Rossroe Island

Antoinette Lydon

Rossroe Island 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.

Rossroe Island is in the Electoral Division of Crumpaun, in Civil Parish of Kilcummin, in the Barony of Moycullen, in the County of Galway

Information taken from O’Donovans Field Name Books

http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/asp/fullresult.asp?id=53253

Irish Form of Name: Ros Ruadh

Translation:  point or wood island

Parish:  Kilcummin
View all place names in this civil parish.

Other Forms of the Name with the authority source (if provided) in italics.

Rossroe
Ros Ruadh
Ros Ruadh
Rusrooa Boundary Surveyor
Rossrua Island Barony Cess Book
Russrue County Map
Rusrooa Local

Rossroe Ieland contains 57¾ acres about 20 acres of tillage and pasture, the remainder is bog and rough pasture. It is also inhabited. Situated N.E. of Inchavakinna.

Situation:

An island in the Great Man’s Bay. It belongs to Carhoorooa North townland.

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)

Tithe Applotment – Rossroe Island

No information given for Rossroe Island

Information from the Down Survey Website:

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.

Townland of ROSSROE ISLAND

Down Survey Name: Mountain
1670 Owner(s): Martin, Richard (Catholic); Clanrickard, Earl of (Protestant)
County: Galway
Barony: Muckullin
Parish: Killcumyn

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

Down Survey website

Griffiths Valuation

In Griffith’s valuation the area was 57 acres, 3 rood & 30 perch with a land value £10 10s 0d. Building Value was £1 0s 0d. The total valuation of £11 10s 0d. http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&PlaceID=559492

Occupiers of the land

Edward Feenaghty, Joseph Kinealy, Stephen Griffin & John Flaherty.

Immediate Lessor

Martin Kirwan.

View the heads of households in the townland at this time;

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 5acres 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. Town lands 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 town lands.
  • 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 town lands, 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.

Townland information:

Rossroe is a townland.

Census & Population 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 houses with 7 people

1851 – 4 houses with 25 people

1861 – 4 houses with 26 people

1871 – 4 houses with 30 people

1881 – 4 houses (all houses inhabited) with 34 people (12 Males & 22 Females) with 5 outbuildings. Valuation of Houses & Lands £11 15s 0d.

1891 – 4 houses (4 houses inhabited) with 28 people (14 Males & 14 Females) with 5 outbuildings. Valuation of Houses & Lands £11 15s 0d.

1841/1851 Old Age Pension Census Search Forms

Flaherty

An application was made by Flaherty from Rossaroe  in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2058. Record was found for 1851?.

Flaherty

An application was made by Flaherty from Rossaroe in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2059. Record was found for 1851.

Flaherty

An application was made by Flaherty from Rossaroe in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2060.  Record was found for 1851?.

Census 1901 Rossroe Island

This is a return of the member of the family, their Visitors, Boarders, and Servants who slept or abode in their house on the night of 31st of March 1901 in Rossroe Island. There were 5 houses listed in the townland of Rossroe Island. Of the people living in Rossroe Island 34 (13 males/21 females) were Roman Catholics. The people that lived in Rossroe Island were born in Co. Galway.

There were a total of 5 farm buildings and out offices which included cow houses & a piggery.

Class of House: The class of house depended on the materials used in the roof, walls, number of rooms and number of front windows. A 1st class house was considered the highest standard.

Walls of the houses: The walls were of stone, brick, and concrete or of mud, wood or other perishable material. The house in Rossroe Island was built of stone, brick or concrete. There were no mud cabins.

House Occupancy:  5 Houses were occupied on the night of the Census.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000838553/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000838554/

Return of Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000838555/

House 1

Michael Flaherty aged 50 was head of the family, married to Margaret aged 40. They lived with their children Colman aged 16, John aged 14, Michael aged 10 Anne aged 8, Mary aged 6, Maggie aged 4 & infant Bartly aged 4 days old.

Michael was a farmer. Colman, John & Bartly were farmer’s sons, Michael & Anne were scholars and Mary & Maggie were farmer’s daughters.

Michael, Margaret, Anne, Mary, Maggie & Bartly could not read. Colman, John & Michael could read and write. Michael (father) Anne, Mary & Maggie spoke only Irish. Margaret, Colman, John & Michael spoke Irish & English. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They had a cow house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/1393258/

House 2

Thomas Flaherty aged 38 was head of the family, married to Bridget aged 25. They lived with their children Martin aged 2, Bridget aged 1 and Coleman Kelly aged 12.

Thomas was a farmer and Coleman was a domestic servant. Thomas spoke only Irish; Bridget & Coleman spoke Irish & English. The entire household could not read or write. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They had a cow house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/1393259/

House 3

Michael Griffin aged 35 was head of the family, married to Mary aged 30. They lived with their children Bridget aged 10, Stephen aged 9, Mathias aged 5, Tom aged 3, Martin aged 4½ months, his mother Bridget Griffin aged 80 and Patrick O’Donnell aged 12.

