Gortmore

Antoinette Lydon

Gortmore is in the civil parish of Kilcummin. The civil Parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish of Kilcummin, Galway West. In general the civil parish and the Church of Ireland parish are the same as is the case in the Kilcummin Oughterard area.

Gortmore is in the Electoral Division of Turlough, in Civil Parish of Kilcummin, in the Barony of Moycullen, in the County of Galway
Irish Form of Name: Gort Mór
Translation: great field
Other Forms of the Name with the authority source (if provided) in italics.
Gortmore
Gort Mór
Gortmore Boundary Surveyor
Gurtmore Barony Cess Book
Gurtmore Local
Other placenames in this townland:
Some other placenames in or near this townland are …

This is a list of townlands that share a border with this townland.

Description:

Gortmore contains 523 acres of land about 10 acres of which are under an inferior description of tillage and 20¼ acres of water. The remainder is mountain pasture. Two bye roads pass through it. On its most elevated point stands theTrig. Station of Gortmore 403 feet above the level of the sea.
Situation:
In the South Western extremity of the parish. Bounded on the North by Cruckadaav, on the South and South East by Glencoha, on the West by Turlough.

Gortmore borders the following other townlands:

Proprietor:

Thomas B. Martin
of Ballynahinch Castle.
Information on the owner’s family from the Landed Estates Database;
Thomas B. Martin is a member of the Martin (Ross) family.

The landlord was Thomas B. Martin, Esq., Ballinahinch. Thomas B. Martin was a member of the Martin of Ross Family as stated in the Landed Estates Database.

  • Martin (Ross) – The Martin family were established beside Ross Lake in the barony of Moycullen, county Galway, from the late 16th century, where they purchased land from the O’Flaherty’s. They were Royalist supporters and were dispossessed of their property in the city of Galway by the Cromwellians. Robert Martin received a grant of 2,909 acres in the barony of Moycullen, by patent dated 21 Aug 1677. Jasper Martin of Ross, who died in 1700, had two sons Jasper and Richard, from whom descend the two branches of the family settled at Ross and Ballynahinch. Nicholas Martin, who died in 1811, married Elizabeth O’Hara, daughter of Robert O’Hara of Lenaboy, and according to Burke’s ”Landed Gentry”, a grandniece of James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley. Their grandson, James Martin of Ross, had sixteen children from his two marriages. His daughter, Maud, married H. Callwell and they were the parents of the author, J. M. Callwell. The youngest daughter of James Martin was Violet Florence Martin of the well known literary team Somerville and Ross. The Martins of Ross owned 5,767 acres in county Galway in the 1870s. They advertised the sale of their estate in the Landed Estates’ Court in May 1885.
  • Martin (Ballynahinch) – A branch of the Anglo Norman family of Martin, one of the Tribes of Galway, was granted the O’Flaherty lands in the Connemara region in the mid 17th century. This family were a junior branch of the Martins of Ross and under the Acts of Settlement were granted vast estates in counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Clare and Sligo. By a patent dated 1698 they were confirmed in the possession of their Connemara estate known as the Manor of Claremount by King William. The Westport Estate Papers document the sale of over 27,000 acres in the baronies of Moycullen and Ballynahinch by the trustees for the sale of Colonel John Browne’s estate to John Edwards for Richard Martin in 1699. The early generations of Martins lived at Birch Hall and Dangan, in the townland of Oranhill, parish of Rahoon, near Galway city. Richard Martin, better known as ‘Humanity Dick’, was the first member of the family to be reared as a Protestant. He was a famous duellist and founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Ballynahinch Castle was built in the centre of his estate. His son Thomas Martin died in 1847 during the Famine and Thomas’s only daughter and heir, Mary Laetita, inherited a heavily encumbered estate. She married her cousin, Arthur Gonne Bell, and died in New York in 1850. The Martin estates were offered for sale in two sections in 1849. Their property close to Galway town included Dangan, Corcullen, Bushypark and Killeen. Their Connemara estate was acquired by the Law Life Assurance Society in 1852, to whom it was heavily mortgaged. In 1853 the estate of almost 200,000 acres was surveyed by Thomas Colville Scott for a prospective buyer. Richard Martin, second son of Richard ‘Humanity Dick’ Martin of Ballynahinch, is recorded as holding five townlands in the parish of Killannin, barony of Moycullen, county Galway, at the time of Griffith’s Valuation although he emigrated to Canada in 1833. He was also recorded as the occupier of Clareville, a Martin home in the village of Oughterard. Many of his descendants still reside in Canada. http://www.martinhistory.net/

Down’s Survey

The Down Survey is a mapped survey. Using the Civil Survey as a guide, teams of surveyors, mainly former soldiers, were sent out under Petty’s direction to measure every townland to be forfeited to soldiers and adventurers. The resulting maps, made at a scale of 40 perches to one inch (the modern equivalent of 1:50,000), were the first systematic mapping of a large area on such a scale attempted anywhere. The primary purpose of these maps was to record the boundaries of each townland and to calculate their areas with great precision. The maps are also rich in other detail showing churches, roads, rivers, castles, houses and fortifications. Most towns are represented pictorially and the cartouches, the decorative titles, of each map in many cases reflect a specific characteristic of each barony. (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie)

Townland of GORTMORE (Moycullen By)

No townland information available.

