CARLOW, an inland county in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, is formed somewhat in the shape of a wedge, having its base to the north, on which side it abuts on the counties of Kildare and Wieklow, while on the east it is bounded by the latter of those counties, on the southeast by Wexford, and on the south-west and west by Kilkenny and Kildare. Its greatest length from north to south is thirty-three miles, and, though in one part of its breadth from east to west it measures twenty-three miles, its average extent in that direction is considerably less. Its surface is estimated to contain 222,915 acres, or about 348 square miles.

This district, according to Ptolemy, was formerly inhabited by the Brigantes and Cauci. In the middle ages it comprehended the territories of Hy Kavenagh and Hy Drone, being the most northern part of the principality of Hy Kinselagh. Its most ancient families of Irish name were the Kavenaghs, descended from the celebrated Mae-murrough, king of Leinster, who invited Henry II. to take possession of the kingdom; the O’Ryans, the O’Nolans, and the O’Mores. After the English settlement, the families of St Aubins, De la Frayne, Bermingham, Carew, De la Landes, Grace, and Butler, held extensive possessions there. In the time of Queen Elizabeth the names of most note were those of Bagnal, Eustace, Burton, O’Brien, Ponsonby, Hamilton, Coke, Bernard, Vigors, Burdett, Bunbury, Beresford, Bruen, Bagot, and Browne. The chief proprietors of the present period are the families of Kavenagh, Bruen, Burton, and Rochfort.

Carlow was made shire ground by King John under the name of Catherlogh, since contracted into its present appellation. It was then one of the nine counties palatine which enjoyed exclusive jurisdictions in Ireland. It is now divided into the six baronies of Carlow, Forth, Idrone East, Idrone West, Rathvilly, and St Mullins. These are again subdivided into thirty-six entire parishes, and seven parts of parishes, the remaining parts of which are in some of the adjoining counties.

The numbers and qualifications of the electors of Carlow, previously to the disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders, were, of L.50 freeholders, two hundred and eighty-one; of L.20, sixty-seven; and of L.2, eleven hundred and sixty-two; total fifteen hundred and ten. But subsequently to the passing of the act of 1829, the numbers were altered to two hundred and ninety-eight of L.50, ninety-three of L.20, and a hundred and thirty-nine of L.10, total five hundred and thirty; being a reduction of nearly two thirds of the whole constituency. Before the year 1829 there was one elector to fifty-four souls in the county; since that period the proportion is as one to about a hundred and fifty-five souls. Previously to the union, Carlow returned six members, two for the county at large, two for the borough of Carlow, and two for that of Leighlin. This county sends two members to the imperial parliament, who are elected according to the new act.

The general aspect of the country is very pleasing, as it is throughout diversified with hills and valleys; the latter overspread with herbage, and interspersed with trees; the former generally carrying vegetation to their summits, except in the southern extremity, where the lofty range of Mount Leinster, and the Blackstairs Mountain, of precipitous ascent and sombre hue, forms between this county and that of Wexford a barrier which would be impenetrable as to all purposes of commercial intercourse, were it not for three passes through it, the first or most eastern formed by the river Slaney, the second a land passage called Scullogh Gap, and the third or most western formed by the river Barrow. The chain extends still further westward into the county of Kilkenny, where it assumes the name of the Brandon Mountain. This range is wholly of granite formation. The western extremity of the county, which lies beyond the Barrow, differs materially in appearance from the other parts; but here the deficiencies in agricultural produce and scenic beauty are compensated by the treasures which lie beneath its surface; for the great coal district of Leinster, which commences here, and extends westward and southward into Kilkenny, supplies an abundance of cheap fuel to the surrounding population. The coal found here is of the carbonaceous or stony formation. The county is intersected from north to south by two large rivers; the Barrow in the west, which is navigable throughout the whole extent of the county, and affords means of inland navigation to the port of Waterford; and the Slaney on the east, which passes out of Carlow into Wexford at the town of Newtownbarry. Each of these rivers is enlarged in its course by several smaller tributary streams.

