some few places where the basalt rises in gentle knolls.
It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Emly, and is part of
the union of Aney; the rectory is impropriate in Ed-
ward Deane Freeman, Esq. The tithes amount to
£148. 18., of which two-thirds are payable to the im-
propriator and the remainder to the vicar. In the R.
C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or dis-
trict of Hospital and Herbertstown, in which latter is
the chapel for this parish. There are two pay schools,
in which are about 60 boys and 30 girls. Not far from
the chapel are the ruins of the old church; and on the
hill are the remains of Ballynard castle, built by the
Geraldines in the fifteenth century, and for many years
the residence of the Ballynard branch of that powerful
family. At Eaglestown are some remains of the old
family mansion of the Powels.
BALLYNASCREEN, a parish, in the barony of
LOUGHINSHOLIN, county of LONDONDERRY, and pro-
vince of ULSTER; containing, with the market and
post-town of Draperstown, 7854 inhabitants. This ap-
pears to have been a place of importance at a very
early period; frequent notice of it occurs in the Trias
Thaumaturga and other ancient records, though it is
neither mentioned in the Monasticon nor in the Visita-
tion of 1622, which includes every other parish in the
neighbourhood. The original church, the ruins of which
are situated in a romantic and sequestered glen among
the mountains, is said to have been founded by St.
Patrick, and subsequently consecrated by St. Columb as
a parochial church. The parish is intersected by the
river Moyola, which has its sources amidst the moun-
tain regions of Slieve Gullion, Moneymeeney, and Slieve
Dovin, which extend into the county of Tyrone, where
they meet the Munterloney range. It comprises, ac-
cording to the Ordnance survey, 32,492 statute acres,
of which about 200 acres are mountain, waste, and bog.
Part of the parish belongs to the Drapers’ Company, of
London, part to the representative of the Skinners’
Company, and part to the see of Derry. The soil is
various: around Draperstown and on the banks of the
Moyola it is a deep gravel and sand, and in an excellent
state of cultivation, producing good crops of wheat, flax,
oats, and potatoes, and some barley, but on the higher
grounds the chief crops are flax, oats, and potatoes.
The freestone is of superior quality and is extensively
worked for building. Manganese has been found in
detached nodules in several of the mountain streams;