a maritime county in the north of Munster, Ireland, is bounded N. by the bay and county of Galway, E. by Lough Derg and the river Shannon, which separate it from Tipperary, S. by the estuary of the Shannon, and W. by the Atlantic Ocean. Area, by ordnance survey, 1294 square miles, or 827,994 acres; of which 455,009 are arable, 296,033 uncultivated, 8304 in plantations, 728 in towns, and 67,920 under water.

This county presents great diversity of surface. The barony of Tulla is in part mountainous and moory, intersected in the east and south by a range of hills. Bunratty also contains much rocky ground with good herbage; and towards the southern portion of the barony, adjoining the rivers Fergus and Shannon, some of the level rich land called corcases, strongly contrasting with the bog, marsh, and rocky pasture prevailing throughout the main portion of the Clare county. Inchiquin has some beautiful tracts of pasture land with moory hills, and in the eastern portion a calcareous rocky and light soil. Clonderlaw is much encumbered with moor and mountain, but capable of improvement by the application of lime, which is easily procurable. The baronies of Ibrickan, Moyarta, Islanas, and Corcomroe are also within reach of the means of improvement, and in some parts stand much in need of them. Burren produces a short sweet herbage, fit for sheep of middling size and short wool; but it is extremely rocky, the entire surface of the central portion of the barony appearing as one unbroken mass of mountain limestone resembling some of the neighbouring portion of the adjoining county of Galway, of which Oliver Cromwell characteristically remarked that it had not sufficient wood to hang a man, water to drown him, or earth to bury him.

Although the surface of the county is hilly, and in some parts even mountainous, it nowhere rises to a great elevation. Much of the western baronies of Moyarta and Ibrickan is composed of bog land. Bogs are frequent also in the mountainous districts elsewhere, except in the limestone barony of Burren, the inhabitants of some parts of which supply themselves with turf from the opposite shores of Connemara. Generally speaking, the eastern parts of the county are mountainous, with tracts of rich pasture land interspersed; the west abounds with bog; and the north is rocky and best adapted for grazing sheep. In the southern part, along the banks of the Fergus and Shannon, are the bands of rich low grounds called corcasses, of various breadth, indenting the land in a great variety of shapes. They are composed of deep rich loam, and are distinguished as the black corcasses, adapted for tillage, and the blue, used more advantageously as meadow land.

The coast is in general rocky, and occasionally bold and precipitous in the extreme, as may be observed at the picturesque cliffs of Moher within a few miles of Ennistymon, which rise perpendicularly at O'Brien's tower to an elevation of 580 feet. The coast of Clare is indented with several bays, the chief of which are Ballyvaghan, Liscannor, and Malbay; but from Black Head to Loop Head, including the entire western boundary of the county by the Atlantic, there is no safe harbour for a vessel except Liscannon Bay. The county possesses only one large river, the Fergus; but nearly 100 miles of its boundary line are washed by the river Shannon, which, after almost dividing Ireland from north to south, and dispensing its bounties to the adjoining counties of Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Galway, King's County, Kerry, Tipperary, and Limerick, enters the Atlantic Ocean between this county and Kerry. The numerous bays and creeks on both sides of this noble river render its navigation safe in every wind; but the passage to and from Limerick is often tedious, and the port of Kilrush may reasonably be expected at some future period to rise in importance under favourable circumstances. The river Fergus is navigable from the Shannon to the town of Clare, which is the terminating point of its natural navigation, the port of all the central districts of the county, and which ought to have been the county town. There are no canals in the county; but a railway from Limerick to Ennis, a distance of 26½ miles, is in progress.

There are upwards of one hundred lakes and tarns in the county, of which the largest are Loughs O'Grady, Graneg, Tedane, Inchiquin, Inniscronan, and Clomlee; but they are more remarkable for picturesque beauty than size or utility, with the exception of the extensive and navigable Lough Derg, formed by the river Shannon between this county and Tipperary. Lough Derg is the largest lake in the whole tract of the Shannon, and one of the finest in Ireland. Besides the perennial lakes, there are many temporary or periodical accumulations of water either forced upwards from underground of a higher level, or produced by surface water draining down from more elevated spots. These dry up in summer, and are called turloughs or loghans. On the subsiding of the water, its place is supplied by a copious growth of fine grass, affording pasturage to numerous flocks and herds. These turloughs admit of easy drainage.

