MUNSTER

MUNSTER, the most southern of the four provinces of Ireland, bounded on the N. by Connaught, on the E. by Leinster, and on the S. and W. by the Atlantic Ocean. It measures 150 miles in its greatest length, from Brow-head, the most southern point of Ireland, to Meelick, the northern extremity of Tipperary; and about the same breadth in an eastern and western direction, from Dunmore Head in Kerry to Waterford harbour; extending over a superficies of 6,064,579 acres, of which 3,874,613 are arable, 1,893,477 uncultivated, 130,415 in plantations, 14,693 occupied by towns and villages, and 151,381 are under water. Of the uncultivated land, 634,000 acres are coarse pasture over 800 feet above the sea, and 1,259,000 under that level, including flow-bogs, &c. It has been estimated that 390,000 acres are improvable for cultivation, 630,000 improvable for pasture, and that the remaining 873,000 are incapable of improvement.

The ancient name of the province was Mumhan (in Latin, Momonia). According to the older geographers, its maritime regions were peopled, commencing eastwardly, by the Brigantes, the Velabori, the Ibernii, the Lucenii, the Vodii, and the Cangani; whilst its interior was occupied by the Scoti. At a later period it contained the eight following principalities:—1. Hy Breoghan, now the county of Waterford; 2. Osragii, afterwards Ossory, and now forming parts of the Queen's County and of Tipperary; 3. Oir-Mumhan, East Munster, now Ormond, comprehending the baronies of Ormond and of Owney and Arra in Tipperary; 4. Tuath-Mumhan, Thomond, or North Munster, now the county of Clare; 5. Aine-Cliach, or Eoganach Aine-Cliach, now Limerick; 6. Ciar or Cerrigia, now Kerry; 7. Aoibh-Liathain, containing the northern part of the county of Cork; and, 8. Corcaluighe, the southern part of the same county, and the ancient kingdom of Cork. The principal toparchs or heads of septs in those divisions, several of whom assumed the title of King, but acknowledged the supremacy of the King of Munster, were the O'Briens, the Barrys, the M'Arthys, and the O'Sullivans. After the arrival of the English the greater part of the province became the property of the Butlers, and of different branches of the Fitzgerald family; amongst the latter of whom the Earl of Desmond long ruled the whole of its southern portion with an authority almost independent of that of the English crown. The old Irish proprietors were dispossessed, and the Anglo-Normans extended their feudal tenures to Ireland; the ancient Irish inhabitants becoming the occupying tenants of the confiscated land. On the death of the last Earl of Desmond, and the subsequent confiscation of his immense estates by Elizabeth, in consequence of his rebellion, the greatest part was again parcellled out amongst English adventurers, amongst whom were the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh and Spenser the poet. The province is now divided into the six counties of Clare (formerly included in Connaught), Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford.

According to the ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland, Munster formerly constituted the province of Cashel, consisting of the archbishopric of the same name, with which were united the diocese of Emly; the bishopric of Limerick, Ardfeert, and Aghadoe; the bishopric of Waterford and

Munster. Lismore; the bishopric of Cork and Ross; the bishopric of Cloyne; and the bishopric of Killaloe and Kilfenora. This arrangement was altered by the Church Temporalities Act, 3d and 4th William IV., cap. 37, which reduced the archbishopric of Cashel to the rank of a bishopric, subordinate to the archiepiscopal see of Dublin, and consolidated the whole province into four dioceses, in the following manner:—Cashel, with Emly, Waterford, and Lismore; Cloyne, with Cork and Ross; Killaloe, with Kilfenora, and also the sees of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh (hitherto forming part of the archiepiscopal province of Tuam); and Limerick, with Ardfeert and Aghadoe, as hitherto.

The northern parts of Munster are, generally speaking, level. Towards the S. and S.W. the land rises into elevations of considerable height, Macgilliscuddy's Reeks, in Kerry, being the highest mountain range in Ireland. Carrantuo Hill, the most elevated of its peaks, is 3414 feet above the level of the sea. The mountains in the county of Cork stretch in the direction of E. and W., and the lofty range of Slieve-Bloom forms the eastern boundary of the province. The River Shannon passes through its northern part, separating the county of Clare from those of Tipperary, Limerick, and Kerry. The Suir, Blackwater, Lee, and Bandon water the southern districts. The only lakes of note are those of Killarney in Kerry, which owe their celebrity more to the picturesque beauty of their scenery than to the extent of their surface. The bays, creeks, headlands, and islands, which are numerous, and in most instances worthy of special notice, have been already mentioned in the general description of the island. (See IRELAND.)

The climate, though moist from its exposure to the prevailing south-western winds, which pass over it loaded with the humid exhalations of the Atlantic, is peculiarly mild. The severity of winter is but slightly felt even in its more elevated regions; whilst in its more level parts, along its southern shores, the unsheltered myrtle blooms richly, and the Arbutus unedo, indigenous in Kerry, attains an unusual size.

The soil throughout the level parts is peculiarly fertile, producing abundantly rich crops of every kind of grain, and many species of fruits which in other parts of the island are capable of being ripened only by means of an artificial atmosphere. The tract of land stretching across the counties of Limerick and Tipperary, from Askeaton to the limits of Kilkenny, has long been distinguished by the name of the Golden Vale, an appellation justly bestowed upon it from its singular fertility.

The extent of land under each description of crop in 1856 and 1857 was—

The total quantity of live stock in the province in the same years was—

As to its geological relations, the northern parts of Munster are included within the limits of the great plain of carboniferous limestone which constitutes the central formation of Ireland. The southern parts are mostly of the sandstone and carboniferous formation; the former being more

developed in the mountains, the latter in the more level parts. Bog is abundant and very generally distributed, although the province lies without the great central band, which embraces most of the soil of this description. Coal is found in the interior. There are two fields of this mineral,—one in Tipperary, where a branch of the great Leinster coal-field stretches into the province; the other, peculiarly termed the Munster coal-field, is of great extent, occurring in several portions of the counties of Clare, Cork, Limerick, and Kerry. The contortions of the strata, however, cause irregularity and uncertainty in the workings, and the district has not yet been sufficiently examined to ascertain the economical value of this great development of the coal strata in Ireland. The most extensive collieries hitherto worked are in the barony of Duhallow, in the county of Cork. In both places the mineral is of the non-flaming or anthracite species. Several mines of copper, lead, and iron were worked with profit until stopped by the failure of timber for fuel, notwithstanding which a few are still carried on successfully. Mineral springs are numerous; that of Mallow, which is of the same nature with the hot wells near Bristol, maintaining a high character for its medical efficacy.

The population of Munster in 1821 was 1,935,612 souls; in 1831, 2,227,152; in 1841, 2,396,161; and in 1851, 1,857,412. The peasantry are a large, athletic, and handsome race, exhibiting in their oval faces and dark hair strong traces of similarity with the Spaniards. Their occupation is chiefly agricultural. The raising of grain, and the pasturage of cattle, which are exported in great numbers from Cork, Limerick, and Waterford, form their chief employment. The manufacture of frizes and coarse woollens, as also of coarse linen cloth for domestic consumption, is still carried on; and formerly the country round Carrick-on-Suir was the seat of an extensive woollen trade.

The province contains several of the largest cities in Ireland: Cork, with a population in 1851 of 65,745; Limerick, with 53,448; and Waterford, with 25,297 inhabitants. (U. 8—R.)