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County Clare, A
History and Topography
CLASP Press, 1998, Paperback,
ISBN: 1 900545 07 1, Price: €10.00
A Pre-Famine Snapshot of County Clare
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Infrastructure
Fairs, Markets, Roads, Ruins, Schools,
Churches, Gentlemen's Seats, Population, Early Tourism, Natural Curiosities,
The Courts, Police..........
In
1837, Samuel Lewis issued his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland
in two volumes running to over 1400 pages and aimed to present every fact
of importance tending to illustrate the local history, or convey useful
information respecting the past and present state, of Ireland (and) to
give, in a condensed form, a fateful and impartial description of each
place. Arranged in discrete alphabetical enteries - starting incidenatlly,
with the parish of Abbey, in Clare - we find accounts of cities, towns
and villages, particulars of dioceses, parishes and counties, and short
references to coastal and other islands. All in all, it presents a wonderful
Gazeteer of the whole of Ireland, providing much background information
to the past and perhaps more importantly, permitting us to glimpse facets
of life as it was prior to the Famine. The Clare enteries given here are
taken as they appear in the original. In bringing together all of the
Clare enteries in one short volume, we feel that a service has been rendered
to readers in the county, making available in an accessible form material
which might otherwise have been out of reach.
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