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ARDNURCHER

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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

"ARDNURCHER, (or Horseleap), a parish partly in the barony of Kilcoursey in King's County, partly and chiefly in the barony of Moycashel, in the county of Westmeath, province of Leinster, Ireland, 4 miles to the N.W. of Kilbeggan. It is situated on the river Brosna, and on the road from Dublin to Galway. There is a large tract of bog and abundance of limestone. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Meath, value with the vicarage of Kilcumreagh and several others, £613, in the patronage of the crown. The church, which stands on a hill, is an ancient building, and has a spire erected in 1822. The chief proprietor of the parish is Lord Maryborough. Several castles formerly existed in this place. Here is an ancient moat, the fort of Ardnurcher, over which a knight, one of the De Lacys, is said to have leapt when escaping from pursuit: whence the common name of the moat, Horseleap. There are remains of a monastery founded in the 5th century, and of a nunnery founded by Matilda de Lacy in the 13th. Donour Castle, still in good preservation, is the seat of the Nagles.

"STREAMSTOWN, a village in the parish of Ardnurcher, barony of Moycashel, county Westmeath, province of Leinster, Ireland, 5 miles S.E. of Ballymore. There is a police station. Streamstown House and Cottage are the principal seats of the neighbourhood."

"TEMPLEMACATEER, a hamlet in the parish of Ardnurcher, barony of Moycashel, county Westmeath, Ireland, 5 miles W.N.W. of Kilbeggan. It was the site of Templemacateer Abbey."

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