INISHCALTRA

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

"INISHCALTRA, a parish partly in the barony of Upper Tulla, county Cork, province of Munster, and partly in that of Leitrim, county Galway, province of Connaught, Ireland, including some small islands in Lough Derg, 4 miles N.E. of Scariff, its post town. It is about 4 miles square. The surface is varied in contour; the mainland along Lough Derg is a low tract screened by the declivities of the Slieve-Baughta mountains. The Bora rivulet and the road from Scariff to Portumna and to Loughrea pass through the parish. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Killaloe, value with two others, £111, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was erected in 1785 by the late Board of First Fruits. It was enlarged in 1830. There are one public and one private school. The Roman Catholic chapel is united to that of Clonrush. There are also meeting-houses for Methodists and Baptists. Woodpark and Kilrateera are the principal residences. The parish takes its name from Inniscalthra, or Holy Island, in Lough Derg. It is also called the Island of Seven Churches, and is famous as the site of several religious houses. The origin of the seven churches, we are told, was in an abbey founded here by St. Camin in the 7th century. The island was sacked by the Danes between 834 and 946. There are several round towers, and on the mainland is a Danish fort.

"MOUNT-SHANNON, a post and market village in the parish of Inishcaltra, barony of Leitrim, county Galway, province of Connaught, Ireland, 40 miles S.E. of Galway, and 123 from Dublin. It stands on the road from Scarriff to Portumna, near Lough Derg. It contains the parish church, a Roman Catholic chapel, market house, and police station, where petty sessions are held. Fairs are held on 28th February, May, August, and November."

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