Blean

Civil Parish of Athenry

India Costello/Heritage Office Galway County Council

Blean

An Bhléan, a groin, a nook or corner

It is situated 1½ mile Southeast of Athenry. Bounded on the North by Kingsland South, on the West by Rathard, South by Kiltulla Parish and East by do.

The Down Survey map states that Earl of Clanrickard (Protestant) was the owner of Blean in 1641 and after 1670.  The Down Survey name was Carrowneclevy.

O’Donovan’s Field Name Books provides various spellings of this townland: Blean
Bléan, Blain, Blane, Baim, Blane and Blaine. It also indicates that it was the property of Mr. Kelly. Containing 224 statute acres, 7/8ths of which is arable, the remainder bog. There was a bye [sic] road passes through its Eastern centre, from Northwest to Southeast near the centre of the townland. There is a small portion subject to winter floods, and its general surface varies from 143 to 165 feet above the sea. Its average rents are from 10 to 15 shillings per acre.

Griffiths Valuation

According to Griffith’s Valuation Thomas Kelly was the lessor of the land. He kept 16 acres o roods 18 perches of bog, land and cottier’s house and garden worth £2-5-0. Patrick Roonoe paid a total of £9-15-0 for 29 acres 1 rood 36 perches of land, house, and offices. Andrew Monaghan paid a total of £11-15-0 for 37 acres 0 roods  0 perches of land, house, and offices. John Morrissey paid a total of £5-10-0 for 7 acres 2 roods 27 perches of land, house, and offices. Patrick Toole paid a total of £7-15-0 for 27 acres 0 roods 35 perches of house, office, and land. John Clancy paid a total of £6-10-0 for 21 acres 3 roods 5 perches of house, office, and land. Michael Roenoe paid a total of £4-7-0 for 14 acres 1 rood 24 perches of house, office, and land. John Mangan paid a total of £5-50 for 10 acres 3 roods 10 perches for house, office, and land. Patrick Noone paid a total of £5-6-0 for 16 acres 7 roods 9 perches of house offices and land. Thomas Molloy paid a total of £7-13-0 for 22 acres 2 roods 35 perches of house, offices, and land. Thomas Roonoe paid a total of £0-3-0 for 1 acre 3 roods 1 perch of land. Thomas Coppinger paid a total of £1-5-0 for 7 acres  3 roods 5 perches.

1901 Census

There were 9 households in Blean in 1901, 8 of which were inhabited. They were all listed as private dwellings. There was a total population of 44 people, 21 males and 23 females. All members of the population were Roman Catholic and born in Co. Galway. The walls of each property were made of stone, brick, or concrete. Each roof was made of thatch, wood, or some other perishable material. There was no record of any farm steadings. The census was collected on the 6th of April 1901. The heads of households were as follows: Andrew Monaghan, James Hynes, Mathias Toole, Patrick Rooney, Martin Rooney, Edward Monaghan, Michael Rooney and Patt Lynskey.

Andrew Monaghan (80) was a widowed farmer who lived with his three children. Pat (32), Ellen (22) and James (20). Pat and James were agricultural labourers and Ellen was a domestic servant. All members of the household could read but only the children could write too. Andrew and Pat spoke English and Irish, Ellen and James spoke English only. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Andrew owned the land upon which the house was situated.

James Hynes (80) was a farmer married to Bridget (70) who’s occupation was listed as farmers wife. They lived with their son Thomas (45) who was an agricultural labourer on the farm. Thomas was also married. No members of the household could read but they all spoke English and Irish. They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 windows in the front. James Hynes owned the land upon which the house was situated.

Mathias Toole (45) was married to Bridget (40). They were both farmers. They lived with their 6 children, Mary (16), Pat (13), John (10), Bridget (6), Nonie (4) and Muria (2). They also lived with Mathias’ mother Muria (82) who was a widow. Mary, Pat, John and Bridget were scholars. Mathias could read, Bridget (6), Nonie, Muria (2) and Muria (82) could not read. Bridget (40), Mary, Pat and John could read and write. Muria (82) could speak Irish only. Mathias and Bridget spoke English and Irish. There is no language listed for the rest of the household. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Mathias Toole owned the land upon which the house was situated.

Patrick Rooney (51) was a farmer married to Mary Rooney (43) who was a farmers wife and house keeper. They live with their 3 children Mary Ann (13), Hannah (8) and Patrick (6). They were all scholars. All members of the household could read and write. They also all spoke English. Patrick and Mary spoke Irish too. They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 windows in the front. Patrick Rooney owned the land upon which the house was situated.

Martin Rooney (50) was a farmer married to Ellen (50) who was a farmer’s wife and housekeeper. They lived with their 3 sons Pat (28), Martin (20) and Thomas (18). They were all agricultural labourers. Martin and Ellen could not read. The three sons could all read and write. All members of the household could speak English and Irish. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Martin Rooney owned the land upon which the house was situated.

