good arable land; in which line, on the west bank of Lough Measg, lies Ballyndeonagh Castle and Rosse, whence the half barony is named; and where the parish church of Ross parish stands, whereof St. Brendan' is patron, whose feast is the 16th day of May. Ross parish reaches from the west side of Lough Measg, and by the foresaid arm thereof, to the western borders of the half barony; but between it and Lough Orbsen part of the parish of Cong runs', from the river of Cong on the east of it, Lough Orbsen and Moy-Cullin barony on the south, to Imaire-an-Linain', as far on the west as the parish of Ross goes.

This river of Cong is the confluent of divers waters, which springing under ground from the south side of Lough Measg, are divided into two rivers which enter into the earth again, till they breake out in one, near the castle and abbey of Cong; and about a quarter of a mile thence, in a deep, narrow, and smooth streame", exonerates itself into Lough Orbsen, having the barony of Kilmain in the isthmus between it and Lough Measg, and on the east of it, and that part of Cong parish in the half barony of Ross on the west. It affords good store of salmon, trouts, and eels. From

• Parish church.—The west gable and part of the north and south walls of this church are ancient; the remainder of the building is modern.

St. Brendan. According to the Four Masters, St. Brendan died on 16th May, A. D. 576. With them the Annals of Ulster agree; vide Doctor O'Conor's Edition, In Scriptor. Rerum Hib., tom. iii. p. 171. Tigernagh correctly states it at A. D. 577. Id. tom. ii. p. 153, where see also Doctor O'Conor's note thereon (77).

Runs. It may assist our author's

description here, to add, that the portion of the parish of Cong which lies in the county of Galway, extends along the north side of Lough Corrib, from the river of Cong to the head of the lake.

Imaire-an-Linain.-lomaire an Tíonán, i. e. the ridge of Leenane, the boundary of Joyce country. See this place described further on by our author.

" Streame.-On the shore, east of where this stream flows into the lake, the writer found Iceland, or double refracting spar, in great quantity.

From hence an eele' carryed a purse of 13" 4" sterling, and a knife, for about sixteen miles through Lough Orbsen, till it was catched on the river of Galway; which thus happened. One William Mc. Ghoill, a fisherman at Cong, lighted on a good eele; and being busie about catching more, thrust his girdle through its guill, which had the purse and knife on it: the eele by chance slides into the river with the purse and knife.

Six miles from the river of Cong westward, the river of Duwaghta" enters into Lough Orbsen; and five miles from thence to Belanam breac

Eele. This story of the eel, knife, and purse, though it occurred nearly two centuries ago, is still told by old people in the vicinity of Lough Corrib.

"Duwaghta.-Belanambreac.- Bonbonan.-Linan Kinmara.—Dubaċta, now called Doughty. This river is in the parish of Cong. Belanam breac river, Ir. Beal aza na m-breac, Englished Bellanabrack, falls into Lough Corrib at Bonbonnain, opposite Cairlean na Cipce, or the Hen's Castle, having previously received the tribute of two other streams mentioned a little further on by our author, one of which he calls Failmir. Bonbonan, bonbonnán, or perhaps bocán. There is a neighbouring mountain of the name, bordering the lake on the west. Linain Kin mara, Líonán Cinn mapa, signiffes the head of the sea, or the extreme point to which the tide reaches. See the Annals of the Four Masters, at A. D. 1235, for an interesting account of the hostilities carried on in that year, in the west of Ireland. The occurrence above alluded to is thus

related: "Tainic dan Ɑoò úa Flaiżbeartaig agus Eogan úa h-Eòin sluag mór ele timċeall, agus aptraige leo, ar na tarraing co líonán cind mara,” 7c. "Hugh O'Flaherty and Owen O'Heyne also came round with a great body of forces; and they carried boats with them to Lionan Cinn Mhara." That is, they carried them from Bonbonan, the mouth of Belanabrack river, near the Hen's Castle, for about seven miles. The narrative then goes on to state, that these boats went round (by the Killary) to Cuan Modha, Clew Bay; and that, with their aid, the English were enabled to commit incredible slaughter and devastation throughout the numerous islands there. It would be difficult to adduce from history a more signal act of treachery, than that of the above pair of renegades, O'Flaherty and O'Heyne. The former died within the ensuing year: and O'Heyne's territory was soon after seized and his people reduced, by the English, whom he assisted on that occasion. The Annals add, that O'Malley

Belanambreac river, which falls into Bonbonan, the furthest end of the lake.

