Drumatober

Drumatober townland is situated in the civil parish of Abbeygormacan, barony of Longford, Co Galway. It is bounded on the north by Liscoyle, on the east by Drimeyre and Drimhogan and on the south by Cormick and Castletown.

O’Donovan’s Field Name books gives 3 other spellings of this townland: Druim a Tobair, Drimatubber and Drumatobber.

The Down Survey map under the name ‘Dromlisnepislye’ shows that John Blake FitzRobert, a catholic owned the land in 1641. Hugh O’Hogan, a catholic owned it in 1670.

Census 1901

There were 5 houses in Drumatober in 1901. There were 23 residents in total: 12 were male and 11 were female. All occupants were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were: James Larkin, Martin Keane, Thomas Robinson, John Coone and Catherine Dempsey. The census taken on the 1^st of April 1901 showed that the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built of stone, brick or concrete. James Larkin’s and Martin Keane’s house roofs were made with slate, iron or tiles. The other 3 roofs were made of perishable material.

James Larkin (35) worked as a herd. He was married to Mary (26). There was no occupation listed for her. They had 2 children. Patrick (4) was listed as a herd’s son. Mary (11 months) was listed as a herd’s daughter. James’s brother Thomas (18) was listed as a herd. James’s niece Mary Kearns (16) was a scholar. They were single. James, Mary (26), Thomas and Mary (16) could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 5 rooms, 3 front windows and 4 outhouses. Thomas Kenny owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Keane (60) worked as a shepherd. He was married to Mary (70). She recorded her occupation as a housekeeper. They spoke Irish and English. They could not read or write. Martin’s step son Thomas Gohery (40) was single. He recorded his occupation as a shepherd. Martin’s granddaughter Margret Keane (14) was listed as a school girl. Thomas and Margret could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 2 front windows and 2 outhouses. E Armstrong J P owned the land the house was situated on.

Thomas Robinson (60) was a farmer. He was married to Sarah (48). She recorded her occupation as a farmer. They had 4 unmarried children. John (19) and Thomas (6) were listed as farmer’s sons. Delia (12) and Mary (9) were listed as farmer’s daughters. All occupants could read and write except for Thomas (6).  He could not read. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 5 outhouses. Thomas Robinson owned the land the house was situated on.

John Coone (35) was a farmer. His niece Mary Anne Keating (18) was listed as a house-keeper. Joseph Burke (16) was listed as a farm-servant. All 3 were single. They could read and write. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms, 3 front windows and 5 outhouses. John Coone owned the land the house was situated on.

Catherine Dempsey (48) was a widow. She was a farmer. She had 3 unmarried children. John (26), Michael (24) and Annie (22) were listed as farmers. Catherine and John could read only. Michael and Annie could read and write. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms, 2 front windows and 2 outhouses. E Armstrong J P owned the land the house was situated on.

Census 1911

There were 5 houses in Drumatober in 1911. There were 30 residents in total: 18 were male and 12 were female. All occupants were Roman Catholic. They were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were: John Coone, Martin Keane, John Dempsey, Thomas Robinson and James Larkin. The census taken on the 3^rd of April 1911 showed the houses were built as private dwellings. The walls were built with stone, brick or concrete. James Larkin’s and Martin Keane’s house roofs were made with slate, iron or tiles. The other 3 roofs were made of perishable material.

John Coone (56) was a farmer. He was married for 7 years to Ellen (37). There was no occupation listed for Ellen. They had 4 children with 3 living in 1911. Michael (6) was a scholar. Bridget was (3) and Mary Francis was (1). John Gilfoil (69) was single. He was listed as a farm servant. John (56) and Ellen could read and write. Michael could read. Bridget, Mary Francis and John (69) could not read. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 5 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house and 1 barn. John Coen owned the land the house was situated on.

Martin Keane (73) was a shepherd. He was married for 20 years to Mary (84). There was no occupation listed for Mary. She spoke Irish and English. Martin’s step son Thomas Gohery (55) was single. He recorded his occupation as an agricultural labourer. Martin’s granddaughter Bridget Raferty (10) was a scholar. Martin and Mary could not read or write. Thomas and Bridget could read and write. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. There were 2 outhouses: 1 cow house and 1 fowl house.  Fredrick G B Trench owned the land the house was situated on.

John Dempsey (41) was a farmer. His brother Michael (39) was listed as an agricultural labourer. His sister Annie (32) had no occupation listed for her. All 3 were single. John could read only. Michael and Annie could read and write. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. There were 2 outhouses: 1 cow house and 1 piggery. Fredrick G B Trench owned the land the house was situated on.

Thomas Robinson (72) was a farmer. He was married for 30 years to Sarah (59). There was no occupation listed for her. They had 4 children with 4 living in 1911. John (28), Michael (25), Mary (19) and Thomas (16) were listed as farm servants. They were all single. They could read, write and spoke English. Thomas (72) and Sarah spoke Irish and English. They could not read.  They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. There were 7 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house, 1 barn and 1 shed. Thomas Robinson owned the land the house was situated on.

James Larkin (44) worked as a shepherd. He was married for 15 years to Mary (37). There was no occupation listed for Mary, They had 8 children with 8 living in 1911. Patrick (13), Peter (12). Mary (10) and Anthony (8) were scholars. Martin was 7 years old. Bridget was 5 years old. James was 2 years old and Cathleen was 11 months old. Patrick Hickey (69) was a visitor to the household. He was single. He was recorded as a farmer servant. He and Bridget could read. James (2) and Cathleen could not read. The rest of the household could read and write. Patrick (13), Peter, Mary (10), Anthony and Patrick Hickey spoke Irish and English. They lived in a 2^nd class house with 3 rooms and 2 front windows. There were 3 outhouses: 1 stable, 1 cow house and 1 shed. Fredrick G B Trench owned the land the house was situated on.