County
Clare
Contents
KILRUSH |
| KILRUSH, a sea-port, market and post-town, and a parish, in
the barony of Moyarta, county of Clare, and province of Munster,
21 miles (S. W.) from Ennis, and 1301/4 (S. W.) from Dublin ; containing
9732 inhabitants, of which number, 3996 are in the town. This town is pleasantly
situated on the northern shore of the estuary of the Shannon, about 15
miles from its mouth, and on the creek to which it gives name, and to the
convenience of which for export trade it owes its present importance. It
is neatly built, and consists of a market-square intersected from east
to west by a spacious street, from which smaller streets branch off ; the
total number of houses, in 1831, was 712, since which time several others
have been added. The principal streets are well paved and flagged ; and
the roads in the vicinity have been greatly improved within the last few
years. The manufactures of the town and neighbourhood, chiefly for home
consumption, are friezes, flannels, stockings, strong sheetings, and a
serviceable kind of narrow linen, called bandle cloth. There are works
for refining rock salt for domestic use, a tanyard, a soap manufactory,
and a manufactory for nails. The chief trade is in corn, butter, cattle,
pigs, and agricultural produce; and a considerable number of hides are
sold in the market. About 20 small hookers belonging to the port are engaged
in fishing and dredging for oysters off the coast, in which about 200 persons
are employed. The port is free of dues, except a small charge for keeping
the pier in repair. The pier, which is of very solid construction, is protected
by a sea wall of great strength, and is very commodious both for commercial
and agricultural uses ; it affords great facility for landing passengers
from the steam-vessels which regularly ply between this place and Limerick.
During the bathing season at Kilkee these vessels ply daily, and at other
times only on alternate days ; public cars are always in attendance at
the pier to convey passengers to Kilkee. The pier extends from the shore
towards Hog island in the Shannon, and was erected partly at the expense
of the Board of Customs, and subsequently extended 168 feet by the late
Board of Fisheries and Mr. Vandeleur, at an expense of £1800. The
custom-house, a neat modern building near the quay, erected in 1806, is
under the control of the port collector of Limerick. The harbour is about
9 miles below Tarbert ; it is frequented by vessels that trade in grain
and other commodities : its peculiar advantage arises from its depth of
water, which admits the
entrance of vessels of the largest size. Ships of war and Indiamen anchor in the roadstead, and there is a tide harbour with piers and quays ; also a patent slip for repairs. Hence it is a good asylum harbour for vessels in distress ; its proximity to the mouth of the Shannon renders it easy of access and eligible for vessels to put to sea at any time of the tide ; and therefore it must be considered the best position for an American packet station. About one mile south from the shore, and between the island of Inniscattery and the mainland, is Hog island, comprising about 20 acres of land, and containing only one family. A coast-guard sta-tion, forming part of the district of Miltown-Malbay is established at Kilrush, and a revenue cutter is stationed off the shore. Branches of the National and Agricultural banks have been opened in the town. The market is on Saturday, and by patent may be held daily ; the fairs are on May 10th, and Oct. 12th, and there is also a fair at Ballyket on July 4th. The market-house, a commodious and handsome building in the centre of the market-square, was erected at the expense of the late Mr. Vandeleur, to whom the town owes much of its prosperity ; there are also some meat shambles and a public slaughter-house. Quarter sessions are held here at Easter and Michaelmas ; petty sessions are held every Tuesday ; and a court for the manor of Kilrush is held on the first Monday in every month by the seneschal of Crofton Moore Vandeleur, Esq., lord of the manor. A chief constabulary police force is stationed in the town. The court-house, a neat and commodious building, was erected in 1831, on a site given by Mr. Vandeleur ; and a small bridewell was built in 1825, and is well adapted to the classification of prisoners. The parish comprises 4310 statute acres, as assessed to the county rate,
exclusively of a large extent of bog ; the system of agriculture has latterly
been much improved, and tillage very considerably extended ; with-in the
last seven years the quantity of wheat grown has increased tenfold. This
improvement is chiefly to be attributed to the facility of communication
with Limerick, afforded by the steam navigation company ; the quantity
of agricultural produce which passed through the market, in 1835, including
pigs, amounted in value to £50,000. Great quantities of turf are
cut and sent chiefly from Poolanishary harbour, on the western shore of
the parish, to Limerick and its neighbourhood, by boats manned by three
persons, and each boat is calculated to earn about £200 annually
in this trade. At Knockeragh is an excellent quarry of flags, the smaller
of which are used for roofing ; and flags of superior quality are also
quarried at Moneypoint, on the shore of the Shannon, and sent to Cork,
Tralee, and other places ; good grit-stones, from four to eight feet in
length, and from two to four feet wide, are procured at Crag and Tullagower,
with sand of a good quality for building. There are also quarries of good
building stone and slate ; and in several parts of the parish are indications
of lead and copper, but no mine of either has been yet explored. The principal
seats are Kilrush House, the residence of Crofton Moore Vandeluer, Esq.,
a handsome and spacious mansion immediately adjoining the town, and commanding
an extensive view of the Shannon, and the Clare and Kerry shores ; Mount
Pleasant, of Capt. J. L. Cox ; Cappa Lodge, of Randal Borough, Esq. ; and
Oaklands, of W. Henn, Esq. The parish is in the diocese of Killaloe; the
rectory is partly impropriate in John Scott, Esq., but chiefly appropriate
to the prebend of Inniscattery in the cathedral of Killaloe; the vicarage
also forms part of the corps of the same prebend, to which were episcopally
united, in 1777, the vicarages of Kilfieragh, Kilballyhone, and Moyarta,
together constituting the union of Kilrush, in the gift of the Bishop.
The tithes amount to £429. 4. 71/2., of which £36. 18. 51/2.
is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the prebendary ; and
the vicarial tithes of the three other
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Edited by Pat Connors, last updated March 5, 2002