an inland county in the south-western portion of the province of Ulster in Ireland, bounded on the north by Donegal and Tyrone, on the east by Tyrone and Monaghan, on the south by Cavan, and on the west by Cavan and Leitrim. According to the Ordnance Survey, it comprises an area of 714 square miles, or 457,195 acres, of which 289,228 are arable, 114,847 uncultivated, 6155 in plantations, 210 in towns, and 46,755 under water. In proportion to its area, therefore, Fermanagh has a greater quantity of land covered with water, and, in proportion to the arable land, a smaller extent of ground occupied by towns and villages, than any other county in Ireland.
Fermanagh was made shire ground in the eleventh year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and divided into the eight baronies of which it still consists, viz.
| Baronies | Contents in acres | Annual valuation | |-------------------|------------------|-----------------| | Clanawley | 75,286 | £21,523 10 1 | | Clankeilly | 39,068 | 16,559 6 5 | | Coole | 18,963 | 8,762 7 7 | | Knockninny | 30,864 | 16,665 7 4 | | Learg | 85,109 | 29,177 6 6 | | Magherastephana | 61,429 | 24,973 18 1 | | Magherabeg | 94,171 | 31,905 3 1 | | Tirkenney | 54,353 | 22,160 14 5 | | **Total** | **457,286** | **£170,683 4 6**|
These baronies are subdivided into 23 parishes, all of which are in the diocese of Clogher excepting three, which are included in Kilmore diocese. The county is within the military district of Belfast, with barrack stations at Enniskillen and Belleek. The union workhouses are at Enniskillen, Lisnaskea, and Lowtherstown, and part of the county is comprised in the adjoining unions of Clones and Ballyshannon. The net annual value of property rated to the poor is £195,864, and the amount of property valued under The surface of the county of Fermanagh is uneven, exhibiting generally a succession of abrupt eminences of slight elevation. The borders towards Tyrone and Cavan, on the east, are mountainous. The north-western portion towards Leitrim presents one continuous mass of hills, many of them high, rough, and boggy. Of these Belmore Mountain, on the northern edge of Lower Lough Macnean, attains an altitude of 1312 feet. From the summit of the Toppid Mountain the greater part of Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Lough Erne may be seen. Quilca Mountain, partly in this county and partly in Cavan, rises to a height of 2188 feet. The south-eastern portion of the county is generally flat or but slightly elevated.
The great feature of the county is Lough Erne, which divides it nearly throughout its whole extent from north-west to south-east. This fine sheet of water forms two long lakes about five miles apart, connected by a fine river or strait, which, at about two-thirds of the distance from the Upper Lake, divides into two branches, leaving between them an island on which the principal part of the county town of Enniskillen stands. They are distinguished by the names of the Upper and Lower lakes. The former, or the more inland and southern lake, which lies between Belturbet and Enniskillen, is eleven miles in length, and from half a mile to six miles in width. The Lower and northern lake, which lies between Enniskillen and Belleek, is thirteen miles long, and from two to ten broad. The borders of both lakes are finely broken by numerous bays and inlets, formed by the projections of the surrounding hills, and both are studded with islands. Popular report makes the number of these equal to that of the days of the year; and, if all the detached points of rock or land visible above water were taken into the account, this number would not be much above the truth. There are not, however, more than 150 which deserve the name of islands. These are in general well formed for scenic effect, and some are planted, chiefly with ash and oak, to the water's edge. The largest of them, named Boa or Bow Island, containing about 1400 acres, is situated near the western extremity of the lake. But Devenish Island, near its eastern end, which comprises only about 80 Irish acres, of great fertility, is of much greater interest, from having on it one of the most perfect pillar towers in Ireland. Its height is 82 feet, and its circumference 49. It is built of cut stone, and finished at the top with a conical roof. Near the summit of the hill which forms the island is the abbey of St Mary's, of which the belfry staircase and some of the Gothic pillars still remain.
