QUEEN'S COUNTY, a county in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, bounded by Kildare on the north, Carlow on the east, Kilkenny and Tipperary on the south, and King's County on the west; about 32 English miles long, and 25 broad, and containing about 600 square miles, or 384,000 English acres. It is divided into eight baronies and 50 parishes, the latter belonging to the Sees of Leighlin, Ossory, Kildare, and Killaloe. Portarlington, its principal town, on the northern side of the county, is situated in north latitude 53° 9' 30", and west longitude 7° 13'.
Excepting on the boundary with King's County, where the Slieb-bloom mountains rise to a considerable height, this district is generally level; so much so, that, notwithstanding considerable tracts of bog, about three-fourths of the whole are said to be cultivated. The soil, though various, is for the most part fit for producing all the usual crops: and limestone for manure abounds in every townland. In the south-eastern quarter, near Carlow, coal, similar to that of Kilkenny, is wrought to a considerable extent; and iron ore, sandstone, marble, with marl, and a variety of clays, have been found in various parts. Besides a number of small streams, it has two considerable rivers, the Barrow and the Nore, which, having their source among the mountains on the west, flow, the former north-east and then south, and the latter south-east, until they meet at New Ross, in the county of Wexford, after which they are joined by the Suir from the west, and fall into the sea at Waterford Bay. Next to the Shannon these are the most considerable rivers in Ireland. The Barrow is navigable from New Ross upwards to Carlow and Athy, from which the communication is continued by a canal to Dublin. The Nore is also navigable for a few miles, but not in this county. After their junction at New Ross, there is water sufficient for large ships downwards to the sea. Queen's County, therefore, though an inland district, has the advantage of ready access by water both to the east and south coasts of Ireland.
Much of this county is divided into large estates, worth from L. 5000 to L. 15,000 a-year and upwards. Some of the most valuable, having been let on perpetual leases, afford a large income to the lessees. It is these lessees who form the middle class of gentry, with clear incomes of from L. 100 to L. 800 per annum, obtained from tenants to whom their lands are sublet at rack-rent, and commonly in very
small farms. These leases are usually for 21 years and a life. The principal proprietors are the Marquis of Drogheda; Lords De Vesci, Ossory, Ashbrooke, Stanhope, Castlecoote, and Portarlington; Sir Charles Coote, Mr Parnel, Mr Strange, and Mr Wellesley Pole, now Lord Maryborough. Here and in King's County, Mr Wakefield observed some of the best farming in Ireland, with much more attention to a systematic course of cropping, and to keeping the land in good heart. Oxen and horses are used for the plough, the former generally preceding the latter. A good deal of cheese is made here for the Dublin market. In other respects the rural economy of this district does not differ materially from that of the Irish counties already described.
There is no large town in Queen's County. Maryborough, the county town, though pleasantly situated near the Barrow, is a place of no consideration. Portarlington, partly in King's County, noted for its schools, and for its being the residence of the smaller gentry, is the most extensive and populous. Mountmellick, Mountrath, Ballynakill, and Stradbally, are only villages. The manufactures are linen and coarse woollens, to no great extent; and its exports chiefly corn and other kinds of land produce.
In 1813 the number of inhabitants was 113,857; Population, in 1821 the number was 129,391, making an increase of 15,534. The county sends two members to Parliament, and the town of Portarlington a third. Before the Union, this district had eight representatives in the Irish Parliament; two for each of the boroughs of Portarlington, Maryborough, and Ballynakill, and two for the county. The Irish language is still spoken in some parts, though the English is now more common. A few years ago, the wages of common labour were one shilling a-day for men and sixpence for women; their food is potatoes, their fuel turf or peat, and their clothing, excepting that of the females on holidays, the produce of their own domestic manufacture.
See the general works quoted under the former Irish counties, and Sir Charles Coote's Agricultural Survey of Queen's County. (A.)