Barryroe/Courtmacsherry in 1837
The most reliable information we have on the socio-geographical history of the area is Samuel Lewis
A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland published in 1837.
This publication contained population statistics for every parish, town in Ireland from the 1831 census which was the first complete census conducted of Ireland. It also gave detailed descriptions of agriculture, industry, fishing, mineral resources, buildings, churches, schools and old forts/raths etc. It included information on many of the gentry living in each area. The publication is an invaluable resource for local and family historians as it gives an accurate historical insight into the decade preceding the Great Famine of the 1840’s. It is also interesting to use the dictionary in conjunction with the local relevant ordinance survey maps from the 1841. The maps are now viewable online at the ordinance survey website at https://www.osi.ie.
In 1998 Collins Press, Cork published ‘Lewis’ Cork – A topographical dictionary of the parishes, towns and villages of Cork city and county’ thus making the original publication available to modern local historians. It has an introduction by the late Tim Cadogan. Tim was a librarian with Cork County Council and a renowned local historian.
The following is a direct transcription from the later publication. It contains what Lewis wrote about the parishes of Abbeymahon, Donoughmore, Kilsallagh, Lislee and the village of Courtmacsherry. It is thus a contemporary description from 1837 of the territory that we now know as the parish of Barryroe. One of the striking statistics to be seen from the article is the population of 6,559 people in pre-famine Barryroe.
ABBEYMAHON
ABBEYMAHON, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 1½ mile (E.S.E.) from Timoleague; containing 3563 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the north-west of Courtmacsherry bay, on the south coast: it formerly constituted part of the parish of Lislee, from which it was separated on the erection of an abbey by some Cistercian monks, which stood close to the shore, and was endowed by Lord Barry with 18 ploughlands, but was not entirely completed at the general suppression of monasteries, when its possessions were seized by the Crown and granted to the Boyle family, and are still the property of the Earl of Shannon. The parish comprises 3475 statute acres: the land is in general good and under an improving system of tillage: there is a considerable extent of bog, which supplies plenty of fuel. The ordinary manures are sand and sea wrack afforded by the shore of the bay, in collecting which, during the season, numerous persons find employment. The living is an impropriate cure, in the diocese of Ross, and in the patronage of the Earl of Shannon, in whom the rectory is wholly impropriate, and who allows the curate a voluntary stipend; the tithes having merged into the rent, the parish is now considered tithe-free. There is no church; but divine service is regularly performed in a private house licensed by the bishop. In the R.C. divisions this parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also Lislee, Kilsillgh and Donoughmore, and containing two chapels, situated respectively at Abbeymahon and Lislee. The parochial schools are principally supported by the Cork Diocesan Association; the school-house was given by C Leslie, Esq. There are also a Sunday school and a hedge school. The ruins of the abbey consist of the walls of the church, which are tolerably entire, and a square tower mantled with ivy.
COURTMACSHERRY
COURTMACSHERRY, a maritime village, in the parish of LISLEE, barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2½(S.E.) from Timoleague; containing 680 inhabitants. This village is pleasantly situated on the harbour of the same name on the southern coast, and contains about 140 houses, which forms one long street extending along the south side of the bay. Its eastern part consists of small mean cabins, but in the western are numerous large and handsome houses, recently erected for the accommodation of visitors during the bathing season. It possesses many local advantages for trade and commerce, and is well situated for carrying on an extensive fishery; for which, and the general improvement of the place, great encouragement has been lately afforded by the Earl of Shannon. Several small vessels of different classes are engaged in the coal and corn trade, in the fishery, and in the conveyance of sand or manure. Of these, seven are colliers trading with Newport, eight are hookers, engaged in conveying corn, potatoes, &c., to Cork, and bringing back timber, iron, and other merchandise; four are lighters, chiefly employed in conveying sand; and about 20 vessels are exclusively engaged in the fisheries: the value of the fish taken in 1835 was estimated at £2460. A small but convenient pier, constructed chiefly at the expense of the Earl of Shannon, has proved a great protection to the fisheries and very beneficial to trade. Several new lines of road have been lately opened, and other improvements are in contemplation, which together with its beautiful and sheltered situation, the salubrity of its atmosphere, and the abundant supply of fish and all other kinds of provision, have rendered this village one of the most fashionable bathing-places on the southern coast. Small