Clonmel Parish

The parish extends beyond the Suir a considerable distance into the county of Waterford, and comprises 8907 statute acres, of which 5922 are applotted under the tithe act. The principal seats are Knocklofty, that of the Earl of Donoughmore; Kilmanahan Castle, of Lieut.-Colonel Nuttall Greene; Marlfield, of J. Bagwell, Esq.; Barn, of S. Moore, Esq.; Woodrooff, of W. Perry, Esq.; Rathronan, of Major-General Sir H. Gough, K.C.B.; Kiltinane Castle, of R. Cooke,Esq.; Darling Hill, of the Hon. Baron Pennefather; and Newtown-Anner, of Lady Osborne: there are also many other handsome residences. The views from the demesnes of Knocklofty and Kilmanahan Castle abound with interest and variety, and are not surpassed by any in this part of the country. At Kiltinane Castle a very rapid stream issuing from a rock forms a remarkable natural curiosity.

The living is an entire rectory, in the diocese of Lismore, and in the gift of the Corporation: the tithes amount to £300. The glebe-house was built by aid of a gift of £100 and a loan of £650 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1810; the glebe, dispersed in small parcels in the town and suburbs, comprises 2a. 1r. 2p. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure, with a handsome octangular embattled tower, 84 feet high, at the eastern extremity of the south side; it was formerly a good specimen of the early English style of architecture, but on its repair, in 1805, it was modernised and retains but little of its original character; a grant of £1019.12. was made by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for its repair. In the chancel is a beautiful monument, by Taylor of York, to the memory of Mary, wife of J. Bagwell, Esq., and recording also the death of that gentleman and his eldest son, the late Rt. Hon. William Bagwell, uncle of the present proprietor of Marlfield. There is also a monument erected by the parishioners, in the year 1795, as a tribute of respect to the memory of Dr. J. Moore, who was rector of this parish for 66 years. In the porch are slabs with inscriptions and armorial bearings of the noble family of Hutchinson, Lord Donoughmore, and in one of the shields are impaled the arms of Moore, of Barn.

The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Established Church, and is the benefice of the vicar-general of the united dioceses of Waterford and Lismore, and contains two chapels, one in Irishtown, and the other a large and neat modern building in Johnston-street; also a Franciscan friary in Warren-street, lately rebuilt, and a Presentation convent situated beyond the western bridge. There are places of worship for Presbyterians in connection with the Synod of Munster, the Society of Friends, Baptists, Unitarians, and Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists.

The grammar school was founded in 1685, by R. and S. Moore, Esqrs., ancestors of the Mount-Cashel family, who endowed it with the lands of Lissenure and Clonbough, in the county of Tipperary, producing a rental of £369, for the gratuitous instruction of the sons of freemen in Latin. The old school-house having fallen into decay, a large and substantial building has been erected within the last few years at the western extremity of the town, on a site granted at a nominal rent by the late Colonel Bagwell, and at an expense of nearly £5000, of which £4000 was advanced out of the consolidated fund, for the repayment of which £240 per annum is appropriated from the proceeds of the endowment: there are at present, including boarders, about 90 boys in the school.

A parochial school for boys is partly supported by a joint bequest from Dr. Ladyman and Mrs. Pomeroy, amounting to £7 per annum, late currency, and £2 per annum from the rector; and there are a parochial school for girls and an infants' school, both supported by voluntary contributions: a handsome and commodious building has been lately erected for these schools, containing three school-rooms, each capable of accommodating 100 scholars. Two schools for girls are superintended by two ladies, who teach the children gratuitously; a school for boys is supported by collections at the R. C. chapels, which are partly appropriated in paying the master's salary, and partly in providing clothing for the children; and there are Sunday schools in connection with the Established Church and the Presbyterian and Methodists' congregations. The number of children in attendance daily is, on an average, 580; and in the private pay schools are about 650 children.