Imair-an-Linain, antiently Linan Kinmara, is a long green spot of land by the sea of Coelshaly Ro, whither the boats of Lough Orbsen were drawn by the forces of West Connaught and Hyfiaghry Aidhne, from Bonbonann to the sea, for five miles, Anno 1235, to invade the sea islands there, upon an expedition into the Owles, of Morice Fitz Gerald', Lord Justice of Ireland, Richard de Burgo,

Lord

with Felym O'Connor, at Moynemoyne, and being there mett, the deputie, with all his forces of horse and foot, rushed on Felym to kill him and his people, which Felym seeing, betook himself to the swiftness of his feet, and so held on untill he came to Seysie." This attempt at assassination, and that too against his gossip (for such a degree of relationship appears to have subsisted between him and Felim), was not a very "valiant" act. But he was more successful at Bealascanny (Ballyshannon), in A. D. 1247.-Id. To such a congenial spirit, the treachery of O'Flaherty and O'Heyne, before related, must have been acceptable. The ancient Roll of Patents called "Antiquissime," preserved in the Rolls' Office, Dublin, contains two grants of considerable possessions to Walter de Ridelesford; one from Earl Richard (Strongbow), "Vices Regis Anglie in Hibernia agens;" and the other from John Earl of Morton. Calendar. Rot. Pat. p. 4, No. 52, 53. The above was a family expedition. Hugh de Lacy was married to the daughter of Walter Riddlesford; and Walter, the

Y Maurice Fitz Gerald. Walter Riddlesford. However lauded this Lord Justice Fitzgerald has been by Anglo-Norman writers and heralds, as 66 a valiant knight, a very pleasant man, inferior to none in the kingdom; having lived all his life with commendation,”—Lodge, i. 60, Irish writers paint him in very different colours, see the Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1236, and Mac Geoghegan's translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at the same year: "The said deputy had a meeting

Lord of Connaught, Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster, the Lord Walter Riddlesford, with the English forces of Leinster, and the Lord John Cogan, with the English forces of Munster, in pursuit of a party of the O'Connors, belonging to Fedlim O'Connor, King of Connaught.

The barony of Moycullin, commonly known in Irish by the names of Gnomore on the North, Gnobeg on the South, is separated on the north from Joyce Countrey by a ridge of mountains and Lough Orbsen: on the east it lyes by Lough Orbsen and the river of Galway, on the south by the bay of Galway, and hath Balynahinsy barony on the west.

On the north side of the river of Failmir, and another river, they both meet in one channell before they come into Lough Orbsen; and have two different kindes of trouts, which come from the lake to the common channell; and they are seen to separate one from another as they goe on their distinct rivers, so as the kind of the one is never found on the other.

The river of Fuogh falls from the mountaines through steep rocks,

till it passes by the castle of Fuogh' to Lough Orbsen eastward. It was commonly called Owan Roimhe, or Brimstone River. The occasion of the name was but lately discovered by an extraordinary drought of weather, An. 1666 and 1667, wherein there was brimstone found on the dry stones about the bridge of Fuogh. On this river is salmon fishing; and muscles are found that breede pearles. On the north side of the river, not far from the bridge, westward, was discovered by revelation, about the year 1654, a well in honour of St. Michael, archangel. From this river to Galway, above twelve miles, there is indifferent good arable land by the lake and river of Galway, on the east of it, and the mountaines on the west, between it and another tract of land by the sea-side. Near Fuogh is the parish church of Kilcumin, and St. Cumin's well', where he is worshiped

b The river and castle of Fuogh.-Fuazaio. This river flows through Oughterard, a small town about fourteen miles north-west of Galway, much celebrated by tourists. Mr. Inglis, in his journey through Ireland, A. D. 1834, state,s that "this straggling little village" has "one of the prettiest and most limpid streams in the world dancing through it." This is the river of Fuagh; or, as it is sometimes called, Owin Riff, in Irish Abainn Roib, or the sulphur river. Whenever the river runs shallow, sulphur is found on the stones in its channel. The castle is called Nowghe in the document of A. D. 1586, mentioned in note 8, p. 44. It stood on a natural bridge in the townland of Fuogh; but was pulled down some years since to build the barrack of Oughterard.

often of a large size. For an account of Irish pearls see Harris's Ware, vol. ii. p. 172; and some curious papers in Trin. Coll. MS. Lib. I. 1, 3.

d Well.—This well is still shewn.

e Twelve miles. It is reputed to be fourteen Irish miles; but as before observed, p. 6, notek, our author laid down his distances by the long Connaught miles. f Parish church. St. Cumin's well.— This parish is bounded on the north by Joyce Country; on the east by Lough Corrib, many of whose islands it embraces; on the south by the parish of Killanin; and on the west by the parish of Moyrus, in Conamara. The church is called in Irish Cill Chuimin, the church of St. Cuimin, who, according to tradition, was the original founder of the parish. No part of the primitive church remains.