Michael was a farmer. Mathias, Tom & Martin were farmer’s sons. Bridget & Stephen were scholars and Patrick was a farm servant. Daughter Bridget could read & write; the rest of the household could not read or write. Michael, Mary, Stephen, Mathias, Tom & mother Bridget spoke only Irish. Bridget & Patrick spoke Irish & English. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They did not have an out building. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/1393260/

House 4

Colman Feenaghty aged 54 was head of the family, married to Mary aged 50. They lived with their children John aged 20, Honour aged 17, Patrick aged 15 & Martin aged 13.

Colman was a farmer. Colman, Mary, John & Martin spoke only Irish, they could not read. Honour & Patrick spoke Irish & English; they spoke Irish & English. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

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

The surname Feenaghty is nowadays spelt as Finnerty and the daughter’s name Honour is usually spelt Honor, this is also known as Nora.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/1393261/

House 5

Darby Flaherty aged 80 was head of the family, a widower, he lived with his son Colman aged 26, daughter in law Bridget aged 26 & grandchildren Colman aged 2 & Bridget aged 1.

Darby & Colman were farmers. The entire family could not read. Darby, Colman, Bridget & son Colman spoke only Irish. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. They had a cow house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/1393262/

Census 1911 – Rossroe Island

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

There was 4 houses listed in the Townland of Rossroe Island, Of the people living in Rossroe Island, all 36 (20 males/16 females) were Roman Catholics.

People that lived in Rossroe Island were born in Co. Galway. There were a total of 6 farm buildings and out offices which included stables, cow houses, piggery & a fowl house.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002431386/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002431388/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002431388/

House 1

Thomas Flaherty aged 45 was head of the family, married to Bridget aged 37. They lived with their children Martin aged 11, Bridget aged 9, Barbra (Barbara) aged 7, Mary aged 5, Kate aged 4 and Anne aged 1.

Thomas was a farmer and Martin, Bridget, Barbara & Mary were labourers. The entire family spoke only Irish. Thomas, Bridget, Mary, Kate & Anne could not read or write.  Martin, Bridget & Barbara could read & write. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

Tom & Bridget were married for 13 years; they had 6 children with all 6 still living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had a fowl house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/470059/

House 2

Michael Flaherty aged 66 was head of the family, married to Maggie aged 60. They lived with their children Pat aged 24, Anne aged 18, Sarah aged 16, Bartly aged 10 & Kate aged 7.

Michael was a farmer. Pat was a farm labourer and Maggie, Sarah, Bartly & Kate were scholars.

Michael, Maggie & Pat could not read. Annie, Maggie, Sarah, Bartly & Kate could read and write. All the family spoke Irish & English. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

Michael & Maggie were married for 30 years; they had 12 children with 11 still living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had a stable & a piggery. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/470060/

House 3

Michael Griffin aged 65 was head of the family, married to Mary aged 45. They lived with their children Bridget aged 22, Stephen aged 20, Mary aged 18, Tom aged 16, Martin aged 12, Patrick aged 7, Michael aged 6 & John aged 4. All the children were single.

Michael was a farmer, Stephen & Tom were farm labourers, Martin, Patrick & Michael were scholars. Michael, his wife Mary, daughter Mary, Tom, Martin, Patrick, Michael & John could not read. Bridget & Stephen could read & write. Bridget spoke Irish & English; the rest of the family spoke only Irish. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

Michael & Mary were married for 24 years; they had 9 children with 8 still living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had a cow house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/470061/

House 4

Patrick Thornton aged 75 was head of the family, a widower; he lived with his son John aged 40, daughter in law Maggie aged 30 and granddaughter Mary aged 4 months.

Patrick & John were farmers. Patrick, John & Maggie could not read and spoke only Irish. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

John & Maggie were married for 1 year; they had 1 child and she was living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had a cow house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/470062/

House 5

John Finnerty aged 42 was head of the family, married to Bridget aged 27, they lived with their children Mary aged 3, John aged 2 & baby Norah aged 2 months & his mother Mary Finnerty aged 73.

John was a farmer.  Mary was a widow. John, his mother Mary & son John spoke only Irish & could not read. Bridget could read and write & spoke Irish & English, Mary (daughter) could not read, she spoke Irish & English. The entire household was Roman Catholic.

John & Bridget were married for 4 years; they had 3 children and all 3 were 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. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Crumpaun/Rossroe_Island/470063/

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.)

Rossroe 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° 17′ 10″ N, 9° 36′ 25″ W.

Original OS map of this area

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

Rossroe

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.

Rossroe
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

Townlands.ie Website

http://www.townlands.ie/galway/moycullen/kilcummin/crumpaun/rossroe-island/

This page was added on 18/02/2016.

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