Edward Monaghan (68) was a farmer married to Kate (60) who was a farmer’s wife and housekeeper. They lived with their 3 children Bartly (21), Mary (19) and Michael (16). Bartly and Michael were both agricultural labourers and Mary was a domestic servant. All members of the household spoke English and Irish. All of the children could read and write. Katie could read, Edward could not. They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 window in the front. Edward Monaghan owned the land upon which the house was built.

Michael Rooney (45) was a farmer married to Catherine (36) who was a farmer’s wife. They lived with their 7 children Mary (20), John (16), Maggie (14), Delia (12), Katie (8), Nonie (5), and Agnes (6 months). Mary (20) was a domestic servant. John, Maggie, Delia and Katie were scholars. Mary, John, Maggie and Delia could read and write and speak English. The three youngest members of the family could not read and has no language listed. Michael and Catherin could read. The four eldest members of the family spoke Irish. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Michael Rooney owned the land upon which the house was situated.

Patt Lynskey (69) was a farmer married to Kate (68) who was a farmer’s wife. They could not read or write. They lived with their son Patt (39) and daughter in law Mary (27). They could both read and write and were both farmers. All members of the house spoke English and Irish. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Patt Lynskey owned the land upon which the house was situated.

1911 Census

There were 7 households in Blean in 1911, all of which were inhabited. There was a total population of 40 people, 16 males and 24 females. All occupants were Roman Catholic. Each individual was born in County Galway. The census was taken on the 11th of April 1911. All buildings were listed as private dwellings. The walls of each property were made of stone, brick, or concrete. Each roof was made of thatch, wood, or some other perishable material.  There was a total of 24 farm steadings including 7 stables, 7 cow houses, 6 piggeries, 1 fowl house,2 barns and 1 shed. There were 7 heads of households: Patrick Monaghan, Michael Rooney, Matthew Toole, Pat Rooney, Martin Rooney, Edward Monahan, and Patrick Lynskey.

Patrick Monaghan (44) was a farmer married to Annie (32). In 1911, they had been married for 4 years. They had 3 children, all of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with their 3 daughters Mary (3), Noraha [sic] (2) and Annie (1). They also lived with Patrick’s sister Ellen (33). Patrick, Annie, and Ellen could all speak English and Irish and read and write. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Patrick Monaghan owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 1 barn.

Michael Rooney (65) was a farmer married to Catherine (55). In 1911, they had been married for 33 years. They had 9 children, 6 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with 5 of their children, John (28), Margaret (23), Kate (18), Norah (14) and Agnes (10).  John was a farmer’s son and Kate was a dressmaker. All members of the household could speak English and Irish apart from Agnes. All the female members of the family could read and write; however, the males could not read. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Michael Rooney owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 1 fowl house.

Matthew Toole (60) was a farmer married to Bridget (50). In 1911, they had been married for 28 years. They had 10 children, 9 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with 7 of their children, Patrick (24), John (22), Bridget (15), Norah (14), Mary (12), Ellen (9) and Maggie (6). All 4 sons are listed as farmers sons. Mary, Ellen, and Maggie are listed as scholars. All members of the household could read and write except for Matthew who could not read. All occupants could speak English and Irish except for Maggie. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Matthew Toole owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 1 shed.

Pat Rooney (62) was a farmer married to Mary (54). In 1911, they had been married for 26 years. They had 6 children, 5 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with two of their children Pat (17) who was a scholar and Bridget (20). All members of the household could read and write. Only Pat and Mary could speak English and Irish. They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 windows in the front. Pat Rooney owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable and 1 cow house.

Martin Rooney (70) was a farmer married to Ellen (68) who was a farmer’s wife. In 1911, they had been married for 41 years. They could not read. They had 8 children, 4 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with their two sons Patrick (40) and Thomas (32), who were farmers sons. They were the only members of the household that could read and write. All occupants could speak English and Irish. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Martin owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 1 barn.

Edward Monahan [sic] (76) was a farmer married to Kate (72) who was a housewife. In 1911, they had been married for 45 years. They had 4 children, 4 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with their two sons Bartley (32) and Michael (25) who were also farmers. All occupants spoke Irish and English, except for Edward who only spoke Irish. All members of the household could read and write except for Edward who could not read. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Edward Monahan owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, and 1 piggery.

Patrick Lynskey (50) was a farmer married to Mary (40). In 1911, they had been married for 10 years. They had 4 children, 4 of whom were still alive in 1911. They lived with their 4 children Mary (9), Catherine (6), Celia (4) and Patrick (2). Mary, Catherine, and Celia were scholars. Only Patrick and Mary could speak Irish and English. The three eldest occupants could read and write. Catherine could read only. Celia and Patrick could not read. They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 windows in the front. Patrick Lynskey owned the land upon which the house is built along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, and 1 piggery.

 

 

 

 

 

This page was added on 21/03/2022.

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