At the foot of the hill is a church dedicated to St Molush; and in its vicinity are the remains of that saint's house, roofed and finished with cut stone. Within a few paces of the house is a stone trough, about six feet long, said to have been his bed, in which those affected with various complaints perform certain prescribed ceremonies, in the hope of obtaining relief. In the island of Ennism'saint are the ruins of an abbey founded by St Nevid, whose festival is annually celebrated in it. The saint's bell, ornamented with gold and silver, is, says Archdall, still preserved in the island, and held in such veneration by the lower classes of people that it is often judicially tendered to swear on.
"Next to the rock of Cashel," says Inglis, "I look upon Devenish Island to be the most interesting spot in Ireland, to those who are attracted by the union of the antique and picturesque." Belle-isle, containing about 112 acres, once the favourite residence of the Earl of Rosse, and celebrated as well for its natural beauties as for the taste displayed in its improvements, has been suffered to fall into such decay that scarcely a vestige remains of what it once was. Belle-isle is connected with the main land by a bridge. Lough Erne is navigable during the winter season through its whole extent to the fall of Belleek, within four miles of Ballyshannon. The navigation of the lake is chiefly carried on by small vessels called cotts, worked by oars; while a broad paddle at the stern serves instead of a rudder. A steamer of 20 horse power also plies between Enniskillen and the Ulster Canal at Wattle Bridge. Two other lines of inland navigation have been completed, one commencing at Lough Erne, and terminating at Lough Neagh; the other proceeding from the southern end of the Upper Lough Erne to the village of Leitrim, where it communicates with the Shannon. There are some smaller lakes in the county, the largest of which are Lough Melvin, on the borders of Leitrim, and Lough Macnean, on the confines of Cavan and Leitrim.
The only river of importance is the Erne, which rises in the county of Cavan, and after passing through Belturbet, falls into Lough Erne at its south-eastern extremity; thence, passing by Enniskillen, it enters the Lower Lake, at the north-western extremity of which it again narrows into a river, and, passing through Belleek, forms a fine water-fall, bursting out through a thick wood in a broad sheet: afterwards breaking over a ledge of shelving rocks, it foams through the arches of the bridge here thrown over it, after which it still maintains a rapid current, during a course of nine miles, in which it crosses many lesser ridges of rock, and at length precipitates its water down a noble cataract into the Atlantic at Ballyshannon. The other rivers are, the Arney, the Ballencharagh, the Ballycassidy, the Clodagh, the Kish Water, the Moorlough, and the Sills; all of which, together with upwards of 50 smaller streams, contribute to feed the Loughs Erne.
The railway from Londonderry to Enniskillen is complete, and the lines from Dundalk and Newry are (1855) in progress. There is also a line of railway projected to Sligo from Enniskillen.
The geological structure of the county consists of yellow sandstone and carboniferous limestone, alternating with tolerable regularity. Red sandstone exists in Toppid Mountain. Yellow sandstone, well adapted for building, lies round the town of Enniskillen. Millstone grit occupies a district between the two sandstone formations. A beautiful species of brown marble is found near Florence-court, a limestone district; but it requires to be worked to a greater depth than at present in order to procure blocks and slabs free from flaws. Coal is said to have been found in Glen-garron Hills; but there is no reason to suppose that it exists in such abundance as to become of importance in a commercial point of view.
Mineral springs are numerous. Rutty gives a list of 19, mostly sulphureous, but none are frequented by strangers.
