Ballynamanagh East

Catherine O'Dowd, Hedy Gibbons Lynott

Clarinbridge Heritage

Townland name:

According to the Placenames Database of Ireland (1), the townland name is Ballynamanagh East (Baile na Manach Thoir) meaning “town of the monks”. The earliest recorded spelling of the townland is from over 400 years ago in Inq. Temp. Eliz. during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Here it is listed as Ballynamanagh or Munkstowne. This spelling of Ballynamanagh is also listed on an old map dated 1793 and the Quit Rent Ledger. The townland is listed variously as Ballynamanagh E. (County Registry 1820); Ballynamanna E. (Sketch Map; A.F.St.George Esq); Ballynemannagh (County Book); Ballymannagh E. (County Map), Ballinamanna E. (High Constable for the Barony; Clerk of the Peace); and Ballynamanna (Rev. T. E. Gill, Oranmore),

Situation:

The townland of Ballynamanagh East lies to the west of the village of Clarinbridge in County Galway. It is is the civil parish of Ballinacourty, in the barony of Dunkellin. It is located in the east of the parish and is bordered by the townlands of Hillpark and Tonroe to the east, Derry and Creganna More to the north, and Ballinamanagh West to the west. It is bordered on the south by Dunbulcan bay and the Clarin river, which run into Galway Bay.

Down Survey

The Down Survey name of the townland is given as Balleamannagh in the parish of Ballynecourt. The owner in 1641 and again in 1670 is listed as Sir Richard Blake (Catholic).

O’Donovan’s Field Name Books (1838)

In the 1830s, the land was valued at £4.18s per acre. According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books of 1838, the proprietor of the townland was Thos. Reddington (sic), Esq., Kilcornan, whose agent was Mr Jn. O’Flaherty Esq., Moirehill (sic) near Headford. It is described as having being held by eight farmers who were tenants at will (2) and paid between £1 and £1 8s per acre. The soil was described as being of a gravely nature and very rocky. The houses were built of stone and in good repair. Approximately 170 acres were uncultivated including an area of bog on the west side of the townland. Cahirgall Fort, containing a burial ground, is listed as being in the townland, as is a river to the west, called by the townland name.

It is interesting to note that in 1901, over sixty years later (and again in 1911), there are still eight dwellings listed for Ballynamanagh East.

Griffiths Valuation (1855)

According to the Griffiths Valuation of 1855 Ballynamanagh East covered an area of 591 acres, 3 roods and 13 perches. Of this land, 588 acres 0 roods and 17 perches were owned by Sir Thomas N. Redington, K.C.B, and 3 acres, 2 roods and 36 perches were owned by Patrick Fahy.

The property owned by Patrick Fahy was rented to Timothy Mahon. This comprised a house, an office and land at a valuation of £1.15s.0d for the land, and 15s.0d for the buildings, bringing the total valuation of the property to £2.10s. 0d.

The remainder of tenants were Thomas Redington’s and were identified as:

John Redington

Patrick Fahy

Timothy Mahon

William Ryder

Patrick Ryder

James Barrett

Patrick Lynch

John Molloy

James Hood

William Morris

Peter Linskey (sic)

Patrick Persse

Michael Corles (sic)

John Clarke

John Mullins

Patrick Byrne

John Caven

Patrick Burke

John Redington rented land of 46 acres 3 roods and 0 perches from Thomas Redington at a value of £12.0s.0d.

Patrick Fahy rented an office at a valuation of 10s.0d, and 171 acres 3 roods and 27 perches at a valuation of £80.0s.0d. from Thomas Redington, bringing the total valuation to £80.10s.0d.

Timothy Mahon, as well as being a tenant of Patrick Fahy (see above) also rented 12 acres 0 roods and 20 perches from Thomas Redington at a valuation of £4.15s.0d.

William Ryder rented 16 acres 1 rood and 38 perches at an annual valuation of £8.0s.0d. and a house with valuation of £1.5s.0d. from Thomas Redington making a total of £9.5s.0d.

Patrick Ryder rented 3 acres 1 rood and 4 perches from Thomas Redington at a valuation of £2.0s.0d. and a house at a valuation of £1.0s.0d. The total annual valuation was £3.0s.0d.