vessels may lie in safety, in two fathoms of water, near the quay in this harbour; and about a quarter of a mile to the east, in a very small creek formed by a perpendicular clay cliff, a vessel may lie in 1½ or 2 fathoms; but as the channel is narrow and the tide rapid, one anchor must lie on the shore; near the middle of the bay are two rocks, called the Barrels; the southernmost is small, and dry at low water, and the other, which is larger, is about half a mile to the north of the former, and is seldom seen above water. At the southernmost Barrel rock the extremity of the old head of Kinsale bears S.E. by E., and the Horse rock, which is always above water, W. To avoid the Barrel rocks on the west side, vessels should keep within a mile and a half of the shore, on the west side of the bay. The best anchorage, in westerly winds, in on the same side of the bay, in 10 or 20 fathoms, or on the north side of the Horse rock, in 4 or 5 fathoms. At the village is a station of the coast-guard, being one of the eight comprised in the district of Kinsale. Here are also male, female, and infant schools, built and supported by Mr. and the Misses Leslie; and a clothing establishment, under the management of the vicar, is supported by subscription, and together with a loan fund, has proved very beneficial to the poor. Adjoining the village is the beautiful demesne and summer residence of the Earl of Shannon; in the immediate neighbourhood are the ruins of Abbey Mahon; and at the distance of two miles are the extensive and picturesque ruins of the abbey and castle of Timoleague.
DONOUGHMORE
DONOUGHMORE, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of Cork, and in the province of MUNSTER, 5miles (S.S.E.) from Clonakilty; containing 364 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the eastern side of the entrance to Clonakilty bay, on a very exposed and bold shore opening abruptly to the Atlantic. It comprises 306 statute acres, nearly all under tillage, and there is neither waste land nor bog. The principle manure is sand and sea-weed, which are found in abundance on the strand, and of which large quantities are sent to Clonakilty. There is a quarry of excellent slate, affording employment to a number of persons throughout the year. Along the coast are some beautiful small bays, but so much exposed that no use can be made of them, unless in very calm weather. A coast-guard station has been fixed at Rock Castle, near the village. Donoughmore is a prebend in the cathedral of Ross, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £42. There is neither glebe-house, glebe, nor church; divine service is performed in the barrack of the coast-guard station every Sunday. In the R.C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Lislee. The parochial house is supported by subscription under the patronage of the rector; and there is a pay school, in which are about 60 children. Here is a solitary square tower of very rude character; it has no windows, but two entrances, one from the ground and the other at some height above it, and appears to have been the tower of the ancient parish church. Around it is an ancient cemetery, now used chiefly for the interment of infants. Not far distant is a small but perfect rath with a rampart 12 feet high.
KILSALLAGH
KILSALLAGH, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (S.E. by S.) from Clonakilty; containing 166 inhabitants. This small parish, which is entirely surrounded by the parish of Lislee, comprises only 237 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, the whole of which belongs to the see of Ross. The land is very fertile, and is wholly under cultivation; the substratum is clay-slate, and the chief manure sea weed and sand, which are obtained with facility in great abundance; there is neither waste land nor bog. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ross, forming part of the union of Lislee: the tithes amount to £42. 14. 2. In the R.C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Abbeymahon. There is some slight remains of the ancient parish church, to which is attached a small burial-ground.
LISLEE
LISLEE, a parish in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 10 miles (S.W.) from Bandon, on the southern coast; containing, with the village of Court-McSherry (which is separately described), 1786 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises 6250 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, is situated on the western side of the harbour of Court-McSherry; the land is in general good and chiefly under tillage, and, from the great facility of procuring sea manure at the “Broad Strand”, is in some parts well cultivated. At Dunworley is a small bog overflowed by the sea; there are some quarries of slate of an inferior quality, but in the vicinity of Court-McSherry slate of superior quality and colour is obtained. The seats are Court-McSherry, the residence of J.Leslie, Esq., beautifully situated on the harbour and sheltered by a well-planted eminence; Sea Court, of H.Longfield, Esq.; Butlerstown, of Jonas Travers, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. J. Stewart. The seneschal of the Earl of Shannon has the power of holding a court baron here for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s. late currency, which has merged into that of Timoleague, where the courts are now held.
