QUEEN’S County, an inland county in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the King’s County, on the east by those of Kildare and Carlow, on the south by those of Carlow and Kilkenny, and on the west by Tipperary and the King’s County. It extends over a surface of 396,810 acres, of which 335,838 are cultivated, and 60,972 are uncultivated mountain and bog.

No notice of the inhabitants of this part of Ireland is to be found in Ptolemy’s account of the island; but Whitakcr supposes it to have been peopled, together with all the other interior parts, by the Scots. It was afterwards known by the names of Ossory and Leix; the former consisting of the north-western districts, the latter of the remainder of the county, and the Barrow constituting the boundary between them. Ossory, of which the Macgillypatricks or Fitzpatricks were the toparchs, ranked as a subordinate kingdom at the landing of the English, and for some time afterwards. Leix was made a county palatine, which fell into the possession of Roger Mortimer through the female line, and afterwards was seized on by the O'Mores, who retained possession of it, and proved persevering and troublesome enemies to the English government, until the reign of Philip and Mary, when the territory was made shire-ground, under the name of the Queen’s County, in honour of the sovereign; and the place chosen for the county town was named Maryborough, for the same reason. This county, when brought under British Jaw, was gradually peopled by English settlers. During the subsequent reigns several of these families have become extinct in the male line, and others were expelled or extinguished by the confiscations arising out of the civil wars in 1641 and 1689, whilst the descendants of others, the principal of whom are the Veseys, Cootes, Parnells, Dawsons, and Burrowes, still retain the whole or some portion of their ancestral possessions. It is now divided into the baronies of Ballyadams, Cullinagh, Maryborough East, Maryborough West, Partnehinch, Slievemarigue or Slieve-margy, Stradbally, Tinnehinch, and Upper Ossory. These are subdivided into thirty-eight parishes, and six parts of parishes the remaining parts of which are in the adjoining counties. According to the ecclesiastical arrangements of the country, the county contains fifty-one parishes, of which twenty-seven arc in the diocese of Leighlin, fifteen in that of Ossory, seven in Kildare, and one each inKillaloc and Dublin.

The general face of the country is level, but it rises into heights of considerable elevation in the Slieve-Bloom Mountains, which, taking a direction nearly north and south along the western verge of the county, rise to a considerable height, their most elevated point being 1689 feet above the level of the sea, and with an acclivity so abrupt that the only practicable road across them is through the pass of Glandine. In the southern extremity the Slievemarigue Hills, of considerably inferior elevation, separate the county from that of Kilkenny. But the general surface of the country is not, strictly speaking, level; the monotony of a perfect plain is relieved by a range of low hills, which traverse it in a direction from north to south, and the most remarkable of which are the Rock of Dunamase and the Dun of Clopoke; as also by eskars, a singular species of low hills, or rather slight elevations of the surface, formed of rounded pebbles, apparently forced together by the operation of contending currents of water. The most remarkable of these is the Ridge of Marvborough, which, entering[7:18:786] from the King’s County, proceeds for a considerable distance by Maryborough, and, after having been deranged and broken, resumes again the form of a continuous ridge, branching out in the southern part of the county in two divisions. The Slieve-Bloom Mountains give rise to some of the great rivers of Ireland. The Barrow rises at their northern extremity, and, after passing through the north of the county, forms its north-eastern boundary; then, turning southwards, it forms its boundary to the east, separating it from Kildare and Carlow, and falls into the Suir some miles below New Ross, forming with that river the estuary called Waterford Harbour. The source of the Nore is southward of that of the Barrow, in the same mountains. It passes through the south-western part of the county by Abbeyleix and Ballynakill, enters the county of Kilkenny near Ballyragget, and, after flowing by the city of Kilkenny, joins the Barrow about two miles above New Ross. The portion of the Barrow between its junction with the Nore and Suir is generally called the Ross River. The Suir, which also rises in the Slieve-Bloom Mountains at their southern extremity, does not belong to this county. The smaller rivers are the Ownas, Trihogue, and Blackwater, tributaries of the Barrow; and the Tonnet, Dolore, Old Forge River, Cloncoose, Cromoge, Corbally, Trumry, Colt, and Erkin, tributaries of the Nore. The Barrow is navigable for barges from Athy, where it is connected with the Grand Canal from Dublin to New Ross, and thence to the sea for vessels of 500 tons. The Nore is not navigable until after it has quitted the county. There is no lake except that of Annagh on its northern boundary, which partly belongs to the King’s County, the line of demarcation between the two counties being drawn through the middle of it.

The amount of the population, according to the calculations made at different periods, some founded on conjectural estimates, others on actual enumeration under legislative authority, is as follows :—
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The return of 1831 gives an average of one inhabitant to every 2∙72 acres, or of one to every 2∙30 cultivated acres. The returns of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, being made up in dioceses, do not give the population of counties with strict accuracy; yet they afford data sufficient to show the comparative numbers of the three great divisions of the people with respect to their several religious persuasions. If the entire population of the county be estimated at 150,000, the number of Episcopalian Protestants would amount to 20,000, of Protestant dissenters to 1000, and of Roman Catholics to 129,000; according to which calculation, the Protestants would be to the Catholics as one to six nearly.

