CASTLEMACADAM

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

"CASTLEMACADAM, a parish in the barony of Arklow, in the county of Wicklow, province of Leinster, Ireland, 4 miles to the N.W. of Arklow. It is situated on the banks of the river Ovoca, which is formed by "the meeting of the waters" of the Avonmore and Avonbeg. The parish is in its extreme length and breadth 10 miles by 6. The village of Ovoca has a station on the Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford railway. The" Vale of Ovoca" is famed for the surpassing beauty and variety of its scenery, which presents a charming combination of mountain, wood, grassy slopes, and water. The district is rich in sulphur and copper ore, containing the mines of Ballygahan, Ballymurtagh, Cronebane, Conneree, and Tigronory, which employ a large number of hands, and yield about 12,000 tons of those minerals in the year. The working of these mines was commenced about the middle of the 18th century. Clay-slate is quarried in the parish. There are lead, gold, and sulphur mines in Ballintemple, but the working of them has not been profitable. The parish of Ballintemple was united to Castlemacadam in 1854. The living is a union in the diocese of Dublin, Glendalagh, and Kildare, value £261, in the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin and the Rev. W. Butler Bryan, alternately. The church, situated on high ground near the river, occupies the site of an old castle. Besides the church there are two licensed places of worship in connection with the Established Church, two Roman Catholic chapels, and a Wesleyan meetinghouse. There are parochial, National, and other schools. Ballyarthur, Castle-Howard, and Cherry Mount are the principal seats. The former is a spacious, hilly, and wooded demesne, commanding splendid views of the valley and the waters. The house is approached by a fine avenue two miles long. Castle-Howard stands picturesquely on a steep rock over the Ovoca."

"KILMACOW, an ancient parish in county Wicklow, now joined to Castlemacadam."

"NEWBRIDGE, a post-office village in the parish of Castlemacadam, barony of Arklow, county Wicklow, province of Leinster, Ireland, 5 miles N.W. of Arklow. It is situated on the river Ovoca."

 

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