laudably displayed in his Dictionaries of England and Wales Mr. Carlisle has prosecuted his inquiries relative to the topography of Ireland; and, as an antiquary and ecclesiastical reporter, he has executed his task in a very able manner. For a book of reference on all the subjects specified in the title, this Dictionary will be found extremely useful: but for local and picturesque description it will often be deemed deficient, since this is an article not included in the bill of fare. To the state of the Irish Protestant Church, Mr. C. has paid the most minute attention; and, in the preface, which fully enumerates the sources of his information, he has properly adverted to the order made by the House of Commons in 1805, for returns from the several dioceses in Ireland, and to the instructions sent by Earl Spencer by his Majesty's command in 1806 to the Lord-lieutenant, empowering him to obtain from the bishops a particular account of the present state of the Established Church of Ireland: subjoining also a list of the several queries which were addressed, by virtue of this order, to the bishops in their respective provinces. The answers to these questions being found to contain many valuable remarks, the House of Commons ordered in 1807 that they should be printed; and this document has furnished Mr. C. with a multitude of particulars which must be regarded as authentic.

Mention is also made of the publications which have preceded the work before us, in illustrating the Topography of Ireland, viz. The Post-Chaise Companion; or Traveller's Directory through Ireland, printed at Dublin in 8vo., 1786; - The Hibernian Gazetteer, &c., by Wm. Wenman Seward, Esq., Dublin, 1789; — The Topographia Hibernia, by the same gentleman, Dublin, 1797, 4to.; and Memoir of a Map of Ireland, by the Rev. Dr. Beaufort; which last, as Mr. Carlisle remarks, under this modest title, contains a succinct account of the civil and ecclesiastical state of Ireland, and an index of all the places which appear on the map.' In the compilation of a Dictionary like the present, the index of Dr. Beaufort must have been of singular use; and we cannot, on this occasion, abstain from expressing a wish that Mr. C. had formed a map on the plan of that of Dr. B., (which he calls truly original,') for the illustration of his own volume, the value of which would have been much improved by this addition. On former occasions, we have adverted to this desideratum; and we should be happy to find the author availing himself of the hint in a subsequent edition.

Though pains have been taken to obtain information on the state of the poor, and on the amount of the population of

* See M. R., Vol. lvi., N. S., p. 415.; and Vol. lxxi., p. 406. 5

Ireland,

Ireland, Mr. Carlisle has not been able to give statements on these subjects with the precision with which they appear in his Dictionaries of England and Wales: but he has accomplished all that was in his power. He tells us that the orthography of the names of parishes has been determined by a careful comparison of the Diocesan Returns, Dr. Beaufort's Memoir, and other topographical books.'

The civil and ecclesiastical divisions of Ireland being very imperfectly understood on this side of the Irish Channel, Mr. C. has subjoined a sketch of both, which we shall quote:

As the reader may require an explanation of that part of the work which relates to the Provinces, it is proper to mention, that Ireland is divided, with respect to its civil or political distinctions, into the four provinces of Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, and Munster, which are subdived into thirty-two counties, in the following

manner :

The province of Ulster comprises the nine northern counties, being those of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donnegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone. Together with the great body of water, Lough Neagh, which, according to Dr. Beaufort, covers 58,200 acres.

The province of Leinster comprises the twelve eastern counties, being Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, King's County, Longford, Louth, Meath, Queen's County, West Meath, Wexford and Wicklow.

The province of Connaught comprises the five western coun ties, being Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo.

The province of Munster comprises the six southern counties, being Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford.

With respect to its Church Establishment, Ireland is divided into the four Provinces of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam. archbishop presides over each. These provinces are subdivided into thirty-two dioceses, which are united or consolidated under eighteen bishops, in the following order: -The Archbishop of Armagh, who is Lord Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland, presides over the eight suffragan Bishops of Ardagh, Clogher, Derry, Down and Connor, Dromore, Kilmore, Meath *, and Raphoe, in the northern province.

The Archbishop of Dublin, who is Lord Primate of Ireland, presides over the three suffragan Bishops of Kildare, Leighlin and Ferns, and Ossory, in the Eastern Province.

