Srue

Antoinette Lydon

Srue 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.

Srue is in the Electoral Division of Wormhole, in Civil Parish of Kilcummin, in the Barony of Moycullen, in the County of Galway

Irish Form of Name: Srúbh

Translation: a streamlet, rill or runnel

Information taken from O’Donovan’s Field Name Books

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

Srue
Srubh
Shroo Boundary Surveyor
Shrue Barony Cess Book
Shrew County Map
Shroo Local
Shrue Rector of Kilcummin

Other placenames in this townland:

Some other placenames in or near this townland are

Annagh (trigonometrical station)

Information From Joyce’s Place Names

Translation according to P. W. Joyce

Sru and Sruh represent the Irish sruth, a stream.

Area:

Srue contains 339¾ acres about the 1/3 of which is tillage, the remainder is brushwood and rocky pasture, near its South Western boundary is an ancient fort through which a road has been made. The land is very good, stony in parts.

Boundaries:

Srue borders the following other townlands:

Corranellistrum to the east
Gortnahoon to the south
Gortnandarragh to the west
Kylemore to the east
Porridgetown East to the west

Landlord:

Richard Martin Esq.

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 was 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/

Thomas B. Martin of Ballynahinch Castle.

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

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 –Srue

Thom McDonogh & Anthony O’Flaherty had 82 acres; 10 acres of 1st quality land with a payment of 1s 6d, 9 acres 2nd quality with a payment of 1s, 16 acres 3rd quality with a payment of 3d, 20 acres of 4th quality land with a payment of ½d & 27 acres 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=Shrew&search=Search&sort=last_name_sort

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 SRUE

Down Survey Name: Sellyhermor
1670 Owner(s): Martin, Oliver (Catholic)
County: Galway
Barony: Muckullin
Parish: Killanine and Killcomyn
Unprofitable land: 2231 plantation acres
Profitable land: 242 plantation acres
Forfeited: 242 plantation acres

Down Survey website

Griffiths Valuation

In Griffith’s valuation the area was 339 acres, 1 rood & 7 perch with a land value £5 8s 0d. No Value was given for the Buildings. The total valuation of £5 8s 0d. http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&PlaceID=560324

Occupiers of the land

Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.

Immediate Lessor

In Fee meaning that the occupier is also the legal owner of the property;

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.

Census & Population 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 54 people

1851 – 4 houses with 28 people

1861 – 12 houses with 65 people

1871 – 8 houses with 32 people

1881 – 5 houses (all 5 houses inhabited) with 21 people (9 Males & 12 Females) with 11 outbuildings. Valuation of Houses & Lands £67 15s 0d.

1891 – 6 houses (5 houses inhabited & 1 uninhabited) with 18 people (10 Males & 8 Females) with 4 outbuildings. Valuation of Houses & Lands £66 5s 0d.

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.

Census 1901 Srue

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 Srue. There were 5 houses listed in the townland of Srue. Of the people living in Srue 18 (10 males/8 females) were Roman Catholics. The people that lived in Srue were born in Co. Galway.

There were a total of 7 farm buildings and out offices which included cow houses, piggeries, & a barn.

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 Srue 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/nai000841291/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000841292/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000841293/

House 1

Michael Moloney aged 45 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 40, they lived with their children James aged 16, Bridget aged 15, Maggie aged 13, Mary aged 9, Kate aged 8, Pat aged 6 & Peter aged 2.

Michael was a farmer; James was a farmer’s son, Bridget was a farmer’s daughter, Maggie, Mary & Kate were scholars and Pat & Peter were infants. Michael, Pat & Peter could not read. Mary, James, Bridget, Maggie, Mary & Kate could read and write. Michael, Mary, James, Bridget & Maggie spoke Irish & English.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/1394974/

House 2

Pat Moloney aged 34 was head of the family; married to Honor aged 21, they lived with their son James aged 1.

Pat was a farmer; James was an infant. Pat & James could not read. Honor could read and write.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/1394975/

House 3

Margaret McDonagh aged 70 was head of the family. Margaret was a widow. Her occupation was an agricultural labourer; she could not read and spoke Irish & English.

Margaret lived in a 4th class house with 1 room & no front window. She had no outbuildings. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/1394976/

House 4

Daniel Connor aged 58 was head of the family married to Annie aged 50, they lived with their son Patrick aged 18.

Daniel & Patrick were agricultural labourers, they could read and write. Annie could not read. Daniel, Annie & Patrick spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 4th class house with 1 room & no front window. They had no outbuildings. This premise was a Private Dwelling.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/1394977/

House 5

Francis Welby aged 55 was head of the family; a widower he lived with his son James aged 15.

Francis was a farmer & James was a farmer’s son. Francis could not read; James could read & write. Both spoke Irish & English.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/1394978/

Census 1911 – Srue

This is a return of the Members of the families in Srue, 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 Srue, Of the people living in Srue, all 23(17 males/6 females) were Roman Catholics.

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

Enumerators Extract

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002436580/

House & Building Return

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002436582/

Out Offices & Farm Steadings

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002436584/

House 1

Michael Moloney aged 55 was head of the family; married to Mary aged 56, they lived with their children, Kate aged 18, and Patrick aged 16 & Peter aged 12.

Michael was a farmer; Patrick was a farmer’s son, Peter was a scholar. Michael could not read. Mary, Kate, Patrick & Peter could read and write. The entire household spoke Irish & English.

Michael & Mary were married for 27 years; they had 7 children with all 7 still living at the time of the census.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/471554/

House 2

Pat Moloney aged 47 was head of the family; married to Honor aged 33, they lived with their sons James aged 11, John aged 9, Michael aged 8, Martin aged 5, Patrick aged 3 & Nicholas aged 5 months.

Pat was a farmer; James, John, Michael, Martin & Patrick were scholars. None of the family could read and write. Pat & Honor spoke Irish & English.

Pat & Honor were married for 12 years; they had 6 children and all 6 were still living at the time of the census.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/471555/

House 3

Pat Walsh aged 45 was head of the family; married to Ellen aged 28. They lived with Watt Lee aged 25, single.

Pat was a farmer. Watt was a farm labourer. Par, Ellen & Watt could read & write and spoke Irish & English.

Pat & Ellen were married for 1 year.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/471556/

House 4

Thomas Mannion aged 45 was head of the family; married to Annie aged 27. They lived with their children Patrick John Aged 7. John Thomas Aged 6, William aged 5, James aged 4 & Mary aged 3.

Thomas was a farmer; Patrick Joseph, John Thomas, William & James were scholars. Thomas & Annie could read & write. The children could not read. Thomas, Annie, Patrick Joseph, John Thomas, William & James spoke Irish & English.

Thomas & Annie were married for 8 years; they had 5 children with all 5 living at the time of the census.

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

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Wormhole/Srue/471557/

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.)

Ordnance Ground is in the civil parish of Kilcummin.