D U B L I N. 



168 



Dublin about eighteen or Went.. I'rom the i.^ii 



1' of Jaim iry to the end of Sptcmlx-r. it yield-, from 

 '~~<~ m go to 2(K) \\-\\ c\er\ \ liirh sell, on an a\c- 



rnge, at about 17s. c ich. This county i- distinguished 

 l-\ the goodness of its eels: They .in- found in great 

 abundance in Tullagheen i. .. . and in the ncighlxmr- 

 hood of l'ield.-.ton. The quality of these is excellent. 

 I l.t \ are called silver eels, on account of a remarkably 

 rthitc and clear colour, which thev arc supposed to de- 

 rive from the superior purity of the water, which runs 

 over a Ix.l cither of sand or gravel. The mud-eels are 

 '.low Ix-llied. andof alexs pleasant flavour. Sand-eels 

 arc found in great plenty along the coast, and furnish 

 an agreeable and wholesome supply to the necessities 

 of the jxxir. The number of wherries for fishing at 

 sea, Iielonging to the county in 1801, was 87, carrying 

 each seven or eight men, and employed, in the pro- 

 per season, in catching coil, ling, haddock, ray, her- 

 rings, &c. They receive a parliamentary bounty of 

 20s. per ton ; but it is complained, that this Ixmnty is 

 become too small, on account of the increased expence 

 of the various articles used in their occupation. Besides 

 these, there are atxmt twenty smacks and five seine 

 nets occupied in the salmon fishery, lietween Dublin- 

 bay and Dimleary. At Dunlcary there are also eleven 

 yawls, and at Hulloch seven, which fish for whiting, 

 pollock, and herrings. At Rush and Skerries, the art 

 of curing the cod and ling has been carried to very con- 

 siderable perfection. The cod and ling cured at these 

 places are reckoned preferable to the foreign fish. The 

 sturgeon has sometimes appeared in the bay of Dublin. 

 In September 1746, one was caught between that place 

 and the Isle of Man, which measured six feet long, 

 and three broad in the thickest part. The sprat is 

 found in the Liffey, between Dublin and Island-bridge, 

 and in several other places. G<xxl lobsters are found 

 at Howth and Lumbay. Lobsters and crabs are also 

 brought from (i.-ilway and \Ve.\ford, and fattened in 

 coops at Hulloch. There are two artificial, but not very 

 productive beds of oysters, one opposite to Cold Har- 

 bour, and the other near Sutton. They were trans- 

 planted from Arklow. The oysters were injured by 

 being taken up too soon, to answer the great demand. 

 Several natural lx*ds are mentioned by Dr Rutty. In 

 one of these, which was situated east-north-east from 

 Ireland's Eye, and lay at the depth of eighteen or twenty 

 fathoms, the oysters were so large as to be of the size of a 

 horse shoe. Porpoises are frequent on the Dublin coast. 



Miacnli. The minerals found in this county are marl ; sand fit 

 for all uses ; limestone ; excellent granite, which is so 

 abundant as to have in some measure supplanted the 

 Portland stone ; good freestone ; lapis Hibfrniciis, or 

 Irish slate, of which there are large rocks on the coast 

 between Rush and Skerries, that in some places exhibit 

 a vitriolic efflorescence: copper and lead, of both which 

 there were, mines formerly wrought at Lough Shinney 

 and Old John Bar; ochres of different colours; potter's 

 clay; beautiful pebbles; porphyry, and crystals. On 

 this part of the subject the reader may consult Stephens' 

 Notes on the Mineralogy of Part of the I'icinily of Dul>- 

 lin. In several places there are mineral waters. < >f 

 these, a full and accurate account is given by Dr Rutty 

 in his Natural History of Dublin. The village of Lucan, 

 situated towards the south, and of great beauty, is ce- 

 lebrated for its spa, which resembles that of Aix-la- 

 Chapelle and Bruges, with this exception, that its wa- 

 ters art cold. 



