Attiregan/ Áit Tí Riagáin Irish Grid M 71105 35641
Author: Mike Kelly/Galway Rural Development
The townland of Attiregan is in the civil parish of Ballymacward, in the barony of Kilconnell and the County of Galway.
According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books 1838 the meaning of the townland name is “site of Regan’s house” (Áit Tí Ríagáin). He gives the following as the source of the name: Andrew Browne, Esq., By. Sketch Map, Francis Davies, Esq., Honble. Willm. Le Poer Trench and Larkin’s County Map.
Situation:
The townland is situated about 4 ½ miles south west of Ahascragh. The townland shares boundaries with the following townlands:
Description:
O’Donovan states that it was the property of – Browne[i], Esq by deed for ever. It is flat and dry of middling good quality. The houses and roads are in good repair. The County cess for the summer half year of 1837 was £5. 12. 11½. According to Griffith’s Valuation the total acreage of the townland is 469 acres 0 roods and 9 perches.
Census of Ireland (1821- 1911)
The first full population census of Ireland was taken in 1821 and the first four Irish censuses were arranged by county, barony, civil parish and townland.
1821: Only some fragments for small parts of county Galway survive. There are no records for Ballymacward.
1831: The only surviving records are from Counties Antrim and Derry.
1841: There are no surviving records for County Galway.
1851: There are no surviving records for County Galway.
1861: Census records for 1861 and 1871 were deliberately destroyed by the government
1881: The records for 1881 and 1891 were pulped as waster paper during the shortages of World War I.
1901: Full Census records are available See below.
1911: Full Census records are available See below.
1911 Census
Overview of townland
There were 10 houses in total in this townland, all of which were built and are recorded as private dwellings. Two of the houses were not inhabited, they being house number 3 and house number 8. These two houses did not have stone walls, roof or windows and they were not occupied. The owner of the land of building number 3 is recorded as William Burke and building number 8 was Edward Lynskey. All the other houses had walls built of either stone, brick or concrete and all had roofs of either thatch, wood or other perishable material other than house 1, which had a slate or iron roof. Six of the houses were 2nd class buildings, two were 3rd class buildings and two were not recorded a class. There was a total of 41 people living in the townland of which 25 were male and 16 were female. All people living in the townland were Roman Catholic and born in County Galway. The heads of the households were also the landholders. There was a total of 36 out offices listed for the townland which comprised of 6 stables, 9 cow houses, 1 calf house, 5 piggeries, 3 fowl houses, 6 barns and 6 sheds.
House 1: Madden[ii]
Thomas Madden was the head of this household and was 27 years old, he was married, could not read, was an agricultural labourer, was a Roman Catholic, only spoke English and came from County Galway. He lived with his wife Bridget Madden, she was also 27 years old, a Roman Catholic, she could read and write, spoke English only, no occupation was given for Bridget and she came from County Galway. They were married for 3 years and had one child, who was still living. Mary Madden, their daughter was 2 years old and could not read, she was single and was born in County Galway. Thomas signed the census form using his mark and this was witnessed by Constable Michael Carr. The family lived in a 2nd class house that was two roomed with two windows and the roof of the house was on either slate or iron. They also had one shed.
House 2: Callanan
The head of the household was Thomas Callanan aged 60, was married, could read and spoke English. His occupation was given as farmer and he was from County Galway. He lived with his wife Anne aged 45 who could read and write and was also from County Galway. They had been married for 21 years and had 3 sons living with them, Thomas aged 20, John aged 18 and William whose age is given as 16. All three sons were single, could read and write, spoke English and were born in County Galway. The occupations of the elder two sons are given as farmer’s sons while the youngest is listed as a scholar. All occupants were Roman Catholic. The family lived in a 3rd class house with 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. Thomas signed the census form. They also had one shed.