James Barrett rented a house, offices and 68 acres 1 rood 2 perches from Thomas Redington at a total valuation of £32.10s.d. The buildings’ valuation was £2.10s.0d and the land valuation was £30.0s.0d.

Patrick Lynch rented 42 acres 2 roods and 28 perches from Thomas Redington at valuation of £20.0s.0d. He also rented a further 14 acres 1 rood 13 perches from the same landlord with a valuation £7.10s.0d, and an office and buildings with a valuation of 5s.0d. The latter holding had a total valuation of £7.15s.0d.

John Molloy rented 4 acres 2 roods 10 perches from Thomas Redington with a valuation of £2.10s.0d.

James Hood rented 3 acres 2 roods and 8 perches from Thomas Redington with a valuation of £2.0s.0d.

William Morris rented 3 acres 1 rood and 17 perches from Thomas Redington with a valuation of £2.0s.0d.

Peter Linskey rented 7 acres 2 roods and 15 perches at a valuation of £4.0s.d. and a house with a valuation of 10s.0d from Thomas Redington. The total valuation was £4.10s.0d.

Patrick Persse rented 1 acres 3 roods 20 perches at a valuation £1.0s.0d. and house with a valuation of 10s.0d from Thomas Redington. The total valuation was £1.10s.0d.

Michael Corles and John Clarke rented 4 acres 1 rood and 27 perches jointly from Thomas Redington. Michael Corles’ land valuation was £1.15s.0d. The valuation of John Clarke’s was £1.1s.0d annually. Michael Corles also held a house and office on this land from Thomas Redington for which the valuation was 10s.0d, bringing his total valuation to £2.5s.0d.

John Mullins rented 11 acres 1 rood and 20 perches from Thomas Redington for which he paid a valuation of £5.15s.0d. An office in the process of being built was not valued.

Patrick Byrne had three separate holdings. The first was a house, offices and 39 acres 3 roods and 25 perches rented from Thomas Redington, with valuations of £15.0s.0d. for the land and £2.10s.0d for the buildings. The total valuation for this holding was £17.10s.0d. He had two further holdings of land, one of 11acres 0 roods and 12 perches at valuation of £6. 15s.0d. and the other of 6 acres 0 roods 22 perches at a valuation of £3.15s.0d. A vacant house, which appears to have been owned by Patrick Byrne himself, had a valuation of £1.0s.0d.

John Caven rented a house, offices and 99 acres 6 roods 26 perches from Thomas Redington. The land valuation was £50.0s.0d. and buildings had valuation of £4.0s.0d, bringing the total valuation to £54.0s.0d.

Patrick Burke had two holdings, one of a house, offices and 5 acres 3 roods and 33 perches, rented from Thomas Redington. The land valuation was £3.5s.0d, and that for the buildings was £1.10s.0d, with a total valuation of £4.15s.0d. He also rented a further 10 acres 1 rood and 10 perches with a valuation of £7.0s.0d. from Thomas Redington.

1901 Census

The census was taken on Sunday 31^st March 1901. At this time there were eight dwellings in Ballynamanagh East, all of which were inhabited and there was one family per dwelling. All residents were Roman Catholic and all were born in County Galway. Forty-eight people lived in the townland, of whom 26 were male and 22 female.

All the houses were completed (built) and were private dwellings. In all cases the walls were made of stone, brick or concrete. Two of the houses were roofed with slate, iron or tiles and the remaining six had a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. One house was a 1^st class dwelling and the remaining seven were 2^nd class. The head of the household were the landholders in all cases but one – for house no. 8 John Connaughton was head of the family and John Fahy was the landowner.

There were 20 out-offices and farm-steadings comprising four stables, seven cow houses, three piggeries, five barns and one shed.

