222 



Cork. 



Antiqui- 

 ties. 



in 1779, was L.2500, and according to Mr Wakefield 

 it is now L. 5000. That of .the bishop of Cork and Ross, 

 according to Mr Young, was L. 2700, and according to 

 Mr Wakefield it is now L.4500, These dioceses are 

 under the Archbishop of Cashel. 



The principal antiquities of this county arc the fol- 

 lowing: Subterraneous caves near the cathedral church 

 of Roscarbery, of the origin and use of which there is 

 no probable account : Round towers (of which there are 

 so many in Ireland) one at Cloyne, one at Kineth, and 

 the stump of one at Ballybeg ; a very large tomb com- 

 posed of enormous stones, situated about a mile east 

 from Glanworth on the road to Fermoy ; and circular 

 monuments of stone, of which there are several remain- 

 ing, in the mountainous districts. 

 Medicinal Dr Smith, in his natural and civil history of Cork, 

 springs. mentions and describes no fewer than 23 medicinal 

 springs, mostly chalybeate, some of which have been 

 found useful in scorbutic and scrophulous disorders. 

 He also notices at length the warm springs at Mallow, 

 on the south side of the town, but on the north side of 

 the Blackwater river. They are frequented by invalids, 

 who often derive benefit from the use of the waters. 

 Extent, po- The greatest length of this county is about 1 00 miles, 

 pulation, an d its greatest breadth above 70. It contains about 

 &c ' 2653 square miles, or 1,697,820 acres. The number 



of houses, according to the parliamentary return in 

 1791, was 76,739, of which 56,422 paid for one hearth, 

 2344- were exempted as new, and 8949 as paupers, and 

 the rest paid for more than one hearth. The number 

 of inhabitants is computed to be 416,000. This gives 

 5.42 inhabitants to each house ; 4.05 acres to each in- 

 habitant, or 2L951 acres to each house; and 156.8 

 souls to a square mile. Mr Newenham makes the po- 

 pulation of the county and city to be so great as 

 675,364, which gives 8.8 souls to each house. Of this 

 population a vast proportion belongs to the Roman Ca- 

 tholic church. From a return made by the collector of 

 hearth money, in 1732 and 1733, it appears that the 

 Catholics were to the Protestants at that period, in the 

 city, as more than 2 to 1, and in the county as 8 to 1. 

 In 1740, the supervisors of hearth-money, in their re- 

 turn, made the number of Protestant families to be 

 4053. By the returns made in obedience to the order 

 of the House of Peers, in 1766, it appears that, in the 

 diocese of Cork and Ross, there were 4814 Protestant 

 families, 23,0'>9 Catholic families, 25,471 Protestants, 

 and 108,634 Catholics. In the diocese of Cloyne, there 

 were 1534 Protestant families, and 12,971 Catholic fa- 

 milies. The number of individuals was not returned ; 

 but making the number of individuals in a family the 

 same in that diocese as in the other, the number of 

 Protestants would be 8 1 30, and the number of Catho- 

 lics 60,963. At present, according to Mr Newenham, 

 in the city of Cork, and the towns of Youghal, Bandon, 

 Kinsale, and Cloghnikilty taken together, the propor- 

 tion of the Catholics to the Protestants is more than 6 

 to 1 ; and in the other towns of the county not less 

 than 12 to 1. In the three regiments of militia, the 

 proportion among the privates (for their officers are al- 

 most all Protestant,) is upwards of 7 to 2. See Beau- 

 fort's Memoir of a Map of Ireland ; Smith's Natural 

 and Civil History of Cork ; Hall's Tour through Ire- 

 land, vol i. ; Wakefield's Statistical and Political Ac- 

 count of Ireland ; and Townsend's Survey of Cork, (t) 

 CORK City, the capital of the county of Cork, and 

 the second town in Ireland. It is situated on the river 

 Lee, which is here of considerable size, and contri- 

 butes equally to its local beauty and commercial advan- 



CORK. 



tage. On all hands it is surrounded by high ground. 

 It stands partly upon an island formed by the Lee, as 

 Spenser describes it in these lines, 



Cork. 



■*' The spreading Lee, that, like an island fair, 

 Encloseth Cork with his divided flood ;'" 



but it lies chiefly on the south bank of the river. From 

 its being placed in a hollow, and having few spires, it 

 has a dull appearance when seen from a distance. It is 

 said to be unhealthy, there being but an inconsiderable 

 number of the inhabitants who live till eighty, and the 

 military who are quartered there suffering soon and 

 much from disease. There are several bridges over the 

 Lee. Of these the handsomest is St Patrick's, over the 

 north channel. It is considered as one of the finest 

 structures of the kind in Europe. Some of the streets 

 are extremely dirty — a few of them, such as the Pa- 

 rade, Newbridge Street, &c. are straight and clean, ele- 

 gant, and even showy. The old custom-house is an 

 extensive building, and on the eve of being superse- 

 ded by a new and more suitable one. The public mar- 

 kets, which are situated almost in the centre of the 

 town, are very neat and convenient. The court-house 

 and exchange are tolerably commodious. The new 

 barracks cost government £80,000, and are capable of 

 containing 4000 infantry, and 1000 horse: the old 

 barrack is retained ; and there is besides a barrack for 

 the artillery. There are many handsome houses, both 

 in the city and its neighbourhood, belonging to opu- 

 lent individuals. Cork contains a cathedral and seven 

 or eight churches belonging to the establishment, be- 

 sides a great number of chapels and meeting-houses for 

 the Dissenters and Roman Catholics. Upper Shannon 

 church stands on an eminence, and has a tall spire, 

 which is seen at a distance. There are two theatres, 

 and about 500 ale-houses and taverns. There are here 

 plenty of schools, Protestant and Catholic, which are 

 well attended, though not always judiciously taught. 

 There is also a public library, well stored with books, 

 supported by 200 subscribers, at the rate of 1% guineas 

 entry money, and 1 guinea per annum. An " Insti- 

 tution for applying Science to the common Purposes of 

 Life," has been estabbshed, and is in a flourishing state. 

 It originated in private subscriptions. It has a good 

 collection of minerals, a scientific library, and appara- 

 tus necessary for illustrating lectures in natural philo- 

 sophy. Government have given it L.2000, and ground 

 is already procured for a Botanical Garden. There 

 are two Foundling Hospitals, one for the Protestants, 

 founded in 1747, containing generally about 300 chil- 

 dren, and supported by a tax on coal ; and another 

 established lately by the Roman Catholics for their own 

 communion :— a school of industry, where 50 boys and 

 as many girls are taught the ordinary branches of edu- 

 cation and industry— an infirmary— a hospital— a work- 

 house—a house of recovery, intended chiefly to pre- 

 vent the spread of contagious diseases — a charitable re- 

 pository, to which ladies send needle- work to be dispo- 

 sed of for the benefit of the poor— a house of industry, 

 containing art infirmary, house of correction and mad- 

 house, having 20U people in all, and costing annually 

 from L.4000 to L.jOuO— and many other benevolent 

 institutions. 



The bay and harbour of Cork are situated about se- 

 ven or eight miles farther down the river. In the har- 

 bour there is an island of considerable extent, called 

 Great Island, containing the town and quay of Cove. 

 Vessels of 1'..'0 tons can go up to the city quays; but 

 .the large ships lie at Passage a few miles lower down. 



