an inland county in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, bounded on the N. by Longford and Meath, on the E. by Meath and Kildare, on the S. by the King's county, and on the W. by Roscommon. It lies between 53° 20' and 53° 47' N. Lat., and 7° and 7° 55' W. Long., extending 40 miles in its greatest length from N. to S., and 45 in its greatest breadth from W. to E., and comprehending an area of 708 square miles, or 453,468 acres; of which 365,218 are arable; 56,392 uncultivated; 8803 in plantations; 628 in towns; and 22,427 are under water. Of the 56,000 acres of land which have never been tilled, about 18,000 acres, consisting chiefly of bog, with some rough pasture, might be advantageously improved for cultivation; 37,000 acres may be drained, and 1000 acres only are incapable of improvement.

The county originally formed part of the central kingdom of Meath, when it was distinguished by the name of Eircamhoin, or the western division. Nor was it till the reign of Henry VIII. that it was formed into a separate county, including within it the district of Longford, which continued to form part of it till the reign of Elizabeth. Before the English invasion the McGeoghegans, chieftains of Moycashel, the Malones, and the Magardleys, were the principal families. When the palatinate of Meath was granted to Hugh de Lacy by Henry II., the former proprietors were supplanted by English settlers, the principal of whom were the families of Petit, Tuite, Hussey, Dalton, Delamaine, Nugent, Geneville, Nangle, Ledwich, and Constantine. The confiscations consequent on the wars of 1641 and 1688, in both of which the landed gentry took an active part, made very great alterations in the state of property. The landing of a French force in the west of Ireland in 1798 occasioned a partial insurrection in this county, in the course of which the armed peasantry seized and fortified Wilson's Hospital, but were quickly possessed of it by a detachment of the royal forces.

This district forms the most elevated portion of the great central limestone plain of Ireland, which is here 274 feet above the sea-level; but no part of it is mountainous. The highest elevations are Knocklayde in the north, 795 feet high, and the Hill of Ben, 710. All the hills are suited, even to their summit, for pasturage, and some for tillage; many are richly clothed with timber. Lakes are numerous; the largest lie in a direction nearly north and south along the middle of the county. Lough Sheelin, a beautiful lake about 5 miles in length, and on an average 2 miles in breadth, is the most northern; it is a border-lake on the side of Cavan, and near it is the smaller border-lake of Lough Kinale or Kinally. Lough Derevaragh is a winding expanse of water, 11 miles long and 3 broad, flat and uninteresting at its lower part, but bordered in some places by steep hills richly clothed with trees, and having at the head of the lake the Hill of Knockoney, 707 feet above the level of the sea, the most striking and elevated conical hill in this part of the country. Lough Derevaragh covers about 2555 acres. Farther south is Lough Owell, a clear sheet of water forming the principal supply of the Royal Canal; and Lough Tron or Hiern, of smaller dimensions. The most southern, and also the largest lake of the southern chain, is the very beautiful Lough Ennell, or Belvedere Lake, as it is often called. A number of smaller lakes are scattered throughout the county. Loughs Lene, Bawn, Glyde, and Fore, are in the northern part; the small but romantic lake of Loughsewdy in the western. Lough Drin is remarkable only for its great depth; it covers but an acre of land. Lough Ree or Reagh, which is in reality a portion of the Shannon, forms part of the western boundary of the county, separating it from that of Roscommon. It is 20 miles in length, and contains several islands, two of which were the sites of religious foundations.

Though no large rivers traverse this portion of the island, it may be considered to be the source of several. The Inny, which rises in Lough Ramor in Cavan, and enters Westmeath through Lough Shillin, through the most part of its course forms the boundary line on the side of Longford, but in one part traverses the county, and after dividing two of its baronies, ultimately joins the Shannon. The Inny is a sluggish river; boats pass along the greater part of its course, and the whole might easily be made Westmeath navigable from Lough Sheelin. Two small rivers, the Golden and Silver Arms, which issued from the northern and southern extremities of Lough Owell, have been closed up, so as to increase the quantity of water in the parent lake, which is the main feeder of the Royal Canal. The Brosna flows from Lough Ennell into the Shannon, which forms part of the western boundary of the county. Lough Lene also gives rise to two streams of some notoriety. The northern, after sinking into the ground near the village of Fore, and reappearing, empties itself, under the name of the Gløre, into the Inny, and the united stream passes through the Shannon into the Atlantic. The southern forms the Decl, which joins the Boyne, and falls into the Irish Sea. Hence this little lake, with its two perennial branches, may be said to divide Ireland into two islands.

