Glengowla East

Text - Mary Kyne, Hyperlinks & Maps - Antoinette Lydon

G. Geoghegan
G. Geoghegan

Glengowla East 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.

The Irish form of the name is Glinn Gobhla – the glen of the fork

Glengowla East is in the Electoral Division of Oughterard, in Civil Parish of Kilcummin, in the Barony of Moycullen, in the County of Galway

Other forms of the name that appear on other documents

 

Glengowla

Glinn Gobhla (local name)

Glin Gobhla

Glengoula East Boundary Surveyor

Glengowla Barony Cess Book

Glengowla County Map

Glengoula East Local

East Glingoula Rector of Kilcummin

Glengowlane alias Glengowlabeg T. H. O’Flaherty Esq., Proprietor Qr de Glongoale Inquis. Temp. Jac. I

Area

The area is 366¼ acres, about 60 acres of which are under tillage and pasture, the Oughterard and Clifden road passes through the townland. There is an ancient fort on its western boundary. The remainder of this townland is mountain pasture including 6¼ acres of water.

Situation and Boundary

In the northern extremity of the parish. Bounded on the North by Lettercraff, West by Glengoula West, on the E. by Claremount and Rusheeny and South by Rusheeny.

Glengowla East borders the following other townlands:

Rusheeny to the south

Landlord

Captain O’Flaherty of Lemonfield

Captain O’Flaherty is a member of the O’Flahertie (Lemonfield) family.

The family spells the name O’fflahertie

O’Flahertie (Lemonfield) – The O’Flaherties of Lemonfield are descended from the O’Flaherties of Aughnanure Castle near Oughterard, County Galway. Their estate was in the parish of Kilcummin, barony of Moycullen, County Galway, and Lemonfield, close to the village of Oughterard, was their seat from the mid 18th century. There are some 17th and 19th century records relating to them in the Westport Papers. The O’Flahertie estate of over 4500 acres was advertised for sale in 1854 and a reduced acreage of 2346 acres in 1864. Both rentals included lead mines and a black marble quarry. The Irish Times reports that the 1864 sale saw many of the lots bought by a Mr. Carpenter. In the 1870s the O’Flaherties owned 2340 acres in county Galway. By March 1916 they had accepted offers from the Congested Districts’ Board for parts of their estate.

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)

No information available.

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. (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie)

Townland of GLENGOWLA EAST

Down Survey Name: Glangoule

1641 Owner(s): Clanrickard, Earl of (Protestant)

1670 Owner(s): Clanrickard, Earl of (Protestant)

County: Galway

Barony: Muckullin

Parish: Killcumyn

Unprofitable land: 138 plantation acres

Profitable land: 39 plantation acres

Forfeited: 39 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

Griffiths Valuation 1850’s

In Griffith’s Valuation the area is 366 acres 2 roods with a land value of £34 10s 0d. Value of Buildings is £3 10s 0d, and the total value is £38  0s 0d.

Occupiers of the Land

Occupiers of the land at the time were George F. O’Flahertie – 326 acres 3roods 36 perches, John Loveday – 2acres 3 roods, Edmund Brennan – 3acres 1rood, Patrick Tum – 4acres 16perches and James Clancy – 23acre 17perche. There were acres 1rood 1perch under water. Total: 36acres rood. 

 Landlord was George Fortescue O’Flahertie

Ownership of Land and Property

George O’Flahertie owned a steward’s house; office and land valued £23. He also owned another vacant house.  John Loveday and Edmund Brennan owned a house and land valued at £1 10 each, Patrick Tum had a house, office and land valued £2 10s while James Clancy paid £6 on his house and land.  George O‘Flahertie’s buildings were valued at £1, and the other occupants’ buildings were valued at 10 shillings each.

Annual Valuation

The total annual valuation of rateable property in Glengowla East came to £38.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&PlaceID=560019

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 farmers needed at least 15.3 acres to survive.

Clachan: The Irish is ‘Clochán’. The houses in Glengowla East formed a Clachan. A clachan was a small traditional settlement common in Ireland until the middle of the 20th century. They usually lacked a church, post office or other formal building. The origin is unknown but it is likely that they are of ancient root most likely dating to medieval times.

A Clachan was a cluster of small single storey farmers’ cottages built on poor land. They were related to the rundale system of farming. According to David Lloyd, The Great Famine 1845–1849 caused such disruption to the social system that the clachans virtually disappeared.

People living in Clachans had the support of a tight knit community.

In some cases the clachans have evolved into holiday villages or one or two houses have been taken over turning smaller houses into agricultural outhouses.

