ATHLACCA, or ATHLATRICHE, a parish

ATHLACCA, or ATHLATRICHE, a parish, in the barony of COSHMA, county of LIMERICK, and province of MUNSTER, 3 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bruff; containing 1381 inhabitants. The place was anciently the residence of the powerful family of De Lacy, who were proprietors of the surrounding territory, and had two very strong castles, one near the present village, and the other at Tullerbuoy, now Castle Ivers. In 1691, a sanguinary battle was fought here between the Irish adherents of James II. and a force of militia and dragoons commanded by Capt. O'Dell on the part of William III., in which the latter were defeated with great slaughter. The parish is situated on the road from Croom to Kilmallock, and is intersected by a beautiful little river called the Morning Star, which falls into the Maigue about a mile below the village. It comprises 5453 ½ statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is very fertile, resting on a substratum of limestone, and around Rathcannon it is exceedingly productive. About one-half is under tillage; the remainder is rich meadow and pasture land, on which a great number of cattle are fed; there is not an acre of waste land or turbary. A great want of timber prevails throughout this district; scarcely a tree or shrub, or even a hedge-row is to be seen, except around the houses of the principal inhabitants.

Castle Ivers, the residence of R. Ivers, Esq., is about a mile from the village, and is pleasantly situated in a well-planted demesne. A constabulary police force has been stationed in the village. The parish is in the diocese of Limerick, and is a rectory, united to Dromin: the tithes amount to £306. 12. 7 ½. The church, built by aid of a loan of £560 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1813, was burnt by the Rockites in 1822; and the present church, a small but neat edifice, with a tower and lofty spire, was erected in the following year by a cess levied on the parish. The glebe-house, built by aid of a gift of £400 and a loan of £360 from the Board, in the same year, is a handsome residence situated on a glebe of 14 acres, the whole of which is tastefully laid out. In the R. C. divisions the parish also forms part of the union or district of Dromin, and has a chapel. A school of about 60 boys and 20 girls is aided by the Rev. J. O'Regan, P.P.

Adjoining Castle Ivers are the ruins of Tullerbuoy castle; and near the village are those of Old Court, also the ancient residence of the De Lacy family. On the summit of a fertile eminence are the extensive remains of the castle of Rathcannon, built by the O'Casey family in the 16th century, on the site of a very ancient fortress. Near Castle Ivers are the ruins of Kilbroney church, built on a gentle eminence by the Knights Templars, in 1289, in view of their extensive manor of Ross-Temple. In the churchyard are some ancient and very curious tombs of the De Lacy family, who were great benefactors to the church and parish, and presented a valuable service of communion plate. Near the castle of Rathcannon a very perfect specimen of the elk or moose deer was discovered by Archdeacon Maunsell, who presented it to the Royal Society of Dublin: the body, from the nose to the tail, is 11 feet in length; the antlers measure 12 feet from tip to tip, and the highest point is 10 feet from the ground.