“The Ancient and Present state of the County and City of Cork” by Charles Smith M.D. (published 1749)

Description of Newmarket and Kanturk taken from the above. This account was written c1749.

“Five measured English miles west of Kanturk is Newmarket, the last place of note in the north-west part of the county. It is adorned with a stately house of Boyle Aldworth esq. composed of two regular fronts of hewn stone, which stands on the south-east of the town. Newmarket consists of one regular street and is a considerable thoroughfare into the county of Kerry. In it are some well looking houses and a decent parish Church. To the west of this place and on the left hand side of the road to Blackwater Bridge stands Castle MacAuliff formerly the chief seat of the sept, and there is also another of their castles at Carrigacushin a mile north-east of Newmarket”

“The town of Kanturk is in a thriving condition, several well built houses have been erected in it, there is a neat market-house but no church nearer than Newmarket. It is tolerably well peopled by persons employed in the worsted manufacture.”