BALLYNAKILL, a parish

BALLYNAKILL, a parish, in the barony of GAULTIER, county of WATERFORD, and province of MUNSTER, 2 miles (E. S. E.) from Waterford; containing, with Little Island in the river Suir, 609 inhabitants. This parish is pleasantly situated on the road from Waterford to Passage and Dunmore, commanding a beautiful view of the city, with the vessels on the river Suir, which encircles Little Island with a wide but shallow channel on the north, and a narrow winding stream of greater depth on the south. It comprises about 1800 statute acres, of which the island contains about 290 acres, forming a delightful spot commanding a fine view of the city of Waterford, the course of the Suir, and the adjacent counties of Kilkenny and Wexford, terminated by the lofty and picturesque mountains of Ury and Slieve Kielta. On the island is a comfortable farm-house, near which is an old castle, supposed to have been erected in the sixteenth century; it is a strong square building with lofty battlements, having a small pointed entrance archway, above which is an oriel window with some rude sculpture; a staircase, faintly lighted by loopholes, leads to the summit, from which the view is singularly grand and extensive: it is the property and occasional residence of J. Fitzgerald, Esq.

In the parish are several gentlemen's seats, of which the principal are May Park, the residence of George Meara, Esq., pleasantly situated near the banks of the Suir, and commanding some fine views; Mount Pleasant, the handsome residence of S. King, Esq., near the high road; Belmont, the seat of J. Roberts, Esq., situated near the river; and Ballynakill House, the property of N. Power, Esq., now occupied by a tenant. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Waterford, with the vicarages of Ballygunner, Kilma-cleague, and Kilmacomb episcopally united, together forming the union of Ballynakill, in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate to the Dean and Chapter of Waterford. The tithes amount to £139.3. 6. of which £84. 1. 9. is payable to the dean and chapter, and £55. 1. 9. to the vicar; and the tithes of the whole benefice amount to £245. 0. 10. The church, a neat edifice with a spire, was built by aid of a gift of £900 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1816. There is no glebe-house: the glebe, situated in another part of the union, comprises 10 acres. In the R. C. divisions this parish forms part of the union or district of St. John's, Waterford. A Protestant school, endowed with lands by Bishop Foy, and in which 47 boys are boarded and educated, and at a proper age apprenticed, is supported under the control of the Bishop, Dean, and Mayor of Waterford.