﻿M7 



KERRY. 



KERRY. 



J Harbour, on tha north dda of Kenmnre Rirer, veweU mikv lis 



Imndlocked in four fkthomi of water, or in tb« entranoa maj rida in 

 10 faUioma. Ballinaakrlliga Bay ii ganerally unaafa in aouUierly or 

 waatorly windu St. Flnian'a Bay, batwean Bolua Haad and Puffin 

 IiUnd, ia maoh azpoaad to tha praralant run of the aea. 



Tha harbour of Valantia poaaaaaea tha adrantaga of a double 

 aotranea, ao that ahipa may aail in or out with any wind. It ia quite 

 landlocked, but tha entrauoaa are narrow. Valantia lalaiid, which 

 baa an area of 8371 acrea and ia extremely fertile and tolerably well 

 eultinkted, halonga almoat entirely to the Knight of Kerry, whose 

 raaidanoa Glanlaam or Zelra ia on the eaatem aide of the island. The 

 Spaniard! oooupied Valentia Island up to tha time of the Common- 

 wiaalth, whan they were expelled, and two forta still called CromwfU's 

 Porta arectad, one to command the north, tha other the south entrance 

 to the harbour. 



Dingle Bay is full of shoals at its upper extremity. Ventry Bay 

 and Smerwick Harbour have good anchorage and deep water but are 

 aomewhat expoeed. At the hea<l of Smerwick Harbour is the hamlet 

 of Gallenu, which contains a elustrr of Irish antiquities, consisting 

 of a barmitage beautifully oonatructed, a tower built in the style of the 

 Anglo-Sazona, a cemetery eontaining aavanU vary ancient tomb-stones, 

 man a eaatle which belonged to the Fitzgeralds, knights of Kerry. 



Under the neck of the peninsula of Corkaguiney, on the northern 

 side, is the Bay of Tralee, much of which is dry at low-water, but by 

 means of a canal recently constructed, vessels of 300 tons come up to 

 the town. From Tralee northward there are numerous shoalj and 

 aaud-banks. Beyond Kerry Head opens the sestuary of the Shannon, 

 in which the firat sheltered anchorage is off the point of Tarbert, 

 where ships may lie nearly landlocked m 12 fathoms water. 



Communicalitnu. — The roada in the sonth-westem part of Kerry up 

 to the y«ir 1 820 were scarcely passable for wheel-carriages. Several 

 good roads at comparatively low levels have since then been con- 

 ■tmcted, and have greatly facilitated the development of the resources 

 of these remote districts. A branch railway runs from the Mallow 

 station of the Great Southern and Western line to Killamey , a distance 

 of 40 miles. 



Geology and Mineralogy. — The chief mountain chains consist of a 

 reA or gray conglomerate and sandstone supporting flanks of siliceous 

 flags, and overlaid in the low districts by stratified limestone. The 

 chief limestone fields occupy the basins of the Feale, Main, and 

 Roughty. Northward from Ardfert the country towards Kerry Head 

 consists of thick be>ls of argillaceous sandstone, beyond which the 

 limestone re-appears in contact with beds of alum slate in the cli£b of 

 Ballybunian. From Tralee eastward the country rising towards the 

 boundaries of Cork and Limerick ia occupied with an extension of the 

 great Muiister coal district 



The mountains of Qlanbeagh, in the neighbourhood of Lough 

 Carragh, abound with iron-ore. Killamey was celebrated for its iron 

 minea in tha Sth century, but they are not now worked. At Huckruss 

 and Roaa Island in the Lower Lake, copper-mines were formerly 

 worked. Lead-ore bin been found in the vicinity of the lake. Copper- 

 ore has been found at Ardfert and in (Jlanerought A valuable copper- 

 mine has been recently diacovered in the Ticinity of Kenmare. The 

 slate quarry in Valentia produces flags and slates of a superior 

 description, which are largely exported to London. 



