Lickbla or Lickblagh, Westmeath
Historical Description
LICKBLA, or LICKBLAGH, a parish, in the barony of DEMIFORE, county of WESTMEATH, and province of LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. W.) from Castlepollard, on the road to Finae; containing 2066 inhabitants. This parish is bounded on the north by Lough Sheelin, and on the west by Lough Kinail and the river Inny, and is intersected by the river Glore, which issues from that lake and falls into the Inny. It comprises 5608 statute acres, of which a very large portion, is mountain and bog; the system of agriculture is improving, and limestone is quarried for building and for burning into lime. The surface is very uneven, and towards the east is marked by mountainous elevations; the high rock of Curreagh and the mountain of Moil rise within the limits of the parish. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the union of Rathgraff; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £276. 18. 5½., of which £123. 1. 6. is payable to the impropriator, and the remainder to the vicar. The church has long been a ruin. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Castlepollard; the chapel is near Carlanstown. About 80 children are taught in a school at Carlanstown, supported by an annual donation from the Duke of Buckingham; and there is a private school, in which are about 60 children. There are several large raths in the parish, and on the rock of Moil is found a species of coral. Near Curreagh are the ruins of Rathcreenagh castle, situated on a high mound, with a large rath nearly adjoining; and at Carlanstown are the ruins of a mansion belonging to a branch of the Nugent family, of whom Lord George Grenville Nugent Temple, second son of the late Marchioness of Buckingham, is, in right of his mother, Baron Nugent of Carlanstown; a good farm-house has been built by the Duke of Buckingham on the site of the old mansion.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Lickbla or Lickblagh from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1840 by Samuel Lewis (Lickbla or Lickblagh)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Westmeath is available to browse.