Formweel (Formaoil)

Antoinette Lydon

Formweel (Formaoil) 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.

Irish Form of Name: Formaoil

Translation: a round hill

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

Formaoil is in the Electoral Division of Sailearna, in Civil Parish of Kilcummin, in the Barony of Moycullen, in the County of Galway

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

Formweel [weel crossed out – stet. written above it]
Formaoil
Forramhaoil
Formeel Barony Cess Book
Furmymole Barony Map
Furmweel Boundary Surveyor
Furmeel Local
Firmmeel Rector of Kilcummin

Comment: made Formoyle and Formile in Ulster

Description

Land very bad, containing 124 acres about 30 acres of arable including 116 ¾ acres of water, the remainder mountain pasture.

Situation:

In the S.E. extremity of the parish and bounded on the N. by Logganimma, on the E. by Cloghermore, on the W. by Mwickanaghkelloar and on the S. by Glannamarive townlands. [Following information written over under situations and descriptive remarks] Cnockaun Jack Cnockaunanoran, Baurcolla, Ailldhu, Glendhu.

In Furmile townland and Rusheenvrick – a flat boggy mountain with a few rocks scattered about it. – between Furmeel and Logannima is a very dangerous hole – hidden within a few passages.

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

Some other placenames in or near this townland are…

Landlord/Proprietor:

Thomas B. Martin of Ballynahinch Castle. Thomas B. Martin is a member of the Martin (Ross) family.

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’Flahertys. 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/

Information from the Down Survey Website:

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

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 FORMWEEL

Down Survey Name: Formoyle & Dirryneba
1641 Owner(s): Martin, Robert (Catholic); McMurragh, Daniell O’Flahartye (Catholic)
1670 Owner(s): Blake, Walter (Protestant)
County: Galway
Barony: Muckullin
Parish: Killcumyn
Unprofitable land: 1207 plantation acres
Profitable land: 63 plantation acres
Forfeited: 63 plantation acres

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 was ‘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 plough lands, 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 recognized 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 – 1829

Peter Walsh had 4 acres of land; 2 acres of 2nd quality land with a fee of 1s per acre, 2 acres of 3rd quality with a fee of 3d per acre.

The Tithes were payable to Richard Martin Esq. Reverend James Daly & Reverend John Wilson.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004587459/004587459_00440.pdf

http://places.webworld.org/people/2684

Griffith Valuation 1855

In Griffith’s Valuation the area in Formweel was a total of 1246 acres, 2 rood & 5 perch of land, water, houses & offices with a value of £9-0s-0d (Land) & £0-15s-0d (Buildings). 1129 acres 3 rood & 12 perch of land & 110 acres 2 rood & 33 perch of water.

Occupier: John Walsh, Peter Walsh & Thomas Walsh.

Immediate Lessor: Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&PlaceID=524883

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

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. Formweel is a townland.

Population & 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 of this townland.

Census 1841-1891

1841 – 4 houses with 29 people

1851 – 4 houses with 21 people

1861 – 4 houses with 21 people

1871 – 3 houses with 19 people

1881 – 4 houses with 28 people (15 males/13 females). There were 3 outbuildings. Total Valuation of Houses & Lands £10 0s 0d.

1891 – 4 houses with 29 people (17 males/12 females). There was 8 Outbuildings. Total Valuation of Houses & Lands £10 0s 0d.

1841/1851 Old Age Pension Census Search Forms

Ridge

An application was made by Ridge from Formwell in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2007. No Record was found for 1841.

Ridge

An application was made by Ridge from Formwell in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2008. Record was found for 1851.

Pat Ridge 1841 search

An application was made by Pat & John Ridge. Address: Officer of Customs and Excise Galway 2/2

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: Pat & Bridget Ridge

Residence in 1841: Townland: Formwell. Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway.

Date of receipt: 15.9.10 Reference: CenS/11/2007 Application No. D/10 20015

Return searched by ?? 29/9/10 Particulars found: Parents with son Patt aged 2 years, no trace of a son John Sheet 3.

Application form

John Ridge 1841 search

An application was made by Pat & John Ridge. Address: Officer of Customs and Excise Galway 2/2

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: Pat & Bridget Ridge

Residence in 1841: Townland: Formwell. Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway.

Date of receipt: 15.9.10 Reference: CenS/11/2007 Application No. D/10 20015

Return searched by ?? 29/9/10 Particulars found: Parents with son Patt aged 2 years, no trace of a son John Sheet 3.

Application form

Pat Ridge 1851

An application was made by Pat & John Ridge. Address: Officer of Customs and Excise Galway 2/2

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: Pat & Bridget Ridge

Residence in 1851: Townland: Formwell. Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway.

Date of receipt: 15.9.10 Reference: CenS/11/2007 Application No. D/10 20016

Return searched by ?? 29/9/10 Particulars found: No trace of the family

Application form

John Ridge 1851

An application was made by Pat & John Ridge. Address: Officer of Customs and Excise Galway 2/2

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: Pat & Bridget Ridge

Residence in 1851: Townland: Formwell. Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway.

