Ballygarraun South

Civil parish of Athenry

Anna Bourke/Galway County Council Heritage office

Ballygarraun South

Ballygarraun South, Baile and Gharráin Theas

Ballygurraun is situated ½ a mile West of Athenry, bounded on the North and West by Ballygurraun South and West, by Ballygurraun West, South by Newford and East by Prospect and Raheen.

The Down Survey map provides no record of this townland and indicates the map of the barony of Athenry was destroyed in 1711.

O’Donavan’s Field Name books provide various spellings of this townland: Ballygurraun South, Laragate, Ballygurraun South B. S. Sketch Map, Ballygurraun Barony Map, Ballygurraun County Map, Ballygurrane called Laragate Vestry Book 1826.

Griffith’s Valuation 1855

According to Griffith’s Valuation 1855, James Perry leased tenements to Michael Hennelly, John Holloran, Michael Collins, Thomas Dunleavy, Thomas Clasby, and John Carey. Both James Perry and the Mid.G.W.Railway Co. were listed as ‘in Fee’. In fee were freehold tenures, derived from a grant from the crown.

Michael Hennelly paid rent of £50-17-0 for 62 acres, 4 roods, and 2 perches of land, and a herd’s house. John Holloran and Michael Collins both paid £6-8-0 for their joint ownership of 3 acres, 1 rood, and 14 perches of land. Thomas Dunlevy paid £8-10-0 for 15 acres, 4 roods, and 27 perches worth of land. Thomas Clasby paid the same amount of tax for his 14 acres, 11 roods, and 19 perches of land. John Carey paid £12-0-0 for 22 acres, 3 roods, and 35 perches for his land, house, and offices. James perry paid £45-15-0 for land, Herd’s house, and offices coming to 97 acres, 10 roods, and 29 perches. Mid.G.W.Railway Co. paid £8-12-0 for 8 acres, 2 roods, and 17 perches for a Railway.

1901 Census

There were 6 households in Ballygarraun South in 1901. There were 26 inhabitants, 17 were male and 9 were female. All the occupants were Roman Catholic and originated from County Galway except Thomas McInerney [SIC] and his cousins James and Gertrude Sinnott who originated from India. The heads of households were: Honor Mullins, Patrick Cawley, James Loughrane, John Commons, Thomas Feeney, and Thomas McInerney [SIC]. The census forms, which were collected on the 3rd April 1901, showed that all the houses were listed as private dwellings. Each house roof was made of slate, Iron, or tiles, while all of the walls were made from stone, brick, or concrete. All the houses in the townland had 3 rooms.

Honor Mullins (77) lived with her single son John (30) who was an agricultural labourer. Honor was a widowed general domestic servant and they both spoke Irish and English, and neither could read. They lived in a 3rd class house with 3 rooms and 1 front window. Her house and 1 out-office/ farm-steading were situated on land that Loughrea Boards of Guardians owned.

Patrick Cawley (43) was an agricultural labourer. Patrick and his wife Honor (35) spoke Irish and English while their 3 children Thomas (10), Martin (8), and Mary (6) spoke only English. Neither of the parents could read and write but all three children could. The three children’s occupations were listed as scholars while Honor was a general domestic servant. His house with 2 front windows and 1 out-office/ farm-steading was situated on land that Loughrea Boards of Guardians owned.

James Loughrane (60) was a single agricultural labourer. He was able to read and write and spoke Irish and English. He lived alone in his 3rd class house with 2 front-facing windows. The land that his house and 1 out-office/ farm-steading resided on was owned by Loughrea Boards of Guardians.

John Commons (50) was listed as an agricultural labourer. He was married to Winnifred (45) who worked as a general domestic servant and lived with their son John (15) and daughter Winnifred (17) who were both scholars. Neither of the parents could write while both children could read and write. Everyone in the house spoke both English and Irish and resided in a 2nd class house with 2 front windows. The Loughrea Boards of Guardians owned the terrain his house and 1 out-office/ farm-steading was situated on.