The population of this county, according to the several authorities, the earlier of which cannot be relied on, has been stated as follows:
| Year | Population | |------------|------------| | 1760 | 28,860 | | 1792 | 71,860 | | 1812 | 111,800 | | 1821 | 130,997 | | 1831 | 149,763 |
### Table
| Baronies | 1841 | 1851 | |-------------------|------|------| | Clanawley | 10,238 | 7,446 | | Clankeilly | 8,245 | 5,591 | | Coole | 4,421 | 2,875 | | Knockninny | 5,406 | 4,399 | | Lurg | 13,536 | 9,900 | | Magheraboy | 11,767 | 8,403 | | Magherastephana | 11,046 | 8,881 | | Tirkenkenny | 12,233 | 10,387 | | **Total** | **76,982** | **59,200** |
| Baronies | Males | Females | Total | |-------------------|-------|---------|-------| | Clanawley | 10,127 | 20,365 | 7,446 | | Clankeilly | 8,510 | 16,755 | 5,591 | | Coole | 4,513 | 8,934 | 2,798 | | Knockninny | 5,589 | 10,956 | 4,307 | | Lurg | 14,032 | 27,588 | 9,900 | | Magheraboy | 12,459 | 24,226 | 8,403 | | Magherastephana | 11,516 | 22,562 | 8,881 | | Tirkenkenny | 12,733 | 25,056 | 10,387 | | **Total** | **79,499** | **156,481** | **59,200** | The proportion of the number of males and females in this county is therefore about the average proportion for all Ireland, but above that of the inland counties, where, contrary to the general rule, the male population in several instances exceeds the female in number, which it never does in any of the maritime counties excepting Wicklow, in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. Between 1841 and 1851 the population of Fermanagh decreased 25 per cent., being 5 per cent. more than the average decrease for all Ireland in the same period, and nine per cent. more than the average for the province of Ulster.
The state of education, according to the returns made under the population act in 1821, and the Board of Education in 1824-26, was as follows:
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total | |------|------|-------|-------| | 1821 | 4032 | 2303 | 6335 | | 1824-6| 5845 | 3948 | 9793 |
Of the numbers in the latter return, 5283 were of the Established Church, 246 were Roman Catholics, 4204 Dissenters, whilst of the religious opinions of 60 there was no return. Eighteen schools, containing 1012 pupils, were supported by grants of public money; fifty-nine, containing 3433 pupils, by voluntary subscription; and the remaining 163 schools, containing 5348 pupils, were wholly maintained by the fees of the pupils. In 1854 there were 137 national schools in operation, attended by 8846 children—5275 boys and 3571 girls.
Near the town of Enniskillen is the well-endowed Royal School of Portora, founded in the reign of Charles II.
According to the latest returns, there were 85 boys in the school; and in 1853 the rents received were L1,757, and the salaries paid to masters and assistants amounted to L850.
Previously to the Union, the county was represented in the Irish parliament by four members, two of whom were returned for the county at large, and two for the borough of Enniskillen. At that period the number was reduced to three, one having been deducted from Enniskillen. No alteration in this arrangement was made by the Reform act. Since the Union, both town and county have been represented exclusively by members of the Tory party.
The state of the constituency at the four periods following, viz.—the first, before the disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders, which took place on the passing of the Catholic Relief bill; the second, subsequent to that event, but previously to the passing of the Reform bill; the third, subsequent to the Reform act; the fourth, under the 13th and 14th Vict., cap. 69, was as under:
| Year | L5s. | L2s. | L1s. | 49c. | Total | |------|------|------|------|------|-------| | 1st Jan. 1829 | 252 | 183 | — | 6443 | 6878 | | 1830 | 254 | 256 | 522 | — | 1032 | | 1832 | 178 | 250 | 1001 | — | 1429 | | 1853 | — | — | — | — | 4365 |
This county is almost exclusively agricultural. Farms vary from nine acres, chiefly under tillage, to large tracts for grazing.
