Lurgan Great, An Lorgain Mhor

Author: Jo Kelly/Galway Rural Development (GRD).

Lurgan Great is situated in the south east of the civil parish of Killallaghtan barony of Clonmacnowen/Cloonmacnoon Co Galway. It is bounded in this parish by Ballynamuddagh, Cloonkeen West and Lurragan Small in the said barony, and by Gurteenawillin in the barony of Kilconnell and in Killoran parish by Ballloogue in the barony of Cloonmacnoon and by Low Park in the barony of Longford.

O’Donovan’s Field Name Book give other spellings: Lurragan Great and Lurga.

Down Survey map show this land under the name ‘Lurga’ was owned by Anthony Brabson, a protestant in 1641. It was owned by John Donnellan, a catholic in 1670.

Census 1901

There were 6 houses in Lurgan Great in 1901. 1 building was Killallaghtan National School. The other 5 houses had 25 residents in total; 13 were male and 12 were female. All residents were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were: Margret Fahey, Martin Loughnane, John Coleman, Martin Kineen and Thady McHugo. The census taken on the 8^th of April 1901 show the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built with stone, brick or concrete. The house roofs were made with perishable material.

Margret Fahey (50) was a widow. She was a shepherdess. She had 5 unmarried children. Thomas (30) and Michael (21) were recorded as shepherds. Bridget (28) and Mary (18) were recorded as ‘household work’. Annie (15) was a scholar. The entire family could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 5 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery, 1 barn and 1 car house. Frank T Taylor owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Loughnane (53) was a farmer. There was no occupation recorded for his wife Mary (50). Their sons: Michael (24) and Thomas (22) were single. Thomas was recorded as a tea merchant. The entire family could read, write and speak English. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 5 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery, 1 barn and 1 car house. Martin Loughnane owned the land the house was situated on.

John Coleman (36) was a farmer. There was no occupation recorded for his wife Bridget (36). They had 9 children. James (14) was single. John (12), Jessie (10), Kate (8), Michael (7) and Patrick (6) were scholars. Margaret (4), Bridget (3) and Joseph (1) could not read. Patrick and Bridget (36) could read. The rest of the family could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 2 piggeries. John Coleman owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Kineen (79) was a farmer. There was no occupation recorded for his wife Mary (78). They could not read. They could speak Irish and English. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 1 front window and 1 piggery. Martin Kineen owned the land the house was situated on.

Thady McHugo (60) was a farmer. There was no occupation recorded for his wife Kate (58). They could not read. They could speak Irish and English. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 1 shed. Thady McHugo owned the land the house was situated on.

Census 1911

There were 7 houses in Lurgan Great in 1911. There were 33 residents in total: 22 were male and 11 were female. All occupants were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway except for Martin O’Halloran and Fannie Spellisy. They were both born in Co Clare. The heads of the households were: Margaret Fahy, Martin O’Halloran, Michael Treacy, John Coleman, Kate McHugh, Martin Loughnane and Martin Kinneen. The census taken on the 15^th of April 1911 show the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built with stone, brick or concrete. Martin O’Halloran’s, Michal Treacy’s and John Coleman’s house roofs were made with slate, iron or tiles. The other 4 house roofs were made with perishable material.

Margaret Fahy (67) was a widow. She was a shepherdess. She had 3 unmarried children. Thomas (40) and Michael (31) were shepherds. There was no occupation recorded for her daughter Annie (26). The entire family could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 6 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house and 1 barn. Mary Ryan owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin O’Halloran (43) was a national school teacher. He was married for 5 years to Kate (33). She was recorded as a dressmaker. They could speak Irish and English. They had 2 sons. John Joseph (4) was a scholar. William (2) could not read or write. The rest of the household could read and write. Relative Fannie Spellisy (11) was a scholar. Unmarried Thomas Manning (23) was a general servant. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 5 rooms and 5 front windows. There were 5 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery and 1 fowl house. Martin O’Halloran owned the land the house was situated on.

Michael Trassey (45) was single. He worked as a mason. He could not read. He lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 1 shed. Michael Trassey owned the land the house was situated on.

John Coleman (47) worked as a farm labourer. He was married for 26 years to Bridget (46). They had 14 children with 14 living in 1911. Recorded were 10 children. John (24) and Michael (18) were single. Margaret (14), Bridget (12), Joe (11), Ellen (10), Tom (8), Bernard (6) and Martin (4) were scholars. Peter (3) could not read or write. The rest of the family could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 3 outhouses: 1 cow house, 1 fowl house and 1 shed. John Coleman owned the land the house was situated on.

Kate McHugh (77) was a widow. She could not read or write. Her unmarried son James (47) was a farmer. He could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms, 3 front windows, 1 piggery and 1 shed. Kate McHugh owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Loughnane (64) was a farmer. He was married for 30 years to Mary (69). His sons Michael (36) and Thomas (34) were single. His grandson William (11) was a scholar. His niece Bridget Shaughnessy (15) was a scholar. Thomas was a shopkeeper. The entire family could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 5 rooms and 4 front windows. There were 6 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 barn and 1 shed. Martin Loughnane owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Kinneen (80) was a widower. He worked as a Cottier. Boarder Daniel Keating (72) was single. They could read, write and speak Irish and English. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 1 room, 1 front window, 1 piggery and 1shed. Martin Kinneen owned the land the house was situated on.