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TUOSIST

"TUOSIST, or KILMACOLOGUE a parish, in the barony of GLANEROUGH, county of KERRY, and province of MUNSTER, 12 miles (S. W.) from Kenmare, on the bay of that name; containing 6376 inhabitants. This parish is considered to be one of the wildest and most irreclaimable districts in the county: it is seperated on the south-east from the county of Cork by a range of lofty and almost impassable mountains, and extends for about nine miles along the southern shore of the great estuary, or bay of Kenmare, an inlet of which, called Ardgroom Harbour, forms its boundary to the south-west.
By ancient computation the parish, which is entirely the property of the Marquess of Lansdowne, comprises 97½ gneeves, or upwards of 40,000 statute acres, consisting chiefly of rocky mountain and bog; in the hollows among the mountains are several lakes, some of which are extremely picturesque, and near the bay is one of considerable size called Lough Cloney.
There is a considerable domestic manufacture of coarse flannel, which is chiefly sold in the town of Kenmare; and several of the inhabitants are occassionally employed in the fishery of the bay: at Ardea is a good salmon fishery. The small bay or harbour of Kilmacalogue affords shelter to vessels of considerable size.
The parish is in the diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and is a rectory, forming part of the union of Kenmare.
In the R. C. divisions it forms the head of a union or district, called Lochort, or Carks, comprising also that part of Kenmare lying on the south side of the river, and containing the chapels of Daurus and Deireen. At Ardea is a house for the priest, built by the Marquess of Lansdowne, who has also, in conjunction with the National Board, lately erected school-houses at Carks and Cloney.
The ruins of the old church still exist in the burial-ground near the harbour of Kilmacalogue; and at Lochurt are the remains of a druidical circle. In the vicinity of Ardea is Lough Quinlan, in which are some remarkable little floating islands. "
[From A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis (1837)]

Cemetaries

The old parish burial ground is at Kilmakilloge.

Census

Note: The Civil Parish of Tuosist ceased to be used for census purposes in the mid nineteenth century when District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) were introduced.

Tuosist is now contained in three DEDs:

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Church History

The Church of Ireland parish of Tuosist (or Kilmackelogue) was made part of the parish of Kenmare in 1673.

The Roman Catholic Parish of Tuosist consists of most of the Civil Parish of Tuosist and seems to have seperated from Kenmare parish in 1838. There are two churches in the parish - Saint Killian's Church, Lauragh built in 1866 and Dauros church built in 1829.

Church Records

The Church of Ireland parish registers (Kenmare) for baptisms, marriages and burials date from 1799.

The Catholic Registers start on April 22nd 1844 for both marriages and baptisms, but with pages missing. Before 1838 the registers for the parish of Templenoe, Kenmare and Douros should be consulted. These date back to 1819.
The registers remain in the custody of the parish priest, although microfilm copies are at the National Archives of Ireland. Written permission from the Bishop of Kerry is required to view these records.

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Civil Registration

From 1863 Tuosist was part of the Kenmare Registration District, and the Tuosist Registrar's District. See the Registration Districts page.
The District Electoral Divisions listed above are used for civil registration.

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Maps

A Modern Map of the Parish of Tuosist from www.tuosist.com
A Map showing the Townlands of Tuosist from Rootsweb
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Poor Law

The Parish was part of the Kenmare Poor Law Union.
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[Last updated: 04-Nov-2004 10:13 AM - Laurence Jones]