Clare Places: Parishes: Kilnasoolagh: Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, 1845

Kilnasoolagh

A parish on the west border of the barony of Lower Bunratty, ¾ of a mile west of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co. Clare, Munster. Length, 3¼ miles; breadth, 3; area, 5, 138 acres, 2 roods, 24 perches,—of which 33 acres, 33 perches are in Dromoland lake, and 7 acres, 3 roods, 32 perches are tideway in the Ardsolus river. Pop., in 1831, 1,319; in 1841, 1,158. Houses 162. The surface forms the east screen of the upper part of the Fergus estuary; and consists, in the aggregate, of good or even of rich and ornate land. The demesne of Dromoland in the north is extensive, profusely wooded, beautifully watered, and tastefully disposed; and it is presided over by the modern, castellated pile of Dromoland-castle, the magnificent residence of Sir Lucius O’Brien, Bart. Carrigoran, the seat of Charles Creagh Esq., in the south-east, is also a pleasant feature. The only other noticeable residences are Shepherdsfield and Joy-lodge. The principal antiquities are two old castles; though immediately beyond the parochial boundary, and at the back of Dromoland demesne, are some curious Druidical ovals or circles, brought into notice, in 1826, by T. Steele, Esq. The interior of the parish is traversed by the road from Limerick to Ennis. This parish is a vicarage, in the dio. of Killaloe. Vicarial tithe compostion, £94 8s. 0½d.; glebe, £20 5s. The rectorial tithes are compounded for £188 16s. 1d.; and are appropriated to an ecclesiastical incumbent. The vicarages of Kilnasoolagh, DROMLINE and KILMALEERY, constitute the benefice of Kilnasoolagh. Pop., in 1831, 3,168. Gross income, £204 17s. 4¼d.; nett, £172 6s. 11¼d. Patron, the diocesan. The church was built in 1815, by means of a loan of £830 15s. 4½d. from the late Board of First Fruits. Sittings 200; attendance 70. In 1834, the Protestants of the parish amounted to 105, and the Roman Catholics to 1,311; the Protestants of the union to 114, and the Roman Catholics to 3,287; and three daily schools—one of which was supported by Lady O’Brien—had on their books 49 boys and 69 girls.

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, 1845
Courtesy of Clare Local Studies Project