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REYNAGH

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

In 1868, the parish of Reynagh contained the following places:

"REYNAGH, (or Renagh), a parish in the barony of Garrycastle, King's County, province of Leinster, Ireland. It contains the post town of Banagher (which see). Petty sessions are held once a week. The surface extends along the river Shannon. There is much bog and waste land, and the arable is of poor quality. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Meath, value £253, in the patronage of the bishop. The church was built in 1829 by means of a loan from the late Board of First Fruits, and is in the later English style. The Roman Catholic church is at Banagher, and is at the head of a union. There are two public and several private schools. Carrigcastle, Mount Carteret, and Claremount are the principal residences. There are some large meal mills. Steamboats ply on the Shannon to Limerick and other places. In the vicinity are remains of an old church, also of StreamstownCastle, and traces of a rath. There is a dispensary in the parish. Fairs are held on 1st May and 15th September.

"BANAGHER, a market town in the parish of Reynagh, and barony of Garrycastle, in King's County, province of Leinster, Ireland, 7 miles to the N.W. of Parsonstown, and 82 miles from Dublin. The town stands on rising ground on the south bank of the river Shannon, which here separates King's County from Galway, and is joined by the Little Brosna river, which falls into the Shannon just below the town. Banagher was formerly a corporate town and parliamentary borough, returning two representatives to the Irish parliament from the reign of Charles I. till the Union. The town, consisting mainly of one long street, occupies an important military position, and has strong defences. There are barracks for infantry, and two batteries, and on the Galway side of the river two towers, one of which is called Cromwell's Port. These in former times were considered to be of great strength, and were strongly garrisoned in the Irish rebellion of 1798, but owing to the changed circumstances of the country, and of the whole system of military tactics, they are now practically useless; and though still kept in excellent repair are untenanted, except by a few artillerymen attached to the coast brigade. The trade of the place has declined of late years, notwithstanding the introduction of steamers and the improvements in the navigation of the river Shannon, which up to 1841 was crossed by a curious old bridge of 19 arches. This has been replaced by a modern structure of very handsome proportions, erected among the works of the Shannon commissioners which have added so much to the improvement of this town, although they are said to have materially injured the neighbouring lands, owing to the quantity of water brought down and not sufficiently carried off. The construction of a railway to Clara, connecting Banagher with the two great lines of Ireland, will no doubt improve the commercial prospects of the town. The parish church, which is near the entrance of the town, is a handsome building, of a kind of spurious Gothic, with tower and spire; it has been lately much improved internally by the introduction of an organ, and other modifications. There is a Roman Catholic chapel, a plain building; an excellent Royal school, one of six in Ireland; parochial and National schools, a dispensary, and a reading-room. A police station is established, and petty sessions are held once a fortnight. Not far from the town is Cloghan Castle, an ancient seat. Some ruins of Garry Castle are near the Little Brosna. The market, chiefly for corn, is on Friday. Fairs are held on the 1st May, the 15th September and three following days, the 28th October, and the 8th November. The September fair is for cattle, &c."

"COOLFIN, a hamlet in the barony of Garrycastle, King's County, Ireland, 2 miles from Bannagher, and 83 from Dublin. There is also a hamlet of the same name in the county of Waterford, near Portlaw."

"RAPE-MILLS, a hamlet in the parish of Reynagh, barony of Garrycastle, King's County, province of Leinster, Ireland, 3 miles N.N.W. of Birr. It contains a police station and some rape-mills, from which it derives its name. In the neighbourhood are the seats Mount Erin, Ballaghanoher House, and Hill House."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2018]