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portreeve is annually elected from the freemen by the
chief burgesses, and the freemen are admitted only by
favour of the corporation. The recorder is chosen by
the sovereign and chief burgesses, and holds his office
during pleasure; the town-clerk is appointed either by
the sovereign or the chief burgesses, and the serjeant-at-
mace by the sovereign. The corporation, under their
charter, continued to return two members to the Irish
parliament till the Union, when the borough was dis-
franchised, and the sum of £15,000 awarded in com-
pensation was paid in moieties to Cornelius, Lord
Lismore, and T. Barton, Esq. A Tholsel court, in which
the sovereign presides, assisted by two burgesses, is held
every three weeks, for the recovery of debts within the
borough to any amount; and petty sessions are held
generally on alternate Mondays before the county magis-
trates. A constabulary police force is stationed here.
The parish comprises 1524 statute acres, as ap-plotted
under the tithe act, which, with the exception of a small
portion of woodland and about 130 acres of common,
are chiefly good arable land. Near the town are some
very fine limestone quarries, whence very large blocks
are procured; the stone takes a fine polish and is used
for tombstones and other purposes. Grove, the
handsome seat of W. Barton, Esq., is pleasantly situated
in an extensive demesne intersected by the river Clash-
anly, and richly planted; the house commands a fine
view of Kiltinan Castle and the Waterford mountains;
the park is well stocked with deer, and in the grounds
are the ruins of an old church. There are several other
gentlemen’s seats in the union, which are described in
their respective parishes. The living is a rectory and
vicarage, in the diocese of Cashel, united by act of
council, in 1682, to the rectories and vicarages of Pep-
perstown, Kilbragh, Cloneen, and Rathcoole, and to the
entire rectories of Kilconnel and Railstown, together
forming the union of Fethard, in the patronage of the
Archbishop. The tithes of the parish amount to £140,
and of the whole union to £1361. 7. 5¼. The glebe-
house is a neat building, and there are four glebes, com-
prising together 22 acres. The church is the remaining
aisle of an ancient structure of which the chancel is in
ruins; it is in the decorated English style with a vener-
able tower (in which are four fine-toned bells), and an
east and west window of very elegant design, and is 100
feet in length and 50 in breadth; the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners have lately granted £440 for its repair. In
the R. C. divisions, the parish is the head of a union or
district, comprising also the parish of Killusty; and
containing a chapel in each; the chapel of this parish,
a large plain modern building, was erected on ground
given by W. Barton, Esq. There is also a chapel at-
tached to the Augustinian friary in the town, an ancient
edifice with a very handsome east window, the beauty of
which is concealed by a modern roof, which intercepts
the crown of the arch. There is a place of worship for
Presbyterians, erected in 1739, in connection with the
Synod of Munster, the minister of which receives a
grant of £53. 10. 8. per ann. royal bounty; also a
temporary place of worship for Primitive Wesleyan
Methodists. The parochial school is aided by dona-
tions from the rector, W. Barton, Esq., and the parish-
ioners: the school-house, a good slated building, was
erected at an expense of £325, of which £100 was a
grant from the Association for Discountenancing Vice,
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and Mr. Barton gave £50; the site was part of the
glebe given by the rector, the Rev. H. Woodward. A
national school is chiefly supported by the Very Rev.
M. Laffan, and a school has been established by
Mrs. Barton for females, who are also taught spin-
ning and needlework. There are nine private schools,
a charitable loan fund, and a dispensary. There are
remains of the ancient walls, with four of the gateway
towers; in removing some stones near one of them a
gold ring was recently found, bearing the inscription,
“No Frende to Fayth.” At Market Hill is a mineral
spring; at Kiltinan is a subterraneous stream; and in
the neighbourhood are the remains of many ancient
castles, one of which, at Knockelly, occupies about an
acre of ground, and is surrounded by a high wall with
towers at each angle, and in good preservation.
FETHARD, a small sea-port, post-town, and parish,
in the barony of SHELBURNE, county of WEXFORD, and
province of LEINSTER, 15 ¾ miles (S.) from New Ross,
and 81 (S. W.) from Dublin, on the bay of Fethard;
containing 2153 inhabitants, of which number, 320 are
in the town. This place is supposed to have derived its
ancient name,” Fiodh Ard,” from the abundance of wood
in the neighbourhood, though at present no part of the
country is more destitute of timber. Robert Fitz-Stephen,
on his first invasion of the country, landed his forces
in a bay about a mile to the south of the town, since called
Bagenbon bay, from the names of the ships Bag and
Bon, both of which, immediately after his landing, he
burnt in the presence of his men, telling them that they
must either succeed in their enterprise or perish in the
attempt. After the settlement of the English in Ireland,
this place was given by Strongbow to Raymond le Gros,
who had married his sister Basilia, and who is said to
have erected a strong fortress here for the protection
of his newly acquired territory. Basilia, with the con-
currence of Fitz-Stephen, granted the church lands and
tithes of the whole lordship to the abbey of St. Thomas
near Dublin: and some of its earlier lords obtained
for the inhabitants a charter of incorporation. The cas-
tle afterwards became the episcopal residence of the
Bishops of Ferns, and here Alexander Devereux, the last
abbot of Dunbrody, and the first Bishop of Ferns after
the Reformation, died in 1556, and was buried in the
church, in the aisle of which his tombstone still remains.
In 1648, the manor of Ferns was exchanged by Bishop
Andrews for value belonging to the Loftus family.
The town, which is neat and well built, consists prin-
cipally of one wide street on the line of road from Ross
to Bagenbon Head, and contains 50 houses, partly oc
cupied by persons in the coast-guard department, of
which a branch is constantly stationed here. Some trade
is carried on in coal, timber, iron, and slates, and cattle
and pigs are occasionally shipped from the port, for
which its situation affords every facility. About 15
boats are employed in conveying limestone from the
south-west side of the parish, near Loftus Hall, to this
place, whence it is sent up the Scar river into the interior
of the country. A considerable fishery of herrings, lob-
sters, and other fish of superior quality, especially
plaice, is carried on off this coast. The harbour, which
was constructed by Government in 1798, and is capable
of receiving about four small sloops, is situated on the
north side of Inguard Point. Between the pier heads
are from 11 to 12 feet of water at high spring tides, and
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