The Down Survey website will tell you who owned this townland in 1641 (pre Cromwell) and in 1671 (post Cromwell).

Down Survey website

The Tithe Applotment Books

About the Records

Tithes were a tax on agricultural produce which was payable by the occupiers of agricultural land. They were the main source of income for the parish clergy of the Church of Ireland (the largest Protestant church and the church established by law). However, in many parishes a large part of the tithes were ‘appropriate’, which meant that they were payable to a bishop, cathedral chapter or other ecclesiastical recipient, or were ‘impropriate’, which generally meant that they were payable to a local landowner. The parishes used in the Tithe Applotment Books are civil or Church of Ireland parishes, which often differ in name and territory from Catholic parishes, Acts of Parliament of 1823 and 1832 provided for the conversion of tithes into a fixed charge on land, and specified the average price of wheat or oats in the parish in the seven years before 1821 as the basis on which the tithes would be calculated. They also extended the application of tithes to pasture, where previously they had been levied only on tillage.

This change in the law resulted in the valuation of individual holdings in almost all parishes containing agricultural land, in order to assess the portion of the tithes for which each occupier of land would be liable. The apportionment was recorded for each Church of Ireland parish in a Tithe Composition Applotment Book. The information was collected and the amounts were calculated by two Parochial Commissioners, one of whom was appointed by the cess-payers of the parish and the other by the relevant Diocese of the Church of Ireland. This procedure was carried out in over 2,500 parishes between the years 1823 and 1837.

The Tithe Applotment Books are in a variety of formats, from a few pages sewn together to elaborately bound volumes. In most cases they are written in manuscript throughout, although some consist of manuscript entries on printed questionnaires. The information in the books is broadly uniform and generally includes at least the name of occupier; the size of holding, the valuation and the tithe payable. In some cases more detailed information is provided. Some volumes have maps and most have certificates and correspondence attached.

The sub-divisions of the parish were recorded. Some of these subdivisions, such as ploughlands, ceased to be in official use after the six inch survey of the Ordnance Survey was completed in the 1840s. Only productive land was subject to tithe, and the books usually distinguish between this tithable land and untithable land such as roads or mountains. Tithable land was in some cases classified by quality, and a money value was given to each class. In some cases the proportion of tithe payable to the rector, vicar or lay proprietor of the tithes was set out. The column for observations was sometimes completed, with information about commonage, for example.

There are a number of other points that should be noted. The acreages given in the Tithe Applotment Books are in Irish or Plantation measure, which is 1.62 times larger than statute measure. Only occupiers of land at the time of the tithe composition are recorded, so not all heads of households living in a parish at the time are included. Only rural areas are systematically covered, although inhabitants of towns who held plots of cultivable land are included. The equivalent tax in urban areas, Minister’s Money, has left few records.

The Tithe Applotment Books are an important source of information for a wide variety of researchers of pre-Famine Ireland. They provide the first surviving national list of the occupiers of land, and are used by genealogists as a partial substitute for returns of the 1821 and 1831 censuses of population, which were destroyed in 1922. They also record information on the quality of land, and provide information on pre-Ordnance Survey territorial divisions, some of which were not recognised after the 1840s.

The National Archives hold the original Tithe Applotment Books only for the twenty-six counties of the Republic of Ireland. The books for the six counties of Northern Ireland are held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast.

(http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp)

No information available for Gortmore.

Information From Griffith’s Valuation (1850s)

In Griffith’s valuation the area was 522 acres, 3 rood & 32 perch of land value £7 0s 0d. 20 acres, 1 rood & 7 perch of Water. Total rateable value of £7 0s 0d.

Occupier of Land – Bryan King

Immediate Lessors: Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.

Out Offices and Land

The out office was a farm building, a cow house, piggery or barn. The land was very poor and sterile and people were always poverty-stricken. At this time most tenants were trying to eke out a living on 5 acres or less and a farmer needed at least 15.3 acres to survive.