The number of holdings of every class in 1852 and 1853 was as follows:
| Class | Not exceeding 1 acre | From 1 to 5 acres | From 5 to 15 acres | From 15 to 30 acres | From 30 to 50 acres | From 50 to 100 acres | From 100 to 200 acres | From 200 to 300 acres | Exceeding 300 acres | |-------|---------------------|------------------|-------------------|--------------------|-------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|-------------------| | 1852 | 470 | 1,229 | 4,777 | 4,691 | 2,111 | 1,046 | 270 | 85 | 17 | | 1853 | 466 | 1,167 | 4,845 | 4,554 | 2,088 | 998 | 276 | 83 | 17 | | Difference for 1853 | -4 | -62 | +68 | -37 | -23 | -48 | +6 | -2 | Nil |
The number of holdings exceeding one acre in extent amounted in 1852 to 14,226, and in 1853 to 14,128, being a decrease of 98, showing that this county is not one of the exceptions to the general practice latterly prevailing in Ireland of consolidating farms.
Much land has heretofore been let in the gross to middlemen, who sublet it to smaller tenants. Landowners of this description were distinguished by the name of terry-begs, or little landlords—from the Irish *tiernagh*, a prince, and *beg*, little. There is much land belonging to the see of Clogher in the county. Rents are sometimes paid in the mountainous districts in young cattle, butter, and yarn. Oats and barley are the kinds of grain chiefly raised; wheat is little grown. The manures are marl, limestone, limestone gravel, bog-mould, and bog-ashes. The marl is white and light, found under bogs and in banks. That about Florencecourt is upon clay and gravel, with springs under it, which cause the marl to assume sometimes a tuberous form, coloured by oxide of iron.
The extent of land under crops of various descriptions from 1846 till the present year (1855) has been ascertained to be as follows:
| Year | Corn, Beans, and Peas | Potatoes | Turnips | Mangrel Wurzel and other Green Crops | Flax | Maize and Clover | Total | |------|-----------------------|----------|---------|------------------------------------|------|-----------------|-------| | 1847 | 55,233 | 3,681 | 3,575 | 961 | 1,221| 28,712 | 93,883 | | 1848 | 55,832 | 9,185 | 4,606 | 1,481 | 1,131| 30,170 | 102,425 | | 1849 | 55,097 | 11,093 | 5,980 | 2,769 | 1,015| 29,919 | 105,873 | | 1850 | 52,693 | 13,736 | 5,280 | 1,982 | 1,283| 28,685 | 103,664 | | 1851 | 53,082 | 13,059 | 5,724 | 2,602 | 2,800| 30,468 | 107,735 | | 1852 | 48,709 | 13,594 | 5,407 | 2,534 | 2,537| 32,784 | 105,565 | | 1853 | 45,357 | 16,924 | 5,509 | 2,232 | 3,988| 34,128 | 108,168 | | Average | 52,294 | 10,181 | 5,154 | 2,080 | 1,906| 30,709 | 103,830 |
The total produce of corn, beans, and peas in 1853 was 31,675 tons, or an average of 612 lbs. per head on the population, being 88 lbs. less than the average for all Ireland; the produce of the potato crop in the same year was 979,620 barrels; average per head 169 stones, the average production for the whole country being 140 stones. In the returns to an inquiry instituted into the comparative care or negligence prevailing in the cultivation of farms and the condition of road-sides as to weeds in the 32 counties of Ireland, Fermanagh is numbered 14 in the list of comparative freedom of farms from weeds, and 4 in that representing the comparative condition of the roadsides.
Timber is more general in Fermanagh than in some of the neighbouring counties. Beech grows to a large size. Ash is peculiarly abundant in Fermanagh as well as the adjoining counties of Cavan and Tyrone. About sixty years ago, in a mountain glen connected with the demesne of Florence-court, the upright variety of yew tree, known as the Irish yew, and a valuable object in pleasuregrounds from its elegant and compact growth, was first observed.