The living is a vicarage , in the diocese of Ross, episcopally united in 1705 to the rectory of Kilsillagh, together constituting the union of Lislee, in the patronage of the Bishop: the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Shannon. The tithes amount to £749. 2. 6., of which £203.13. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar; the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £588. 3. 8. The glebe comprises 42 acres, of which 10 were purchased by the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe-house was built in 1813, by a gift of £100 and a loan of £750 from the same Board. The church is a neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, erected in 1830 at the expense of the parish, aided by a loan of £900 from the Board. In the R.C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Abbeymahon; the chapel, a large plain building, is at Butlerstown. Of the seven schools in the parish, in which during the summer about 300 children are educated, the parochial schools at Barreragh are partly supported by the incumbent, and together with a school at Court-McSherry, built and supported by the Leslie family, and a Sunday school, are under his superintendence; there is a school held in the chapel yard at Butlerstown, under the patronage of the R.C. clergy: the remainder are private schools. There are several ancient circular mounds, or raths; that from which the parish is said to derive its name Lis-lee is a little to the west of the church, but the most extensive is on a hill about a mile to the south. On a small peninsula in the bay of Dunworley, are the ruins of the castle of that name, having a very narrow entrance similar to that of the strong castle of the O Driscols on Cape Clear; and on the cliffs called the “Seven Heads” is an old signal tower. Near Dunworley is a spring of very pure water, dedicated to St Anne, and in several parts of the parish are springs strongly impregnated with iron. A little north of the Broad Strand are lofty cliffs composed of several distinct strata; the fourth from the surface is a soft ferruginous yellow rock, in which masses of iron ore are found, almost pure, and varying in size from 4oz. to nearly 1cwt.
The most reliable information we have on the socio-geographical history of the area is Samuel Lewis
A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland published in 1837.
This publication contained population statistics for every parish, town in Ireland from the 1831 census which was the first complete census conducted of Ireland. It also gave detailed descriptions of agriculture, industry, fishing, mineral resources, buildings, churches, schools and old forts/raths etc. It included information on many of the gentry living in each area. The publication is an invaluable resource for local and family historians as it gives an accurate historical insight into the decade preceding the Great Famine of the 1840’s. It is also interesting to use the dictionary in conjunction with the local relevant ordinance survey maps from the 1841. The maps are now viewable online at the ordinance survey website at https://www.osi.ie.
In 1998 Collins Press, Cork published ‘Lewis’ Cork – A topographical dictionary of the parishes, towns and villages of Cork city and county’ thus making the original publication available to modern local historians. It has an introduction by the late Tim Cadogan. Tim was a librarian with Cork County Council and a renowned local historian.
The following is a direct transcription from the later publication. It contains what Lewis wrote about the parishes of Abbeymahon, Donoughmore, Kilsallagh, Lislee and the village of Courtmacsherry. It is thus a contemporary description from 1837 of the territory that we now know as the parish of Barryroe. One of the striking statistics to be seen from the article is the population of 6,559 people in pre-famine Barryroe.
ABBEYMAHON
ABBEYMAHON, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 1½ mile (E.S.E.) from Timoleague; containing 3563 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the north-west of Courtmacsherry bay, on the south coast: it formerly constituted part of the parish of Lislee, from which it was separated on the erection of an abbey by some Cistercian monks, which stood close to the shore, and was endowed by Lord Barry with 18 ploughlands, but was not entirely completed at the general suppression of monasteries, when its possessions were seized by the Crown and granted to the Boyle family, and are still the property of the Earl of Shannon. The parish comprises 3475 statute acres: the land is in general good and under an improving system of tillage: there is a considerable extent of bog, which supplies plenty of fuel. The ordinary manures are sand and sea wrack afforded by the shore of the bay, in collecting which, during the season, numerous persons find employment. The living is an impropriate cure, in the diocese of Ross, and in the patronage of the Earl of Shannon, in whom the rectory is wholly impropriate, and who allows the curate a voluntary stipend; the tithes having merged into the rent, the parish is now considered tithe-free. There is no church; but divine service is regularly performed in a private house licensed by the bishop. In the R.C. divisions this parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also Lislee, Kilsillgh and Donoughmore, and containing two chapels, situated respectively at Abbeymahon and Lislee. The parochial schools are principally supported by the Cork Diocesan Association; the school-house was given by C Leslie, Esq. There are also a Sunday school and a hedge school. The ruins of the abbey consist of the walls of the church, which are tolerably entire, and a square tower mantled with ivy.
