Gortnarup/Gort na Rop

Field of the Thieves or Robbers.

Teresa Philbin

Tomas O Flatharta

 

The Down Survey:

The Down Survey has no information on the townland of Gortnarup.

O’Donovan’s Field Name Books 1838:

The standard name given to the townland was Gortnarup. Gort na Rop was the Irish form of the name which translates as the field of thieves or robbers. There were many variant forms of the name when O’ Donovan’s Field Name Books was published in 1838; Gortnarup, Gort na Rop,Gurtnarup (Boundary Surveyors Sketch Map), Gurthnarup (County Cess Collector), Gurthnarup (Local), Gurtnarupp (Meresman), Gurthnarup (Rev. Michael Waldron, P.P., Gurthnarup (Tithe Ledger).

Comment:   Gach rop in a chionadh, (Cormac’s Gloss), each thief for his crime. Information from Joyce’s Place Names: translation according to P. W. Joyce, Gortnarup in Galway; Gort na Rop, of the robbers. Bop, an old word for a robber (Corm, Gloss), modern word is ropaire.

Situation:

Gortnarup (sic) is situated in the civil parish of Cong and in the north side of the parish. It is bounded on the north by the parish of Ross; on the west by Ballard; to the south by Ballard and Tumneenaun; and on the east by Carrowkeel. It lies in the barony of Ross and is in County Galway.

Description:

The proprietor was Sir Valentine Blake of Minlow (sic) Co. Galway. His agent was Michael Higgins of Fairhill (sic) in Ross parish. The land was all held under lease for a bulked rent of £40 yearly. O’Donovan describes the soil as middling, having some pasture, some potatoes and some middling wheat and flax. The County Cess was 11¼ d paid per acre for 16 acres. There were no antiquities.

Griffith’s Valuation 1855:

According to Griffith’s Valuation 1855 the townland of Gortnarup which can be found on (Ordnance Survey Sheet 27), had an area of 187 acres and 30 perches. The land had a rateable valuatuion at the time of £49.3.8. The immediate lessors were Anne Hamilton, Michael Higgins and Court of Chancery. Fees were paid to them unless otherwise stated. The total annual valuation of rateable property was £50.9.0. The land was divided into four plots.

Plot 1: comprised of 96 acres, 1 rood and 36 perches and was divided into ten lots. Anne Hamilton had the lease of eight of these divisions; (a) – (h)

(a) Michael Conway had a house and land. The land was valued at £1.6.0., the house at 4 shillings with a total annual valuation of £1.10.0.

(b)Martin Conway had a house and land. The land was valued at £2.2.0., the house at 6 shillings with a total annual valuation of £2.8.0.

(c) Bridget Mannion (sic) had a house and land. The land was valued at £2.2.0., the house at 8 shillings with a total annual valuation of £2.10.0.

(d) Patrick Conway had a house and land. The land was valued at £0.17.0., the house at 4 shillings with a total annual valuation of £1.1.0.

(e) John Coyne had a house and land. The land was valued at £0.17.0., the house at 5 shillings with a total annual valuation of £1.2.0.

(f) Joseph Kavanagh had a house and land. The land was valued at £0.17.0., the house at 3 shillings with a total annual valuation of £1.0.0.

(g) Michael Conway had a house and land. The land was valued at £17.0.0., the house at 3 shillings with a total annual valuation of £1.0.0.

(h) Martin Mannion had a house and land. The land was valued at £2.12.0., the house at 6 shillings with a total annual valuation of £2.18.0.

(i) Michael Higgins leased a house, office and land to Martin Mannion. The land had a value of £5.5.0., the buildings were valued at 10 shillings with a total annual valuation of £5.15.0.

(j) Michael Higgins leased a house and land to John Walsh. The land was valued at £1.6.0., the house at 4 shillings. The total annual valuation was £1.10.0.

Plot 2: was divided into A and B:

  1. (A) Anne Hamilton had 25 acres, 1 rood and 23 perches of land with a value of £7.10.0.
  2. (B) Anne Hamilton had 11 acres, 2 roods and 4 perches of land with a value of £4.15.0. Her total annual valuation of rateable property was £12.5.0 that was payable to the Court of Chancery.

Plot 3: Michael Higgins was the occupier of 40 acres, 1 rood and 37 perches of land with a value of £12.10.0 that was payable to the Court of Chancery.

Plot 4: Michael Higgins leased a house, office and land to John Gibbons. The land had an acreage of 13 acres, 1 rood and 10 perches and had a value of £4.10.0. The buildings were valued at 10 shillings. The total annual valuation was £5.