House 3: Uninhabited
House 4: Scarry
The head of the household was Timothy Scarry, a 40-year-old single man whose occupation is given as a shepherd. He could read and write, spoke English and Irish and was born in County Galway. He lived with his mother Bridget (73), sister Anne (32) and brother William (30). Bridget is listed as a widow with no occupation who could read and spoke English and Irish. She had been married for 40 years and had 15 children born alive with 12 of them still living. No occupation is given for Anne who was single, could read and spoke only English. Brother William was single, cannot read or write and is described as “idiot”. All members of the household were born in County Galway and all were Roman Catholic. The family lived in a 2nd class house with 4 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either wood or thatch, the house had 6 outbuildings comprising of a stable, cow house, piggery, fowl house, bard and a shed. The census form was signed by Timothy Scarry.
House 5: Raftery
The head of the household was John Raftery, a 68-year-old widower whose occupation was given as a farmer. He could read and write and spoke English and Irish. Also in the house were his two sons, John aged 27 and Thomas aged 20 whose occupations were described as farmer’s sons and both were single. He also had two daughters living with him, 24-year-old Kate and 22-year-old Margaret, both single and no occupations given. The household was completed by 64-year-old Roger who was a brother of the head of the house. Roger’s occupation is given as farmer and miller and he was single. All occupants were Roman Catholic, could read and write, spoke English and Irish and were all born in County Galway. The family lived in a 2nd class house which had 4 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were 10 outbuildings comprising of 2 stables, 3 cow houses, a calf house, piggery, fowl house barn and a shed. The head of the household is also the landholder. The form was signed by John Raftery.
House 6: Raftery
The house is headed by Martin Raftery, a married farmer aged 56. He was Roman Catholic, could read and write and spoke English as well as a little Irish. His wife, Kate was 55 years old and they had been married for 27 years with 8 children born and still living. She could also read and write and spoke English and Irish. The John (24), Selia (sic) (19), Mary (17), Ellie (15), Michael (13), Annie (11) and Thomas (7). John’s occupation is given as farmer’s son while the rest of the children are described as scholars. All were single, Roman Catholic, could read and write, spoke English and were born in County Galway. Martin’s mother, Margaret Raftery, a 76-year-old widow, also lived in the house. She was Roman Catholic, could neither read nor write, spoke English and Irish and was also born in County Galway. The family lived in a 2nd class house which had 4 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were 5 outbuildings comprising of a stable, cow house, piggery, barn and shed. The head of the household is also the landholder. Of the ten occupants, one is listed as being sick. The form was signed by Martin Raftery.
House 7: Raftery / Lynskey
The head of the household is Thomas Raftery, a 74-year-old widower whose occupation is given as farmer. He could read and write and spoke English and Irish. His daughter Delia also lived in the house and she was single, could read and write and spoke English. No occupation is recorded for her. Also in the household was Edward Lynskey, a forty-year-old single man described as a farm servant. He could not read and spoke English and Irish. All occupants were Roman Catholic and all were born in County Galway. The occupants lived in a 2nd class house which had 3 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were five outbuildings which included a stable, cowhouse, piggery, barn and shed. The head of the household is also the landowner. The form was signed by Thomas Raftery.
House 8: Uninhabited
House 9: Burns
The house is occupied by head of household Peter Burns (50), his wife Bridget (53) and their four sons, Michael (17), John (15), Thomas (14) and Patrick (10). The couple had been married for 19 years and had 6 children, 4 of whom were still living. Peter’s occupation is given as a farmer and his son John as farmer’s son. The other sons are listed as scholars and all were single. All the occupants were Roman Catholic, could read and write, spoke English and all were born in County Galway. Bridget could speak English and Irish. The occupants lived in a 2nd class house which had 4 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were six outbuildings which included a stable, cowhouse, piggery, fowl house, barn and shed. The head of the household is also the landowner. The form was signed by Peter Burns.