COURTMACSHERRY
COURTMACSHERRY, a maritime village, in the parish of LISLEE, barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2½(S.E.) from Timoleague; containing 680 inhabitants. This village is pleasantly situated on the harbour of the same name on the southern coast, and contains about 140 houses, which forms one long street extending along the south side of the bay. Its eastern part consists of small mean cabins, but in the western are numerous large and handsome houses, recently erected for the accommodation of visitors during the bathing season. It possesses many local advantages for trade and commerce, and is well situated for carrying on an extensive fishery; for which, and the general improvement of the place, great encouragement has been lately afforded by the Earl of Shannon. Several small vessels of different classes are engaged in the coal and corn trade, in the fishery, and in the conveyance of sand or manure. Of these, seven are colliers trading with Newport, eight are hookers, engaged in conveying corn, potatoes, &c., to Cork, and bringing back timber, iron, and other merchandise; four are lighters, chiefly employed in conveying sand; and about 20 vessels are exclusively engaged in the fisheries: the value of the fish taken in 1835 was estimated at £2460. A small but convenient pier, constructed chiefly at the expense of the Earl of Shannon, has proved a great protection to the fisheries and very beneficial to trade. Several new lines of road have been lately opened, and other improvements are in contemplation, which together with its beautiful and sheltered situation, the salubrity of its atmosphere, and the abundant supply of fish and all other kinds of provision, have rendered this village one of the most fashionable bathing-places on the southern coast. Small vessels may lie in safety, in two fathoms of water, near the quay in this harbour; and about a quarter of a mile to the east, in a very small creek formed by a perpendicular clay cliff, a vessel may lie in 1½ or 2 fathoms; but as the channel is narrow and the tide rapid, one anchor must lie on the shore; near the middle of the bay are two rocks, called the Barrels; the southernmost is small, and dry at low water, and the other, which is larger, is about half a mile to the north of the former, and is seldom seen above water. At the southernmost Barrel rock the extremity of the old head of Kinsale bears S.E. by E., and the Horse rock, which is always above water, W. To avoid the Barrel rocks on the west side, vessels should keep within a mile and a half of the shore, on the west side of the bay. The best anchorage, in westerly winds, in on the same side of the bay, in 10 or 20 fathoms, or on the north side of the Horse rock, in 4 or 5 fathoms. At the village is a station of the coast-guard, being one of the eight comprised in the district of Kinsale. Here are also male, female, and infant schools, built and supported by Mr. and the Misses Leslie; and a clothing establishment, under the management of the vicar, is supported by subscription, and together with a loan fund, has proved very beneficial to the poor. Adjoining the village is the beautiful demesne and summer residence of the Earl of Shannon; in the immediate neighbourhood are the ruins of Abbey Mahon; and at the distance of two miles are the extensive and picturesque ruins of the abbey and castle of Timoleague.
DONOUGHMORE
DONOUGHMORE, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of Cork, and in the province of MUNSTER, 5miles (S.S.E.) from Clonakilty; containing 364 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the eastern side of the entrance to Clonakilty bay, on a very exposed and bold shore opening abruptly to the Atlantic. It comprises 306 statute acres, nearly all under tillage, and there is neither waste land nor bog. The principle manure is sand and sea-weed, which are found in abundance on the strand, and of which large quantities are sent to Clonakilty. There is a quarry of excellent slate, affording employment to a number of persons throughout the year. Along the coast are some beautiful small bays, but so much exposed that no use can be made of them, unless in very calm weather. A coast-guard station has been fixed at Rock Castle, near the village. Donoughmore is a prebend in the cathedral of Ross, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £42. There is neither glebe-house, glebe, nor church; divine service is performed in the barrack of the coast-guard station every Sunday. In the R.C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Lislee. The parochial house is supported by subscription under the patronage of the rector; and there is a pay school, in which are about 60 children. Here is a solitary square tower of very rude character; it has no windows, but two entrances, one from the ground and the other at some height above it, and appears to have been the tower of the ancient parish church. Around it is an ancient cemetery, now used chiefly for the interment of infants. Not far distant is a small but perfect rath with a rampart 12 feet high.
