Ballyvaheen

Ballyvaheen is situated in the civil parish of Abbeygormacan, barony of Longford, Co Galway. It is bounded on the north by Walshtown in the parish of Killoran, on the east by Addergoole, on the west by Corballybeg and on the south by Eskerboy.

O’Donovan’s Field Name Books states another spelling of this townland: Ballyvattin.

Down Survey map shows that this townland under the name ‘Ballymahine’ was owned by Hugh McMurrigh McLaghlin O’Madden, a catholic in 1641. It was owned by Nicholas O’Hayn, a catholic in 1670. It states that there were 13 plantation acres of unprofitable land. There were 159 plantation acres of profitable land and 159 plantation acres of forfeited land.

Census 1901

There were 5 houses in Ballyvaheen in 1901. There were 31 residents in total: 20 were male and 11 were female. All occupants were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were: James Gorman, Patt McGrath, Michael Hanrahan, James Hough and Patrick Hough. The census taken on the 10^th of April 1901 showed that the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built with stone, brick or concrete. The roofs were made with perishable material.

James Gorman (66) was a farmer. He was married to Mary (50). There was no occupation listed for her.  They had 4 unmarried children. Michael (24) and Thomas (20) were listed as farmer’s sons. Catherine (15) was listed as a farmer’s daughter.  James (12) was a scholar. The children could read and write. James (66) could read only. Mary could not read or write. They spoke Irish and English. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 4 outhouses. James Gorman owned the land the house was situated on.

Patt McGrath (55) was single. He was a farmer. He spoke Irish and English. He could not read or write. He lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 2 outhouses. Patt McGrath owned the land the house was situated on.

Michael Hanrahan (63) was a farmer. He was married to Margaret (50). There was no occupation listed for her. They had 8 children. Thomas (27) and John (24) were listed as farmer’s sons. Catherin (22) was listed as a farmer’s daughter. Denis (16), Hugh (14), Martin (12), Timothy (9) and Margret (6) were scholars. Timothy and Margret could read. The rest of the household could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 5 outhouses. Michl [sic] Hanrahan owned the land the house was situated on.

James Hough (70) was a farmer. He was married to Mary (50). There was no occupation recorded for her. They spoke Irish and English. They had 3 unmarried children. John (27) and James (22) were listed as farmer’s sons. Mary (20) was listed as a farmer’s daughter. None of the family could read or write. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 3 outhouses. James Hough owned the land the house was situated on.

Patrick Hough (35) was a farmer. He was married to Mary (35). There was no occupation recorded for her. They had 6 children. Michael (15) was listed as a farmer’s son. Mary (10), Patrick (7) and John (5) were scholars. Bridget was 3 years old and Thomas was 1 year old. Listed was Patrick’s mother Mary (65). She was a widow. She recorded her occupation as a retired farmer. Patrick (35) and Mary (65) spoke Irish and English. Mary (10) and Patrick (7) could read. The rest of the family could not read or write. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 3 outhouses. Patrick Hough owned the land the house was situated on.

Census 1911

There were 5 houses in Ballyvaheen in 1911. There were 27 residents in total: 19 were male and 8 were female. All occupants were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were: Michael Hanrahan, James Gorman, Patrick McGrath, Patrick Hough and Mary Hough. The census taken on the 6^th of April 1911 showed that the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built with stone, brick or concrete. The roofs were made with perishable material.

Michael Hanrahan (74) was a farmer. He was married for 39 years to Margret (60). There was no occupation listed for her. They had 11 children with 10 living in 1911. Listed were 7 unmarried children. John (34) recorded his occupation as a carpenter. Thomas (38), Denis (26), Hugh (24), Martin (22) and Timothy (20) were listed as farmer’s sons. Margret (17) had no occupation recorded for her. The entire family could read and write. Margret (60) and John spoke Irish and English. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 3 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house and 1 barn. Michael Hanrahan owned the land the house was situated on.

James Gorman (75) was widower. He was a farmer. He spoke Irish and English. Listed were his 3 unmarried children. Michael (36) and Thomas (28) were listed as farmer’s sons. Kate (25) was listed as a farmer’s daughter. Kate and Thomas could read and write. Michael could read. James could not read. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 1 cow house. James Gorman owned the land the house was situated on.

Patrick McGragh  (68) was single. He was a farmer. He spoke Irish and English. He could not read. He lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 1 cow house. Patrick McGragh owned the land the house was situated on.

Patrick Hough (54) was a farmer. He was married for 21 years to Mary (50). There was no occupation recorded for her. Listed were their 8 unmarried children. Mary (20) had no occupation recorded for her. Michael (26) and Patrick (17) were listed as farm servants. John (15), Bridget (12), Thomas (10) and Peter (8) were scholars. James was 5 years old. Patrick (54), Mary (50), Michael and James could not read. The rest of the family could read and write. All the family spoke English. Patrick (54) also spoke Irish. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. There were no outhouses recorded. Patrick Hough owned the land the house was situated on.

Mary Hough (72) was a widow. She was a farmer. She spoke Irish and English. Listed were her unmarried son and daughter. John (43) recorded his occupation as a farmer’s son. Mary (30) had no occupation listed for her. All 3 could not read. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 windows, 1 cow house and 1 shed. Mary Hough owned the land the house was situated on.