The heads of households were

John Fahy

Patrick Hynes

Henry Halloran

Peter Lynskey

Bedelia Keaven

Michael Ryder

Patrick Ryder

John Connaughton

John Fahy (68) was a farmer. He lived with his wife Ellen Fahy (53) and their children Patrick Fahy (30), Delia Fahy (28), Helena Fahy (24), and Sarah Fahy (17). Helena was a teacher and Sarah, a scholar. Ellen is described as a farmer’s wife and Patrick and Delia are a farmer’s son and farmer’s daughter respectively. All four children were unmarried. All the family could read and write. No entry is made in the Irish Language section, indicating that all the family members spoke English only. The Fahys lived in a 1^st class house with seven rooms occupied by the family of six. The house had eight front windows and a roof of slate, iron or tiles. There were four out-buildings – a cow house, a piggery, a barn, and a stable.

Patrick Hynes (46) was a widowed farmer who lived with four sons John Hynes (21), Patrick Hynes (16), Martin Hynes (14), and Thomas Hynes (11), and one daughter Winifred Hynes (9), all of whom were unmarried. John, Patrick Jnr and Martin were described as farmer’s sons; Thomas and Winifred were scholars. Patrick Snr, Martin, Thomas and Winifred could read and write, while John and Patrick Jnr could read.

Also in the house was Barbara Beatty (60) who was a widowed domestic servant. She could not read. All occupants of the house spoke Irish and English. The family lived in a 2^nd class house with seven rooms occupied by six people. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were three out-buildings: a cow house, a barn, and a stable.

Henry Halloran (72) was a farmer living with his wife Mary Halloran (60), described as a housekeeper, and their children Edward Halloran (37), William Halloran (28), Laurence Halloran (24), Thomas Halloran (22) and Mary Halloran (21). All the children were unmarried. Henry could not read, Mary and Edward could read only and the others could read and write. All spoke Irish and English. The Hallorans lived in a 2^nd class house with three rooms occupied by the family of seven. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were five out-buildings: a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a barn, and a shed.

Peter Lynskey (75) was a labourer who lived with his wife Mary Lynskey (73) and his unmarried sons Patt Lynskey (sic) (30) and John Lynskey (28), also labourers. Peter and Mary could read only, while Patt and John could read and write. All the family spoke Irish and English. The Lynskeys lived in a 2^nd class house with three rooms occupied by a family of seven. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There was one out-building, which was a cow house.

Bedelia Keaven (79) was a widowed farmer who lived with her unmarried daughters Catherine Keaven (45), Hanoria Keaven (42) and Margaret Keaven (38), all of whom were farmer’s daughters. Also in the house were Barthw(sic) Linnane (20) who worked as an agricultural labourer and Sarah Holmes (14) who was a domestic servant. Both servants were unmarried. All the occupants could read and write and all spoke Irish and English. The family house was a 1^st class house with nine rooms occupied by six people.The house had two windows to the front and a roof of slate, iron or tiles. There were four out-buildings: a stable, a cow house, a piggery, and a barn.

Michael Ryder (52) was a farmer who lived with his wife Bridget Ryder (47); his widowed mother Esther Ryder (74); his sons Thomas Ryder (19), Patrick Ryder (16), William Ryder (11), Michael Ryder (9); and his daughters Esther Ryder (13), Annie Ryder (7). Thomas was a farmer’s son; all the rest were scholars. All the children were unmarried.

Annie could read and all the others could read and write. William, Michael and Annie spoke only English, while the others spoke English & Irish. The Ryders lived in a 2^nd class house with two rooms occupied by the family of nine. The house had four front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were two out-buildings: a cow house and a barn.

Patrick Ryder (84) was a farmer living with his wife Kate Ryder (80) and their married son Darby Ryder (50), who was also a farmer. Patrick could read, Kate could not read and Darby could read and write. All three spoke Irish and English. The Ryders lived in a 2^nd class house with four rooms occupied by the family of three. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There was one out-building which was a cow house.

John Connaughton (51) was an agricultural labourer who lived with his wife Nappy Connaughton (50) and their daughters Bridget Connaughton (18) and Margaret Connaughton (8), and their sons James Connaughton (15) and John Connaughton (11). The children were all scholars and all could read and write. John Snr and Nappy could not read or write. All the family spoke Irish and English. The Connaughtons lived in a 2^nd class house owned by John Fahy. The house had three rooms occupied by the family of six with three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were no out-buildings.