The county forms part of the great limestone field that traverses the island across its centre. This substratum is interrupted in two places only, the one at Moat-a-Grenogue, and the other near Ballymahon, at each of which places the sandstone rises from under the limestone bed, and forms insulated protuberances of some elevation. In some places the limestone is wrought up for architectural and domestic purposes, but in others its quality is such as to render it nearly unfit for the farmer's use, in consequence of the quantity of fuel required for its calcination. Traces of lead and copper have been discovered, but not in quantities sufficient to hold out a fair prospect of pecuniary remuneration by exploring them farther. Coal is also said to have been raised in small quantities. A chalybeate spring rises at Grangemore, near Kinnegad, bursting forth with force, and forming a copious stream; but in consequence of the difficulty of access to it, few take advantage of its medicinal virtues. The soil is in general a deep rich loam resting on the limestone, but in the flat lands in the west it is light. The centre is intersected with numerous escars formed of calcareous gravel. There is much bog; that of Allen covers a large portion of the western baronies. Many parts are well timbered, and traces of the old forests show themselves by the spontaneous growth of indigenous trees of various kinds in places where the young shoots are protected from the depredations of cattle.

The population of the county has been stated on the best authorities, at various periods, as follows:

| Year | Authority | Number of Inhabitants | |------|-----------|-----------------------| | 1760 | De Burgo | 59,340 | | 1792 | Beaufort | 69,000 | | 1812 | Parliamentary census | 112,000 | | 1821 | Ditto | 128,819 | | 1831 | Ditto | 136,872 | | 1841 | Ditto | 141,500 | | 1851 | Ditto | 111,469 |

The number of persons to the square mile in 1841 was 199; and in 1851, 157; being a decrease of 42 inhabitants per square mile, or 21 per cent. The return of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, taken according to dioceses, gives a population to the county of about 138,560 souls, of whom 10,175 were of the Established Church, 251 Protestant dissenters, and 128,133 Roman Catholics. The number of children receiving instruction in the public schools, at the periods stated beneath, was as follows, according to returns made to parliament:

| Date | Boys | Girls | Sex not ascertained | Total | |--------|------|-------|--------------------|-------| | 1821 | 4952 | 2374 | | 7326 | | 1824-6 | 5740 | 3820 | 359 | 9919 | | 1838-9 | 2123 | 1925 | | 4051 |

According to the return of 1824-6, the number of Catholic children educated in the public schools was 8249, of Protestants 1533, and of dissenters 6. The number of schools of each denomination, and of pupils attending them Westmeath at the date when the census of 1851 was taken, was:

| Description | No. of Schools | Number of Children | |-------------------|---------------|-------------------| | National | 62 | 2,287 | | Church Education | 13 | 215 | | Endowed | 3 | 170 | | Boarding | 1 | | | Agricultural Boarding | 1 | 10 | | Private | 65 | 845 | | Parochial | 15 | 226 | | Free | 3 | 29 | | Mission | 2 | 46 | | Military | 1 | 11 | | Workhouse | 2 | 606 | | Total | 168 | 4,454 |

The county is divided into twelve baronies, the acreable contents and valuation of which are as follows:

| Baronies | Area. | Annual Valuation | |-----------------|-------|------------------| | Brawny | 11,456| 10,301 | | Clanlonan | 32,118| 21,649 | | Corkaree | 25,960| 18,076 | | Delvin | 39,155| 28,775 | | Fartullagh | 39,588| 29,938 | | Fore | 39,340| 22,922 | | Kilkenny, West | 37,627| 20,047 | | Moyashel and Magheraderman | 42,845 | 35,751 | | Moyashel | 47,333| 30,300 | | Moyglish | 40,277| 24,907 | | Rathoconnath | 48,415| 34,477 | | Total | 453,473| 306,803 |

These are subdivided into sixty-two parishes, of which fifty-nine are in the diocese of Meath, and three in that of Ardagh. Westmeath was represented in the Irish Parliament by ten members, two for the county, and two for each of the boroughs of Athlone, Fore, Kilheggan, and Mullingar. By the arrangements under the union act, all the boroughs were disfranchised, except Athlone, which belongs only partially to this county, one half of it being in Roscommon; it now returns one member.

