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Kilbelfad

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KILBELFAD, a parish, in the barony of TYRAWLEY, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 4 miles (S.

S. W.) from Ballina, on the river Moy; containing 3798 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the west by Lough Conn, in which is the island of Glass, the burialplace of Bishop Bale Fadh, who took refuge there during a period of persecution, and from whom the parish is supposed to have derived its name. The soil is tolerably fertile, and the system of agriculture much improved; there is abundance of good bog, and there are quarries of limestone and of granite, of which Curramore, the residence of Lieut.-Col. Jackson, was built; there are also considerable quantities of marl, and of good clay for making bricks. A fair is held on Whit-Tuesday, and petty sessions occasionally. It contains the island of Annagh, in Lough Conn, comprising 45 acres of arable land and 2 acres of bog.

The parish is in the diocese of Killala; the rectory is appropriate to the vicars choral of the cathedral of Christchurch, Dublin, and the vicarage forms part of the union of Ardagh: the tithes amount to £180. 6. 5., which is equally divided between the appropriators and the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Backs, in Ballynahaglish; there are two chapels, one at Knockmore and one at Gallows Hill, but service is only performed in one.

A school has been established at the latter place; and there are also four private schools, in which are about 230 children. There are numerous encampments, generally called forts, and the remains of the old castles of Deel and Cloghan, built by the Bourkes, and of Castle Kelly.

from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837.

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Kilbelfad which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

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Historical Geography

See the parish page  on logainm.ie (The Placenames Database of Ireland)

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Land & Property

The entry for Kilbelfad from Griffiths Valuation 1847/64

Tithe Applotment Books 1823/37 for this parish on TNAI

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OSI grid reference G2013410384 (Lat/Lon: 54.036543, -9.219717), Kilbelfad which are provided by: