Nail –Neal – Inga – Iongan – A Nail – An Ionga

Entries in the Ordnance Survey Name Books denoted some confusion over the name of this townland.  The ‘received’ or standard name was given first as Inga, and then as Nail or Inga, with an entry in the same column, which said ‘Iongan is a nail’.  In the reign of James I (1603-1625) it was recorded as Inga.  The spelling given by Rev. Francis Coghlan was Neal. The Placenames Commission officially records the townland today as Nail or Inga and gives its Irish version as An Ionga.

Location

Killiane, Lisaniska North, Derradda, Magheramore and Oxgrove border the townland of Nail or Inga.  Circa 1830 it contained a few farmhouses, limekilns and a grave-yard for children.  The greater part of the townland was arable, the remainder being bog and marsh.

Census 1841, 1851

Census statistics showed the pre-famine population as one hundred and five people in sixteen houses in 1841, but in 1851 the numbers had dwindled to fifty eight people living in eleven houses, denoting again the severe effects of the Great Famine.

Griffith’s Valuation 1855

Griffith’s Valuation gave the total acreage of the townland as two hundred acres, two roods and twenty one perches of land, with a total annual valuation of £82.13s.0d.  Lord Dunsandle was the landowner but only held twenty four perches of land for himself, on which were two cottiers’ houses and a garden    The remainder of the land, two hundred acres one rood and thirty seven perches, was leased out to Mary Grady, Patrick O’Hara, Bryan O’Hara, Peter O’Hara and Thomas O’Hara, each of whom held a house, and offices (sheds) on their portion of land.

Census 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891

Census statistics recorded forty one people in nine houses in 1861, reduced to thirty people in six houses in 1871.   Forty six people occupied seven houses in 1881 and in 1891.

1901 Census  

The 1901 census listed six private dwellings in Nail.   The names of the landholder and head of family in each case were: John Hara Senior, Michl. Hara Senior, Thomas Grady, William Spring, John Hara Junior and Michael Hara Junior.  Each house had a thatched roof and three windows in front.  Family numbers varied between eleven and four persons.

Thomas Grady

Thomas Grady, his wife Julia, and his children were listed as residents of a house 2 in Nail or Inga in 1901.  Thomas, aged 65, was a farmer and head of family.  Julia was 55 years old.  The sons were James and Patrick.  James was 24 years and Patrick was 17.  The elder daughter, Bridget was 28 and Maggie was 15 years.  Their occupation was given as farmer’s sons and farmer’s daughter and they were unmarried.  All family members were Roman Catholic and were born in Co. Galway.  Julia was unable to read but the rest of the family could read and write.  They spoke Irish and English.

The family’s 2nd class house was built on Thomas’s own holding.  It had 3 rooms, 3 windows in front, a thatch or wood roof and stone/brick or concrete walls.

The 6 out-offices were listed as: 1 shed, 1 barn, 1 piggery, 1 stable and 2 cow houses.

Thomas Gready (sic) signed the census form and Jno. E. Harte, Constable, was the Enumerator.

John Hara (Junr.)

John Hara was a 50 year old farmer, and head of family.  His wife, Anne was aged 40.  They had 5 children in 1901: the older son, Peter, was 8, next was 7  year old Mary, the second son was Edward, aged 6, John was 4 and the youngest son, Daniel was 3.  John, Anne, Peter and Mary could read and write.  Edward could read but the younger children were unable to do so.  All family members were born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic.

John’s house was built on his own holding; and was listed as 2nd class.  It had 3 rooms, 3 front windows, walls of stone/brick or concrete and a thatch or wood roof.

There were 6 out-offices on the holding: 1 barn, 1 shed, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 2 stables.

The Enumerator was Jno. E. Harte, Constable.  The census form, signed by John Hara, (Junr.) was collected on 10th April 1901.

Michael Hara (Sen.)

Michael Hara, and his wife Julia and their 4 children were residents of house 2 in Nail or Inga.  Michael, the head of family, was a 58 year old farmer and Julia was 45 in 1901.  Their children were: Mary, aged 22, Edward, who was 20, Michael, 16, and the youngest, Bridget, was aged 12.  The sons’ occupation was given as farmer’s sons.  Mary was described as a farmer’s daughter and Bridget was a scholar.  Michael was unable to read but all family members could read and write.  All were Roman Catholic and were born in Co. Galway.  Michael’s house, built on his own holding, had 3 rooms, 3 front windows, a thatch or wood roof, walls of stone/brick or concrete, and was listed as 2nd class.

There were 5 out-offices: a shed, a barn, a piggery, a cow house and a stable.

Michael Hara’s (Sen.) mark x was witnessed on the census form by the Enumerator, Jno. E. Harte, Constable.  The form was collected on 10th April.

John Hara (Senr.)

John Hara was listed on the census form of 1901 as occupying house 1.  He was a 58 year old farmer who lived with his wife, Ellen, 53, and 9 children.  The daughters were: Maggie, 26, Delia, 24, Ellen, 20, Norah, 14, and Mary aged 12 years.  Thomas, the older son, was 22, Bernard was 18, James was 16, and John, the youngest, was 10 years old.  The children were all unmarried; the 3 younger members were described as scholars, and the rest as farmer’s sons and farmer’s daughters.  All family members were Roman Catholic, born in Co. Galway and could read and write.

The private dwelling, listed as a 2nd class house, was built on John’s own holding.  It had stone/brick or concrete walls, a thatch or wood roof, 3 rooms and 3 front windows.

There were 6 out-offices on the holding: 1 cow house, 1 piggery, 1 barn, 1 shed and 2 stables.

John Hara (Senr.) signed the census form which was collected on 10th April.  The Enumerator was Jno. E. Harte, Constable.

Michael Hara (Junr.)

Michael Hara, his wife, Anne and 4 children lived in Nail/Inga in 1901.  Michael, listed as head of family and a farmer, was aged 63; Anne was 54 years.  The sons were: Michael, 26, Thomas, 24, and Joseph 14; the only daughter listed was Mary, aged 11.  Neither Michael nor Anne could read but the children were able to read and write.  At this stage the children were single.  All family members were born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic.

Michael owned the holding on which the 2nd class house stood.  The roof was of thatch or wood, the walls were of stone/brick or concrete; the house had 3 rooms and 3 front windows.  There were 5 out-offices with the house: a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a barn and a shed.

Jno. E. Harte, Constable, who was the Enumerator, witnessed Michael Hara’s (Junr.) mark x on the census form.  The form was collected on 10th April.

William Spring

William Spring, his wife, Maria, and their son and daughter were residents of house 4.  William was a 63 year old farmer and head of family.  Ellen was 54; the son, Patrick was 16 years and the daughter, Maggie was 14.  The parents could not read but both children could read and write.  The 4 family members were Roman Catholic and born in Co. Galway.

Their private dwelling, a 2nd class house, was built on William’s holding.  It had 4 rooms occupied; there were 3 windows in front, the roof was of thatch or wood and the walls were of stone/brick or concrete.

There were 4 out-offices on the holding: a barn, a piggery, a cow house and a stable.  William’s mark x on the census form was witnessed by Jno. E. Harte, Constable, who was the Enumerator.  The form was collected on 10th April 1901.

1911 Census

Two name changes were noted in the1911 census, with the names Annie Hara and Julia Hara now appearing.

Thomas Grady  

Thomas Grady was described in the 1911 census as farmer, head of family and widower.  Living with, 78 year old, Thomas were: his daughter Bridget, aged 35, his 32 year old son, James, and a second son, Patrick, who was 27.  The 3 children were single.  Thomas could speak Irish and English and all the family could read and write.  They were all born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic.

Their house, listed as 2nd class, was built on Thomas’s own holding.  The family occupied 3 rooms; there were 3 windows in front; it had a thatch or wood roof and walls of stone/brick or concrete.

Eight out-offices were listed: 1 shed, 1 barn, 1 fowl house, 1 piggery, 1 calf house, 1 cow house and 2 stables.

The census form, which was collected on April 7th, was signed by Thomas Grady.  The Enumerator was William Pender, Constable.

Michael Hara

Michael Hara, aged 73, and listed as head of family and a farmer, lived in Nail/Inga.  The other residents in the house were: his wife Anne who was 73; their 2 unmarried sons, Michael, aged 36 and Joseph who was 23; and 21 year old Mary who was also single.  All family members were Roman Catholic and born in Co. Galway.  The father Michael could speak Irish and English.  The 3 children could read and write but the parents could read only.  Michael and Anne were married 45 years, had 9 children, all of whom were still living in 1911.

The Hara private dwelling, a 2nd class house, was built on Michael’s own holding.  There were 4 rooms, 3 front windows, a thatch or wood roof and the house walls were of stone/brick or concrete.

Along with the house were 6 out-offices: a barn, a fowl house, a piggery, a calf house, a cow house and a stable.

The census form was signed by Michael Hara and was collected on April 7th.  The Enumerator was William Pender, Constable.

Annie Hara

Annie Hara was a 53 year old widow, who was head of family and a farmer.  She and 4 children were residents of house 2.  Her daughter, Mary was 18; Peter, the elder son was 19; John was aged 16 and Daniel was 13.  Peter’s occupation was given as farmer’s son and the younger boys were scholars.  All occupants were born in Co. Galway, were Roman Catholic and could read and write.  In addition, Peter and Daniel could speak Irish and English.

Annie Hara owned the holding on which her private dwelling stood.  The 2ndclass house had 3 rooms, 3 windows in front, walls of stone/brick or concrete, and a thatch or wood roof.  Five out-offices were listed: a barn, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house and a shed.

William Pender, Constable, was the Enumerator.

Annie Hara signed the census form which was collected on April 7th.

John O’Hara

John O’Hara was a farmer and listed as head of family.  He was 69 and his wife, Ellen, was 66.  Their unmarried sons and daughters lived with them; Thomas was 27 and the younger boy, John, was 17; the older, daughter, Delia, was 25 and the second girl, Mary, was 18 years.  All family members were Roman Catholic, born in Co. Galway, could read and write and speak English.

Their 2nd class house was built on John’s own holding; its walls were of stone/brick or concrete, the roof was thatch or wood, it had 3 rooms occupied by the family and 3 windows in front.

Included in the 9 out-offices were: 1 shed, 1 barn, 1 boiling house, 1 fowl house, 1 piggery, 1 stable, 1 calf house and 2 cow houses.

The Enumerator was William Pender, Constable.

The census form was collected on April 7th, and was signed by John Hara (sic).  The family members surname was listed on Form A as O’Hara.

William Spring

William Spring and his son, also named William, lived in house 3 in Nail/Inga.  William, senior, was 73 years and the son was 22.  The father was a farmer, and widower.  The son was listed as an unmarried farmer’s son.  Both were born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic.  Neither person could read but could speak Irish and English.

Their 2nd class house had 4 rooms, 3 front windows, a thatch or wood roof and stone/brick or concrete walls.

In 1911 there was 1 out-office on the holding: a stable.

The census form, signed by William Spring, was collected on April 7th.  The Enumerator was William Pender, Constable.

Julia O’Hara

Julia O’Hara, her two sons and her daughter lived in Nail/Inga in 1911.  Julia, a farmer and head of family, was 60 years.  Edward was 30, Michael was 26, and Mary was 31.  All 3 were unmarried.  Julia and her family were Catholic, born in Co. Galway and could read and write.

The family house had walls of stone/brick or concrete, a thatch or wood roof, 3 rooms and 3 front windows.  This private dwelling listed as a 2nd class house, was built on Julia’s own holding.

Six out-offices were listed; a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house, a barn and a shed.

Julia O’Hara signed the census form, which was collected on April 7th.  The Enumerator was William Pender, Constable.

This page was added on 17/02/2017.

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