The county is in the home circuit. The assizes are held at Mullingar. General sessions of the peace are held four times in the year at Mullingar, Delvin, and Moate. The county infirmary is in Mullingar, a fever hospital at Castlepollard, and fifteen dispensaries in various places. Lunatics are sent to the district asylum at Maryborough, where forty patients from the county are received. The poor-law unions of Athlone, Delvin, and Mullingar are seated in Westmeath, but part of the county is comprised in the neighbouring unions of Granard and Tullamore. The County Infirmary and the District Lunatic Asylum for the counties of Meath, Westmeath, and Longford are in Mullingar.

All kinds of grain thrive well in this productive soil, but the cultivation of wheat and barley has of late years much diminished. Limestone gravel, which is to be had in abundance in most parts, is the usual manure. The fences are bad, except in the demesnes of the gentry. The low lands and valleys produce abundance of rich grass; from which cause, and as the management of cattle has been found more profitable and less laborious than tillage, most of the land in the county is assigned to the former department of rural economy. The extent of land under each description of crop in Westmeath in 1849 and 1859 was:

| Crops | 1849 Acres | 1859 Acres | |------------------------|------------|------------| | Wheat | 10,271 | 3,107 | | Oats | 59,424 | 47,947 | | Barley, bere, rye, beans, and peas | 6,478 | 829 | | Potatoes | 9,053 | 20,457 | | Turnips | 7,562 | 5,589 | | Other green crops | 2,685 | 2,942 | | Flax | 81 | 278 | | Meadow and clover | 35,359 | 41,535 | | **Total** | **130,913**| **122,684**|

Great attention is paid to the breeds of cattle, which, both great and small, are purchased chiefly at the fairs of Ballinasloe. The long-horned cows are preferred, as being large and good milkers. The breed of horses is excellent. Many are brought young from Connaught, and reared here till fit for the market. Dairies are frequent, and butter is made in large quantities.

The quantity of live stock in the county in 1859 was:

- Horses: 14,771 - Sheep: 135,904 - Cattle: 83,699 - Pigs: 18,044

Like most other parts of the island, timber was abundant until destroyed by a lavish and improvident use of it, which made no provision for a fresh supply. The deficiency is severely felt; but here, as elsewhere, great exertions are making to remedy it by young plantations, which are now rising in many parts.

The manufactures are not, nor were they ever, of any magnitude; the making of woollen and linen cloths being almost wholly confined to the domestic demand, and the operations carried on in the farmers' houses. Fish is abundant in the lakes and rivers. Bream, trout, pike, and eels are taken in the Inny; salmon in the same river and in the Brosna. The gooske, a fish about the size of the herring, is found in Lough Dergereagh; a thin-shelled mussel in some of the bogs. The Royal Canal passes through the central part of the county from east to west; a branch of the Grand Canal proceeds from near Philipstown, in King's county, to Kilbeggan. There are branches of the National Bank in Athlone, Moate, and Mullingar, a branch of the Provincial Bank in Athlone, and one of the Hibernian Bank in Mullingar. In 1858 there remained three loan societies which circulated £17,018 in 4625 loans. Under the direction of the late Commissioners for Railroads in Ireland, a survey was made of a line from Dublin, to enter the county near Killucan, and to proceed to Mullingar, whence it was to diverge in two branches, the one north-west through Longford to Sligo, the other westward through Athlone to Galway. Under the name of the Midland Great Western, the line from Dublin to Galway, 126½ miles, was finally completed in 1851, and branches have since been opened from Mullingar to Longford and Cavan.