Climate, Soil, and Produce. — The climate ia very moist owing to the 

 vicinity of the Atlantic, and the south-western district is much exposed 

 to storms, liiit in the inland parts, es[)«cially in the neighbourhood 

 of Killamey, the air ia mild and genial, and vegetation extremely 

 luxuriant 



The soil of the aouth-westem district, where not incumbered with 

 bogs, ia an adhesive loam, fit for the reception of com crops, and 

 formed by the decomposition of tha clay-slate rock, which, from the 

 nearly vertical position of its strata, ia readily disintegrated by the 

 weather. The soil of the middle district is a rich loam, which pro- 

 ducea excellent crops of grain, and fine dairy pastnre. The nortbem 

 district has a stiffer soil, more retentive of wet, and inclined to run to 

 ruahea. It also is grazed to a considerable extent by dairy farmers, 

 w ho find a market for their butter in Tralee. Cider, of a quality 

 which is considered superior, is made here in laige quantities. The 

 aystam of farming ia improving. The chief occupations are dairy 

 farming, tillage, and fishing. The total number of acrea under crops 

 in 1868 waa 151,275, namely :— Wheat, 1931 acres; oats, 35,920; 

 barley, bare, rye, beana, and peas, 12,878 ; potatoea, 27,715 ; tumips, 

 12,661 ; other green crops, 2966 ; and flax, 1088 ; with 66,176 acrea in 

 meadow and clover. In 1841 the plantations covered 13,086 acrea, 

 growing oak, ash, elm, beech, fir, fruit-treea, ko. In 1852 thera were 

 on 16,604 holdinga, 11,921 horses, 6046 roulea and aaaaa, 170,898 

 bead of cattle, 64,488 aheap, 44,649 pigs, 18,886 goata, and 211,881 

 head of poultry. Tha live atook thtia enumerated was valued at 

 1 ,864,44S{. The natiTe bread of cattle ia very email, but well formed. 

 They are good milkara, and easily fattened. A breed of small poniea 

 ia paenliar to Kerry ; they are too light for farming pnrpoaea, but anit 

 Terr well for the saddle. 



The chief trade of the county consists in ezporte of agricultural 

 pnxluc, chiefly nnt« and butter. Coarse woollens are manufactured 

 by families fur their own consumption ; linen ia made in the district 

 about Dingle. 



The fishery diatriota are thoaa of WaatooTa, Knightatown, Dingle, 

 and Ballyheige, oompriaing togetbar 24S milea of ooaat, which bad 

 531 register^ flshing-Taaaela in 186S, amployinc 2603 men and boya. 

 The fi& caught are turbot, cod, ling, hake, haddock, gurnet, pollock, 

 plaice, aolea, doreea, brill, mullet, maekarel, barrings, pilchards, Ao., 

 with a plentiful anpply of oyatera, crabs, lobators, and acallopa. Oreat 

 numbers of aeala formeriy frequented the river of Kenmare and tli» 

 oavea of Ballybunnion ; but tliey are now rarely caught Larga 

 quantitiea of ling, hake, and haddock are cured and smoked for th» 

 Dublin and Cork markets. The fish are conveyed to Cork, Limerick, 

 and Dublin, and other towns in the interior, by Mr. Bianconi's cars 

 and by railway. A government curing station is at Valentia. 



Dintimu and TWn*.— The county of Kerry is in the diocese of 

 Ardfert and Aihadoe. It is divided into 8 baroDiea— Clanmaurioe, 

 north-west ; Corkaguiney, west ; Dunkerrin, aouth-soulb-weat ; 

 Olanerought, south ; Iraghticonnor, north ; Iveragh, south-west ; 

 Magoniby, east ; and Trughenacmy, oantral. The principal towns ar» 

 Tralek, Kiixabnbt, Dinole, Lutowbl, Cabibcivbbh, and Kenhahk, 

 All these are noticed under their respective titles. The following are 

 the smaller towns and most important villages, with the poptilation of 

 each in 1851. 