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 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, subdividing and reorganizing the boundaries of some existing Unions, particularly in the west of the country created an additional 33 Unions.

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

Townlands

A town land 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 1169. Glengowla East is a town land and other place names in or near this town land are:

Corranteeaun (hill) The Irish version is Corr a’ t-Siodháin – round hill of the fairy mount.

Other Forms of the Name 

 Corranteeaun Corr a’ t-Siodháin Corr an t-siodán Curraantheeaun Local

Description: A hill overtopping a lake called Loughateeaun.

Situation: In Glengowlamore townland.

Glengawla – Irish Form of Name is Glinn Gobhla – Translation: glen of the fork

Other Forms of the Name

Glengawla Glengoula Bridge Local An old bridge.

Situation: 

 On the new road from Oughterard to Clifden.

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.

1841-1891 Census

1841 – 13 houses with 67 people

1851 – 4 houses with 41 people

1861 – 5 houses with 32 people

1871 – 5 houses with 20 people

1881 – 5 houses (5 inhabited) with 21 people (11 males, 10 females). There were 6 outbuildings.

The valuation of Houses & Land in 1881 was £37 10s 0d.

1891 – 5 houses (5 inhabited) with 21 people (12 males, 9 females). There were 24 outbuildings.

The valuation of Houses & Land in 1891 was £37 10s 0d.

1841/1851 Old Age Pension Census Search Forms

Geoghegan. (Walsh)

An application was made by Geoghegan  from Glengowla in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2014. The surname Walsh also appears on the application. Record was found for 1851.

Geoghegan

An application was made by Geoghegan  from Glengowla in the Parish of Kilcummin in the Barony of Moycullen. Reference # Cen/S/2015. Record was found for 1851.

Dennis Geoghegan

An application was made by Dennis Geoghegan (or Houghan). Address: Glengowla, Derryglinna, Maam Cross, Co. Galway

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: John & Catherine Geoghegan (Walsh)

Residence in 1851: Townland: Glengowla E & W Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway

Julia, Dennis & John also listed on the Application.

Date of receipt: 27.3.20 Reference: CenS/11/2014 Application No. C/20 4574

Return searched by FW 27.3.20 John & Catherine Geoghegan married 1848, no return if Dennis Sheet 10

2/- written on top right corner of application.

Application form

Dennis Geoghegan

An application was made by Dennis Geoghegan. Address: Glengowla, Derryglinna, Maam Cross, Co. Galway

Full Names of Father and Mother of the applicant: John & Catherine Geoghegan.

Name of  Head of Family (of other than Father) with which Applicant resided in 1851. Thomas & Margaret Hoghegan (Geoghegan) married 1807 (uncle and aunt)

Residence in 1851: Townland: Glengowla E & W Parish: Kilcummin, Barony: Moycullen, County: Galway

Julia, Dennis & John also listed on the Application.

Date of receipt: 27.3.20 Reference: CenS/11/2014 Application No. C/20 4574

Return searched by FW 27.3.20 John & Catherine Geoghegan married 1848, no return of Dennis Sheet 10

 

1901 Census Glengowla East

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 Glengowla

. There were 5 houses listed. The people were all Roman Catholics and they were born in County Galway except for James Brennan who was born in England. There were 9 in total of farm buildings and out offices which included, cow houses, piggeries, and fowl houses.

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, concrete or of mud, wood or other perishable material. The houses in Glengowla East were built of stone, brick or concrete. There were no mud cabins.

Roofs:  Roofs were of slate, iron, tiles, thatch, wood or other perishable material. Most likely they were thatched, as there was ample reeds for thatching in the lakes.

House Occupancy: one family occupied each of the 5 houses.

The people listed as Head of the Family were also listed as the lawful Landholder of the property except House 3 Moran Conneely the lessor being John P. O’Flahertie.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840743/

House & Building Returns

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840744/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840745/

House 1: Matthew Geoghegan 57 a farmer and single lived alone. He spoke English and Irish but he couldn’t read. He owned a cow house and a calf house. He lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. One person occupied 2 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla_East/1394653/

House 2: James Brennan aged 65, a farmer and head of the family lived with his wife Catherine 70. James was born in England. Catherine and James couldn’t read or write but they spoke English and Irish, as did the rest of the family. Mary Mc Donagh 35 their daughter and her husband John Mc Donagh 40 lived in the house with their family – Hugh 11, James 10, John 6 and baby Michael 4 months.  John was a labourer and the children were scholars. They had a cow house and piggery and lived in a Class 3 house with 2 windows. 8 persons occupied 2 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla_East/1394654/