Political di- Formerly Dublin sent ten representatives to the Irish 

 Parliament. It now sends five members to the Inipe- 



6 





ri.il r.ii'iaintnt ; two for the county, two fc.r the city, 

 and one lor the university. The freeholders ol'tlie conn- ^^ 



ty are very numerous, and very opulent, and thei. " ""Y"" 



not subject to political influence in the choice o!' tin ir 

 It comprises, exclu-ive of the city and 

 lilM-rti-s, tix bar.mics, vi/. Iklruddcry. Ncthercro8, 

 I ,-irloek, and ' .iMlcknock. on the north side of the Lif- 

 fey ; and Ncv. ca-tlc and Hall' Itathdtiwn on the rituth. 

 There arc 107 p'rislu-. -jo of which are in the city. 

 There are two regiment-- of m'iilia. OIK- for the city 

 and one for the county. Pour grand juries arc impan- 

 nclled every year, one in each quarter. Two of t 

 are presenting juries. 



Dublin is one of the four ecclesiastical provinces . 

 into which Ireland is divided, and comprehends fnc 

 sees under <<mr prelates. The see of Dublin, of which 

 the first mention we find is in the 7th ccnturv, eml" 

 the whole of the county, the must of Wicklow, and 

 part of three othirs. It was erected into an arch- 

 bishopric in the year 11. VJ. In I'.' 14, the bishopric of 

 Glandalough, founded in the 6th ccnturv, was incor- 

 porated with that of Dublin. The chapter of St Pa- 

 trick, Dublin, consists of the dean, the precentor, chan- 

 cellor, treasurer, the archdeacon-, of Dublin and Cden- 

 dalough, and nineteen prebendaries. The mcml>ers of 

 the collegiate chapter of Christ Church, are the dean, 



'or, chancellor, treasurer, archdeacon of Dublin, 

 and three prebendaries. The archbishop's revenue was 

 estimated bv Mr Young, in 1779, at L 5000, and lately 

 by Mr \Vakefield at L. 12,000. Of those round tower-. 

 which are so frequent in Ireland, and which, from their 

 being always near a church, are supposed to have been 



i for some religious purpose, there are four in 

 this county. One at Clondalkin, one at Lusk, one :! 

 Rathmichael, and one at Swords. There W.-LS one in 

 Ship Street, Dublin, which was destroyed about thirty 

 years ago. 



The length of this county, from north to south, l>e- p jtta 

 tween Meath and the ecu, is 30^ English miles ; and il 

 breadth, from east to wct, about !<). Its area i- 

 square miles, or 228,1211 acres. It contains li/8,000 

 inhabitants, according to Dr Iicaufort's statement in 

 17<)2. Of these. HM/oO belong to the city. The other 

 54,000 inhabit 10,;">()0 houses; thus giving about 5.1 

 souls and 4-.2 acres to each house. There is e\ cry rea- 

 son to believe, however, that the population is greatly 

 increased since Dr Beaufort's estimate was formed. 

 According to the return made in 179 1, l>y the inspec- 

 tor-general of hearth money, there were 2. r >,108 houses; 

 of which 7()!*.'i paid for one hearth, 2016 for two, 1293 

 for three, 1 . r >71 for four, 12">2 for five, 1950 for six, 2123 

 for seven, 1 930 for eight, 12_'5 for nine, 8:U for ten, 1.319 

 for more than ten and less than 4-1, (i for it to 1 14- in- 

 clusive ; 673 were returned as new, and 1 21 S exempted 

 on account of pauperism. The proportion of Catholics 

 to Protestants is, in many parishes, ten to one ; in some 

 it is above twenty to one ; in the parish of N'arramore 

 it is forty-two to one ; but, on nn average, it ma; 

 reckoned at six to one. In the county regiment of 

 militia there is scarcely a Catholic oMieer ; but many of 

 the privates are of that persuasion. In one company of 

 .!()() men there were only 70 Protestants. In the city 

 regiment there are t70 Catholic privates, but not a 

 Catholic officer, commissioned or non-commi>sioned. 

 See llcaufort's Memoir of a Map of Inland ; Rutty- 

 l-'.ssni/ towards a Natural History of I/if Ct.untti of 

 Dublin ; Archer's Survey of the Count y of Dublin ; Out- 

 ton's Remarks on Archer's Survey ; and Wakcfield'd .S/<7- 

 tistical ami Political Account of Ireland. (T) 