The county returned eight members to the Irish parliament; two for the county at large, and two each for the boroughs of Portarlington, Maryborough, and Ballynakill. This number was reduced to three by the act of union, by which the boroughs were disfranchised, with the exception of the first named, which still continues to return one member. The number of registered electors for the county, according to the latest return, was 2150, that of the borough of Portarlington 156. The election for the county takes place at Maryborough. The local government consists of a lieutenant, eighteen deputy-lieutenants, all appointed by the crown during pleasure, and ninety magistrates (including the lieutenants) appointed by the lord-chancellor, and holding office during good behaviour. The constabulary force consists of a sub-inspector, eight chief constables, ten héad-constables, thirty-seven constables, and two hundred and seventy-six sub-constables; in all, 332.

The state of education, according to the parliamentary returns in 1821 and 1824-26, was as follows:
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Of the numbers stated in the latter of these returns, 2074 were Episcopalian Protestants, 104 Protestant dissenters, and 9426 Roman Catholics; the religious persuasion of the remaining 305 not having been ascertained. The total number of schools was 275; of which thirty-five, containing 2150 pupils, were maintained by grants of public money; twenty-four, containing 1625 pupils, by the voluntary contributions of societies or individuals; and the remaining 216 schools, which afforded the means of education to 7988 pupils, wholly by the fees of the pupils. The Report of the Commissioners of National Education in 1837 (the latest published), states the number of schools, teachers, and pupils connected with their board as follows: Schools, 18; teachers, 20; boys, 1323; girls, 1045; total of pupils, 2368.

The level part of the county forms the southern portion of the great floetz limestone field which traverses Ireland across its centre. The peculiar flatness of the interior appears to have caused those accumulations of alluvial matter, composed of clay and limestone gravel, which, in the form of low but steep ridges of hills, occur so frequently throughout the midland districts, and are known by the name of eskars. Some very striking specimens of this formation in the county have already been noticed. That the surface of the country was exposed to the action of rapid currents of water, is evidenced by the deep parallel indentations or furrows frequently observable on the surface of rocks from which the alluvial soil has been removed. It is also probable that the gravel hills were rapidly deposited from water in violent action; an inference which is confirmed by the fact, that they mostly consist of large masses of rock partially rounded, intermixed with small gravel, and even with clay and sand. The sandstone shows itself in the Slieve-Bloom Mountains, which are almost wholly of that formation. The south-eastern extremity forms a small part of the Leinster coal-field, the mineral in it being, like that of Kilkenny, which adjoins it, of the carbonaceous or stone-coal formation, the slaty glantz-coal of Werner, burning dully with little flame, emitting an offensive and unwholesome vapour, and therefore disagreeable for domestic use, but excellent for malting or for the forge, for both which purposes it is in such demand that its high price, were there no other objection to it, prevents it being much used for family purposes even in the neighbourhood. Iron was raised here, and the works were carried on as long as the forests afforded materials for fuel. Potters’ earth is also raised, and applied, in the neighbourhood of Mountmellick, to the manufacture of the coarser kinds of earthen wares.