House 3: Moran Conneely a widowed farmer aged 65 lived with his son Matthew 32 and daughter Ellen 29 who were single. Moran and Matthew who were Herds couldn’t read or write but Ellen did read and write. They spoke Irish and English. They had a cow house and piggery. They lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. 3 persons occupied 2 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla_East/1394655/

House 4: Thomas Clancy aged 50 a farmer and head of the family lived with his wife Kate 32. The family could read and write and they spoke English and Irish. Living with them were their children – Mary 10, William 9, Kate Anne 6, Maggie 4 and Thomas’ brother Michael 42. They lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. They had a cow house and piggery. 7 persons occupied 3 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla_East/1394656/

House 5: John Clancy aged 45 –a farmer and head of the family lived with his wife Maggie 32 and children Michael 14, Mary 11. Patrick 9. Julia 7, Thomas 5 and Kate 4. The family could read and write and they spoke English and Irish. They had a cow house and lived in a Class 3 house with 1 front window. 8 persons occupied 2 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla_East/1394657/

Glengowla East Census 1911

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

Description of the Houses

All the houses in Glengowla East were listed as private dwellings and were built of concrete or stone.  The roofs of the houses were of wood, thatch or other perishable material. Most likely they were thatched. The head of the family were listed as the landholders. One family lived in each property. The Class of the house depended on the material used in the roof, walls, number of rooms and number of front windows. Most of the houses came under “2’ in the census form meaning that there could be 2, 3, or 4, rooms in the house.

There were 5 family homes with 15males, 12 females a total of 27 persons living in the town land.  They had 14 farm buildings.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435552/

House & Building Returns

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435554/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435556/

House 1: Matthew Geoghegan a farmer aged 72 and head of the family lived with his nephew John 33 and niece in law Mary 28. They were married 1 year. The family spoke English and Irish but Matthew who was single couldn’t read or write while Mary and John did read and write. They had a cow house, calf house and a fowl house. They lived in a Class 2 house with 3 front windows. 3 persons occupied 4 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla__East/471239/

House 2: James Brennan, widower and farmer aged 74 and head of the family lived with his daughter Mary Mc Donagh a widow aged 47.  James’ grandson Hubert 20 a farmer’s son lived with them and his siblings James 19, Michael 10, Patrick 9 Mary 5 and Honor all grandchildren of the head of the family lived in the house. James couldn’t read but the other members of the family could read and write and they spoke English and Irish. They had a cow house, calf house and piggery. They lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. 8 persons occupied 2 available rooms. There were no particulars given on the length of the their marriage.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla__East/471240/

House 3: Muriel Conneely a widow aged 77 and head of t he family lived with her son Matthias 43 and his wife Bridget 30, children Michael 5, Muriel 4, Thomas 2. Matthias and his mother Muriel couldn’t read or write but Bridget did read. The family spoke English and Irish. Matthias was a herd. They were married 6 years. 3 children were born alive and 3 were still living. They had a cow house and piggery. They lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. 6 persons occupied 2 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla__East/471241/

House 4: Thomas Clancy head of the family a farmer aged 57 lived with his wife Catherine aged 42. Living with them were their children William 19, Margaret 14, John 8, Michael 3. John and Michael were scholars while William and Margaret were listed as farmer’s son and daughter respectively. They were married 23 years. 7 children were born alive and 6 were still living. Thomas didn’t read but the other members of the family did. They spoke Irish and English. They had a cow house and lived in a Class 3 house with 2 front windows. 6 persons occupied 3 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla__East/471242/

House 5; John Clancy head of the family aged 60 and a farmer lived with his wife Margaret 48, their children Michael 23, Patrick 18, Julia 17, Thomas 15 and John’s brother James aged 65. The family could read and write and they spoke English and Irish. The occupation of the older members was farmer’s brother, son or daughter. John and Margaret were married for 24 years. 8 children were born alive and 6 were still living. They had a cow house, calf house and fowl house. They lived in a Class 3 house with 1 front window. 8 persons occupied 3 available rooms.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Glengowla__East/471243/

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.)

Glengowla East 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.

Map

It is located at 53° 25′ 14″ N, 9° 22′ 11″ W.

Original OS map of this area.
Ireland was first mapped in the 1840s. These original maps are available online.

Glengowla

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.

Glengowla

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/place/52402

Townlands.ie Website

https://www.townlands.ie/galway/moycullen/kilcummin/oughterard/glengowla-east/

This page was added on 31/03/2014.

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