House 10: Silk
The head of the house is Catherine Silk; a 73-year-old widow whose occupation is given as a farmer. She was unable to read and spoke English and Irish. She shared the house with her sons, Patrick (36), Michael (33) and James (26). Patrick and Michael were farmer’s sons while James’ occupation was stonemason who could read and write while his elder brothers could not read. All the brothers were single and all the occupants were Roman Catholic and were born in County Galway. The occupants lived in a 3rd class house which had 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were two outbuildings, a cowhouse and a barn. The head of the household is also the landowner. Catherine signed the census form using her mark which was witnessed by Constable Michael Carr.
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1901 Census
Overview of townland
There were 10 houses in total in this townland, all of which were built and are recorded as private dwellings. Nine of the houses had walls built of either stone, brick or concrete and all had roofs of either thatch, wood or other perishable material. Six of the houses were 2nd class buildings, three were 3rd class buildings and house number 10 is described as 4th class with mud walls and a wooden roof. All houses had 2 rooms with the exception of house number 10 which had only one, 6 had 3 windows, 3 had 2 windows and house number 10 had one window. There was a total of 55 people living in the townland of which 28 were male and 27 were female and all were Roman Catholic and born in County Galway with the exception of Bridget Clarke (house number 10) who was born in County Meath, The heads of the households were also the landholders except in the case of house number 3 where the landowner is given as Thomas Glynn.
House 1: Callanan
The head of the household was Thomas Callanan aged 45, was married, could not read and spoke English. His occupation was given as farmer and he was from County Galway. He lived with his wife Anne aged 38[iii] who could read and write and was also from County Galway. They had 3 sons living with them – Thomas aged 10, John aged 9 and William whose age is given as 6. All three sons were single and could read with only the eldest boy able to read and write, spoke English and were born in County Galway. Their occupations as scholars. All occupants were Roman Catholic. The family lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. Thomas signed the census form using his mark which was witnessed by Constable Patrick Irwin.
House 2: Spellman
The head of the household was Peter Spellman, a married man aged 58 whose occupation was given as a carpenter. His wife Ellen was 50 years old and listed as a housekeeper and they lived with their two children – son John aged 15 and daughter Mary Ellen who was 13. Both children are listed as single and their occupations given as scholars. All occupants could read and write, spoke English and were all born in County Galway. The family lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were 2 out buildings. The head of the household was also the landowner and the census form was signed by Peter Spelman.
House 3: Scarry
The head of the household was Bridget Scarry, a 60-year-old widow whose occupation is given as a housekeeper. She could not or write and spoke English and Irish. She lived with her sons Timothy (26) and William (16) and her daughter Anne (21). Timothy is listed as a shepherd, Anne as a seamstress and no occupation recorded for William. The elder 2 children could read and write and 16-year-old William could not read and is described as an ‘idiot’. All members of the household were born in County Galway and all were Roman Catholic. The family lived in a 2nd class house with 3 rooms and 2windows. The roof of the house was either wood or thatch, there were 4 outbuildings. The census form was signed by Bridget Scarry using her mark which was witnessed by Constable Patrick Irwin and the landowner is listed as Thomas Glynn.
House 4: Killilea
The head of the household was Michael Killilea, a 45-year-old married man whose occupation was given as a farmer. His wife Mary was aged 42 and both could read and write and both spoke English and Irish. Also in the house were Bessie (13), Mathias (11), Mary Anne (9), Michael (7), John (4) and Thomas (2). All occupants were Roman Catholic, the parents and the two eldest children could read and write, the nest two could read only and the youngest two could neither read nor write. All were born in County Galway. The children’s occupations are given as scholars with the youngest described as an infant. The family lived in a 2nd class house which had 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were no outbuildings. The head of the household was also the landholder. The form was signed by Michael Killilea.