Concurrently with the decrease in the number of holdings in Ireland, the quantity of stock has largely increased. The following table exhibits the quantity of live stock in this county from 1846, and its estimated value since 1849.
| Years | Horses | Mules and Asses. | Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | Goats | Poultry | Estimated Value | |-------|--------|-----------------|--------|-------|------|-------|---------|----------------| | 1847 | 6,081 | 3,965 | 75,689 | 8,364 | 6,248| 2,138 | 110,297 | ... | | 1848 | 6,510 | 4,338 | 81,710 | 8,871 | 6,089| 2,229 | 151,622 | ... | | 1849 | 6,773 | 4,662 | 87,657 | 10,279| 13,008| 2,572 | 167,179 | 662,387 | | 1850 | 6,446 | 4,527 | 88,010 | 10,260| 14,745| 2,722 | 180,594 | 664,665 | | 1851 | 6,518 | 4,749 | 88,651 | 11,371| 17,243| 3,055 | 195,674 | 675,185 | | 1852 | 6,416 | 4,521 | 85,102 | 12,555| 16,853| 3,461 | 191,728 | 650,961 | | 1853 | 6,814 | 4,750 | 94,735 | 14,791| 19,113| 3,757 | 209,361 | 723,022 | | Average | 6,508 | 4,501 | 85,910 | 10,927| 13,698| 2,852 | 172,522 | 675,224 |
The trade of the county in butter is considerable, and the linen manufacture, of a coarse description of goods, chiefly for domestic use, is carried on to a small extent. The number of scutching mills in the county is 10, all of which are moved by water-power.
Fermanagh has few resident proprietors of high rank or large income, all members of the Established Church deriving their titles to their estates from Elizabeth, James I., or Cromwell. The English family of the Coles received large grants of land, and in 1760 John Cole was created Baron Mount Florence, and his successor Viscount and Earl of Enniskillen. The family mansion and demesne of Florence-court is among the most beautiful in the country. The mansion of Castle Coole, the seat of the Earl of Belmore, is built of Portland stone, in the Grecian style of architecture after a design by Wyatt, and at a cost of upwards of L200,000. Among the many other fine residences in this county are Ely Lodge, the seat of the Marquis of Ely; Castle Caldwell; Riversdale; the modern Castle of Crum, the seat of the Earl of Erne; Castle Saunderson, &c.
A class of yeomanry is to be met with in this county who distinguish themselves by the character of being “as good Protestants as any in Ireland.” These are farmers, who hold tracts of land of considerable extent, and were settled in the county when the right to the elective franchise was exclusively in the hands of Protestants. At that period Catholic tenants were often turned out of their farms, and sent farther up the mountains, to make room for the privileged class. The population of Fermanagh is in general a fine race, and Mr Foster remarks, that “the difference in the appearance of the people themselves in Leitrim and Fermanagh is as remarkable as the difference in dress and houses, and in the appearance of the country. At Ballinamore, in Leitrim, at a fair—with at least 10,000 men present, amongst whom I walked, and to whom I spoke, I scarcely saw a man above 5 feet 4 inches in stature, and I do not think I saw a dozen men in the whole fair so tall as myself. In the streets of Enniskillen every third man I met was a bigger man than myself”—Letters on the Condition of the People of Ireland.
Enniskillen is celebrated as a depot for obtaining recruits for the army. A regiment of horse was raised here in the time of King William, which is still distinguished by the name of the Enniskillen dragoons. This circumstance, together with the general habits and character of the peasantry, has tended to keep up a military spirit throughout the county.
The only large town in Fermanagh is the neat respectable-looking county town of Enniskillen, situate on an island having an area of sixty-two acres, formed by the river connecting the upper and lower Loughs Erne, and partly on the adjoining mainland on both sides, which communicate with each other by two bridges. It was founded in 1612 by William Cole, ancestor of the Earl of Enniskillen, to whom the chief portion of the town still belongs. It contains a parish church, a Roman Catholic chapel, Presbyterian and Methodist meeting-houses, and the usual buildings common to county and assize towns, but none of any great architectural pretensions. The corporation styled the “Portree Free Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Enniskillen,” is now extinct, and its property vested in town commissioners. The population of Enniskillen in 1851 was 6000, and it was the only place in the county containing more than 2000 inhabitants.—(Thom's Almanac, &c.)