Although mineral and metallic substances have been found in many places throughout the county, they do not often show themselves in sufficient abundance to induce the application of capital for their extraction. The principal are lead, iron, and manganese. Lead mines are worked at Killbricken in the barony of Bunratty (about six miles from Ennis), and at Annaglough. The Milltown lead mine in the barony of Tulla is probably one of the oldest mines in Ireland, and at one time, if the extent of the ancient excavations may be taken as a guide, there must have been a very rich deposit. The richest lead mine in Clare now is the Ballyhickey mine, about 2 miles from Kilbricken. Copper pyrites occurs in several parts of Burren, but in small quantity. Coal has been discovered, but the seams are too thin to warrant the expectation of profit from their being wrought. Limestone occupies all the central and northern parts of the county in a tract bounded on the S. by the Shannon, on the E. by a line running parallel with the Ougartee river to Scariff Bay, on the N. by the mountain of Taila and the confines of Galway, on the W. by Galway Bay and a line including Kilfenora, Corofin, and Ennis, and meeting the Shannon at the mouth of the Fergus. Within half a mile of the Milltown lead mine are immense natural vaulted passages of limestone, through which the river Ardsulls winds a singular course; and in the grounds of Kiltannon, the residence of James Molony, Esq., the Affie rivulet, one of the numerous tributaries of the Fergus, "dips beneath the surface, and flows for a considerable distance through the caverned limestone; and along its margin paths have been formed to show the limpid water and the singularly fantastic rock—sufficient light being admitted through the natural chinks and apertures of the cavern."

The lower limestone of the eastern portion of the county has been found to contain several very large deposits of argentiferous galena. Flags, easily quarried, and raised in blocks or slabs of considerable size, are procured near Kilrush. Thin flags, used for covering houses, are raised near Ennistymon; as are slates for the same purpose in several places, the best being those of Broadford and Killaloe, which are nearly equal to the finest procured in Wales. A species of very fine black marble has been discovered near Ennis; it takes a high polish, and is free from the white spots with which the black Kilkenny marble is marked.

The mineral springs, which are found in many places, are chiefly chalybeate. That of Lisdownvarna, about 8 miles from Ennistymon, has long been celebrated for its medicinal qualities, particularly in biliary obstructions: it is ferruginous, with an astringent taste, and a strong yet not foul smell. It possesses the additional advantage of being contiguous to the sea, thus affording the valetudinarian the option of sea-bathing if deemed advisable. There are chalybeate springs of less note at Scool, Cloneen, Kilkishen, Burren, Kilcoran, Broadford, Lahinch, Kilkee, Kilrush, Killadyart, and Cassino, near Milltown Malbay. Springs called by the people "holy" or "blessed" wells, generally mineral waters, are common; but the belief in their power of performing cures in inveterate maladies is nearly extinct.

The Atlantic Ocean and the estuary of the Shannon afford many situations admirably adapted for summer bathing places. Among the best frequented of these localities are Burren, Milltown Malbay, one of the best beaches on the western coast, Lahinch, about 2 miles from Ennistymon, and near the interesting cliffs of Moher, with a magnificent and unrivalled beach, on Liscannon Bay, exposed to the full sweep of the western blast, but a delightful summer resi- The climate is healthy. The strong gales from the Atlantic, though unfriendly to planting, in so much that trees sixty miles inland, if not sheltered, incline towards the east, seem to produce no injurious effects on the human constitution. Yet low fevers are common, and often pass through whole parishes, cutting off numbers. Their frequency and malignity are attributed more to the slovenly habits and want of cleanliness too prevalent among the peasantry, than to any insalubrity in the climate. The use of ardent spirits and insufficient drainage of the land also contribute their baleful agency to increase the extent and virulence of these epidemics; but there is little reason to doubt that were these causes removed, the fevers which have been banished from the fens of Lincolnshire might also be expelled from the county of Clare.

The greater portion of Ireland is bare of wood, but in no part of the country is this barrenness more extreme and apparent. Many square miles present themselves to the view with scarcely the vestige of a tree to vary the monotony of the scene. Many tracts, however, now bare of timber, and affording but a scanty herbage for sheep, and which were once covered with woods, would again be clothed with abundant and profitable wood if properly nurtured and protected from the invasion of sheep and goats. At present plantations are mainly confined to the demesnes and ornamental grounds of the gentry.

The county of Clare which is divided into 11 baronies contains 80 parishes, and includes the diocese of Killena, the greater part of Killaloe, and a very small portion of the diocese of Limerick. It is within the military district of Limerick, with barracks for infantry at Clare Castle, Ennis, Killaloe, and Kilrush; for artillery, in the forts at Scattery Island, Donnaha, Kilcredano, Blackwater, and Kilkerrin. The constabulary force consists of 399 men and officers, with headquarters at Ennis; and nine districts comprise 65 stations at Ennis, Kilrush, Corofin, Killaloe, Ennistymon, Killadyart, Tulla, Newmarket, and Broadford. There are also four revenue police stations and nine coast-guard stations in the county. The assizes are held at Ennis, where the county prison, the county infirmary, and the district lunatic asylum, are situated. The only savings-bank in the county is at Ennis. There are eight poor-law unions, most of them unfortunately distinguished as having been among the most distressed unions in Ireland.

