Knockkillaree

 

 

Knockkillaree 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.

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

Irish Form of Name: Cnoc Cill a’rígh

Translation: Hill of the king’s church

Other forms of the Name:

Knockkillaree
Cnoc Cill a’rígh
Cill a’ righe
Knockilry
Knock Killaree Boundary Surveyor
Knockgilleree Barony Cess Book
Killaroon County Map
Cnock Killaree Local
The hill of the Grave of the king
Knockilrey Inquis. Temp. Jac. I

Comment:

Cill a’ righe, a burial place

Area:

Knockkillaree contains 90½ acres about the ½ of which are under tillage and pasture, the remainder is bog.

Boundaries:

Knockkillaree borders the following other townlands:

• Gurtreavagh to the east
• Birchhall to the east
• Annaghkeelaun to the north
• Aughnanure to the east
• Ardnasillagh to east
• Moyvoon East to the sout

Landlord:

James O’Hara, Proprietor, let to tenants yearly without lease, it contains 6 holdings, 6 families – contains 90½ acres about the ½ of which is under tillage and pasture, the remainder is bog.

James O’Hara of Leanaboy House, Galway.

James O’Hara is a member of the O’Hara (Lenaboy) family.

Information from Joyce’s Place Names

Translation according to P. W. Joyce

Kill alone is the name of more than a score of places in various counties: in most cases it stands for cill, a church: but in some it is for coill, a wood.

Down 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 KNOCKKILLAREE

Down Survey Name: Killnehallounagh
1641 Owner(s): O’Flaharty, Teige (Catholic); McDunnogh, Murrogh (Catholic)
1670 Owner(s): Martin, Richard (Catholic)
County: Galway
Barony: Muckullin
Parish: Killcumyn
Profitable land: 19 plantation acres
Forfeited: 19 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 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 Knockkillaree

Patt Mc Donagh, John Dunne, Thomas Patt, Thomas Matthew had 29 acres; 7 acres of 1st quality land with a payment of 1s 6d, 8 acres 2nd quality with a payment of 1s, 12 acres 3rd quality with a payment of 3d, 1 acre of 4th quality land with a payment of ½d & 1 acre of 5th quality land with a payment of ⅛d.

The Tithes payments went to Richard Martin Esq. James Daly & the Reverend John Wilson.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?county=Galway&parish=Kilcummin&townland=Knockkillaree&search=Search&sort=last_name_sort

Griffiths Valuation

In Griffith’s valuation the area was 90 acres, 2 rood & 19 perch with a land value £25 5s 0d. Value of Buildings was £2 0s & 0d. Total valuation of £27 5s 0d.

Occupier of Land

James O’Hara (in fee), Domnick Welby, Martin Gorman, John Dunne, Patrick McDonagh, James Cottingham, John Walsh.
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&PlaceID=560073

 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 they 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.

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. Knockkillaree is a townland.

Population & Census Information

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 – 9 houses with 45 people

1851 – 12 houses with 53 people

1861 – 7 houses with 36 people

1871 – 6 houses with 33 people

1881 – 5 houses (5 inhabited) with 29 people (17 males / 12 females). There were 12 outbuildings. Total Valuation of Houses & Lands £28 5s 0d.

1891 – 6 houses (6 inhabited) with 34 people (20 males / 14 females). There were 10 Outbuildings. Total Valuation of Houses & Lands £27 10s 0d.

 Census 1901 Knockkillaree

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 Knockkillaree. There were 21 houses listed in the townland of Knockkillaree. 19 (10 females/ 9 males) were all Roman Catholics. The people that lived in Knockkillaree were born in Co. Galway.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840795/

House & Building Returns

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840796/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000840797/

House 1

Patrick Walsh aged 45 was head of the family; married to Hannah aged 39, they lived with their children Martin aged 15, James aged 11, Mary E aged 13 and his brother Michael Walsh aged 40, single.

Patrick was a farmer, Martin, James & Mary E were scholars and Michael was a carpenter. The entire household could read & write and spoke Irish & English. Martin was born in America.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had a cow house, a fowl house, a piggery and a calf house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/1394689/

House 2

Patrick Welly (should be Welby) aged 50 was head of the family; married to Margaret aged 51, they lived with their son Domnick aged 20 and daughters Mary aged 18 and Kate aged 16.

Patrick was a farmer, Domnick was a farmer’s son and Mary & Kate were farmer’s daughters. Patrick could not read, Margaret and Domnick could read & write and Mary & Kate could read. The entire family spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had a cow house, a fowl house, a piggery, a calf house & a stable. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/1394690/

House 3

Michael Joyce aged 75 was head of the family; married to Bridget aged 64, they lived with their son Michael aged 22 and daughter Mary aged 35, both single.

Michael was a farmer; Michael was a farmer’s son and Mary was a farmer’s daughter. Michael, Michael (son) and Mary could read & write, Bridget could not read. The entire family spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had a cow house, a fowl house, a piggery and a calf house. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/1394691/

House 4

Mary Gorman aged 41 was head of the family; a widow she lived with her son Hugh aged 22 and daughters Mary aged 19 & Honor aged 12.

Mary was a farmer, Hugh was a farm labourer, Mary was a farmer’s daughter and Honor was a scholar. Mary (mother) could read; Hugh could not read, Mary & Honor could read & write. Mary, Hugh & Mary spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had no outbuildings. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/1394692/

Census 1911 – Knockkillaree

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

There were 4 houses (1 uninhabited) listed in the Townland of Knockkillaree. Of the people living in Knockkillaree all 12 (6 males/6 females) were Roman Catholics.

People that lived in Knockkillaree were born included Co. Galway. There were a total of 10 farm buildings and out offices which included a stable, cow houses, barns, a shed & piggeries.

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435653/

House & Building Returns

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435655/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002435657/

House 1

Rodger Joyce aged 38 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 34, they lived with their children Michael aged 5, Bridget aged 3 & John aged 1 and his sister Mary Joyce aged 40, single.

Rodger was a farmer. Rodger, Mary & Mary could read and write and spoke Irish & English. It does not state if the children could read and write or spoke Irish & English.

Rodger & Mary were married for 6 years; they had 3 children with all 3 still living at the time of the census.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/471272/

House 2

Patrick Welby aged 58 was head of the family; married to Margaret aged 67, they lived with their daughter Mary aged 26.

Patrick was a farmer, he could not read or write. Margaret and Mary could read and write. All 3 spoke Irish & English.

Patrick and Margaret were married for 30 years; they had 5 children with 3 still living at the time of the census.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had a cow house, a piggery, a barn and a shed. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/471273/

House 3

Hannah Walsh aged 59 was head of the family; a widow, she lived with her son James aged 23 and brother in law Michael Walsh aged 52, both single.

Hannah was a farmer, James was a farmer’s son and Michael was a carpenter. Hannah, James & Michael could read and write. Hannah & Michael spoke Irish & English. James spoke only English.

They lived in a 2^nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had a cow house, a piggery and a barn. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Oughterard/Knockkillaree/471274/

House 4

Uninhabited

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.)

Knockkillaree 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° 25′ 13″ N, 9° 16′ 43″ W.

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

Knockkillaree

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

Knockkillaree

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/oughterard-ed/knockkillaree/

Galway Library Website

http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/asp/fullresult.asp?id=52827