Census 1901:

Constable Hugh Daly was the enumerator and he collected the census on the 9th April 1901. According to this census returns there were twelve dwellings with fifty one inhabitants in Gortnarup (sic) at this time. Twenty eight were male and twenty three were female. Two of the houses were 2nd class, nine were 3rd class and one was 4th class. One had a slate roof; the remainder were of a perishable material, possibly thatch. Form B2 – (Return of Out – Office and Farm Steadings) is missing from this census return; therefore I cannot say what the outbuildings or out offices were used for. The occupations of the people of the townland were farming, farm servants, wool weavers, scholars and general domestic servants. The majority were bilingual. Irish was the language of the home and this was evident as the preschool age children spoke Irish only. There was a very high illiteracy rate in this townland, even among older school going children.

No 1: Patrick Reilly (64) was married to Bridget (57) and he worked as a farmer. Their son Pat (22) was a farm servant. Their daughters Mary (19) and Cecily (14) had no occupation listed for them. Patrick and his children were bilingual, his wife spoke only Irish. Patrick and his wife could not read while their children could read and write. The house was 3rd class and it had one window in front. Five family members occupied two rooms.

No 2: John Kyne (sic) (34) a farmer and his wife Anne J (32) lived in this house with their sons Patrick (6), James (5), Edmund (4) and Joseph (2). Their daughter Bridie was (3) years old. Kate Spellman (16) was a general domestic servant and Tom Egan (16) a farm servant, were also in the household. All the adults could read and write and they were all bilingual. The house was 2nd class and had three windows to the front. The family of nine occupied six rooms.

No 3: Mary Gibbons (70) a farmer was a widow. Her daughter Mary (28) and her son Michael (21) lived with her. They were both single and no occupations were listed for them. The mother and daughter could read and write while the son could not. Mary senior filled and signed the census form. The family were bilingual. The house was 2nd class and it had three windows in front. Three people shared four rooms.

No 4: John Conroy (45) was married to Nappy (60) and they lived with their son John (17) and daughter Catherine (16). John was a farmer and his son was a farm servant. The mother and daughter spoke only Irish while the father and son were bilingual. None of the family could read. The house was 3rd class and it had one window to the front. Four members of the family occupied two rooms.

No 5: Patrick Walsh (60) a farmer was married to Mary (65). Their daughter Mary Coyne (35) and her children were also in the house. Michael Coyne was (10) Mary (8), Patrick (6), John (4) and the infant Bridget was (5 months). Patrick and his wife spoke only Irish while his daughter and his grand children were bilingual. None of the family could read. The house was 3rd class and it had one window in front. The family of eight occupied one room.

No 6: William Conroy (40) was a farmer and he was married to Bridget (47). They had a son Patrick who was (14) and he could read and write. John (12) and Thomas (9) were scholars and they could not read or write. Their daughter Mary was (6) years old. William and his son John and daughter Mary spoke only Irish. The mother and other children were bilingual. The house was 3rd class. The family of six occupied two rooms.

No 7: Margaret Cavanagh (sic) (84) was a widow. Her son Michael (32) was not married and had no occupation listed for him. Irish was their spoken language and they could not read. The house was 3rd class and it had one window in front. The mother and her son shared two rooms.

No 8: John Conaboy (40) a farmer was married to Bridget (35). Their sons Michael (18) and Thomas (14) were born in America. Their other children were Peter (10); Anne (7), John (4) and Bridget (2) were all born in County Galway. The parents and the four oldest children were bilingual. The two youngest spoke only Irish, (this would indicate that Irish was the spoken language of the home). The parents could not read while their children could read and write. The house was 3rd class and it had one window to the front. The family of eight occupied two rooms.

No 9: Catherine Walsh (67) was a widow who farmed for a living. Her sons Martin (43) and John (25) were farm servants. They were not married. Catherine’s nephew Martin McMahon (12) was a scholar. He was the only one in the household that could read and write. Catherine spoke only Irish while the other members were bilingual. The house was 4th class. Four people shared one room.

No 10: Catherine Kyne (sic) (50) was not married and she had no occupation listed for her. She could not read and she was bilingual. The house was 3rd class and it had one window to the front. Catherine had the use of two rooms. Michael Kyne (sic) was the name of the landholder.

No 11: Catherine Conroy (70) was a widow. She could not read and she spoke Irish only. The house was 3rd class and it had one window in front. Catherine had the use of two rooms. Catherine Walsh was the name of the landholder.

