MEATH, a county in Ireland, in the province of Leinster. Its boundaries are Louth, with a small portion of Monaghan and Cavan on the north; the Irish Sea and the county of Dublin on the east; Kildare on the south; and West Meath and Longford on the west. From east to west it extends about 44 English miles, from north to south 37, and contains 965 English square miles, or 617,600 English acres, of which only about a twelfth part consists of bogs and wastes. This county, which gives the name to its diocese, is situated in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh; its divisions being twelve baronies, and 147 parishes. The river Boyne, which intersects it in a north-eastern direction, forms a line of separation between its northern and southern parts, the former being called the Kells, and the latter Dunshauglin. Having but a few miles of sea coast to the south of the Boyne, and no other rivers of any size, it has no harbours of its own, but easy access to Drogheda, the greatest corn-market in Ireland, situated on the Boyne, in the contiguous county of Louth.
Meath is, in general, a low, flat, rich tract of country, with a soil of clay or strong loam, incumbent upon limestone or gravel, not remarkable for natural scenery, and having little wood, but containing a few splendid mansions, extensive plantations, and the remains of many religious and military buildings. In its climate it differs little from that of the adjacent counties of Dublin and Louth already described. The principal river is the Boyne, which enters this county from Kildare on the south-west, and passing by the town of Trim, northward to Navan, meets there the Blackwater from the county of Cavan, and from thence flowing westward by Slane and Drogheda, falls into the sea a little below the latter town. It is navigable for small craft to Navan, and for vessels of considerable size to Drogheda. The other streams are inconsiderable, such as the Athboy and Mannoch, which fall into the Boyne, and the Nanny water, which discharges itself directly into the sea.
Meath does not, as far as known, abound in minerals. Copper is wrought at Walterstown, south-west of the Boyne. A coarse pottery has been carried on near Knock, in the barony of Morgallion; and in the barony of Navan, on the lands of Ardbraccan, is what is called the "White-quarry," which furnishes a limestone of a beautiful whitish colour, but which
Meath. becomes almost black by exposure to the atmosphere; it is supposed to have been worked for several centuries.
Estates. The landed property of Meath is divided into large estates, a great many of which yield an income of upwards of £2000 a-year. These are for the most part let out on leases of 21 years and a life; but on some of them there are leases in perpetuity, which have now become more valuable than the freehold property. In 1818, the rent was from £2 to £3 the Irish acre.
Grazing. Grazing is or was, till very lately, a more important object in this county than tillage. Many persons fattened from 300 to 500 cows in a season, besides bullocks and sheep. These they purchase at the beginning of the grass season, and dispose of during the summer and autumn as they are ready, instead of keeping a regular stock all the year. The pastures are considered too valuable to be applied to the rearing of stock. Dairying is not carried to any extent, and the butter made here is said to be held in little estimation. In some instances, where farms are let out for the dairy, the landlord supplies a succession of cows in milk, horses, and land, and the tenant furnishes labour, utensils, &c. paying at the rate of from £6 to £7, 10s. per annum for each cow. The English long-horned cattle were introduced many years ago into this district, which now contains some of the best specimens of the breed. The sheep are brought from other counties, and, like the cattle, the same stock is kept only for a season.
Tillage. Tillage farms are larger here than in most parts of Ireland; but, according to Mr Curwen, who visited Meath in 1818, the system of management is little better than on the small farms of other districts. The houses and fences are for the most part of the worst description, especially the cabins of the farm labourers, which are miserable mud-walled hovels, sunk below the level of the ground adjoining, and occupied by cows and pigs, in common with the family. The principal food of this class is potatoes with churn-milk, and occasionally oat-meal, butcher-meat being rarely used even among the farmers; and, to add to their privations, fuel is very scarce in different parts of the county. An uninterrupted succession of oats and other corn crops for several years is common; in a few instances even for twenty years. "The common rotation," says Mr Curwen, "is wheat, oats, fallow, potatoes, clover, all without the application of manure." It is customary to work horses intermixed with oxen, of which six are generally yoked together, three pair deep, to a very ill-constructed plough; yet, notwithstanding this management, the wheat crops are in some parts excellent.
Manufactures. Manufactures do not afford employment to any considerable part of the population, though here, as in most parts of Ireland, that of linen is carried on to some extent; and also the weaving of cotton. On the Blackwater and the Boyne there are several extensive flour mills, at which much of the wheat grown in the county is made into flour before being sent out of it. The towns and villages are Trim, where the county assizes are held, Kells, Duleek, Ratoath, Athboy, Slane, Navan, which has a communication
by water with Drogheda, Newcastle, Dunshaughlin, Moynally, and Clonard: none of these return members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Of the two members for the county, the Catholic interest, according to Mr Wakefield, is powerful enough to return one. The same author estimates that the Catholics are to the Protestants as 40 to 1, which, from other parts of his work, seems to be much too large a proportion for the former. The leasehold, and much of the personal property, belongs to Catholics. According to Dr Beaufort, the population, about 1790, was 112,400, and it is known to have increased considerably since.
See the Works of Beaufort, Newenham, and Wakefield, as quoted under the former Irish counties; Thomson's Survey of Meath; The Parochial Survey of Ireland; Curwen's Observations on the State of Ireland, 1818; and, for antiquities, the article MEATH in the Encyclopaedia. (A.)