On the State of Ireland.
55
gross income of the See is 4,308l. 2s. 3d., the net 3,664l. 16s. 4d. The total gross income of the benefices is 30,717l.. 11s. 11d., net income 24,504l. 4s. 4d., giving an average net income per benefice of 243l. 7s. 5d. If we add the tithes, disappropriated from the See, and the value of the deanery lands of Clonmacnoise (1,686l. 4s. 9d.), with the revenue of the five suspended parishes (475l.. 7s.), the gross total of the ecclesiastical revenues of Meath will amount to 37,187l. The total population of the Established Church, for which this provision is made, is 15,869, giving 151 souls for each benefice; the Roman Catholic population being 221,553, or 2,110 souls for each benefice. The diocese contains only 1,865 Dissenters. Without counting the bishop's income, the endowment per head of the Church population is, gross, 1l. 18s. 8d.; net, 1l. 10s. 10d. This is exclusive of 240 persons, who form the Church population of fourteen impropriate parishes, in which there is no provision for the cure of souls; and of twenty-nine persons who form the Church population of five suspended parishes; and of 151 members of the Established Church, who are inmates of public institutions, whose spiritual wants are otherwise provided for by the State. If these be added, the gross population is 16,289.
The following table relates to the four united Dioceses of Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh.
Diocese | No. of benefices |
Net Income | Average for each Incumbent |
Cost per head of Church Population | Total Population | Established Church Population |
Proportion of Church Members to entire Population | ||
£ | £ | £ | s. | d. | per cent | ||||
Killaloe | 67 | 14,055 | 209 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 225,096 | 12,700 | 5 |
Kilfenora | 7 | 1,416 | 202 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 23,042 | 251 | 1 |
Clonfert | 13 | 3,080 | 237 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 64,143 | 2,521 | 4 |
Kilmacduagh | 4 | 1,603 | 400 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 42,798 | 434 | 1 |
Total for united diocese | 91 | 20,154 | 221 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 355,079 | 15,906 |