KILMEAN, or KILMAIN, a parish, in the barony of ATHLONE, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CONNAUGHT, 3 miles (S. S. E.) from Roscommon, on the road to Athlone; containing 2678 inhabitants. This parish comprises 6061 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the soil is light, and the system of agriculture not much improved; there is a small quantity of bog. Limestone of very good quality is quarried and much used in the neighbourhood for building, and for manufacturing into mantel-pieces; a small pottery is also carried on, which is supplied with clay found in the vicinity. The only gentlemen's seats are Moate Park, the residence of Lord Crofton, a substantial building of limestone, situated in a richly wooded demesne, and commanding from some high hills in the grounds extensive views of the Shannon and surrounding country; and Ballymurry House, the pleasant residence of Capt. E. W. Kelly. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Elphin, constituting part of the union of Killenvoy; the rectory is impropriate in the Incorporated Society. The tithes amount to £126. 14., half payable to the impropriators and half to the vicar. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of St. John's; the chapel, a plain thatched building, is in the townland of Curroy. There is a place of worship for the Society of Friends. A school is supported under the patronage of Lord Crofton; and there are four private schools, in which are about 280 children. In the demesne of Moate Park are the remains of an old church, the cemetery of which is still used.

(Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837); Transcription © Derek Rowlinson, 2005-10. Reproduced from LibraryIreland. We are deeply grateful to LibraryIreland for allowing us to use their transcription.)