KILSALLAGH
KILSALLAGH, a parish, in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 6 miles (S.E. by S.) from Clonakilty; containing 166 inhabitants. This small parish, which is entirely surrounded by the parish of Lislee, comprises only 237 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, the whole of which belongs to the see of Ross. The land is very fertile, and is wholly under cultivation; the substratum is clay-slate, and the chief manure sea weed and sand, which are obtained with facility in great abundance; there is neither waste land nor bog. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Ross, forming part of the union of Lislee: the tithes amount to £42. 14. 2. In the R.C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Abbeymahon. There is some slight remains of the ancient parish church, to which is attached a small burial-ground.
LISLEE
LISLEE, a parish in the barony of IBANE and BARRYROE, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 10 miles (S.W.) from Bandon, on the southern coast; containing, with the village of Court-McSherry (which is separately described), 1786 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises 6250 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, is situated on the western side of the harbour of Court-McSherry; the land is in general good and chiefly under tillage, and, from the great facility of procuring sea manure at the “Broad Strand”, is in some parts well cultivated. At Dunworley is a small bog overflowed by the sea; there are some quarries of slate of an inferior quality, but in the vicinity of Court-McSherry slate of superior quality and colour is obtained. The seats are Court-McSherry, the residence of J.Leslie, Esq., beautifully situated on the harbour and sheltered by a well-planted eminence; Sea Court, of H.Longfield, Esq.; Butlerstown, of Jonas Travers, Esq.; and the glebe-house, of the Rev. J. Stewart. The seneschal of the Earl of Shannon has the power of holding a court baron here for the recovery of debts not exceeding 40s. late currency, which has merged into that of Timoleague, where the courts are now held.
The living is a vicarage , in the diocese of Ross, episcopally united in 1705 to the rectory of Kilsillagh, together constituting the union of Lislee, in the patronage of the Bishop: the rectory is impropriate in the Earl of Shannon. The tithes amount to £749. 2. 6., of which £203.13. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar; the entire tithes of the benefice amount to £588. 3. 8. The glebe comprises 42 acres, of which 10 were purchased by the late Board of First Fruits; the glebe-house was built in 1813, by a gift of £100 and a loan of £750 from the same Board. The church is a neat edifice in the early English style, with a square tower, erected in 1830 at the expense of the parish, aided by a loan of £900 from the Board. In the R.C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of Abbeymahon; the chapel, a large plain building, is at Butlerstown. Of the seven schools in the parish, in which during the summer about 300 children are educated, the parochial schools at Barreragh are partly supported by the incumbent, and together with a school at Court-McSherry, built and supported by the Leslie family, and a Sunday school, are under his superintendence; there is a school held in the chapel yard at Butlerstown, under the patronage of the R.C. clergy: the remainder are private schools. There are several ancient circular mounds, or raths; that from which the parish is said to derive its name Lis-lee is a little to the west of the church, but the most extensive is on a hill about a mile to the south. On a small peninsula in the bay of Dunworley, are the ruins of the castle of that name, having a very narrow entrance similar to that of the strong castle of the O Driscols on Cape Clear; and on the cliffs called the “Seven Heads” is an old signal tower. Near Dunworley is a spring of very pure water, dedicated to St Anne, and in several parts of the parish are springs strongly impregnated with iron. A little north of the Broad Strand are lofty cliffs composed of several distinct strata; the fourth from the surface is a soft ferruginous yellow rock, in which masses of iron ore are found, almost pure, and varying in size from 4oz. to nearly 1cwt.
