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BAL
since whose accession the village has been much im-
proved. The parish church, recently erected; the R. C.
chapel; and a dispensary, are situated here. There is
a mineral spring of some repute.
BALLYRAGGET, or DONOUGHMORE, a post-
town and parish, in the barony of FASSADINING, county
of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (N.
by W.) from Kilkenny, and 53¾ (S. W. by S.) from Dub-
lin; containing 2609 inhabitants, of which number,
1629 are in the town. This place appears to have
derived its origin from a castle belonging to the Butler
family, which in 1600 was garrisoned by the forces of
Sir George Carew, Lord-President of Munster, when the
sons of Lord Mountgarret, to whom it then belonged,
were in rebellion against the crown, and had engaged
with O’More to arrest the Earl of Ormonde. Pre-
viously to this period it had been a favourite residence
of the celebrated Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, Countess of
Ormonde, who is said to have frequently issued from
the castle at the head of her armed retainers, to ravage
the property of such of the neighbouring families as she
deemed to be her enemies. In 1619, Jas. I. constituted
this place a manor, and granted to its lord, Richard,
third Viscount Mountgarret, the privilege of holding
two fairs. During the Whiteboy disturbances, the castle
was appropriated as a barrack for the use of the military
stationed in the district. The town is situated on the
road from Kilkenny to Durrow, and on the river Nore,
over which is a good stone bridge of 10 arches; it con-
sists of one principal street, with several smaller streets
diverging from it, and contains about 300 houses.
Fairs are held on Feb. 20th, April 20th, June 22nd,
Sept. 4th, Oct. 20th, and Dec. 10th; and additional fairs,
recently established, are held on Jan. 11th, March 14th,
May 9th, and July 22nd. Here is a station of the con-
stabulary police; a manor court is held occasionally,
and petty sessions irregularly. The parish comprises
5268 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act;
there is a quarry of hard black limestone. In the im-
mediate vicinity of the town is Ballyragget Lodge, for-
merly the seat of the Butlers of Ballyragget, which
family became extinct on the demise of the late Rt. Rev.
Dr. J. Butler, R. C. Archbishop of Cashel. The mansion is
a fine building, and in the demesne are the remains of Bal-
lyragget castle, in a good state of preservation. The parish
is in the diocese of Ossory; the rectory is impropriate in
the Marquess of Ormonde, and the vicarage is part of the
union of Odogh. The tithes amount to £190, of which
£120 is payable to the impropriator, and £70 to the
vicar. In the R. C. divisions it is the head of a union
or district, which comprises the parishes of Ballyragget,
Ballyouskill, Rosconnel, and Attanagh, and parts of
those of Durrow, Abbeyleix, Freshford, Burnchurch,
and Kilmocar; and contains two chapels, one at Bally-
ragget and one at Attanagh. There are eight pay
schools and a Sunday school in the parish.
BALLYRASHANE, or ST. JOHN’S-TOWN, a pa-
rish, partly in the barony of LOWER DUNLUCE, county of
ANTRIM, but chiefly in the north-east liberties of COLE-
RAINE, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of UL-
STER, 3 miles (N. E.) from Coleraine; containing 2851
inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from
Coleraine to Ballycastle, and comprises, according to
the Ordnance survey, 6360¾ statute acres, of which
2689 are in the county of Antrim, and the remainder in
162
BAI
the county of Londonderry. The greater portion of the
land is fertile and in a high state of cultivation; wheat
and barley have been introduced since the year 1829,
and are raised with great success. There are detached
portions of bog, affording a good supply of fuel. Vast
quantities of basalt are raised; and in a geological point
of view the parish is very interesting, containing beauti-
ful specimens of amorphous, columnar, and divaricated
basalt, which are found here in all their varieties, ac-
companied with chalcedony, opal, zeolite, and other
fossils; it abounds also with botanical specimens of con-
siderable interest. Brookhall, the seat of S. Boyce,
Esq., is in this parish. The inhabitants are principally
employed in the weaving of linen cloth; and there are
some paper-mills for brown and fancy papers, affording
employment to about 30 persons. The living is a rectory,
in the diocese of Connor, and in the patronage of the
Bishop: the tithes amount to £350. The church is a
plain small edifice, in the later English style, erected by
aid of a grant of £900 from the late Board of First
Fruits, in 1826. The glebe-house, nearly adjoining it,
was built in 1828: there is no glebe. In the R. C. divi-
sions the parish forms part of the union or district of
Coleraine. There are two places of worship for Presby-
terians in connection with the Synod of Ulster; one at
Kirkstown of the first class, and the other at Ballywatt
of the third class. The male and female parochial schools
at Lisnarick are supported by the rector, who also con-
tributes annually to the support of a school at Ballyrack;
at Ballyvelton is also a school, and there are two pri-
vate pay schools and two Sunday schools. At Revel-
lagh are the ruins of a castle and fort. There are also
some extensive artificial caverns at Ballyvarten, Island
Effrick, and Ballynock; the first has four rooms or
cells, 5 feet high and 2½ feet wide, having the sides
formed of unhewn stones and the roof of large flat
stones.
BALLYROAN, a parish, in the barony of CULLI-
NAGH, QUEEN’S county, and province of LEINSTER,
2½ miles (N. E.) from Abbeyleix, on the road from
Monastereven to Durrow; containing 3544 inhabitants,
of which number, 714 are in the village. It comprises
8625 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and
contains several high hills, the largest of which, Culli-
nagh, gives name to the barony. The village, which
lies low, contains 132 houses; it is a constabulary
police station, and has a patent for a market, but no
market is held. Fairs are held on Jan. 6th, April 2nd,
May 15th, the first Wednesday in July (O. S.), Aug.
15th, and the second Wednesday in Nov. (O. S.), chiefly
for cattle and pigs. At Cullinagh are some cotton-mills
and a boulting-mill, both badly supplied with water; in
the former about 50 persons are employed, of whom two-
thirds are children. But the inhabitants are chiefly en-
gaged in agriculture: the soil consists of a rich loam and
a deep black earth, and is equally productive under tillage
and in dairy husbandry. The system of agriculture is
improving; there is but a small tract of bog, not more
than sufficient to supply the inhabitants with fuel. The
dairy lands are sometimes appropriated to the fattening
of black cattle. Limestone is quarried principally for
burning; and grit flagstone is found in the mountains.
A thin stratum of coal has been discovered, but has not
been worked, though there is near it a mineral vein;
much of the same kind of coal is found in the mountain