House 5: Raftery
The head of the household was John Raftery, a 50-year-old whose occupation was given as a farmer. He could read and write and spoke English and Irish. His wife Margaret was 40 years old and could also read and write and spoke English and Irish. Also in the house were his 2 sons, John aged 22 and Patrick aged 20 whose occupations were described as farmer’s sons and were both single. John and Margaret also had five daughters living with them – Kate (18), Margaret (16), Lizzie (14), Bridget (11) and Treasa (7). All the daughters were scholars and all the children were single. The household was completed by 48-year-old Roger Raftery who was a brother of the head of the house. Roger’s occupation is given as miller and he was single. All occupants were Roman Catholic and all were born in County Galway. The family lived in a 2nd class house which had 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood. There were 11 out buildings. The head of the household is also the landholder. The form was signed by John Raftery.
House 6: Raftery
The house is headed by Margaret Raftery, a widowed housekeeper aged 65 who could not read and spoke English and Irish. Also in the house were her son Martin (45) and his wife Kate (39), together with their family. Both Martin and his wife, Kate could read and write and spoke English and Irish. Kate’s occupation is given as farmer’s wife. The family consisted of John (14), Margaret (11), Sarah (9), Mary (7), Ellie (5), Michael (3), and Annie (1). The eldest four children are described as scholars with the older 2 able to read and write and the younger two able to read only. Ellie is listed as a farmer’s daughter and Michael as a farmer’s son, neither of whom could read whilst the youngest Annie is described as an infant. All the children are listed as grandchildren of the head of family. All the occupants were Roman Catholic and all born in County Galway. The family lived in a 2nd class house which had 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood and there were 5 outbuildings. The head of the household is also the landholder. The census form was signed by Margaret Raftery using her mark which was witnessed by Constable Patrick Irwin.
House 7: Raftery
The head of the household is Thomas Raftery, a 65-year-old widower whose occupation is given as farmer. He could read and write and spoke English and Irish. His daughter Delia also lived in the house and she was single, could read and write and spoke English. Delia’s occupation is recorded as farmer’s daughter. Both were Roman Catholic and both were born in County Galway. The occupants lived in a 2nd class house which had 2 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood and they had six out buildings. The head of the household is also the landowner. The form was signed by Thomas Raftery.
House 8: Burns
The house is occupied by head of household Michael Burns (64), a widowed farmer. Also living in the house are his son Peter (40) and daughter-in-law Bridget (35) and his four grandsons, Michael (7), John (5), Thomas (4) and Patrick (5 months). Peter’s occupation is given as a farmer and all the grandsons are described as farmer’s sons. Michael, Peter and Bridget could read and write, Michael (7) could read only and the 3 youngest could not read. All the occupants were Roman Catholic, spoke English and all were born in County Galway. Bridget could speak English and Irish. The occupants lived in a 2nd class house which had 3 rooms and 3 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood and there were four out buildings. The head of the household is also the landowner. The form was signed by Michael Burns.
House 9: Silk/Jordan
The head of the house is Michael Silk, a 65-year-old whose occupation is given as a farmer. Also in the house was his wife Catherine (56) and for whom no occupation is listed and his niece Honor Jordan (50), an unmarried seamstress. All three could not read and Michael spoke English and Irish while the two women spoke only English. All the occupants were Roman Catholic and all three were born in County Galway. The occupants lived in a 3rd class house which had 3 rooms and 2 windows. The roof of the house was either thatch or wood and they had two outbuildings. The head of the household is also the landowner. Michael Silk signed the census form using his mark which was witnessed by Constable Patrick Irwin.
House 10: Clarke/Keighery
This house had two occupants, head of house Bridget Clarke, a 62-year-old widow whose occupation is given as housekeeper and an unmarried lodger, Julia Keighery (70). Neither woman could read and both were Roman Catholic. Bridget Clarke was born in County Meath and Julia in County Galway. They lived in a 4th class house, with mud walls and a roof of thatch or wood. There were no outbuildings. The head of household is also the landholder. The form was signed by Bridget Clarke using her mark which was witnessed by Constable Irwin.
Griffith’s Valuation
[i] The library transcript does not give the first name
[ii] The name is given as Maddin on the National Archives list but in the form it is Madden
[iii] Anne’s age is given as 33 in the transcript but the original from clearly shows 38.
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