GALLOON

GALLOON, a parish, partly in the baronies of KNOCKNINNY and CLONKELLY, but chiefly in that of COOLE, county of FERMANAGH, and province of ULSTER, 65 miles (S. S. E.) from Lisnaskea, on Lough Erne, and on the road from Cavan to Enniskillen; containing 10,506 inhabitants. The parish, according to the Ordnance survey, comprises (including islands) 25,287 statute acres, of which 432 ½ are in the barony of Knockninny, 9341 ¼ in that of Clonkelly, and 15,513 ¼; in that of Coole; about two-thirds are good arable and pasture land, 1455 ½ are in Upper-Lough Erne, 1072 in small lakes, and of the remainder a very large portion is bog, which is easily reclaimable. The system of agriculture is in a very unimproved stae; limestone is abundant, and freestone of good quality is procured for building and other purposes.

The only seat of importance is Crom Castle, the residence of the Earl of Erne, about three miles from Newtown-Butler, a handsome mansion recently erected, in which is still preserved the armour worn by McCarthy Moore at the battle of Kilgarret. The lake affords considerable facility of water conveyance, and it is in contemplation to open the port of Ballyshannon by the river Erne; there is a large flour-mill at Roosky, in this parish.

The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Clogher, and the corps of the chancellorship of the cathedral of Clogher, in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £410, and the gross annual value of the benefice, including glebe, is £540. There is no glebe-house; the glebe comprises 128 Irish acres. The old church was burnt by an accidental fire in 1819, and the present spacious cruciform edifice was erected in 1821, by aid of a grant of £2000 from the late Board of First Fruits.

In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district comprising also four townlands of the parish of Drummully; there are two chapels, situated at Newtown-Butler and Donagh; the former erected in 1830, at an expense of £400, and latter in 1826, at an expense of £500. There are also places of worship for Wesleyan and Primitive Wesleyan Methodists; the latter is a fine new building, one-half of the expense of which was contributed by J. Butler Danvers, Esq.

About 670 children are taught in five national and four other public schools; and there are six private schools, in which are about 540 children, and ten Sunday schools. There are several raths in the parish; and at Mulnagone is a chalybeate spa, strongly impregnated with sulphur, which has been found efficacious in chronic diseases. There are some ruins of old churches on the island of Galloon and also at Donagh.—See NEWTOWN-BUTLER.