CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



aspect, it is essentially an English town, being ' 

 built of brick in a neat and regular manner, but 

 abounding in a class of elegant public structures 

 of stone, which resemble the more substantial 

 embellishments of Paris and other continental 

 cities. The river, flowing from west to east, 

 divides the city into two nearly equal portions, 

 and is a striking feature in the general plan. The 

 aristocratic parts of Dublin are the south-east 

 .and the north-east, containing many beautiful 

 squares, streets, and terraces. The centre and 

 north-west are the commercial quarters of the 

 town. The south-west division, part of which is 

 called the ' Liberties ' once the seat of the silk- j 

 trade is the most foul and degraded quarter; 

 there the streets are narrow, crooked, and irregular. 

 The city is surrounded by a ' Circular Road,' 

 nearly nine miles long, forming a favourite walk 

 .and drive of the inhabitants. In the newer parts 

 of Dublin the streets run at right angles to one 

 another, and are remarkable for their breadth and 

 for the uniformity of their architecture, which is, ! 

 however, not monotonous. The most imposing 

 -one is Sackville Street It is 120 feet broad, and ! 

 nearly 700 yards long. At its north end stands 

 ;the Rotunda, with Rutland Square ; in its centre 

 the beautiful Ionic portico of the General Post- 

 office and Nelson's Monument, upwards of 130 

 feet high ; on the south, it is terminated by : 

 Carlisle Bridge, and a wedge-like block of hand- ' 

 some houses formed by the converging sides of 

 Westmoreland and D'Olier Streets. The squares 

 of Dublin are numerous and well kept, and 

 especially spacious. Stephen's Green, the largest, ' 

 is about 20 acres in area, and about a mile in 

 -circuit The environs of Dublin are especially 

 beautiful. Rathmines, a southern suburb, has 

 become a large town, and is the favourite residence 

 -of the wealthier part of the community. Glas- 

 nevin, on the north, was the favourite residence 

 of Addison, Steele, Parnell, Swift, Sheridan, and 

 many other celebrated men. In its cemetery are 

 buried Curran, O'Connell, and Tom Steele. The 

 Phoenix Park is a magnificent area of nearly 2000 

 acres, in some parts level, in others with broken 

 ground, with many trees and much brushwood, 

 which shelter immense herds of deer. It affords 

 ample scope for military reviews, and is much used 

 for recreation-ground by all classes. Dublin, as a 

 whole, with its magnificent bay, splendid park, 

 massive public buildings, wide streets, spacious 

 and well-kept squares, clean and elegant quays, 

 and beautiful environs, is one of the handsomest : 

 and most pleasing capitals of Europe. The resi- , 

 dence of the Lord-lieutenant brings to the city 

 many of the Irish aristocracy and county families ; 

 thus preserving to the town the character of a 

 capital. The population was, in 1871, 267,717; in 

 1 88 1, 249,602 (parliamentary, 273,282). The univer- 

 sity of Dublin was founded in 1591-92. Its position 

 is that of a college with university powers. Its in- 

 come was very limited and precarious, till James I. 

 endowed it with certain estates in the province of 

 Ulster, and with a yearly pension of ^388, 155. from 

 the public purse. Scholarships, tenable for five 

 years, are open to competition ; some being given 

 for classical, others for scientific, proficiency. The 

 various emoluments of a scholar, arising from 

 salary, remission of fees, rooms, commons, &c. ! 

 amount to about ,50 a year. There are also 

 <minor scholarships for the encouragement of the , 

 268 



study of divinity and of the Irish language; others 

 are connected with the royal and endowed schools. 

 In 1850, fourteen studentships were founded, 

 worth .100 a year each, tenable for seven years, 

 to encourage graduates in the pursuit of some 

 special study, on which they may afterwards be 

 called to teach, should they become fellows and 

 lecturers. Two are given every year, and are 

 open to persons of all religious denominations. 

 The provost and senior fellows are the electors, 

 There are four grades of students, i. Noblemen, 

 sons of noblemen, and baronets, who have certain 

 special privileges ; the first two being allowed the 

 degree of B.A. per specialem gratiam. 2. Fellow- 

 commoners, who obtain degree with one examina- 

 tion less than pensioners, and who dine at the 

 fellows' table. 3. Pensioners, who form the great 

 body of the students. 4. Sizars, who have rooms 

 and commons free. The sizars are limited to thirty. 

 They are elected by competitive examination, and 

 hold their sizarship, worth about ^37 a year, for 

 four years. Each rank has a dress peculiar to 

 itself. For entrance and first half-year, the fees 

 are noblemen, .60 ; fellow-commoner, 30 ; 

 pensioner, ,15; sizar, .5, is. 3d. Other half-years, 

 ;33, I2s. ; .16, 1 6s. ; and ;8, 8s. the sizars being 

 exempt. This does not include rooms and 

 commons. The university of Dublin is well 

 equipped for educational purposes. The teaching 

 staff is numerous ; the tutorial and professional 

 elements being more largely combined in it than 

 in any other British university. The names of 

 Swift and Goldsmith, Sheridan, Curran, and 

 Burke, with a host of others famed in literature 

 and politics, shed a lustre on the university, of 

 Dublin. 



Kilkenny, the capital of the county of the same 

 name and forming, with a rural district of 26 

 square miles, a county of a city situated on the 

 river Nore, was formerly a town of great con- 

 sequence, as its ancient castle, the ruins of its 

 embattled walls, and churches, testify. At one 

 time, it carried on a considerable trade in the 

 manufacture of woollen cloths and blankets ; but 

 these branches have in a great degree fallen off, 

 and the business is now confined to the retail of 

 necessaries for its inhabitants, and the sale of the 

 agricultural produce of the district The city 

 contains several good streets, which are respect- 

 ably inhabited, both by private families and 

 tradesmen ; but the suburbs are miserable. The 

 most conspicuous ornament of the city is the fine 

 baronial castle of the Marquis of Ormond, full of 

 historical associations, rising boldly over the Nore. 

 The Cathedral of St Canice, built in 1202, is not 

 excelled by any of the ancient ecclesiastical 

 buildings in the kingdom, except St Patrick's and 

 Christ-Church in Dublin. The town possesses a 

 number of respectable schools, and various asylums 

 and other beneficiary institutions. Near the town, 

 there is a marble quarry of considerable local 

 importance. The population in 1871 was 15,609, 

 and in 1881, 15,278. 



MUNSTER. 



Munster contains six counties Clare, Cork, 

 Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford and 

 may be considered as that part of Ireland in which 

 the national character and the national habits of all 

 kinds are maintained in their greatest purity. The 



