Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/595

Rh _ CLARE. 585 CLARE. cut., between 1841 and 1851, and of 3,300, or 10-51 per jut., between 1851 and 1861. Thenuinbcr of houses at resent inhabited is 28,112. The O'Briens were from 10 island, in which they exercised a kind of sovereignty. i wa.i Brien Boroihme, tho head of this family, who 1 in expelling the Danes from the country in le early part of the 1 1th century. Tho Normans btaincd a footing in this part of Ireland in the 12th nd 13th centuries, but were in their turn expelled by ic. O'Hiiens, who ruled over Thomond, or North Mun- er, of which Clare formed a portion, until 1543. In i' reign of Elizabeth Clare became shire ground, and as included in the province of Connaught, but in 1601 stored to Munster on the petition of the Earl of homond. From that time until tho present its history resents no features of great interest. The extra- dinary decrease in the population since 1841 may be tributcd to the potato famine of 1846, and to tho !' emigration which at that time began to flow mi all parts of Ireland. The county is not poor in itiquitics. There are cromlechs at Kilnabry, Bally- i T id Ballygannor ; round towers at Drumcliff, ilnabry, Inniscailtre, and Inniscattery. On the two last- iimed islands are also ruins of abbeys ; and at Quin is v of Quin, built of black marble, and founded the llith century. The county is very hilly. The ost remarkable elevations are tho limestone mouu- ins of the barony of Burren in tho N. Tho white i'ks, bare and rugged, are scattered far and wide over ie district, and give it a most desolate appearance. iie .supply of water is very deficient, and vegetation insequcntly languishes. In the N.E. arc the moun- ' clay-slate, cropping up from the Old Red sandstone, hich in its turn seems to have broken through a stra-
 * ie earliest date the most powerful family in tliis part of
 * ins of Inchiquin and Slieve-Boughta. They consist
 * m of limestone. In the E. is tho Slieve Bernagh

,nge, of which tho highest point, Craig, rises 1,758 it above the sea-level. In these hills there are slate- utrries, which yield the " Broadford slates," having high reputation. In the W. is Mount Callane, in liich is a thin seam of coal, extending some distance irthwards. The soil of Clare is generally poor and rile, but there are patches of remarkable fertility. icy seem to owe their richness, like the soil of Egypt, <! principal rivers, and are called "corcasses," or .orcaghs." There are other tracts, called " turloughs," lich, though not situated on the banks of any river, joy a similar fertility and from a similar cause. They >m temporary lakes during a considerable portion of i year ; and when tho water dries off them a rich springs up which is of almost unequalled value the grazier. As before remarked, Clare is, especially in e N., deficient in streams. Tho Shannon, which forms b southern boundary of the county, expands soon
 * iral inundations. They lie along the banks of
 * er passing Limerick into a noble estuary, at which