The amount of property in the county valued under the act 6th and 7th Will. IV., cap. 84. (Griffith's valuation), is £313,801, and the net annual value of property rated to the poor in the county is £209,656—the difference in these valuations having probably arisen from a desire to make the poundage of the rates for the relief of the poor appear excessive, with the object of obtaining more assistance from the fund raised in the more prosperous districts of Ireland, under the name of a rate in aid of distressed unions. The chief towns are Ennis, the county town, situated at the junction of the Clareen and the Fergus, with a population in 1851 of 8623; Kilrush, population 4471; Ennistymon, population 1741; and the ancient and thriving little town of Killaloe, the headquarters of the Inland Steam Navigation Company, with a population of 2230. The county returns three members to the imperial parliament—two for the county at large, constituency under 13th and 14th Vict., cap. 69, in 1853, 3144—and one for the borough of Ennis, constituency 149.

By Prolemy the inhabitants of this neighbourhood are called Gangani, and are supposed to have been descended from the Concani of Spain.

This county, together with some of the neighbouring district, was anciently called Thomond or Tuadmoin, that is North Munster, and formed part of the monarchy of the celebrated Brian Boromhme, who held his court at Kincora near Killaloe, where his palace was situated on the banks of the Shannon. The site is still distinguished by extensive earthen ramparts. Settlements were effected by the Danes; and in the thirteenth century by the Anglo-Normans, but without permanently affecting the possession of the district by its native proprietors. In 1543 Murrogh O'Brien, after dispossessing his nephew, and vainly attempting a rebellion against the English rule, proceeded to England, and submitted to Henry VIII., resigning his name and possessions. He soon received them back by an English tenure, together with the title of Earl of Thomond, on condition of adopting the English dress, manners, and customs, and maintaining no kerns or gallowglasses. In 1565 this part of Thomond (sometimes called O'Brien's country) was added to Connaught, and made one of the six new counties into which that province was divided by Sir Henry Sidney under the act 11th Elizabeth, cap. 9. It was then named Clare, probably by the name of an English adventurer Thomas de Clare, who obtained a grant from Henry III. of all the lands he should conquer from the Irish, and whose family for some time maintained a precarious position in the district. In 1602 the county was re-annexed to Munster. The O'Briens and other native chieftains had many fierce contests to preserve their independence against the Anglo-Norman and English adventurers, and generally succeeded in maintaining their position as native kings and chieftains of Thomond. From some cause or other the comparative immunity of Clare in ancient times from foreign rule and settlement, and from absenteeism, has proved of doubtful advantage to its modern condition, which has until lately been characterized by extreme social disorganization frequently exhibited in systematic agrarian outrage. The chief ancient families of note in the district were the O'Briens, now represented by the Marquess of Thomond and the O'Briens of Dromoland, of which family are Sir Lucius O'Brien, Bart., who is a lineal descendant of the famous Brian Boromhme; the Macnamaras, now represented by Major Macnamara, formerly M.P. for the county; and the O'Loghlens, of which family is Sir Colman O'Loghlen, Bart.

The county abounds with remains of antiquities, both military and ecclesiastical. Of the former there were lately visible 119 fortified castles, seven of which were inhabited. They are mostly of small extent, a large portion being fortified dwellings. The chief of them is Bunvatty Castle, built in 1277. Raths or Danish forts are to be found in every part. They are generally circular, composed either of large stones without mortar, or of earth thrown up and surrounded by one or more ditches. The list of abbeys and other religious houses formerly flourishing here (some now only known by name, but many of which survive in ruins) comprehends upwards of twenty. The most remarkable are—Quin, said to be one of the finest and most perfect specimens of ancient monastic architecture in Ireland; Corcomroe; Ennis, in which is a very fine window of uncommonly elegant workmanship; and those on Inniscattery, or Scattery Island in the Shannon, said to have been founded by St Senan. In the island on which, according to tradition, in the time of St Senan, and before the arrival of the Danes, no woman was permitted to land, is a round tower, and the ruins of what are called the seven churches: it is called Holy Island, and is still much frequented by pilgrims. St Senan is often called Saint Shannon; and the beatmen of the neighbourhood reluctantly venture on the management of a vessel which had not made a pilgramage round his "Sainted Isle," or had not a stone in her keel from the holy strand to keep her from sinking. Scattery Island is one of the most popular burial places in the county, but as it is difficult of access in stormy weather, burials take place at Shanahill near Kilrush, in the belief that all bodies buried at this latter place are miraculously conveyed under the bed of the river into the holy ground of Inniscattery. Kohl remarks that there is no other country in Europe where there are such interesting cemeteries as in Ireland, partly on account of the abundance of ivy, and partly on account of the practice that still prevails of burying the dead among ruins. Four other round towers are to be found in various stages of preservation—at Drumcliff, Dysert, Kilnaboy, and Inniscarra. The cathedral of the diocese of Killaloe, at the town of that name, is a plain massive building originally erected in 1160; and near it are the ruins of the mausoleum of Brian Boruithine. Cromlechs are found chiefly in the limestone rocky district of Burren, though there are some in other baronies. That at Ballyganor is formed of a stone forty feet long and ten broad. The celebrated tomb of Conan, on Mount Callan, is still extant.

