Lissan

LISSAN, or LISANE, a parish, partly in the barony of DUNGANNON, county of TYRONE, and partly in that of LOXJGHINSHOLIN, county of LONDONDERRY, and province of ULSTER, 3 miles (N. by E.) from Cookstown, on the road to Moneymore and on that from Omagh to Belfast; containing 6163 inhabitants. This parish, which is bounded on the north by the mountain of Slieve Gallion, comprises, according to the Ordnance survey, 24,684½ statute acres, including 147¾ in Lough Fea, and of which 12,917½ are in the county of Tyrone. The greater portion is in the manor of Ardtrea, belonging to the see of Armagh, and part is in the manor of Moneymore and the property of the Drapers' Company of London. In the war of 1641, the castle, which at that time was the property of the Staples family, to whom it was granted on the plantation of Ulster, was seized by Nial O'Quin for Sir Phelim O'Nial, who plundered the house of Sir Thomas Staples while rendezvousing at Moneymore castle, and compelled the men employed in his iron-works on the Lissan water to make pikes and pike-heads from the stores of their master. The land is mountainous and boggy; about one-third is under tillage and produces excellent crops, and the remainder affords good pasture; the system of agriculture is improved, and much of the bog is of valuable quality; limestone abounds and is extensively quarried for agricultural uses. The mountain of Slieve Gallion has an elevation of 1730 feet above the level of the sea; the surrounding scenery is strongly diversified and in some parts very picturesque. The principal seats are Lissan Park, the residence of Sir Thos. Staples, Bart., a noble mansion in an extensive demesne embellished with thriving plantations, an artificial sheet of water with cascades, and a picturesque bridge, built by the celebrated Dueart; Muff House, of the Rev. J. Molesworth Staples; and Crieve, of W. Maygill, Esq. The linen manufacture is carried on to a great extent by the whole of the population, who combine it with agricultural pursuits.

The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, and in the patronage of the Lord-Primate: the tithes amount to £500. The glebe-house was built at an expense of £1313. 14. 5,, of which £100 was a gift and £650 a loan from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1807, and the remainder was paid by the incumbent; the glebe comprises 87¼ statute acres, valued at £67.10. per annum.

The church is a plain and very ancient structure, with an east window of stained glass. In the R. C.

divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also part of the parish of Desertlyn; the chapel is a neat edifice. About 400 children are taught in five public schools, of which the parochial school, for which a house was built by the Rev. J. M. Staples, at an expense of £500, and a school at Grouse Lodge, for which a house was built by Mrs. Wright, who endowed it with an acre of land, are supported under the trustees of Erasmus Smith's charity; a school at Crevagh was built and is supported by Sir T. Staples, Bart., and one at Donaghbreaghy is aided by the Drapers' Company.

There are also a private school, in which are about 30 children, and four Sunday schools.

from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837.