BURT, a parish

BURT, a parish, in the barony of ENNISHOWEN, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 6 miles (N. W.) from Londonderry; containing 3765 inhabitants. This parish, which anciently formed part of the parish of Templemore, is situated on Lough Swilly, and comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 10,672 ½ statute acres. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Derry, and in the patronage of the Dean, to whom the tithes are payable: the curate's stipend is £100 per annum late currency, of which £75 is paid by the dean, and the remainder is advanced from the augmentation funds of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The church, a neat small edifice, was built about a century since. There is no glebe-house. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Iskahan, Burt, and Inch, and contains a chapel. There is also a place of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Ulster, of the first class. A parochial school, in which are about 40 boys and 4 girls, is supported by the Dean of Derry; and there are three pay schools, in which are about 80 boys and 30 girls, and three Sunday schools. On the shore of Lough Swilly are the ruins of the castle of Burt, or Birt, erected by Sir Cahir O'Dogherty in the 15th century, consisting of a single tower, situated on a commanding eminence.