Although the soil and surface of the country is in general better adapted for grazing than tillage, yet in the richer lands the latter is extensively carried on. Spade culture is still practised in some parts, and little attention is given to the proper rotation of crops. Husbandry, however, is improving, and will improve in proportion as the prejudices and corruption of former times decline. The diminution in the numbers of the population, and the establishment of a system of poor law, will facilitate and force on both industrial and social amelioration in this district.

In the year 1847 the number of farms or holdings, according to the agricultural returns, was 32,133; which number had declined in 1852 to 16,832. This diminution in the number of farms had been accompanied by a decreased growth of wheat, the ground under that crop in 1847 being 24,308 acres, whilst in 1853 only 7,445 acres of wheat were cultivated. The cultivation of potatoes has increased in the same period from 6,129 to 31,240 acres. The total extent of land under crops in 1853 was 165,384, viz., wheat 74,455, oats 43,382, barley, beans, peas, &c., 18,748, potatoes 31,240, turnips 9,664; other green crops 3,045; flax, 1,007, meadow and clover 50,853. The live stock of the county in 1853 numbered 14,235 horses, 8,602 mules and asses, 124,089 cattle, 102,145 sheep, 40,155 pigs, 13,985 goats, and 254,612 poultry, of the total value of £1,108,954. The live stock of this county in 1849 was valued at £1,822,747. Dairies were formerly more numerous than at present, when simple grazing is found more profitable. It cannot be said that there are any manufactures in the county of Clare, although flannels and friezes are made for home use. Hosiery of various kinds, chiefly coarse and strong, is made around Corofin, Ennistymon, and other places; but at present no particular manufacture is attempted on a large scale.

The fishery districts of Kilrush and Seafield extend from Limerick to Blackhead, and comprise 193 miles of maritime boundaries, which in 1853 had 217 registered fishing vessels, employing 1,057 men and boys; and the inhabitants of Burren share in the rich fisheries of Galway Bay. The Shannon west of Scattery Island, and the sea along the coasts, are good fishing stations, abounding with cod, haddock, ling, soles, turbot, ray, mackerel, and other fish; but the rugged nature of the coast and the tempestuous sea render this district of comparatively small value for the purposes of navigation and commerce. Near Pooldooly is the great Burren oyster bed, called the Red Bank, where a large establishment is maintained, and from which a constant supply of the excellent Red Bank oysters is furnished to the Dublin and other large markets. Crabs and lobsters are caught in great plenty on the shores of the bay of Galway in every creek from Blackhead to Ardflry. The salmon fishery of the Shannon is very considerable, and eels form another important article of consumption; they abound in every rivulet, and the eel weirs have been charged with being mainly instrumental in causing great damage to the neighbouring lands by obstructing the passage of the waters of the streams.

In 1852 the number of children on the rolls of the national schools for the six months ending the 31st March, was 16,839; of which number 16,654 were Roman Catholics, 125 belonged to the Established church, and the religion of the remainder (60) was not stated in the return.

According to the latest returns, the state of instruction among the population above the age of five years in the county of Clare, was as follows:

| Rural Districts | Civic Districts | Total | Proportion per cent. in 1851 | Proportion per cent. in 1841 | |-----------------|----------------|-------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------| | Could read | 17,339 | 2,387 | 19,726 | 20 | 14 | | Could read only | 12,699 | 1,088 | 13,787 | 14 | 14 | | Could neither read nor write | 61,819 | 4,309 | 66,128 | 66 | 72 |

The population of the county at different periods has been ascertained to be—

| Year | No. | Increase | Decrease | |------|-----|----------|----------| | 1821 | 208,089 | | | | 1831 | 268,322 | 50,233 | | | 1841 | 286,394 | 28,072 | | | 1851 | 212,428 | | 73,966 |

The decrease of the population is supposed to have taken place in the five years preceding 1851, during which period 25 per cent. of the population of Clare was destroyed by famine and consequent pestilence, or removed by emigration.

Claremorris, a market-town of Ireland, county of Mayo, 15 miles S.E. of Castlebar. It is neat and well built; and has a court-house, church, 2 chapels, dispensary, union work-house, and an active retail trade. Pop. (1851) 2,062, including 500 in workhouse.

Clare Island. See Mayo.