Ballynakill - Leitrim

BALLYNAKILL, a parish, in the barony of LEITRIM, county of GALWAY, and province of CONNAUGHT, 71/2 miles (W.S.W.) from Portumna; containing, with the town of Woodford, 13,103 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from Portumna to Gort, and comprises 12,006 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; about 800 acres are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture. Marble Hill, formerly Gortenacuppogue, the seat of Sir J. Burke, Bart., is finely situated in a demesne extensively wooded, commanding several interesting views, and distinguished by its great variety of surface; in the grounds is a spring called Macduff s well, within a few yards of which are vestiges of a stone altar. The other seats are Shannon Hill, the residence of M. Conolly, Esq.; Ballinagar, of the Hon. A. Nugent; Cloncoe, of Ulick Burke, Esq.; Moyglass, of J. Burke, Esq.; Eagle Hill, of Capt. H.

Pigott, J. P.; Brook Ville, of Martin White, Esq.; Ballycorban, of Matthew White, Esq.; and Carroroe Lodge, of H. Clarke, Esq. Fairs are held on the 1st of June and 26th of October. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Clonfert, partly appropriate to the see and deanery, and partly forming a portion of the union of Lickmolassy: the tithes amount to £299. 15. 1., of which £50. 15.41/2. is payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, £13. 18. 111/4. to the dean, and the remainder to the incumbent. The church is at Woodford, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £213 for its repair; the glebe at Ballynakill comprises 6a. 3r. In the R. C. divisions the greater part of the parish is divided into two entire benefices, called Ballynakill and Woodford, and the remainder forms part of a third: there are chapels at Cloncoe, Loughtorick, Marble Hill, Knockadrian, and Woodford; the last erected in 1837, at a cost of £400. A National school has been recently built, and there are nine pay schools, in which are 178 boys and 363 girls. There are the ruins of an old castle, which appears to have been of great strength; and numerous forts. In the demesne of Marble Hill is a subterranean passage, now so choked up with reeds and other obstructions as to render it difficult to ascertain its extent; and there are numerous vestiges of antiquity in the grounds. At Ballinagar, about a mile and a half from the village, are Mullins Wells, formerly much visited during the summer, the grounds around them being tastefully laid out. See WOODFORD.

from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837.