BALRUDDERY, 15 m. N. of Dublin, lies on the coach road, and, though but a village in decay, may form a temporary station for the tourist to examine the northern district; or he may stop at the Man of War Inn, 2 m. nearer to the capital. Balbriggan, is a good fishing village 2 m. distant; see Cotton Manufactory; and the mineralogist may examine the veins of sparry micaceous stone, of copper, and sulphur, recently discovered. Near the sea coast is Baldungan Castle, now a mass of ruins, having been taken and dismantled by Cromwell; yet enough remains to give interest to the legendary stories connected with it. Its architecture is of the 13th century, combining the domestic with the castellated form as a baronial residence, and said by tradition to have contained a nunnery and a friary within its walls, whose religious occupants sought protection here during the intestine warfare of early times. The situation is pleasant, with a most extensive view in all directions; and there still remain two large towers at the west end with a parapet in front that covers the passage between them, the whole richly mantled with ivy: besides which many of the domestic apartments may be traced in the adjoining building, the approach to which is by staircases in the towers, leading also to the battlements. See also the Chapel and cemetery. At Grace Dieu are some remains of a Nunnery (1190). Holm Patrick has some venerable remains of a Ch. dedicated to the tutelar saint, who made this place his residence. Naul, a small village 14 m. N. from Dublin, upon the borders of Eastmeath, deserves a visit to its very beautiful glen, whose romantic rocks, cascade, and rugged caves, are finely contrasted by the picturesque ruins of its ancient castle. See the waterfall called the Roches, and ruins of Snowton Castle. Patrick's Isle has the ruins of an ancient Ch.