Although agriculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants, tillage is still in a backward state, much greater t exertions of skill and industry than what are now applied being necessary to draw forth from the soil the full produce to be expected from its natural richness. Barley is the favourite crop, yet not to the exclusion of the other kinds of grain. Large tracts of fine pasture land are occupied as dairy farms, and the butter made in them is in high reputation in the Dublin market. The dairies are usually let out at an annual rent, rated according to the number of cows. The farms are frequently large, and occasionally stocked with flocks of long-woolled sheep, which are reared both for their fleece and for the supply of the flesh market. Great attention is paid to the breeding of cattle. The lowland parts of the county are embellished with numerous seats of the resident gentry, whose elegant mansions and ornamental plantations add considerably to the rural beauties of this part of the country. Among these Borris Castle, the seat of the Kavenaghs, is universally allowed to be most worthy of notice.
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The manners and appearance of the peasantry differ little from those of the agricultural parts of the southern portion of Ireland. The people are, generally speaking, peaceable and industrious, exhibiting few indications of a tendency to agitation or turbulence. They dwell chiefly in detached cottages, or in small villages, as there are but three towns, Carlow, Tullow, and Leighlin Bridge, the population of which exceeds 2000 souls, and very few villages of any size. The Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion. Its proportion to the Protestant, as far as can be inferred from a calculation of the number of children receiving instruction, as stated in the reports of the commissioners of education in 1824 and 1826, may be estimated to be in the proportion of five to one. The number of Presbyterians and other Protestant dissenters is very trifling.

According to the returns just referred to, the number of children receiving education in public schools is 8600, being somewhat less than one tenth of the whole population, or one third of those within the period of life usually devoted to literary instruction. Of these, the number of Protestants attending school is about 1500, and of Catholics 7100. The number of pupils in schools supported by grants of public money is 1600, in those supported by voluntary contributions 1100; the remainder, amounting to 5900, pay for their instruction. The number of schools of the first of these classes is twenty, of the second nine, and of the third a hundred and thirty-seven.

Among the relics of remote antiquity in this county may be noted a cromlech near the town of Carlow, said to be one of the largest in Ireland. It is formed of an immense slab, twenty-three feet long, eighteen broad, and four and a half thick, elevated on three supporters, each five and a half feet high. At some distance is a solitary pillar, nearly round, and about five feet high. A rath near Leighlin Bridge, when explored, was found to contain several urns of baked earth, within which nothing was discovered but a small quantity of dust. At Kellystown, five miles from Carlow, are the remains of a round tower, twelve feet diameter in the inside. It stands in an elevated situation; and near it are the ruins of an old church. Both buildings are dedicated to St Patrick, to whom their foundation is also attributed.

The population of this county, at the several periods at which enumerations were taken by authority of parliament, was as follows ;—
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Carlow. The town or borough of Carlow is situated in the heart of the beautifuI and highly cultivated vale formed by the river Barrow, which is here navigable for small craft, and thus renders the town an emporium for the trade of the surrounding districts. Its population, according to the census of 1821, is estimated at 8025 souls. It is a neat, and in some parts a well-built town. The principal buildings are the college, founded and maintained by the voluntary contributions of the Roman Catholic gentry, for the literary and scientific instruction of a hundred pupils, fifty of whom are prepared for the priesthood. The buildings are spacious, but without any pretensions to architectural beauty, and, together with a chapel, cemetery, and exercise ground of seven acres, are surrounded by a lofty wall. The court-house, where the assizes for the county are held, is small but commodious, and has a good ballroom attached to it. The parish church is chieflyremark-able for a spire of bulky and ungraceful proportions. The Roman Catholic chapel is a large and elegant structure.

There are also a cavalry barrack, meeting-houses, a Magdalen asylum, and a news-room. This town was formerly a place of considerable importance. In the reign of Edward III. the king’s exchequer was removed to it; and L.500, a large sum at that period, was applied towards surrounding it with a wall. In the early part of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, it was taken and burned by the Irish chieftain Rory og O’More. When summoned by Cromwell during the disastrous wars of 1641, it submitted to his arms without resistance. In the insurrection of 1798 it was attacked by a tumultuary body of insurgents, who were soon ŗepulsed. A dreadful carnage ensued, for no quarter was given; and many in the confusion of their flight took refuge in the houses of some of the streets, to which the king’s troops immediately set fire, “in order,” says Sir Richard Musgrave, thehistorian of that calamitous period, with great want of feeling, “to make them bolt.” But the most singular monument of the former greatness of this town was its castle, the erection of which is generally, though not upon any conclusive evidence, attributed to King John. It stood on a slight eminence overhanging the Barrow, and consisted of a quadrangle, having a circular tower at each corner. The doors were low and narrow, the windows, or, more properly speaking, the apertures for light, mere loopholes. In the year 1814 the new proprietor of the castle made such alterations in its fabric, with a view to fit it up as a lunatic asylum, that the walls, massive as they were, gave way, and the greater part of the building suddenly fell to the ground, leaving only the western side with two of the' angular towers standing, to show to posterity where and what it had been. Carlow obtained a charter at an early period, and was re-incorporated with enlarged privileges by James I., who allowed it to return two members to the Irish parliament. It is governed by a sovereign and two serjeants. The town sends one member to the imperial parliament.