Thomas Feeney (43) was an agricultural labourer. He was married to Bridget (40) who worked as a general domestic servant. They lived with their 6 sons Michael (19) a rural postman, Thomas (17) an agricultural labourer, Denis (15) a scholar, William (11) a scholar, Patrick (4), Joseph (1 month), and 2 daughters Mary B (9) a scholar and Kate (7) a scholar. Everyone in the house over the age of 7 could read and write and although the 4 oldest people in the house spoke both Irish and English the rest all spoke English. They lived in a 3rd class house with 1 front window. The land that his house and 1 out-office/ farm-steading resided on was owned by Loughrea Boards of Guardians.

Thomas Mc Inerney [SIC] (63) was an army pensioner in the infantry. He was widowed and lived with his single son Thomas (27) who worked as a rural postman. He also resided with his niece Gertrude Sinnott (17) and nephew James Sinnott (14). Thomas and his cousins were all born in India, Gertrude and James from Madras, India, and Thomas from Rangoon, E India. The head of house Thomas originated from County Galway. All but the head of household, Thomas was able to read and write and Thomas and his son spoke Irish and English while his niece and nephew only spoke English. The Loughrea Boards of Guardians owned the terrain his 2nd class house with 2 front windows and 1 out-office/ farm-steading was situated on.

1911 Census                                                                                                                                                                   There were 6 households in Ballygarraun South in 1911. 6 individuals were listed as head of household. A total of 23 inhabitants were recorded, 14 male and 9 female. All the residents in this townland were from County Galway and Roman Catholic. The census forms which were collected on the of 15th April showed that all the houses were inhabited and were private dwellings. All of the walls of the houses were made from stone, brick or concrete while the roofs were made from slate, iron, or tiles. All the houses had 3 rooms and 2 front-facing windows.

Thomas Mc Inerney (75) was a widowed farmer. He lived alone, spoke English and Irish, and couldn’t read. He lived in a 2nd class house and owned the land his house and fowl house resided.

Thomas Feeney (52) was a general labourer. He was married to Bridget (49) for 32 years and out of the 10 children they had together, 8 were still alive. They lived with their 4 sons Michael (30), William (21), Patrick (14, and Joseph (10), and their 2 daughters Mary (20), and Katey (18). The two youngest boys were scholars, 2 daughters were domestic servants, William was a gardener and Michael was a rural postman. All 6 of the children living under Thomas’s roof were single. The two parents spoke both Irish and English. Thomas could write-only, and Bridget could only read, while all the children could both read and write. All 8 lived in a 2nd class house that Thomas Feeney owned the terrain around, along with a piggery.

Patrick Cawley (53) was listed as a labourer. He had been married to Norah for 24 years, during which time they had 3 single children. 2 sons Thomas (20) and Martin (18), who worked as labourers, along with 1 daughter Mary (17) who worked as a servant. Although both parents were unable to read, all 3 children could read and write. Patrick owned the holding his 2nd class house was situated on along with a turf shed.

James Loughnane [SIC] (72) was an old-age pensioner. He was single and couldn’t read. He spoke Irish and English and lived in his 2nd class house alone. He owned the land his house and piggery were built on.

Michael Mc Hugh (35) was a married labourer. He had been married to his wife Mary (36) for 9 years, during which time they had 3 children. 1 daughter Mary (8) and 2 sons Patrick (7) and Thomas (4). All spoke Irish and English, and the 2 parents and daughter could read and write. Michael owned the land his 2nd class house resided on along with a fowl house.

John Mullins (49) was listed as a van driver in the 1911 census. He was married to Catherine (27) for 3 years and had 2 children, 1 still alive in 1911. They lived with their daughter Mary (2). All spoke Irish and English, and Catherine was the only one who was able to read and write. John lived in a 2nd class house and owned a fowl house, both of which resided on land he owned.

This page was added on 17/02/2022.

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