Parsons town

(anc. Birr ). A considerable inland town on the river Brosna, in King’s Co., Ireland, 69 miles west-southwest from Dublin. Birr was the scene of many important events, both in the Irish and in the post-invasion period. The castle, which was anciently the seat of the O’Carrols, was granted by Henry II. to Philip de Worcester; but it frequently changed masters, and even alternated between English and Irish hands. Through the entire period of the civil wars it was constantly disputed, until after 1690, when the Parsons family was finally established in po e ion of the castle and adjoining lands. Parsons town is a large military station.