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ARD
The parish comprises 6572 statute acres, as applotted
under the tithe act, exclusively of a considerable tract
of bog; the land is some of the best in the county and
finely planted; the system of agriculture is little im-
proved, the fertility of the soil and the abundance of
the crops rendering the farmer unwilling to change his
plans. On the west it is bounded by heathy and boggy
mountains, which contain several strata of coal, but
the two upper strata, which are very thin, are alone
worked: the only pits now open are at Carrigkerry.
Iron-stone and fire clay of very superior quality are also
abundant, but no attempt has yet been made to work
them. The seats are Ardagh Lodge, the residence of
T. Fitzgibbon, Esq.; and Ballynaborney, of W. Upton,
Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Limerick, and the
rectory forms part of the union of St. Michael and
corps of the archdeaconry, in the patronage of the
Bishop: the tithes amount to £184. 12. 3¾. In the
R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district,
comprising also the parish of Rathronan and part of
the parish of Kilscannell; the chapel, a large but old
and neglected building, is situated in the village, where
a school-house is now in course of erection. There
are two schools, in which are about 100 boys and SO
girls.
ARDAGH, a parish, partly in the barony of MOYDOW,
but chiefly in that of ARDAGH, county of LONGFORD,
and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (W. S. W.) from
Edgeworthstown; containing 4980 inhabitants, of which
number, 142 are in the village, which comprises 25
houses and is wholly in the latter barony. This ancient
place derives its name from its elevated situation, and
its origin may at the latest be ascribed to the middle of
the fifth century, when its church was founded. Sub-
sequently here was a friary of the third order of St.
Francis, founded at Ballynesaggard by the family of
O’Ferrall, and reformed in 1521 by the friars of the
Strict Observance. The parish is situated on the nearest
road from. Mullingar to Longford over Ballicorkey bridge,
but the coach road is through Edgeworthstown, from
which there is a penny post. It comprises 10,063 statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at
£8073 per annum; there is a moderate extent of bog,
but no waste land. The land is good, and is principally
under tillage, and the system of agriculture, though still
very backward, has considerably improved. Ardagh
House is the seat of Sir G. R. Fetherston, Bart.;
Richfort, of J. A. Richardson, Esq.; Oldtown, of Thorn-
ton Gregg, Esq.; and Drumbawn, of Peyton Johnston,
Esq. Fairs are held on April 5th and Aug. 26th. Petty
sessions are held every Thursday; and here is a consta-
bulary police station.
The DIOCESE of ARDAGH appears to have been founded
either by St. Patrick or by his disciple and nephew,
St. Mell, a Briton, who became bishop and abbot of
Ardagh before the year 454. Of his successors until
the arrival of the English, in the reign of Hen. II., little
with certainty is known, and nothing remarkable is
recorded of any. Near the close of the fifteenth century
the bishoprick was held by William O’Ferrall, who was
also dynast of the surrounding territory; and Richard
O’Ferrall combined these two dignities from 1541 to
1553; It was held jointly with the diocese of Kilmore
by royal patent from 1603 till 1633, when it was volun-
tarily resigned by William Bedell, Bishop of Kilmore;
40
ARD
and John Richardson, D. D., Archdeacon of Derry, and
a native of Chester, was advanced to the see of Ardagh.
This prelate, apprehensive of the insurrection which
broke out towards the close of 1641, withdrew with all
his substance into England in the summer of that year;
and having a short time before his departure recovered
some lands in his diocese from one Teigue O’Roddy, the
latter applied for relief to the British House of Com-
mons, and a summons was sent to the bishop requiring
his appearance on a certain day; but on application to
the Irish House of Lords, the lord-chancellor was ordered
to write to the Speaker of the English House, asserting
their privileges, and refusing to permit the bishop’s
compliance; and on a motion of the Bishop of Clonfert
an order was resolved on to prevent such grievances in
future. After his death, in 1653 or 1654, the see con-
tinued vacant and its revenues sequestrated until the
Restoration of Chas. II., when the dioceses were again
united and so continued until the deprivation of Bishop
Sheridan, in 1692. Ulysses Burgh, D. D., was then
promoted to Ardagh; and dying in the same year the
union was restored, but was ultimately dissolved in 1742,
on the translation of Bishop Hart to the archiepiscopal
see of Tuam, with which Ardagh has been since held in
commendam, the archbishop being suffragan to the Lord-
Primate for this see. Under the provisions of the
Church Temporalities Act (3rd of Wm. IV.) this dio-
cese, on the death of the present Archbishop of Tuam,
will be again permanently united to that of Kilmore.
It is one of the ten which constitute the ecclesiastical
province of Armagh, and comprehends part of the coun-
ties of Sligo, Roscommon, and Leitrim, in the civil pro-
vince of Connaught; part of Cavan, in Ulster; and part
of Westmeath and nearly the whole of Longford, in
Leinster. It comprises, by estimation, 233,650 acres, of
which 4400 are in Sligo, 8700 in Roscommon, 71,200 in
Leitrim, 10,600 in Cavan, 8900 in Westmeath, and
129,850 in Longford. A dean and an archdeacon are
the only dignitaries, but have no official duties to per-
form, and the latter has no emoluments: there is no
chapter, but in cases of necessity a majority of the be-
neficed clergymen of the diocese represent that body;
the parochial church of Ardagh serves as the cathedral.
It was divided into four rural deaneries prior to the
year 1819, when the diocesan dispensed with the ser-
vices of the rural deans and has since discharged their
duties himself. The diocese comprises 38 parishes, of
which 20 are rectories or united rectories and vicarages,
17 vicarages, and 1 impropriate cure: the total number
of benefices is 26, of which 8 are unions consisting of
20 parishes, and the remainder consist of single parishes,
and of which 1 is in the gift of the crown, 22 in that of
the diocesan, and 3 are in lay patronage; the number
of churches is 33, and of glebe-houses 22. The see
lands comprise 22,216 statute acres, of which 13,194 are
profitable land, and 9022 are unprofitable; and the gross
annual revenue payable to the archbishop is, on an
average, £3186. 2. 6¾. In the R. C. divisions this diocese
and a few parishes in Meath constitute the see, which is
suffragan to Armagh; it contains 65 chapels, served by
42 parish priests and 42 coadjutors and curates.
The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese
of Ardagh, and constituting the corps of the deanery,
which is in the patronage of the Crown. The tithes
amount to £482. 11. 5½.: and the mensal and other