BALLYTORE, a post-town

BALLYTORE, a post-town, in the parish of TIMOLIN, barony of NARRAGH and RHEBAN EAST, county of KILDARE, and province of LEINSTER, 13 miles (S. S. W.) from Naas, and 28 ½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Dublin; containing 141 houses and 933 inhabitants. This town, which is situated on the river Griese and on the mail coach road from Dublin to Carlow, was, in 1798, taken by the insurgents, in whose possession it remained two days, and by whom it was set on fire. It is conspicuous for the neatness and regularity of its appearance, and is principally inhabited by members of the Society of Friends; it has obtained considerable celebrity from its school, originally established in 1726, by Abraham Shackleton, a member of that society, and in which the celebrated Edmund Burke received the rudiments of his education. Baltytore House is the residence of T. R. Whitty, Esq. Fairs are held on March 10th, Aug. 15th, and Nov. 30th. A constabulary police force has been stationed in the town. There is a place of worship for the Society of Friends, established in 1707; a Lancasterian school is supported partly by subscription and partly by weekly payments from the children; and here are a dispensary and a savings' bank. Mary Leadbeater, daughter of Mr. Richard Shackleton, and author of "Cottage Dialogues" and other works calculated to improve the social condition of the Irish peasantry, was a native of this place.—See TIMOLIN.