Poor Law Union Ireland

In Ireland the Poor Relief Act of 1838 divided into districts or “unions” in which the local taxable inhabitants were to be financially responsible for all paupers in the area. In 1898 the Poor Law Union was adopted as the basic administrative division in place of the civil parish and barony. Further subdivision into 828 registration districts and 3,751 district electoral divisions followed. Townlands were not arranged according to these divisions with parish and barony retained as a means to make comparisons with records gathered before 1898.

The 1838 Act

The main provisions of the 1838 Act were:

  • The extension of the existing Poor Law Commissioners’ powers to Ireland, with the appointment of Assistant Commissioners who were to implement the Act in Ireland.
  • The division of the country into Poor Law Unions based on Irish electoral divisions which were themselves made up from townlands.
  • The creation of a Board of Guardians for each Union, two-thirds of whom were to be elected, the other third to be appointed ex officio.
  • The setting up of a workhouse in each Union.
  • The collection of a local poor-rate to finance the system.
  • Assistance for emigration.

Initially, 130 Unions were created, based upon 2,049 electoral divisions. The divisions were composed of townlands, a peculiarly Irish unit, traditionally of 120 Irish acres in area. (Between 1848 and 1850, an additional 33 Unions were created by subdividing and reorganizing the boundaries of some existing Unions, particularly in the west of the country.

Boards of Guardians were elected annually on 25th March. Only rate-payers were eligible for election, which effectively disenfranchised most of the native Irish who were usually tenants at this time. Rate-payers were allowed between one and six votes depending on the size of a valuation of their property.

What is a townland?
A townland is one of the smallest land divisions in Ireland. They range in size from a few acres to thousands of acres. Many are Gaelic in origin, but some came into existence after the Norman invasion of 1169.
Gortmore is a townland.

Population and Census Information

People who lived here:
You can retrieve a list of people who lived in this townland from 1827 to 1911. This list is compiled from the following resources.

  • The Tithe Applotment Books
  • Griffith’s Valuation
  • 1901 Census
  • 1911 Census

List of nineteenth century and early twentieth century inhabitants.

Census 1841-1891

1841 – 1 house with 6 people living in Gortmore.

1851 – No one lived in the town land.

1861 – 2 houses with 10 people.

1871- 2 houses with 10 people.

1881 – 4 house (3 inhabited, 1 uninhabited) with 19 people (13 males, 6 females). There were 3 out buildings. The valuation of Houses & Land in 1881 was £16 15s 0d.

1891 – 5 house (4 inhabited & 1 uninhabited) with 20 people (10 males, 10 females). There were 7 out buildings. The valuation of Houses & Land in 1891 was £17 0d 0s.

1901 Census

This is a return of the members of the family, their Visitors, Boarders, Servants who slept or abode in their house on the night of Sunday March 31st 1901 in Gortmore.

There were 5 houses (3 inhabited) listed in the Townland of Gortmore. The people were all Roman Catholics and they were born in Counties Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Roscommon, Wexford, Armagh & Donegal. There were 10 males and 8 females a total of 18 persons living in the townland.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000839855/ 

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000839856/ 

Out offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000839857/ 

House 1.1

Patrick Connolly aged 33 was head of the family; married to Jane Mary aged 35. They lived with their children Frank aged 8, Dot aged 5, Mary M aged 4, Jack aged 2, Gertrude aged 6 months, sister in law Marion Grant aged 22 and Bridget Sullivan aged 16, all single.

Patrick & Jane Mary were National School Teachers, the children were scholars, Marion was a housekeeper and Bridget was a general servant. Patrick, Jane Mary, Frank, Dot, Marion & Bridget could read and write and spoke Irish & English. Mary M could read & spoke Irish & English. Jack could not read & spoke Irish & English, Gertrude could not read.

Jane Mary & Marion were born in Co. Kilkenny; the rest of the household were born in Co. Galway.

This house was listed as house 1.1 on the main body of the Census, where on the House & Building Return; this household is listed as House 2 on the House & Building Return. They lived in a 2nd class house with 3 rooms and 4 front windows. They had a coach house, Cow house, turf house & a potato house. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Turlough/Gortmore/1394129/

 House 1.2  R.I.C. Barracks

Sergeant S. M. aged 38, male from Co. Limerick, married. He was a farmer’s son; he could read & write.

Constable T. C. aged 27, male from Co. Sligo, single. He was a farmer’s son; he could read & write.

Constable P. D. aged 27, male from Co. Roscommon, single. He was a farmer’s son; he could read & write.

Constable T. D. aged 24, male from Co. Wexford, single. He was a gardener; he could read & write.

Constable P. H. aged 28, male from Co. Armagh, single. He was a farmer’s son; he could read & write.

Constable W. McG. aged 26, male from Co. Donegal, single. He was a farmer’s son; he could read & write.