A considerable number of the landed proprietors reside on their own property; hence the county contains many elegant mansions and villas, surrounded by well-planted demesnes, which add very much to the natural beauties of the landscape. In the demesne of Mount d'Alton is an obelisk 50 feet high, erected in honour of the Empress Maria Theresa, the Emperor Joseph, and King George III., by a late member of the d'Alton family, who formerly resided here. An obelisk of similar dimensions stands on the estate of Lowville, near Kilkenny-west. The character of the middle and lower classes is generally represented as superior in intelligence to that of the inhabitants of the adjoining county of Meath. The peasantry are described as being lively, intelligent, and quick-witted; hasty in their tempers, and prone to litigation; unwilling to deviate from the habits and customs of their forefathers; lax in their ideas of morality towards their superiors, but rigidly observant of the engagements voluntarily entered into with one another, and of the religious observances imposed on them by their clergy. A disinclination to improvement in their farms, and to domestic neatness, is also observable. The cottages are ill constructed and badly furnished, the roofs being made of boughs of trees with the leaves on, covered with sods of turf or peat called scraws, and thatched with straw. Many are without chimneys, the place of which is supplied by a hole in the roof. The furniture consists of a deal table, a few stools, an iron pot, and a dresser, with a few plates and dairy utensils. Yet their clothing is comfortable, usually of home-made gray or drab frieze. The favourite garment of the men is a large, loose coat, wrapped up in which they go to the fairs and markets even during the heat of summer, followed by their wives, who transact most of the business there. The women spin the wool and flax for their clothing, perform the household work, and take a large share in the labours of the field. The use of the Irish language is almost discontinued; in 1851 but one person was returned as speaking Irish only, and the entire Irish-speaking population amounted to no more than 920.

Many remains of antiquity still exist. The parish of Rathconrath takes its name from a rath or moat 470 feet in height and of peculiar construction; besides which, nine of smaller size have been discovered within its boundaries. A still more remarkable pile of the same kind exists at Ballymore. It had originally been a Danish fort, and its position was so well chosen for military purposes, that it was strongly fortified by the Irish in the wars of 1641 and 1688. After its capture by the English in the latter period, it was made the head-quarters of General Ginkel when preparing to besiege Athlone. A third, called the Fort of Turgesius, as being the reputed place of residence of the Danish monarch of that name during his reign in Ireland, is to be seen near Lough Lene, one of the most picturesque of the many lakes of Westmeath. The ruins of ancient castles are also visible in many places. The origin of several of them can be traced back to Hugh de Lacy, the first lord palatine of the county. His chief place of residence was at Kilbixy, where he had a large and well-fortified castle, and where also stood a town of such importance as to be governed by a mayor or sovereign, and burgesses, with their usual appendages of inferior officers. The site of the former is now merely matter of conjecture; and the privileges, and consequently the importance, of the latter were transferred to Mullingar. The castle of Ardnamurcher, or Horseleap, as it is called in allusion to a popular legend, is noted in history as being the place where the same De Lacy was treacherously killed by one of his own menials. The castles of Sonnagh, Rathwire, and Killare, were built by the same nobleman. In the barony of Moycashel are the remains of several castles formerly possessed by the McGeoghegans, the ancient proprietors of the soil. Some of the old monastic buildings have been converted into parochial places of worship, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. The ruins of a few are still in existence, but the locality of many others is now matter of conjecture. The ruins of Tristeragh Abbey, called also the Priory of Kilbixy, and founded by one of Hugh de Lacy's immediate successors, were visible till the year 1783, when they were totally destroyed. Near them are the remains of the chapel of Templecross, which, though of inferior note as a structure of monastic celebrity, is memorable from being the place where the corp-naomh, or blessed body, a relic of extraordinary sanctity, was found. The relic consists of a wooden box about the size of a small Bible, clasped with bands of brass, studded with valuable stones, and Westmeath marked with a crucifix. Its contents, if any, are unknown. It was used as a test of evidence. An oath on the corona was considered an act of peculiar solemnity; a pledge which, if given in support of a falsehood, was supposed to bring down on the guilty person some visitation of dreadful consequence. Such is the respect paid even to its name, that if any one asserts what he wishes to be received with implicit credit, he aver its truth "by the corona that arose at Templecross." The site of the Abbey of Multiernan can still be traced by its ruins. It lies about four miles north of Tristernagh, and is singularly remarkable as being in possession of the Franciscan friars till the commencement of the year 1641, notwithstanding the total suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII., upwards of a century before. For some years previous to the breaking out of the civil wars at the above-mentioned period, it had been much frequented by visitors of every description, who went thither, as was said, to arrange the plans of the ensuing insurrection. The unusual assemblage of strangers is also said to have excited such apprehensions in the mind of the then Bishop of Ardagh, that he removed with all his property to England, and thus escaped the calamities with which so many who continued to reside in the country were visited. There were three religious houses at Mullingar, belonging respectively to the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians. At Kilkenny-west are the relics of a preceptory of the Knights of St John.

