Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

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Primitive Methodists. The parochial school was built
by a bequest of £200 from the late Rev. J. Nixon, and
is aided by an annual subscription of £5 from the
rector; there is a school at the rector’s gate-house,
where girls are taught needlework by his family; a
girls’ school is supported by the Marchioness of Ely;
and a school has been recently erected at Fasso, by the
Marquess of Ely, who is proprietor of the parish. In
these and another public school about 330 children are
educated, and about 900 are taught in 19 private
schools; there are also four Sunday schools. In the
vicinity of Carricklake are the ruins of a church; and
near Churchhill are the remains of Castle Tully, the
inhabitants of which were slaughtered in the war of
1641. Several Danish raths or forts exist here, some of
which are very perfect. There is a sulphureous spring
at Braad, and a chalybeate spring at Rosslemonough.
INNISMAGRATH, or ENNISMAGRATH, a parish,
in the barony of DROMAHAIRE, county of LEITRIM,
and province of CONNAUGHT, 5¼ miles (S. E.) from
Dromahaire, on the road from Carrick-on-Shannon to
Manor-Hamilton; containing 7979 inhabitants. This
parish comprises 23,013 statute acres, principally under
tillage, and includes much mountain bog. Here are
coal and iron mines, which are not worked, also lime-
stone and freestone. It is situated on Lough Allen, and
is almost surrounded by bleak mountains, but has some
pleasing views, especially where the Shannon enters the
lake at its north-western extremity. The principal seats
are Strand Hill, the residence of J. Fawcet, Esq., and
Corry Lodge, of F. N. Cullen, Esq., both on the shore of
Lough Allen. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Kilmore,
and in the patronage of the Bishop, to whom the rectory
is appropriate. The tithes amount to £248. 2. 10½, of
which £20 is payable to the bishop, and the remainder
to the vicar. The glebe-house was built by aid of a gift
of £100 and a loan of £750 from the late Board of First
Fruits, in 1815; the glebe comprises 541 acres of pro-
fitable land. The church is a neat building, erected by
aid of a loan of £923 from the late Board, in 1830, and
recently repaired by a grant of £127 from the Eccles-
iastical Commissioners. The R. C. parish is co-exten-
sive with that of the Established Church, and has a
chapel near Drumkerrin and a newly erected one at
Termon. The parochial school, in which are about 70
children, is aided by the incumbent; and there are
12 private schools, in which about 800 children are edu-
cated. On the small island of Inch are the ruins of a
church, said to have been built by St. Beoy, to whom
many springs in the neighbourhood are dedicated, at
which his festival is celebrated on March 8th. This
island has long been a favourite burial-place, and the
parish was formerly called the “Parish of the Island.”
On the western border of Lough Allen stood the abbeys
of Conagh and Tarmon, the latter of which was occu-
pied by nuns until they were expelled by Cromwell’s
soldiers. Crystals and petrifactions abound in the moun-
tains, in which there are extensive caverns, and among
which are cataracts 200 feet high. Near Gubacowan
is a strong chalybeate spring, called Cavan Spa.
INNISMOTT, a parish, in the barony of LOWER
SLANE, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER
4 miles (S. W.) from Ardee, on the road to Kingscourt,
and on the river Dee; containing 405 inhabitants. It
comprises 1387 statute acres, as applotted under the
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tithe act. The land is of good quality, based on lime-
stone, and principally under tillage, with the exception
of about 250 acres of marshy land, of which 50 form an
osier bed. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, and
in the gift of the Bishop; the rectory has been appro-
priated by the sheriffs of Drogheda as an endowment to
St. Mark’s chapel, in that town. The tithes amount to
£80, of which £65 is payable to the incumbent of St.
Mark’s, and the remainder to the vicar. There is neither
church, glebe-house, nor glebe. In the R. C. divisions
it forms part of the union or district of Lobbinstown, or
Syddan.
INNISMURRAY, an island, in the parish of
AHAMPLISH, barony of LOWER CARHERY, county of
SLIGO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 15 miles (N.) from
Sligo; containing 87 inhabitants. This island is situated
in the Atlantic Ocean, about five, miles off the western
coast, and 2 leagues (N. N. E.) from Ballyeonncll point
A religious establishment was founded on it by St.
Columb, in conjunction with St. Molasse, to whom he
relinquished the whole government, and who conse-
quently became the patron saint of the island. This
little monastery, which was dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin, and of which St. Dieholla, who died in 747, was
abbot, was destroyed by the Danes in 804, In 1666,
the island, with all its appurtenances, was granted by
Chas. II. to the Earl of Stratford and Thomas Radelife,
Esq., and is now the property of Viscount Palmerston
It consists of a vast rock rising precipitously towards
the ocean and shelving gradually towards the mainland,
and comprises about 126 acres of profitable land, chiefly
affording pasturage to a few horses, cows, and sheep,
with a large tract of turbary, which, though shallow,
supplies a good hard turf impregnated with a large por-
tion of bituminous matter. The soil of that portion
which is under tillage is light, and though every means
have been used to enrich the land with sea manure, the
results in general are unfavourable. The inhabitants,
consisting of about 18 families, and occupying about the
same number of dwellings, form a community, generally
intermarrying with each other, and speaking their origi-
nal language. They are chiefly employed in fishing, and
during the winter, when the island is inaccessible, in
making whiskey. The sea affords abundance of fish,
including bream, pollock, mackerel, lobsters, crabs, and
other shell fish, which form their chief subsistence and
are their articles of trade with the mainland. There is
an abundant supply of fresh water; and on the north
side of the island is a quarry of good granite. There
are some remains of the old religious buildings, which
were of the rudest construction. In one, resembling a
fort and built of rude stones, is a figure of St. Molasse,
carved in oak, about three feet high: the east end of this
chapel, which is not more than 7 feet long and 4 feet
wide, is covered with very fine flags, and the whole sur-
rounded with a wall enclosing about half an acre. There
are several compartments excavated in the rock, which
appear to have been cells for solitary prayer; one of
these is covered with a flag of the size and form of a
mill-stone; and near it is a large flag stone, supported
on S upright stones about two feet high, on which are
placed about 40 or 50 stories called by the people
Clougha bracka, or “the cursing stones,” from a belief
that by turning them, and at the same time invoking
imprecations against those by whom they suspect to have