This house was listed as house 1.2 on the main body of the Census, where on the House & Building Return; this building as listed as House 1 on the House & Building Return. They lived in a 1st class house with 4 rooms and 6 front windows. They had a stable & coach house. This was a Barracks.

Barracks Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000839858/

House 2

Julia Whelan aged 40 was head of the family; a widow. She lived with her children Mary Ellen aged 26 & John aged 24. Julia was a housekeeper, Mary Ellen was a general labourer and John was a shepherd. Julia could not read. Mary Ellen & John could read & write. The entire household spoke Irish & English. This house was listed as house 2 on the main body of the Census, where on the House & Building Return; this building as listed as House 5 on the House & Building Return. They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They had a cow house & a piggery. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Turlough/Gortmore/1394130/

House 3

Gortmore Male National School, uninhabited.

House 4

Gortmore Female National School, uninhabited.

1911 Census

This is a return of the Members of families in Gortmore, their visitors, boarders and servants who slept or abode in the house on the night of Sunday the 2nd of April 1911.

There were 4 houses (3 inhabited) listed in the Townland of Gortmore. The people were all Roman Catholics and they were born in Counties Galway, Kilkenny, Kerry, Armagh, Roscommon, Clare & Cavan. There were 10 males and 5 females a total of 15 persons living in the townland.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002433757/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002433759/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002433761/

House 1

Patrick Connolly aged 43 was head of the family; married to Jane Mary aged 40. They lived with their children Mary Margaret aged 13, John Joseph aged 12, Gertrude aged 6 10 and sister in law Mary Anne Grant aged 38, single.

Patrick & Jane Mary were National School Teachers, the children were scholars; they could read & write and spoke Irish & English. Mary Anne could read & write.

Jane Mary & Mary Anne were born in Co. Kilkenny; the rest of the family were born in Co. Galway.

Patrick & Jane Mary were married for 18 years; they had 5 children with all 5 living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 1st class house with 7 rooms with 4 front windows. They had a stable, coach house, cow house & a turf house.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Turlough/Gortmore/470911/

House 2

Sergeant J. K. aged 49, male from Co. Kerry, married. He could read & write.

Constable P. H. aged 37, male from Co. Armagh single. He could read & write.

Constable J. R. aged 31, male from Co. Roscommon, single. He could read & write.

Constable J. C. aged 24, male from Co. Clare single. He could read & write.

Constable J. R. aged 28, male from Co. Cavan, single. He could read & write.

They lived in a 1st class house with 7 rooms and 6 front windows. They had a stable, coach house & a store. This was a Barracks.

Barracks Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002433763/

House 3

John Hylard (typo on Census website, it should read Hyland) aged 40 was head of the family; married to Ann aged 32. They lived with their children Thomas aged 3 and John aged 1.

John was a herd. John & Ann could read & write and spoke Irish & English. Thomas could not read; he spoke Irish. John could not read.

John & Ann were married for 4 years; they had 2 children with both living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They had a cow house & a piggery. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Turlough/Gortmore/470913/

Church records of births, deaths and marriages:

Church records of births, deaths and marriages are available online at http://www.rootsireland.ie. To search these records you will need to know the ‘church parish’ rather than the ‘civil parish’. (The civil parish is the pre-reformation parish and was frequently used as a unit of administration in the past.)
Gortmore is in the civil parish of Kilcummin.
Catholic parish:
This civil parish corresponds with the following Roman Catholic parish or parishes.

  • Clonbern & Kilkerrin in Galway East.
  • Carraroe in Galway West.
  • Kilannin in Galway West.
  • Kilcummin/Oughterard in Galway West.
  • Rosmuc in Galway West.
Church of Ireland parish:
This civil parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish.

  • Kilcummin in Galway West.
In general, the civil parish and the Church of Ireland parish are the same, but, this is not always the case.

Maps

It is located at 53° 23′ 35″ N, 9° 36′ 7″ W.

Original OS map of this area

Ireland was first mapped in the 1840s. These original maps are available online.

Gortmore

Original OS maps at the Ordnance Survey of Ireland website

Below is a link to the Ordnance Survey of Ireland website. It displays the original OS map that was created in the 1840s.

Gortmore

Information from Google Maps:

You can use this link to find this townland on Google Maps.

Google Maps

Information from the National Monuments Service:

You can use this link to view a map of archaeological features. This link brings you to a website wherein you will have to search for your townland.

Archaeological map from the National Monuments Service

Galway Library Website

http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/asp/fullresult.asp?id=52434 

Townlands.ie Website

https://www.townlands.ie/galway/moycullen/kilcummin/turlough/gortmore/ 

This page was added on 19/05/2016.

No Comments

Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page!

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.