ATHLEAGUE. 123 ATHNID. cannon Castle, founded by the O'Caaeys. This parish waa the scene of a battle between the forces of James II. and AVilliam HI., in 1691. A police force is stationed here. Castle Ivers, the seat of B. Ivors, Esq., near the village, and Athlacca House, are the principal residences. ATHLEAGUE, a par. and post town partly in the bar. of Athlone, in the co. of Roscommon, and partly in the bar. of Killian, in the co. of Galway, prov. of Con- naught, Ireland, 4 miles to tho S.W. of Eoscommon. Clooneenbegg and Tromaun arc vils. included in this par. It lies on both banks of the river Suck, which forms the boundary of the two counties, and is here crossed by a causeway and a scries of bridges passing from island to island. Much of the district is bog. There are quarries of good limestone and freestone. Iron has been obtained, but the mines are not now worked. The living is a vie. in tho dioc. of Kilmore, Ardagh, and Elphin, of the yearly val., with tho vies, of Fuerty and Kilbegnet, of 314, in the patron, of the bishop. The church was formerly a family chapel, and is of great antiquity. An abbey of gray friars was founded here at an early period. There are several seats nt the gentry Rookwood, Castle Kelly, Fortwilliam, c. Fairs are held on the llth July and the 24th September. ATHLONE BARONY, one of the nine bars, or sub- divisions of the co. of Roscommon, in the prov. of Con- .-;'ht, Ireland. It lies on the southern part of the aid is bounded by the bars, of Ballymoe and Ballin- tobber on the N., by Lough Eee and the co. of West Muath on the E., by the bar. of Moycarn on the S., and by the river Suck, which separates it from the co. of Galway, on the W. Comprised in the bar. are the town of Athlone, the vil. of Mount Talbot, the pars, of Cam, Drum, Dysart, Fuerty, Killinvoy, Kilmeane, Kil- tocim, Sahara, St. John's, St. Peter's, Taghmaconnell, Titu'ara, with parts of Athleague and Taghboy. It i extends over an area of 146,183 acres. ATHLONE, a market town and municipal and par- liamentary borough, partly in the par. of St. Peter's and bar. of Athlone, in the co. of Eoscommou, prov. of Con- naught, and partly in the par. of St. Mary's, in the bar. of Brawney, co. of West Meath, and prov. of Leiuster, Ireland, 17 miles to the S.E. of Eoscommon, and 76 miles to the AY. of Dublin. It is a station on the Dublin and Galway line of railway. The river Shannon inter- nets the town, and falls into Lough Eee a little below it. The great road from Dublin to Galway passes through tin- town. Early in the 13th century a Cistercian abbey was founded here, and soon afterwards the castle was built, which became a place of great importance. It was hold some time by the Earl of Essex, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It stood a long siege by tho Irish during the presidency of Lord Rauelagh, and was ulti- mately taken by Sir James Dillon in 1642. During the civil war of the reign of Charles I., the castle was token by tho parliamentary forces, and the town was burnt. In 1091, after a cannonade of extraordinary severity, and a most heroic and energetic defence, by the forces of James II., under Colonel Grace, the town was stormed and finally taken by tho English forces under Do Gin- kcll. After being rebuilt and made a great military depot, castle and town were again destroyed during a thunderstorm in 1697, when the powder magazine was blown up. Part of the old town walls and one of the gateways are still standing. The present defences arc on .the Connaught or western side of tho river. Near the I castle are the barracks, capable of holding 3,000 men, and covering a space of 15 acres. There is an armoury and a | military hospital. Great improvements have been made
- in the town. In place of the old bridge, built in the reign