1911 Census

The census was taken on Sunday 2^nd April 1911. At that time there were eight dwellings in the townland, seven of which were inhabited. There was one family per dwelling. All residents were Roman Catholic and all were born in County Galway. Twenty-five people lived in the townland of whom 14 were male and 22 female.

All the houses were completed (built) and were private dwellings. In all cases the walls were made of stone, brick or concrete. One house is listed as being roofed with slate, iron or tiles and six have a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. (The uninhabited house is not described). One dwelling is listed as 1^st class and the remaining six as 2^nd class. For the seven inhabited houses, the heads of the household are the landholders in all cases but one – for house no. 7 John Connaughton is head of the family and Patrick Fahy of Ballinamanagh E. is the landowner.

There are 40 out-offices and farm-steadings comprising eight stables, two coach houses, one harness room, six cow houses, one calf house, nine piggeries, four fowl houses, four barns, two turf houses, two potato houses and one shed.

The heads of households were

Patrick Fahy

Henry Halloran

John Lynskey

Michael Ryder

Darby Ryder

Patrick Hynes

John Connaughton

Patrick Fahy (46) was a single farmer living with his three unmarried sisters Delia Fahy (35), Helena Fahy (29) and Sarah Fahy (25). Helena was a national school teacher. Patrick, Delia and Sarah appear to have spoken only English, while Helena spoke Irish and English. All could read and write. The Fahys lived in a 1^st class house with eight rooms occupied by the family of four. The house had four front windows and a roof of slate, iron or tiles. There were nine out-buildings: two stables, a coach house, a cow house, two piggeries, a fowl house, a barn, and a turf house.

Harry Halloran (80) was a farmer living with his wife Mary Halloran (76). Henry and Mary were married for 54 years and had eight children, all of whom were still living. Their unmarried sons Ned Halloran (45) and Laurence Halloran (36) lived with them. Henry and Mary could not read, while Ned and Laurence could read only. All spoke Irish and English. The Hallorans lived in a 2^nd class house with four rooms occupied by the family of four. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were five out-buildings: a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house, and a barn.

John Lynskey (35) was a farmer who lived with his wife Nora Lynskey (30). They were married less than one year and had no children. Both could read and write and both spoke Irish and English. They lived in a 2^nd class house with four rooms occupied by two people. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were two out-buildings: a stable and a piggery.

Michael Ryder (64) was a farmer living with his wife Bridget Ryder (60). They had been married for 33 years and had eight children, all of whom were still living. Michael and Bridget lived with their sons William Ryder (20) and Michael Ryder (18) and their daughter Anne Ryder (16). All could read and write. The parents spoke Irish and English, while the children seem to have spoken only English. The Ryders lived in a 2^nd class house with seven rooms occupied by the family of five. The house had four front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were four out-buildings: a stable, a cow house, a piggery and a fowl house.

Darby Ryder (67) was a farmer who lived with his wife Catherine Ryder (69). It is not known how many years they had been married or whether they had children. Both could read and write and both spoke Irish and English. The Ryders lived in a 2^nd class house with three rooms occupied by the couple. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were two out-buildings: a stable and a piggery.

Patt Hynes (61) was a widowed farmer who lived with his unmarried children, Thomas Hynes (21) and Winney Hynes (18). Also in the house was John Cannon (43) who was a farm servant and was single. All could read and write and all spoke Irish and English. The family lived in a 2^nd class house with four rooms occupied by four people. The house had three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were six out-buildings: a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a barn, a potato house, and a shed.

John Connaughton (69) was a herd who lived with his wife Belendia Connaughton (70). They were married 40 years and had seven children, of whom four were still living. They lived with their unmarried children James Connaughton (30), a labourer, and Margaret Connaughton (27), both of whom were single. John and Belendia could not read and spoke both Irish and English. James and Margaret could both read and write and appear to have spoken only English. The Connaughtons lived in a 2^nd class house owned by Patrick Fahy of Ballinamanagh E. The house had three rooms occupied by the family of four, with three front windows and a roof of thatch, wood or other perishable materials. There were two out-buildings: a cow house, and a piggery

The house owned by Margaret Keaven of St Vincents Clontarf was unoccupied. This house had

ten out-buildings: a stable, a coach house, a harness room, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house, a barn, a turf house, and a potato house.