The population of Westmeath is so exclusively rural, that Mullingar, with a population in 1851 of 5026, is the only town containing more than 2000 inhabitants. It is situate nearly in the centre of the county and of Ireland, at the junction of the barony of Fertullagh with that of Moyashel and Magheraderman, on the stream of the Golden Arm, about midway between Loughs Owell and Ennell. It was one of the ancient palatinate towns of the county, and suffered much by the ravages committed during the petty wars with the Irish. In the war of 1688 it was fortified by General Ginkel, and was for some time the head-quarters of the English army. Though it obtained a charter, it enjoyed none of the usual corporate rights, except that of returning two members to parliament, a privilege of which its proprietor or patron availed himself till the Union. It is the assize town, a large military station, and one of the most important stations on the Midland Great Western Railway. Four general sessions of the peace are held here. It is the site of the county court-house, prison, lunatic asylum, and infirmary, and has a large church, and a Roman Catholic chapel capable of holding 6000 persons, which is considered to be the cathedral of the diocese; the parish, with two others and a part of a third, being the mensal of the bishop, who resides in the town. The Union Workhouse and extensive infantry barrack are a short distance from the town. The vicinity of the Royal Canal, which passes close to the northern side of the town, and on which boats ply regularly to Shannon harbour and the station of the Midland Great Western Railway, has made the place the centre of an increasing inland trade. It holds a weekly market and four fairs during the year. Large quantities of butter are brought to the former, and the latter are great marts for wool, horned cattle, and pigs; the November fair is for horses. One half of the town of Athlone is in this county, and was formerly connected with the other half, lying on the Roscommon side, by a long bridge over the Shannon, so narrow that two carriages could with difficulty pass each other; but this check upon the communication between the two provinces of Leinster and Connaught has been obviated by the erection of a magnificent stone bridge, which was opened for traffic in 1844. The property of the extinct corporation is vested in town commissioners. Athlone returned two members to the Irish parliament, and since the union one to the imperial parliament. The number of electors in 1832 was 243; in 1859, 225. It is a place of great antiquity, being known as such before the settlement of the English; and after their arrival a castle was erected here by King John, to secure the main pass of the Shannon, which was deemed of such importance, that in a grant of the whole of Ireland by Henry III. to his son Edward, Athlone was specially excepted. It afterwards was the seat of government for the lord president of Connaught. In the war of 1642 it was taken by the Irish after a stubborn and protracted resistance, but subsequently retaken by the parliamentary army. In the war of 1688 it was invested by King William's forces under General Douglas, who was forced to raise the siege by means of the gallant defence of Colonel Grace; but it was soon after taken by storm by General Ginkel, in the face of the Irish army commanded by St Ruth. In 1697, the magazine was struck by lightning, and the castle and town nearly destroyed. It is still considered of such importance in a military point of view, that it has been secured by strong works on the Roscommon side, covering 15 acres and containing two magazines, an ordnance store, an armory for 15,000 stand of arms, and barracks for 1500 men. The population of that part of Athlone which is situated in Westmeath is 3513. The only other town whose number of inhabitants exceeds 1000 is Moate, which had in 1851 a population of 1979 souls.