Date of receipt: 15.9.10 Reference: CenS/11/2007 Application No. D/10 20016

Return searched by ?? 29/9/10 Particulars found: No trace of the family

Application form

Census 1901

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 Formweel. There were 10 buildings listed in the townland of Formweel. 25 (10 females/ 15 males) were all Roman Catholics. The people that lived in Formweel were born in Co. Galway.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000813644/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000813645/

Return of Out Offices & Farm Steadings

None listed in the Census website

House 1

John Walsh aged 70 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 68. They lived with their children Mathias aged 32, Michael aged 30, Maggie aged 27, Thomas aged 25, all single & cousin John Walsh aged 15.

John (father) was a farmer; Mathias, Michael & Thomas were farmer’s sons; Maggie was a farmer’s daughter & John (cousin) was a farm servant. John (father), Mathias, Michael, Thomas & cousin John could not read; they spoke Irish & English. Mary could not read and spoke only Irish. Maggie could read & write and spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Selerna/Form_Well/1378078/

House 2

Bridget Walsh aged 60 was head of the family, a widow. She lived with her children John aged 30 and Barbara aged 23, both single.

Bridget was a farmer; John was a farmer’s son & Barbara was a farmer’s daughter. They could not read and spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Selerna/Form_Well/1378079/

House 3

Comyn Walsh aged 60 was head of the family; married to Barbara aged 50. They lived with their children Mary aged 25, Bridget aged 21 & Patrick aged 19.

Comyn was a farmer; he could not read and spoke only Irish. Mary & Bridget were farmer’s daughters; Patrick was a farmer’s son; they could not read & spoke Irish & English. Barbara could read & spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Selerna/Form_Well/1378080/

House 4

John Walsh aged 60 was head of the family married to Barbara aged 44. They lived with their children Peter aged 26, Stephan aged 22, Bridget aged 21, Coleman aged 12, Michael aged 10 & Patrick aged 3.

John was a farmer; Peter & Stephan were farmer’s sons; Bridget was a farmer’s daughter; Coleman & Michael were scholars. John, Barbara, Michael & Patrick could not read; they spoke only Irish. Peter, Stephan & Bridget could not read; they spoke Irish & English. Coleman could read & write and spoke Irish & English. They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Selerna/Form_Well/1378081/

House 5

Patrick Walsh aged 36 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 18.

Patrick was a farmer; he could not read and spoke Irish & English. Mary could read; she spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 3^rd class house with 2 rooms and 2 front windows. This was a private dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Selerna/Form_Well/1378082/

Census 1911

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

There were 6 houses listed in the Townland of Formweel. Of the people living in Formweel all 23 (11 males/12 females) were Roman Catholics.

People that lived in Formweel were born included Co. Galway. There were a total of 14 farm buildings and out offices, which included stables, cow houses, calf houses & piggeries. Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002450539/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002450541/

Out Office & Farm Steading

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002450543/

House 1

Biddy Walsh aged 71 was head of the family; a widow. She lived with her children John aged 40, Annie aged 36, and Barbara aged 30, all single.

Biddy was a farmer. The family could not read & spoke only Irish.

Biddy was married for 50 years; she had 3 children.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510077/

House 2

Matthias Walsh aged 50 was head of the family; he lived with his brother Thomas aged 36, both single.

Matthias & Thomas were farmers; they could not read and spoke only Irish. Matthias was listed as paralyzed.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510078/

House 3

Barbara Walsh aged 67 was head of the family, a widow. She lived with her children Bridget aged 30 & Pat aged 28.

Barbara was a farmer; she could read & spoke Irish. Bridget & Pat could not read & spoke only Irish.

Barbara was married for 38 years; she had 2 children.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510079/

House 4

Peter Walsh aged 36 was head of the family; married to Maggie aged 37.

Peter was a farmer; he could not read and spoke only Irish. Maggie could read & write; she spoke only Irish. They were married for 2 years.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510080/

House 5

Barbara Walsh aged 64 was head of the family, a widow. She lived with her children Bridget aged 36, Colman aged 18, Michael aged 16 & Pat aged 13, all single.

Barbara was a farmer. Barbara & Bridget could not read. Colman, Michael & Pat could read & write. The family spoke only Irish.

Barbara was married for 40 years; she had 4 children.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510081/

House 6

Pat Walsh aged 60 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 27. They lived with their children Bridget aged 9, Tom aged 8, Pat aged 7 Mary aged 4 & Annie aged 2.

Pat was a farmer. The family could not read & spoke only Irish.

Pat & Mary were married for 10 years. They had 5 children.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Selerna/Formweel/510082/

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.)

Formweel [weel crossed out – stet. written above it] is in the civil parish of Kilcummin.

Roman Catholic parishes:

This civil parish corresponds with the following Roman Catholic parish or parishes.

Carraroe
Kilannin
Kilcummin/Oughterard
Rosmuc

Church of Ireland parishes:

This civil parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish.

Kilcummin

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° 20′ 43″ N, 9° 28′ 7″ W.

Original OS map of this area.

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

Formweel [weel crossed out – stet. written above it]

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.

Formweel [weel crossed out – stet. written above it]
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