hit it receives the Fergus, tho second river in Clare, ie Fergus has its sources in a number of small loughs, which the chief are Lough Inchiquin and Lough romore ; the Claren, a smaller stream, falls into it at inis. The Fergus runs southwards from the centre tho county, and is navigable for some distance wauls from its junction with tho Shannon. The .nbeg waters the south-western portion of the county, ) nd also flows from E. to W. into the Atlantic, and Hers tho N.V. In addition to tho "turloughs," or ' ighans," there are more than a hundred small loughs, ( which the principal are Inchiquin, Dromore, Tedane, 1 ihicronane, and Ballyally. The coast of Clare pos- f -us great attractions for the lovers of the picturesque. '- o rocks rise in many places vertically from the sea, and 1 1 considerable height. The Atlantic beats upon them ^ li fury, for its force is broken only by a few isolated f ,;ments which it has itself torn from tho mainland. I re has, owing to its proximity to the Atlantic, a humid c nate, which in a great measure compensates for the c'' eiency of streams. Tho temperature is mild, and OL. i. myrtles grow luxuriantly in the open air ; but in the extreme W., where it is not sheltered by hills, tho county suffers from the violent gales of the Atlantic. Clare is, from the nature of- its soil, rather a grazing than a corn-growing county. The land is generally too light to yield abundant crops ; and though some barley, oats, and wheat are grown, the land they occupy is not equal in extent to that which produces grass and potatoes. Tho latter are grown in great quantities. Clare is also one of the cider-growing counties. The estates are generally large, and the farms small. Tho fences and the cottages are of stone, which is found in abundance close at hand. There is no great branch of manufacturing industry in Clare. Friezes, woollens, and coarse linen are made in small quantities for home use. Fishing is carried on to a small extent along the coast and in the rivers. The boats used are called " corraghs," and made of skin stretched on a frame. From their extreme lightness and pliancy they can live on the Atlantic better than boats of a stronger build. The quarries of Killaloo and Broadford are regularly worked for slate. Lead is found in small quantities at OHendree and Tulla ; manganese at Kilrush, Ennistymon, and other places. There are mineral springs at Cloneen, Kilkishen, and Lisdounvarna. Clare is divided into eleven baronies, viz., Burren in the N., Upper TuDa and Lower Tulla in tho E., Upper Bunratty and Lower Buaratty in the S.E., Clonderalaw in the S.,Mogarta in the S.W., Coroomroe and Ibrickane in tho W., Inchi- quin in the N. centre, and Islands in the f. centre. Two members are returned by the county, which is governed by a lieutenant, a custos rotulorum, a high sheriff, 17 deputy-lieutenants, and about 100 magistrates. It has 76 parishes, and lies within the province of Dublin, but is divided among the three dioceses of Limerick, KUfenora, and Killaloe. There are five market towns in Clare Ennis, tho county and assize town, in the barony of Islands ; Kilrush, a quarter-sessions town, in the barony of Mogarta; Ennistymon, a quarter- sessions town, in the barony of Corcomroe ; Carofln, a quarter-sessions town, in the barony of Inchiquin ; and Killaloe, the scat of a bishopric, in the barony of Tulla. Quarter-sessions are held also at Tulla, Milltown-Mal- bay, and Sixmile-Bridge. Clare is divided into four Poor-law Unions those of Kilrush, Ennistymon, Caro- fin, and Scariff. It lies within the military district of Cork ; and there are infantry stations at Knnis, Clare Castle, Killaloe, and Kilrush ; artillery stations at the forts of Inniscattery, Donnaha, Kilcredane, Blackwater, and Kil Irani'ii. There are several seats in tho county, among which may be mentioned those of the families of O'Brien, Fitzgerald, Massey, Macnamara, Bourton, JIcMahon, Malong, and Vandeleur. There are several roads which meet at Ennis, the county town, viz., one to Limerick, 24 miles distant, which passes through New- market and Bunratty ; one to Ualway, 39 miles distant, which passes through Gort ; one to Scariff, 24 miles distant, which passes through Quin and Tulla ; a road to the coast at Milltown-Malbay, 23 miles distant, which passes through Drumcliff and Ennistymon ; and one to Loop-Head, 53 miles distant, through Kilmaley, Kilruh, and Kiltreo. CLARE, a vil. in the bar. of Lower Orior, in the co. of Armagh, prov. of Ulster, Iffcland, 3 miles S.W. of Tanderagee. It is situated on the river Cusher. Tho village is very ancient, and was possessed by the O'Nials and tho Bouchers. Tho castle was built in 1619 by tho latter, and burnt twenty years afterwards. Hero are two Koman Catholic chapels, flax and corn-mills. Clare Castle is tho seat of tho Hardens, and is very ancient. CLARE, or CLAREMORRIS, a post and market town in the par. of Kilcoleman, in the bar. of Clan- morris, in the co. of Mayo, prov. of Connaught, Ireland, 15 miles S.E. of Castlebar, and 135 from Dublin by the Midland, and Great Northern and Western, railways, the latter of which passes through tho town, and has a goods terminus for the Ballinrohe and South Mayo traffic. Tho town is fifth in size and importance in the county, containing about 2,000 inhabitants. It has a church, 4 V
 * 1 flows from E. to V. into Dunbeg Bay. The Ennisty-