MOGEALY

MOGEALY, MOGEELA, or MOYGEELAGH, a parish, in the barony of KINNATALOON, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 2 ¼ miles (W.) from Tallow, on the road to Fermoy; containing 3095 inhabitants. It is situated on the south side of the river Bride, and on the confines of the county of Waterford, and, including Templebelagh, comprises 9369 ¼ statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The land is in general good, particularly in the vale of the Bride, where it rests on a substratum of limestone; but the higher grounds towards the south and east are entirely composed of clay-slate. In many places the soil is light, well cultivated, and productive, and some of the land towards the east is occupied as nurseries for raising fruit and forest trees. The surface is very uneven, in some places mountainous; about 2000 acres consist of rough stony land chiefly in pasture and mostly reclaimable. Near Curriglass is found a white tenacious clay, which, when mixed with water, resembles lime in colour, and is in consequence occasionally used for whitening walls.

The scenery in the vale of the Bride is interesting; and within the limits of the parish are several handsome seats, the principal of which are Lisnabrin House, the residence of Captain Croker; Mount Prospect, of Mrs. Bowles; Curriglass House, of W. Gumbleton, Esq.; Lisnabrin Lodge, of Thomas Carew, Esq.; Frankfort, of F. Woodley, Esq.; Rockfield, of Charles Welsh, Esq.; Woodview, of the Rev. G. Nason; and Curriglass Cottage, of the Rev. G. J. Gwynne: there are also several good houses occupied by wealthy farmers.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cloyne, united to the particle of Templebelagh, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £725. The glebes comprise 5 acres, of which 3a. 1r. 36p. are at Templevally, and the remainder near the old church. The present church, in the village of Curriglass, is a small but neat edifice, in the early English style, erected in 1776, and for its repair the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have lately granted £121.

In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Knockmourne: a large chapel has been lately built at Glengowra, and the old chapel, at Lisnabrin, is shut up. The parochial school at Templevalley is chiefly supported by the rector, who has allotted 3 ½ acres of the glebe for that purpose; a school at Lisnabrin is supported by a grant from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and subscriptions from the Cloyne Scriptural School Association and individuals: there are also a Sunday school and a National school. On the south bank of the river Bride, at the old village of Moygeelah, and commanding the pass of the valley and river, are the extensive and picturesque ruins of a castle, once the splendid residence of Thomas, Earl of Desmond: it was reduced by Queen Elizabeth's forces during the rebellion in the latter part of her reign. Near it are the ruins of the old church of Moidgheallidh, or "Church of the vow;" and at Templevalley are those of a church erected by the Knights Templars, in 1302.