"t Queen Elizabeth, and which was only 12 feet wide, and had three flour-mills on it, a new one was erected in 1844. It is a handsome stone structure of nine arches, besides a swivel arch for the passage of steamers, &c. A large dock has been constructed near the bridge. Tho railway is carried across the Shannon on a noble iron 1 ii-iilge. The houses are mostly built of limestone, wliieh is abundant in tho district. There is a court-house, which was built in 1703, a bridewell, two banks, a hospital, a union workhouse, and a dispensary. The hat manufac- ture was formerly extensively carried on here, but it has declined. There are considerable establishments for dis- tilling, browing, tanning, and soap and candle making, and several flour-mills. Two branch banks are established. Athlone received its charter of incorporation from James I. in 1606, and confirmations and extensions of it from Charles II. The style of the corporation was " the sovereign, bailiffs, burgesses, and freemen of the town of Athlone." Under a new Act the government is vested in commissioners. It has a revenue of 195, and an area of 491 acres, including 1,011 houses, inhabited by a population of 5,001, according to the census of 1861. Tho borough returned two members to tho Irish parlia- ment till the Union, and since that time it returns one to the Imperial parliament. Two newspapers are published the Westmeath Independent and tho Athlone Sentinel. There is frequent steam communication with Limerick. There are two livings in Athlone, one a rect. in the par. of St. Mary, of the val. of 398 ; it is in tho dioc. of Meath, and in the patron, of the bishop ; the church was built in 1826. The other, a perpet. cur. in the par. of St. Peter, of the val. of 131 ; it is in the dioc. of Kilmore, Ardagh, and Elphin, and in the gift of the Incorporation Society ; the church, erected in 1804, occupies the site of the old monastery. There are two Roman Catholic chapels, and convents of the Augustine and Franciscan orders. Tho Presbyterians, Baptists, and Wesleyan Methodists have each a place of worship here. The Eanelagh school was founded in 1760, in accordance with a grant of an earlier date by Lord Eanelagh, for the education and apprenticing of forty boys. There is an endowment by William Handcock, Esq., for the relief of the poor, and several other small charities. Athlone is the seat of a presbytery, and of a Poor-law Union. The Athlone canal is on the Con- naught side of the river, and was formed to carry the navigation past the rapids at the bridge. Three bridges cross tho canal. Moydruin Castle, a handsome castel- lated mansion in fine grounds, on the eastern side of tho Shannon, is the seat of Viscount Castlemaine. There are many other pleasant residences. The De Ginkells of Utrecht take from Athlone the title of earl. Tuesday and Saturday are the market days. Fairs are held on the first Monday after tho 6th January, the 21st March, the Wednesday before Ascension Day, and the first Mon- day in September. ATHLUMNY, a par. in tho bar. of Skrcen, in the co. of Meath, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, close to Navan. It lies in a fertile and cultivated country on the river Boyne, at tho confluence of the Blackwater with that river, and contains part of the town of Navau, and tho vils. of Factory and Little Furze. Limestone is quarried extensively here, and there are flour and flax mills em- ploying a large number of hands. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Meath, val. 55, in the patron, of P. P. Metge, Esq. The church is decayed, and divine service is performed in a private house. There are considerable remains of a castle which belonged to the Dowdells, and was destroyed by them that it might not be taken by Cromwell. The principal seats are Athlumny House, in a tasteful demesne on the river bank, and Athlumny Cottage. ATHNASSEY, or ATHNEASY, a par. in the bars, of Coshlea and Small County, in the co. of Limerick, prov. of Munster, Ireland, 3 miles to the N.E. of Kil- mallock. It is situated in a fertile district, partly arable and partly meadow land. The living is a rect. in tho union of Kilmallock, in the dioc. of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghadoe. The church, of which scarcely any traces are left, was dedicated to St. Athanasius, and was pro- bably erected in tho 7th century. There are some trifling remains of castles and religious houses, one of the latter being called Adam's Church. Martinstown is the principal seat. ATHNID, a par. in the bar. of Eliogarty, in the co. of Tipperary, prov. of Munster, Ireland, 3 miles from Thurles. The living is a reot. forming part of the union
