BALLINTEMPLE, a parish

BALLINTEMPLE, a parish, in the barony of ARKLOW, county of WICKLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 4 ½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Arklow; containing 1021 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from Arklow to Carlow, and on the river Derry, which meets the Ovoca at the Wooden Bridge hotel in the village, thence called the second "Meeting of the Waters." The soil is fertile, and the system of agriculture improving. Some of the streams descending from the mountain Croghan-Kinshela, which towards the close of the last century was explored for gold, run through this parish; and shafts have been sunk for copper, with a prospect of success, though they are stopped at present from a disputed claim to the royalty between the Earl of Carysfort and the Marquess of Ormonde.

The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, and in the patronage of William Brian, Esq.: the tithes amount to £103. 16. 11. The church, built by aid of a gift of £800 and a loan of £50 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816, is in a state of dilapidation from the dry rot. The glebe-house commands a beautifully picturesque view of the woods of Ballyarthur and Knockname, and from the upper grounds is an extensive and pleasing prospect over the Vale of Ovoca: the glebe-comprises 2 ½ acres. In the R. C. divisions the parish is included in the union or district of Arklow; the chapel is at Ballycowgue, and attached to it is a school. The parochial school is supported by weekly payments from the children. There is also a hedge school. In the centre of the parish is an ancient cemetery.