The Archbishop of Cashel, who is Lord Primate of Munster, presides over the five suffragan Bishops of Cloyne, Cork and Ross, Killaloe and Kilfenora, Limerick and Ardfert and Aghadoe, Waterford and Lismore, in the southern province.

*The Bishop of Meath has precedence of all bishops, and next to him the Bishop of Kildare. The other bishops take place according to the date of their consecration.'

• The

The Archbishop of Tuam, who is Lord Primate of Connaught, presides over the three suffragan Bishops of Clonfert and Kilmac. duagh, Elphin, and Killala and Achonry, in the western province.

The number of deaneries in this kingdom is thirty-three, and of archdeaconries thirty-four. But the archdeacons, according to Dr. Beaufort, have not a visitatorial jurisdiction: the government of the Church of Ireland, which is in most things conformable to that of England, differing with respect to visitations: for in Ireland, the bishops hold a visitation annually, and the archbishop visits his suffragans every third year.

When the Province therefore is mentioned, in succession to the County, it is to be understood with reference to the civil jurisdiction. And, on the other hand, when the Province is noticed, in its order with the Diocese, it applies to the Established Church.'

As to distances and bearings, the author states them from actual admeasurements, when they can be obtained; and when these were not to be procured, recourse has been had to measuring on the map, making due allowances. It is also observed, for the information of strangers, that eleven Irish miles are equal to fourteen English miles.

The state of the representation having been altered by the Union, an abstract from the act which passed in 1801 is given in Mr. Carlisle's preface; whence it appears that four Lords Spiritual of Ireland, by rotation of Sessions, and twenty-eight Lords Temporal, elected for life by the peers of that country, are to be added to the Imperial House of Lords; and a hundred commoners to be chosen to sit and vote on the part of Ireland in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

To the preface, Mr. C. has subjoined a convenient Glossary, or Explanation of scme of those Irish Words which most frequently occur in composition, with the Names of Places; and, in a tabular form, an Abstract of the Ecclesiastical Establishment of Ireland, in the Year 1807. Omitting the divisions into Provinces and Dioceses, we shall mention the grand results. It appears from this abstract that Ireland contains 1181 benefices, 476 unions, 1057 churches, 238 benefices without churches, 456 glebe-houses, 725 benefices without glebe houses, 830 benefices with glebes, 351 benefices without glebes, 589 incumbents actually resident on their respective benefices, 140 incumbents who have no houses in their parishes, but who live sufficiently near to discharge the duties, 279 incumbents who reside on their livings, 87 incumbents who are absent with permission, 26 incumbents who are absent without permission, 21 vacant livings, 31 sinecures, and 51 impropriations. We have quoted this enumeration to enable our readers to judge of the state of the Irish Protestant church, which is differently circum

15

stanced

stanced from that of the English establishment, and which certainly merits the attention of Government. In districts in which Protestant congregations assemble, it would be unpardonable not to furnish clergymen with glebe-houses, or parsonages but in Catholic districts, where the Protestant clergyman cannot procure even a solitary individual to join with him in devotion, (whom he can address, after the manner of Swift, with "Dearly beloved Roger," &c.,) the church and the glebe-house are, for the present, useless. It is, however, always important to be furnished with facts, the knowlege of which is very necessary when the application of remedies is in contemplation.

As the articles of this dictionary are for the most part constructed on a similar plan, a single specimen of Mr. Carlisle's manner may suffice, especially if we select his account of one of the principal cities of Ireland, which has some peculiar traits:

CORK, within the county of the city of Cork, and province of Munster: a city in which are the following parishes, St. Finbarry's, the cathedral and parish church; St. Ann's Shandon; St. Mary's Shandon; St. Nicholas; St. Paul's; St. Peter's; and the Holy Trinity.

