KILKEEVIN

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

"KILKEEVIN, a parish in the barony of Castlerea, county Roscommon, province of Connaught, Ireland, containing the post town of Castlerea. The parish is 8 miles long by 5 broad. In the centre and W. the surface is wild and boggy, including Lough Aelvyn. In the E. it is drained by the river Suck, and presents a more cultivated appearance. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Elphin, value with another, £466, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was erected in 1819 by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits. There are a Roman Catholic chapel and several day schools. Cloonalis is the seat of The O'Connor Don, M.P. Dealfield is another residence.

"CASTLEREA, (or Castlereagh), a market town in the parish of Kilkeevin, barony of Castlerea, in the county of Roscommon, province of Connaught, Ireland, 17 miles to the N.W. of Roscommon, and 112 miles from Dublin by the Great Northern and Western railway, on which it is a station. The town is situated in a pleasant and fertile country, on the banks of the river Suck, over which are two bridges. It consists chiefly of one long street, and contains the parish church of Kilkeevin, chapels belonging to the Roman Catholics and Wesleyan Methodists, and National schools. The church has a good embattled tower. The pursuits of the inhabitants are chiefly agricultural. Castlerea is the seat of a Poor-law Union, and contains the Union poorhouse. It is also a chief station of police. Quarter sessions are held here in rotation twice a year. There are large mills in the town, a court-house built in 1852, a bridewell, a dispensary, and a handsome bank in progress of erection; it is a branch of the National bank. Next the town is Castlereagh House, the seat of Thomas G. Hills Sandford, Esq., whose father succeeded the late Lord Mount Sandford in the Castlerea property. Castlerea was the birthplace of Bishop Young, the distinguished mathematician. Fairs are held annually on the 23rd May, the 21st June, the 23rd August, and the 7th November. Saturday is the market day, and Wednesday for corn.

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