DRUMCLIFF

In 1868, the parish of Drumcliff contained the following places:

"DRUMCLIFF, a parish in the barony of Islands, in the county of Clare, province of Munster, Ireland. It is situated on the river Fergus, and contains Ennis, its post town. The surface is broken and hilly, and the soil variable. The living is a rectory and vicarage in the diocese of Killaloe, value with two others, £575, in the patronage of the bishop. The old church is in ruins. The present one is at Ennis. There are three Roman Catholic chapels within the parish, four public, and several private schools. Numerous seats surround the neighbourhood, the principal of which is Stamerpark. Near the church stands a round tower 50 feet high, with door and windows. There is a mineral spring at Inch."

"ENNIS, a market town and parliamentary borough, in the parish of Drumcliff, barony of Islands, county Clare, of which it is the county town, province of Munster, Ireland, 8 miles S.E. of Corrofin, and 141 W.S.W. from Dublin. It is the terminus of the Limerick and Ennis railway. The town is situated on the river Fergus, which is crossed by four bridges, and is navigable as far as Clare, 2 miles lower down the river. At this point goods, conveyed in lighters from Ennis, are shipped for exportation. On its banks are several extensive flour-mills. This town was the ancient seat of the O'Briens, and was called Inniscluan ruadha, from which it takes its present denomination. It was chartered in the reign of James I., and returned two members to the Irish parliament before the Union; it now sends one to the imperial parliament. Constituency in 1859, 191.

The cleansing of the town is vested in 18 commissioners under the Towns' Improvement Act. Until recently it was a neglected place, without trade or manufacture, but has been much improved, and now carries on a brisk trade in butter and grain. It is an assize and sessions town, and chief police station. The population has decreased from 10,519 in 1851, to 7,127 in 1861. In the town stands the parish church, a modernised part of the old abbey. It is a handsome structure, but in 1817 was much damaged by lightning, and restored in 1819. The organ was the gift of the Earl of Egremont. The Roman Catholic chapel is an elegant cruciform structure, considered to be the Cathedral of Killaloe diocese. Here are also Presbyterian and Wesleyan chapels, a grammar school, founded by the Erasmus Smith charity, court-house, gaol, infirmary, lying-in hospital, market-house, linen market, townhall, and two banks; also barracks for 600 men. A public library is in course of erection. There are two newspapers published in Ennis-the Clare Journal, established in 1770, published on Monday and Thursday, and the Clare Freeman, published every Saturday. Here stood a Franciscan abbey, erected in 1240 by O'Brian, Prince of Thomond, which, together with the town, was burnt in 1306 by Dermot, grandson of Brian Roe. It was restored by the Macnamaras a few years later. Terence O'Brian, Bishop of Killaloe, is said to have been murdered in this abbey in 1460 by Brian O'Brian. Part of the E. window, which is of extreme beauty, is still remaining. There are also several handsome tombs and the abbot's chair to be seen. The Poor-law Union of Ennis contains 18 electoral divisions in the county of Clare, with 28 guardians, and the poorhouse affords shelter to 1,200 indoor paupers. Stamer Park is the principal residence. Coaches and cars run to Ennistymon, Galway, Kilrush, Limerick, Milltown, and Oranmore. Saturday and Tuesday are market days. Fairs are held on the 22nd April and the 3rd September. Races take place in the neighbourhood."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018