No 12: John Morrin (69) a farmer was married to Mary (70). Their son John (22) and Michael (20) were farm servants. They could not read and the family spoke only Irish. The house was 3rd class and it had two windows to the front. Four people occupied two rooms.

Census 1911:

Constable Thomas Walsh collected the census for Gurtnarup on the 10th of April 1911. There were eleven dwellings in the townland, ten were inhabited. There were forty three people in this community; twenty four were male, nineteen were female. One house had a slate roof; the remainder were made of a perishable material, most likely thatch. One was 1st class, three were 2nd class and six were 3rd class. Farming was the main occupation, wool weaving was still a family skill and some of the women were general domestic servants. While the majority of the families were bilingual, there were still many that could not read or write at this time.

No 1: Catherine Walsh (79) a widow was a farmer. Her sons Martin (55) and John (38) were farmer’s sons and they were both single. None of the family could read. Catherine spoke Irish only while her sons were bilingual. The house was 3rd class and had one window to the front. The family of three occupied one room. There was a stable, a barn and piggery on the property.

No 2: John Conaboy (sic) (51) a farmer was married to Bridget (50) for twenty six years and they had six children. Their son John (15) and daughter Bridget (13) were scholars. John and his children could read and write while his wife could not read. The family were bilingual. The house was 3rd class and it had two windows in front. Four members of the family shared three rooms. They had a piggery and a barn on the holding.

No 3: Mary Anderson (48) was head of this household and farming was her occupation. Mary had a son and a daughter from her current marriage of seven years; she also had three sons from a previous marriage. Hers son Michael Coyne (20) was a farmer, her other son Patrick Coyne (15) was a domestic servant and a cook and the youngest son John Coyne (13) was a scholar. Her son John Anderson was (4) and the infant Bridget Anderson was (11 months) old. The house was 3rd class and had two windows to the front. The family of six occupied two rooms. They had a cow house and a piggery on the property.

No 4: William Conroy (47) a farmer was married to Bridget (60) for twenty seven years and they had seven children; four were still living. Their son Pat (25) was a wool weaver. John (22) and Thomas (20) were farmer’s sons. Their daughter Mary (16) was a scholar. John and his wife spoke Irish only; the children were bilingual. The parents and their son Pat could not read while the three youngest family members could read and write. The house was 2nd class and had three windows in front. Six members of the family shared three rooms. They had a piggery and a barn on the property.

No 5: John Morrin (sic) (78) was a farmer and he was married to Mary (80) for fifty years. They had five children. Their sons John (40) and Michael (35) were farmer’s sons and they were both single. The family were bilingual but could not read. The house was 3rd class and had two windows to the front. The family of four occupied three rooms. There was a stable, a piggery and a barn on the premises.

No 6: John Conroy (60) was a wool weaver and a farmer. He was married to Nappy for (72) for twenty one years. It is not documented how many children they had. Their daughter Catherine (25) was a general domestic servant and she was single. The family were bilingual, none could read. The house was 3rd class and had two windows to the front. Three people shared two rooms. There was a stable and a piggery on the property.

No 7: Mary Gibbons (83) was a farmer and she was a widow. Her son Michael (28) was a farmer’s son, her daughter Mary (30) does not have an occupation listed. They were both single. Mary and her son could not read, while her daughter could read and write. The house was 2nd class and it had three windows in front. Three people occupied three rooms. They had a stable and a piggery on the holding.

No 8: John Kyne (sic) (49) a farmer was married to Anne (44) for eighteen and they had ten children, eight were still living. Their son Patrick (15) was a farmer’s son; James (14), Edmond (13), Bridie (sic) (12), and Penelope (7) were scholars. Thomas was (3) years old. Everyone in this family was bilingual, and with the exception of young Thomas and they could all read and write. The house was 1st class and it had seven windows to the front.   The family of eight shared ten rooms. They had five out offices; a stable, a piggery, a cow house, a fowl house and a barn.

No 9: Catherine Kyne (59) was the head of this household. She was a general domestic servant and she was a single lady. Catherine spoke Irish only and she could not read. The house was 3rd class and it had one window to the front. Catherine occupied one room. There wasn’t any out houses on the property. Mary Anderson was the name of the landholder.

No 10: Bridget Reilly (71) was a widowed farmer. Her daughter Maggie (40) was a general domestic servant and daughter Cecily (22) had no occupation listed for her. Her sons James (32) and Patrick (29) were farmer’s sons. Bridget could not read and spoke only Irish. Her children could all read and write and they were bilingual. The family of five shared three rooms. They had a stable and a piggery on the premises.

No 11: was uninhabited.

 

 

 

This page was added on 29/03/2018.

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