Ardfert, about 4 miles N.N.W. from Tralee, population 509, the 

 seat of one of the mont ancient bixhoprics in Ireland, was before the 

 Union a parliamentary borough, but is now a poor decayed village, 

 with a nominal cathedral for its sole attraction. The diocese haa 

 been united from time immemorial to the see of Aghadoe, and both, 

 under the Church Temporalities Act, are now united to the aee of 

 Limerick. The chapter of the united seea of Ardfert and Agliadoe 

 consiste of a dean, an archdeacon for each aee, a chancellor and a 

 precentor ; the number of benefices is 68. The cathedral, which was 

 the church of a monastery founded here by St Brendan, bears marks 

 of high antiquity, and combines specimens of various styles. There 

 ia here a new Roman Catholic chapeL The ruins of the decayed 

 episcoiwl town of Aghadoe are situated on a green hill, 2 miles N.W. 

 from Killamey, and consist of the remains of a cathedral, of a round 

 tower, and of a circular structure called the Bishop's Chair, said to 

 have been erected in the 9th century. 



BaUyUmgford, population 1113. is 21 miles N. by E. from Tralee, 

 at the head of an inlet of the Shannon. Agricultural produce ia 

 shipped from the quays for Limerick. The town contains a Roman 

 Catholic chapel ; in the vicinity are the interesting ruins of Lislaghtin 

 Abbey. Opposite the entrance of the inlet is the island of Carrig-a- 

 Foile, on which are the remains of a castle, formerly one of the 

 strongholds of the O'Connor of Kerry. 



Casllf-Itland, population 1718, fomierly one of the most important 

 places in the county, is situated on the Many River, a feeder of the 

 Main, 9 miles K from Tnlee. It takes ite name from a castle built 

 here in 1226 by Geoffry de Mariscis, lord-justice of Ireland, and called 

 the Caatle of the Island of Kerry. The town contains a churoh, a 

 Roman Catholic chapel, a aeasions house, bridewell, and dispensary. 



Killonjlin, 1 1 miles 8. from Tralee, population 690, is situated in a 

 fertile country on the Laune, which enters Oastlemain Bay about 2 

 milea below the town. It is an ill-built place, though well situated 

 for trade, the river being navigable up to the town for veeseU of 180 

 tons. The town contains a church, and chapels for Roman Catbolica 

 and Waaleyan Methodixts. Killorglin is much frequented by anglers 

 and tourisU on their way to the Lough of Carrtigh and the bold wild 

 acenery of Iveragh. The Laune affords excellent salmon fishing, and 

 Killorglin is celebrated for ite artilictal flies. 



MiUtown, population 489, a small market- and post-town, 8 milea 

 S. from Tralee, contains a court-house, a bridewell, and a Roman 

 Catholic chapeL Kilcoleman Abbey, the residence of Sir William 

 Godfrey, is near the town. 



Tarbert, population 1005, a post-, market-, and seaport-town, ia 

 situated 27 miles N.N.E. from "Tralee, on the little bay of Tarbert, 

 which is formed by an inlet of the Shannon. The town is ueatly 

 built and clean, and contains a church, chapels for Roman Catholics 

 and Wesleyan Methodists, a bridewell, and a dispensary. Piga, butter, 

 and com are shipped in considerable quantities for Limerick. About 

 a mile north from the town is Tarbert Rock, which is alternately an 

 inland and a peninsula, according to the state of the tide ; on it are a 

 lighthouse, a battery, and a coast^ard atation. 



The following viUagea may be mentioned. The populations are 

 those of 1851. 



Abbep Oltomey, population 229, is sittiated on the Brick, a feeder 

 of the Feale, 6 miles N. from Tralee, and takes ite name from the 

 parish of O'Domey, in which it stands, and from the Cistercian Abbey 

 of Kyrie Eleison, founded here in 1164. The abbot was a lord of 

 parliament Some ruins of the abbey still remain. BaUybunnion, 

 population 284, before noticed for its cliffs and extensive caverns, is a 

 village on the coa^t of the ggatuary of the Shannon, 17 miles N.W. 

 from Tralee, and is a favourite watering-plaoe. Several neat lodgea 

 have sprung up in ite vicinity. CattU-Qregory, population 816, a 

 fishing village on tha aouth shore of Tralee Bay, 14 miles W. from 

 Tralee town, takes ite name from a ca^le of the Husaeys, which waa 

 demolished in the invasion of Cromwell, in 1641. Cattle-Maine, 7 

 miles S. from Tralee, on the right bank of the Maine, is a small place 

 of only 146 inhabitanta. A castle was built here jointly by tha 



