All Lewis entries for Toomore

FOXFORD

FOXFORD, a market and post-town, in the parish of TOOMORE, barony of GALLEN, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 8 miles (S.) from Ballina, and 132 (N. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the river Moy, and on the road from Ballina to Swinford ; containing 1068 inhabitants, and consisting of 209 houses indifferently built. The Irish, or Celtic, term for Foxford is Belass, signifying the "mouth of a cataract." During the disturbances of 1798, when the French, under Gen. Humbert, had taken possession of the town of Ballina, the garrison, under Col. Sir T. Chapman and Major Keir, retreated to this place ; and Gen. Humbert, on abandoning Castlebar, passed with his army through the town, on his route to Sligo. It is a place of very great antiquity, and was formerly the key of Tyrawley ; from it the district, which extends a considerable distance, even into the adjoining county of Galway, takes its name: it is mostly surrounded by a chain of high mountains. The beautiful river Moy, which in its course receives the principal waters of the county of Mayo, until it discharges itself into the sea at Ballina, runs through the town, where it is crossed by a very ancient bridge of several arches, now in a state of decay. By the dissolution of the Linen Board, 140 looms in this town and neighbourhood were thrown out of employment: the only trade carried on is in corn. The market is on Thursday ; and fairs are held, chiefly for cattle, on May 15th, June 25th, Oct. 3rd, and Dec. 10th. There is a market and court-house, where petty sessions are held on alternate Fridays ; a constabulary police station, and an infantry barrack. This place is remarkable for the longevity of the inhabitants, being considered one of the healthiest spots in this or any of the adjoining counties. In the town stand the parish church and a R. C. chapel ; and there are two public schools. About three miles distant, on the Castlebar road, are the ruins of an extensive monastery, still inhabited by a solitary individual of the order, and according as one dies his place is supplied by another. At a ford a little below the town is a huge rock, called Cromwell's rock, where it is stated the Protector's army crossed the Moy, during the civil war. A few years since, whilst the streets were undergoing some repairs, a deep pit was sunk at the corner of the main street, to raise gravel, on which occasion a great number of human skulls and skeletons was dug up, evidently indicating the scene of some battle.

TOWMORE

TOWMORE, or TUYMORE, a parish, in the barony of GALLEN, county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, on the new mail coach road from Swinford to Ballina, and on the river Moy ; containing, with the market and post-town of Foxford (which see), 3576 inhabitants, This parish comprises 1927 statute acres of fertile land under tillage, though there are extensive mountainous and rocky tracts, and it is for the most part surrounded by a chain of high mountains, rendering it remarkably salubrious. Iron-works were formerly carried on here, but when the fuel failed they were abandoned ; and here are very superior quarries of flagstone, which is used for roofing houses. The river Moy is here particularly beautiful, receiving in its serpentine course the waters of other streams, which are discharged into the sea at Ballina. The gentlemen's seats are Dove Hall, the residence of S. Strogin, Esq. ; Carrick, of P. Davis, Esq. ; and Clongee, of T. Moore, Esq. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Achonry, forming part of the union of Strade or Templemore ; the rectory is impropriate in W. J. Bourke, Esq. The tithes amount to £208. 15. 8., equally divided between the impropriator and the vicar. The church, which is one of two in the union, is a plain modern building in the town of Foxford, erected in 1801 by parochial assessment, at an expense of about £400 ; a tower and gallery were added to it in 1826, by aid of a loan of £300 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is a separate benefice ; the chapel is a large slated building at Foxford. About 230 children are educated in three public schools, of which those at Laragan and Foxford are under the National Board, and the other is aided by subscriptions. Here is an old burial-ground, with the ruins of a church and the remains of an ancient monument, on which is an inscription now illegible ; it is held in great veneration by the country people. In a garden at Foxford a brass coin or medal was found in 1835 ; it represents a bishop and a church, with a defaced motto, and on the reverse the words " Floreat Rex," with a crown and a harp, and a pope at his devotions, looking up to the crown.