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LIS
verge of a precipitous cliff, partly clothed with wood
and towering above the foliage which conceals its base.
The approach is through an outer gateway, called the
Riding House, from which a long avenue of stately
trees, flanked with high stone walls, leads to the
principal entrance through a lofty gateway tower, over
which are the arms of the first Earl of Cork, into the
square of the castle, of which several of the towers are
still in their original state, though other portions of the
building have been restored and embellished in a more
modern style. The state apartments are spacious and
very elegantly fitted up; the drawing-rooms are hung
with splendid tapestry and paintings by the first
masters. From the summits of the tower and the flat
roofs of the building are magnificent views of the
surrounding country; in front is the lofty mountain of
Knockmeledown, rising above the range of hills ex-
tending eastward, from which a deep ravine thickly
wooded and alternated with projecting masses of rugged
rock appearing through the foliage, descends to the
vale immediately below it, which is embellished with
handsome, residences and rich plantations; and near
its apparent extremity is seen the town, of Cappoquin,
with the spire of its church and its bridge of light
structure over the river. In the grounds are some
remarkably fine yew trees of great age, forming an
avenue and assuming the appearance of cloisters. The
trade is very inconsiderable; but on the river, imme-
diately below the castle, is an extensive salmon fishery,
and during the season great quantities of fish are taken,
which are packed in ice, and exported to Liverpool and
to other distant ports. The Blackwater affords great
facility of commerce with the port of Youghal; the
navigation has been extended from the point to which
the tide reaches, about a mile to the east, up to the
bridge by a canal constructed at the expense of the late
Duke, by means of which corn and flour are exported,
and timber, iron, coal, and miscellaneous articles are
imported in lighters plying between this place and
Youghal. There are no stated market days: the fairs
are on May 25th, Sept. 25th, and Nov. 12th; and
there is a constabulary police station.
By charter of Jas. I., granted in 1613 to Sir Richard
Boyle, first Earl of Cork, the town, with the circumjacent
lands within a mile and a half round the parish church,
was made a free borough; and the corporation was
directed to consist of a portreeve, free burgesses and
commonalty. The charter also invested the corporation
with the privilege of returning two members to the
Irish parliament, which they continued to exercise till
the Union, when the borough was disfranchised, and
the £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to the
trustees under the will of the late Earl of Cork and
Burlington, whose seneschal was the returning officer.
Whether the officers of the corporation, nominated in
the charter, were ever regularly chosen, cannot be
ascertained; but it appears that few municipal functions
were exercised, except by the seneschal of the manor,
who still holds his court, at which debts not exceeding
£10 are recoverable every third week; but since the
Union the corporation has become virtually extinct.
Petty sessions are held. on alternate Wednesdays: the
sessions-house is a spacious building, and there is also
a bridewell.
The soil is in general fertile, and the lands alternately
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arable and pasture, with very little waste, except roads
and river, and a small quantity of bog; the system of
agriculture, is improved. Limestone abounds in the
southern parts of the parish, and towards the north is
found in strata of great depth. Slate of good quality
for roofing is quarried on the north side of the Black-
water and at Glenribben, and there are several other
quarries, of which one near the bridge of Lismore has
been worked for a long time; there is slate also on the
side of Knockmeledown; and coarse clay slate; silicious
rock, conglomerate, and sandstone are found in various
parts. Iron, copper, and lead ores are frequently
discovered, and have formerly been worked, but dis-
continued for want of fuel; a lead mine was discovered
in 1836, a little below Cappoquin, near the navigable
part of the Blackwater, on the estate of Mr. Usher,
but it is not yet worked. The scenery abounds with
features of grandeur and beauty; on the north, towards
the county of Tipperary, the parish is bounded by a
mountainous ridge, of which the highest point is the
conical summit of Knockmeledown, 2700 feet above the
level of the sea, commanding a magnificent and exten-
sive prospect, embracing the rock of Cashel and its
cathedral church; and the ocean, with the bays of
Youghal and Dungarvan. On the summit of this moun-
tain, Mr. Eccles, a writer on electricity, was buried in
1781, at his own request. Some very rich scenery is
also observable on the roads to Clogheen and Cappoquin,
about two miles distant; in various places deep ravines
intersect the range of hills, and the whole of the
adjoining district presents features of interest and
variety. The principal seats are Tourin, the residence
of Sir R. Musgrave, Bart., composed partly of an
ancient castle, and commanding an extensive and pic-
turesque view; Ballysaggartmore, of Arthur Keily,
Esq., in an ample and tastefully planted demesne near
the river, also commanding some fine views; Flower
Hill, of B. Drew, Esq., a beautiful residence in the
cottage style, surrounded by richly diversified scenery;
Fort William, of J. Gumbleton, Esq., a handsome
demesne on the opposite side of the Blackwater, in
which a newshouse is now being erected by the pro-
prietor; Glencairne, of Gervaise Bushe, Esq., a hand-
some residence beautifully situated; Ballygally, the
occasional residence of G. Holmes Jackson, Esq.;
Glanbeg, of G. Bennett Jackson, Esq.; Tourtain, of
T. Foley, Esq.; Ballyinn, of P. Foley, Esq.; Bally-
rafter, of M. Quinlan, Esq., M. D.; and Salterbridge,
of A. Chearnley, Esq., beautifully situated in thriving
plantations. At Ballyinn are some flour-mills.
The SEE of LISMORE, soon after the arrival of the
English, was enlarged by the annexation of the ancient
see of Ardmore. Bishop Felix, who succeeded to the
prelacy in 1179, gave the church of St. John to the
abbey of Thomas-Court, near Dublin; and from this
time fierce disputes were carried on between the prelates
of this see and the bishops of Waterford, which were
frequently renewed and continued by several of his
successors, till 1358, when, during the prelacy of Bishop
Reve, the two sees were united, and continued to be
held as one by Thomas Le Reve, bishop of Lismore and
Waterford, and by his successors till the passing of the
Church Temporalities’ Act, in the 3rd and 4th of Wm.
IV., when, on the decease of Dr. Bourke, both were
annexed to the archiepiscopal see of Cashel, and the