the smallest of the four provinces into which Ireland is divided, and, together with Munster, the most western portion of Europe; bound chiefly, and peninsulaled, by the Atlantic Ocean and the river Shannon. It comprises an area of 6862 square miles, or 4,392,043 acres; of which 2,220,960 are arable; 1,906,002 uncultivated; 48,340 in plantations; 3877 in towns and villages; and 212,864 under water. The population may be considered even now as almost pure Celtic, having never been much affected by the very slight intermixture which has taken place with other races; and the Irish language is still the ordinary language of the people. The number of inhabitants in the province at and since the census of 1821 has been ascertained to have been as follows:

| Year | Inhabitants | Increase | Decrease | |------|-------------|----------|----------| | 1821 | 1,110,229 | | | | 1831 | 1,343,914 | 233,685 | | | 1841 | 1,418,859 | 74,940 | | | 1851 | 1,010,211 | | 408,648 |

In early times Connaght comprised, beyond its present limits, the territory of Thomond, forming the present county of Clare, and North Breifne, the present county of Cavan. When Sir Henry Sydney, in the sixteenth century, divided the province into counties, he adopted the ancient boundaries, excluding North Breifne; but in 1602 the county of Clare was restored to Munster, and Connaght comprises now the counties of Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, and Roscommon, including Joyce's country, Connemara, Erno, Tyrawley, and other tracts of wild and romantic scenery. The chief towns are the sea-ports.—Galway (pop. 20,686); Sligo (pop. 11,104); and Ballina (pop. 5,230). The annual value of property, according to Griffith's valuation, is £1,353,720. The western portion is hilly, and occasionally mountainous; while the eastern part is generally level. It is well watered, and has on the greater portion of its eastern boundary the river Shannon. The river Moy is navigable from Killala to Ballina; the extensive lakes Conn, Corrib, and Mask, are navigable; and the sea-coast affords many fine bays and harbours. The climate is moist, but temperate and healthful. Agriculture, although the main support of the population, has hitherto been much neglected: the chief crops in cultivation are oats, potatoes, and green crops. The value of live stock in 1841 was computed to be £3,369,078, and in 1852 £4,832,842. The trade of the province is merely local and retail, and there are no manufactures. The mineral treasures of the soil have not been developed, and their extent is very doubtful, little capital having been heretofore engaged in their extraction.

There are no canals in Connaght; and the only line of railway, viz., that portion of the Midland Great Western which extends from Athlone to Galway, was constructed by means of an advance of the necessary sum from the imperial treasury, the interest of the loan being secured in case of rates levied on the counties of Roscommon and Galway.

Ecclesiastically the province is under the control of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Bishops of Kilmore and Tuam, and the Archbishop of Dublin, with his suffragan, the Bishop of Killaloe. The great majority of the population, however, are Roman Catholics; and Connaght corresponds exactly in extent to the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Tuam. See Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, and Ireland.