The soil varies greatly in different parts. Where it rests on the limestone substratum, it consists mostly of a stiff clay loam, well adapted for the growth of wheat; in other parts it is light and sandy, and produces good crops of oats and barley. The mountain district is wet and boggy even in the higher parts, the clayey sub-soil not admitting free passage for the water, which therefore accumulates on the surface; and it is also much encumbered with rock. The low hills that traverse the middle of the county from north to south are capable of culture mostly to their summits, and, where not deemed suitable for the plough, afford rich pasturage for sheep. The tracts on the sides of the rivers, being annually flooded by the overflowings of the stream during winter, form rich meadow-land. Bogs are frequent in most parts, supplying ample material of fuel for domestic purposes. The county was once so thickly wooded as to be almost[7:18:787] impenetrable for the passage of large bodies of men; and thence, as well as from the bogs, which, from a different cause, were also difficult to be crossed by those not well acquainted with their peculiarities, the natives were enabled to hold out long against the attempts of the English settlers. But the old woods have long since been cleared away, the only proof of their former existence being discoverable in the numerous remains of timber-trees lying in the bottom of Lough Annagh. A new growth, however, the offspring, not of the unaided efforts of nature, but of the hand of modern improvement, has in a great measure restored one of its most beautiful and useful features. Large plantations, chiefly around the demesnes of the gentry, vary the prospects, and tend much to relieve the monotony of the level surface. Most parts present the mansions and seats of resident proprietors; comfortable farm-houses are numerous, and much attention has been paid by many landlords to excite amongst their tenantry a laudable emulation in the neatness of their cottages, and in the judicious cultivation of their little farms. The coal district must, however, form an exception to this general description. In it, notwithstanding the superior means of procuring domestic comforts, through the high wages and constant employment afforded by the collieries, the appearance of the peasantry, both in their persons and dwellings, exhibits too frequent instances of the destitution consequent on confirmed habits of reckless improvidence. With the exception of the lands held by wealthy proprietors in their own hands, and those in the mountainous parts, where grazing is the chief object, the farms are not large, seldom more than from ten to fifteen acres. Wheat is very*extensively grown, its culture being more and more attended to even on those soils which, during the more confined state of agricultural knowledge, were thought to be unfit for it. The lighter soils answer well for barley and oats. Potatoes are everywhere raised, both for family use and for feeding cattle; forming also an essential part of the improved rotation system, which is generally practised. Green-crops, particularly turnips, are not unusual, and the value of every kind of clover seems to be duly appreciated. Much attention is given to the introduction of implements and machines of the best description; the clumsy and inartificial vehicles, ploughs, and harrows, formerly in use, being scarcely to be met with except in districts little capable of being brought into profitable agricultural production. The breed of every kind of cattle has been improved during the last twenty or thirty years, to a degree that scarcely could have been anticipated at the commencement of the period. Dairies are numerous and highly productive. Butter is the produce chiefly attended to; and large quantities of it are prepared for export. Cheese is seldom made. The rich low lands graze black cattle of large size. In a word, the county, with the exception already noticed, appears to be rapidly advancing in improvement throughout every department of rural economy, from the nobleman’s demesne to the humble garden of the cottier tenant.

From the preceding statement it may easily be inferred that the character of the population is almost exclusively agricultural. The only place in which manufactures have at all succeeded is Mountmellick. Several branches of the woollen, linen, and cotton trade have been undertaken there, but without much success; coarse woollens and cottons for the supply of the surrounding districts being the only kinds fabricated. Tanning is carried on to some extent; flourmills are large and numerous; and there are some extensive distilleries and breweries. The Grand Canal, a branch of which has been carried from Monasterevin to Mountmellick, conveys much of the produce of the county to Dublin, either for sale there or for export. The Barrow serves the same purpose with respect to Waterford. The mail-coach roads from Dublin to Cork and Limerick traverse the county.

There are many remains of ancient edifices, both ecclesiastical and military. Amongst the most remarkable of the former is that of Aghaboe, once the seat of the bishopric of Ossory; the ruins of Aghmacart, and of several others of lesser note, are still visible. The site of the abbey of Tima-hoe can be ascertained only by the pillar-tower there, which is supposed to have stood in its immediate vicinity. Of the military antiquities the most ancient is a fortress placed upon the summit of a hill in the south-west of the county, and called Bawnachra; it consists of a circular enclosure surrounded by a rampart and fosse. The ancient fortress of Dunamasc, situated on the summit of a precipitous hill rising abruptly from the middle of a large plain, and once the chief residence of the O’Mores, presents a very picturesque appearance. Lea Castle, a few miles distant, on the Barrow, a place of considerable strength, was taken and dismantled by Cromwell. Burros-in-Ossory on the Nore, and Castlecuffe in Tinnehinch, built by the celebrated republican leader Sir Charles Coote, were also places of considerable strength. Amongst the modern mansions, that of the Earl of Portarlington, at Ems, is the most splendid.

Maryborough, the county town, situated nearly in the centre of the county, on one. of the small feeders of the Barrow, presents few features to arrest attention, beyond those public edifices to which the transaction of county business and the claims of religion give rise. It was a borough entitled to send representatives to parliament; but this, the only important privilege to a small town, having been abolished at the union, the other corporate functions became paralyzed, and are now virtually extinct. The county court-house is a neat building; and the prison, on the radiating plan, lately built at an expense of L.19,000, affords accommodation for 121 prisoners. The state of crime, as far as it is deducible from the number of convictions, is not favourable. In 1837 the convictions were 214, of which five were capital, but commuted into a lesser punishment; eight were for transportation for life, and fifteen for seven years. The district lunatic asylum for the King’s, Queen’s, Westmeath, and Longford counties is fixed here; and it affords accommodation for 156 patients, who are maintained in it at an average expense of L.19 per head. The flour trade is the only manufacture of any extent. The population in 1831 was 3220. That of the other towns having upwards of 1000 inhabitants each was in the same year respectively as follows :— Mountellick, 4577; Portarlington, originally a settlement of French refugees, and till lately of some note as a place of elementary education, 3091; Mountrath, 2593; Graige, which is, strictly speaking, a suburb of Carlow, though in a different county, 1976; Ballynakill, 1927; Stradbally, near which is the Dun of Clopoke, an isolated rock, perforated by subterraneous cavities, 1799; Ballycollinbeg, 1381; Rath-downey, 1214; and Abbcyleix, which, though amongst the smallest, is the neatest in external appearance, 1009.