258 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



Part II. — Brief County Histories. 



These County Histories are placed in alphabetical order. In 

 Part I., The Lists of the Mineral Localities — places wliere 

 salt, gypsum, steatite, pyrophylite, and other useful products occur — 

 are given, as the workings to obtain them are included under the 

 general name of "Mines," although legitimately speaking they 

 do not belong to " Metal Mining." On the same principle the 

 localities for coal ought to have been mentioned, more especially as 

 the coals are more or less connected with clay-iron-stone. Coal 

 workings, however, are so important that universally they have 

 been separated from Metal Mining, and have been given a distinct 

 place of their own. Nevertheless, in these County Histories, it 

 seems impossible to pass them over ; they will, therefore, be 

 briefly referred to, in the Counties in which they occur, in con- 

 nexion with the iron-ores, the working of both being more or less 

 connected. The Irish coals are of Eocene (£), Carboniferous, Or- 

 dovician, and perhaps of Cambrian ages. 



Some of the statements made hereafter have not been verified, 

 and in such cases the authorities will be mentioned. Much infor- 

 mation can be learned from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary. 

 The name of the writer of the geological descriptions is not given ; 

 but, as far as I have been able to test them, they appear trust- 

 worthy. Unverified statements, however, will be given on Lewis's 

 authority. 1 



The English writers on Ireland, such as Spencer, Raleigh, 

 Ledwich, Boate, and others, insinuate, or positively state, that the 

 Irish, before the English cama to the country, were perfectly 

 incapable of finding or working minerals. This, however, the 

 researches of the Antiquarian have proved to be perfectly incorrect, 

 as the early Irish were eminent workers in gold, silver, brass, and, 

 I believe, iron. Their trade degenerated, and perhaps altogether 



1 From the style adopted in these descriptions, I would suggest that Wearer was 

 probably the writer. 



