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DON
It is pleasantly situated on the river Awbeg (the
“Gentle Mulla” of Spenser), which is here crossed by a
neat stone bridge of 3 arches, and on the mail road from
Mallow to Mitchelstown; it consists chiefly of one wide
main street, and a smaller one called Buttevant lane, and
contains about 390 houses. The vicinity is extremely
pleasing, the roads being shaded by fine fir and other
trees, and the country studded with gentlemen’s seats.
By a charter of the 15th ofChas.L (1639), constituting Sir
William St. Leger lord of the manor, power was given to
the seneschal to hold a court leet and court baron, with
jurisdiction in personal actions to the amount of 40s.;
also a market on Thursday, and two fairs annually
on the feast of St. Magdalene and All Souls. The mar-
ket is, however, now held on Saturday for provisions, but
on account of its proximity to Mallow, it is but thinly
attended; the fairs, which are held on the 12th of Aug.
and Nov., have also much declined; and although the
seneschal’s court is still occasionally held, with the view
of preserving the right, no business has been transacted
in it for the last seven years. The market and court-
house, a convenient building, is situated in the main
street. Near the bridge is the extensive flour-mill of
Messrs. Creagh & Stawell, and at Park is that of Messrs.
Norcott & Co. This is a chief constabulary police sta-
tion, and a small military force is also quartered in the
town. By a second charter, granted in the 31st of
Chas. II. (1660), the borough was empowered to return
two members to the Irish parliament, and the elective
franchise was vested in the freeholders made by the
lord of the manor; but no corporation was created: the
seneschal was the returning officer. From this period
until the Union it continued to send two burgesses to
parliament, when it was disfranchised and the com-
pensation of £15,000 paid to the heirs of Hayes, Vis-
count Doneraile. His descendant, Hayes St. Leger,
the third and present Viscount Doneraile, is lord of the
manor, which extends over parts of this parish and that
of Templeroan.
The parish, which extends to the Galtee mountains, on
the confines of the county of Limerick, and includes the
ancient subdivisions of Rossagh and Kilcoleman,
contains 20,797 statute acres, as applotted uinder the
tithe act, and valued at £9367 per annum. About 8800
acres are coarse mountain pasture: the arable land is
in general good, and the state of agriculture is gradually
improving, a considerable portion of the land being
in the occupation of the resident gentry. Limestone
abounds, and some good specimens of marble are occa-
sionally obtained. Among the numerous seats, Done-
raile Park, that of Viscount Doneraile, is distinguished
for its extent and beauty: it is intersected by the river
Awbeg, over which, and within the demesne are several
eat stone and rustic bridges. The mansion is a hand-
some and substantial building, to which has been added,
within the last few years, a large conservatory stored
with the choicest plants; it is situated on an eminence
gently sloping to the winding vale of the Awbeg. The
other seats are Creagh Castle, that of G. W. B. Creagh,
Esq.; Laurentinum, of the same family; Kilbrack, of
Mrs. Stawell; Byblox, of Major Crone; all of which are
on the Awbeg: and in the parish are also Donnybrook,
the seat of W. Hill, Esq., Old Court, of J. Stawell, Esq.;
Carker House, of N. G. Evans, Esq.; Lissa, of Capt.
Croker; Hermitage, of J. Norcott, Esq.; Crobeg, of G.
478
DON
Stawell, Esq.; Cromore, of R. Campion, Esq. Park
House, of A. Norcott, Esq.; Cottage, of J. Norcott,
Esq., M. D.; Stream Hill, of G. Crofts, Esq.; Kilbrack
Cottage, of the Very Rev. P. Sheehan, P.P.; and, in
the town, the newly erected mansion of A. G. Creagh,
Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Cloyne, and is a per-
petual curacy, forming part of the union of Templeroan,
or Doneraile, in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory
is impropriate in Edward Giles, Esq., of Park, near
Youghal. The tithes (including Rossagh and Kilcoleman)
amount to £1173.7. 1., the whole of which is payable to
the impropriator, subject to an allowance of £13. 6. 8.,
(late currency) to the officiating minister. The church, at
the north end of the town, is a neat and commodious edi-
fice with a tower, formerly surmounted by a spire which
was blown down about 12 years since. It was erected
in 1816, by aid of a loan of £2000 from the late Board
of First Fruits, and contains an ancient font, and a mural
monument to several members of the St. Leger family.
The evening church service is performed in the court-
house during the winter, and the Methodists also assem-
ble there on alternate Fridays. Rossagh and Kilcole
man, which are said to have been formerly distinct pa
rishes, have merged into this both for civil and eccles
iastical purposes. In the R. C. divisions the parish is
united to those of Cahirduggan and Templeroan. The
chapel is a handsome and spacious edifice, erected by
subscription in 1827: it consists of a nave lighted on
each side by lofty windows and surmounted by a cupola:
the altar and other internal decorations correspond with
its exterior. The site was given by Lord Doneraile, who
also contributed £50 towards its erection. A convent
for nuns of the order of the presentation has been esta-
blished here for many years, and liberally endowed by
Miss Goold. The chapel attached to it is open to the
public on Sunday mornings, and the chaplaincy is en-
dowed with £82 per ann., by Miss Goold, who has also
appropriated £28 per ann. for clothing the children
educated at the convent school, where about 400 girls
are gratuitously instructed, and taught both plain and
ornamental needlework. The parochial school of 25
children is aided by £10 per ann. from the incumbent,
and a school at Ballinvonare of 110 children is aided by
£12 per ann. from Harold Barry, Esq., who also pro-
vides the school-house. The Lancasterian, free school
of 300 boys is within the demesne of Lord Doneraile,
by whom it is entirely supported, and a school of about
20 girls is supported by Lady Doneraile, who also pays
a writing-master for attending it. A dispensary is sup-
ported here in the customary manner. At Ballyandree
is a chalybeate spring, stated to be of much efficacy in
complaints of the liver.
Of the remains of antiquity, Kilcoleman castle is
the most interesting, from having been once the resi-
dence of the poet Spenser. It was originally a structure
of some magnitude, the property of the Desmond family,
and on their forfeiture was, with about 3000 acres of
land, granted by Queen Elizabeth, in 1586, to Edmund
Spenser, who resided here for about 12 years, during
which period he composed his “Faery Queen.” The
ruins, situated on the margin of a small lake, have a
very picturesque appearance, being richly clothed with
ivy; the tower-staircase and the kitchen are still nearly
entire, and one small closet and window in the tower
quite perfect. The castle at Creagh is in good preser-