The

Cork is in the diocese of Cork and province of Cashel. It is 1241 miles S. W. from Dublin. The fairs are holden on the day after Trinity Sunday, and on the first of October. It has six post-days in the week. This city sends two members to Parliament. magistrates are a Mayor, two Sheriffs, a Recorder, Deputy-recorder, Town-clerk, Common-speaker, Sword-bearer, Gentleman Serjeant at Mace, and two City Chaplains. The military officers are a Governor, Lieutenant-governor, and Town-major. It is situate on the river Lee, and is esteemed the second city in Ireland. But now having a royal dock-yard near it and other inilitary arsenals, to which being added the conveniences of its local situation, and the wealth and enterprize of its inhabitants, its future progress is rendered incalculable. The Assizes are holden here. The harbour of Cork is so formed, according to Dr. Beaufort, as to contain an immense number of ships in complete security. And the banks of it, being adorned with villas and plantations, present a most agreeable and cheerful landscape. Vessels of 120 tons go up to the city quays, but the large ships lie at Passage, West, a few miles lower down. The mouth of the harbour is protected by Carlisle Fort, the date of whose construction is pointed out by the name *. This city is the great mart of the south of Ireland. The principal articles of its export-trade are beef and butter, together with a great quantity of corn and some linen. The Honourable and Right Rev. Thomas St. Laurence, D.D., Lord Bishop in 1807.-The foundation of the

*This information is too vague for a dictionary, since it obliges the reader to turn to another book. Lord Carlisle commenced his administration in 1781, and resigned in the following year. REV. JUNE, 1814.

K

Rev. bishoprick

bishoprick of Cork is placed in the seventh century: that of Ross is unknown; they were united by Queen Elizabeth, in 1586; they are both contained in the county of Cork, and are partly intermixed. The diocese of Cork is 58 miles long from east to west, and about 13 miles broad. The length of the principal part of Ross is 25 miles from east to west, and the breadth 6 miles; the detached part of it, in the mountains of Bear and Bantry, is about the same length, but not more than 4 miles broad. The whole Union is about 65 miles by 17. The chapters of these dioceses consist each of a Dean, a Precentor, a Chancellor, a Treasurer, and an Archdeacon; there are besides 12 prebendaries in Cork and 5 in Ross. The cathedral of St. Finbarry is a plain modern church. Near it stands the bishop's palace, a large new house, built but a few years, by the late bishop Dr. Mann. It is 50 miles from the city of Cork to the remotest parts of Ross. "St. Barr, Barror, or Finbar, but by his parents named Lochan, was of the race of Ibriunratha; he flourished about the year 6co, and built an abbey which, in after time, was called the Abbey of St. Barr, or Finbar; this foundation is by some placed A.D. 606. This abbey was founded near Lough-eirc, which is generally supposed to be that particular hollow in which a great part of the city of Cork stands. St. Barr died at Cloyne, but was interred in his own church, where his bones were afterwards deposited in a silver shrine; his festival is holden on the 25th of September. In 1134, this abbey was refounded, for Regular Canons following the rule of St. Augustine, under the invocation of St. John the Baptist, by Cormac, King of Munster, or, as some write, King of Desmond. The monks of this abbey erected the first salmon weirs on the river Lee, near the city of Cork. The remains of this building were totally demolished about the year 1745. - Dermot Mac Carthy Reagh founded a monastery, A.D. 1214, for Conventual Franciscans, and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary. This building, which stood on the north side of the city, is now entirely demolished. The Dominican Friary, called the Abbey of St. Mary of the Island, was founded in the year 1229. This house, which stood in an island, called Cross Green, on the south side of the town, is now entirely demolished. A monastery was founded, on the south side of the city, in the reign of King Edward the First, for friars following the rule of St. Augustine. Of this building the steeple, which is 64 feet high, and the walls of the church, still remain; the east window, the only one in the choir, was truly magnificent, and measured 30 feet in height, and 15 in breadth; the whole erection was converted into a sugar-house, and is now called the Red Abbey.-Dr. Bourke is the only author who mentions the house for White Friars. The munnery of St. John the Baptist, of which there are now no remains, was situated near the present market-house, and the site was acci dentally discovered in digging up some old tombs. There was a preceptory of the Knights Templars in this town, for we find that William le Chaplain was the master of Cork about 1292.- The priory of St. Stephen was founded in the south suburbs of this city for the support of lepers, and Edward Henry was keeper of it, A.D. 1295. This priory, when suppressed, was granted to the city