Cuilleen

Information taken from a variety of official documents

Research: Noreen Shiel, Abbey Heritage

Cuilleen Townland

Cuilleen, An Coillín, Little Wood

Cuilleen is a small townland in the civil parish of Ballinakill, in the electoral district of Drumkeary, the barony of Leitrim and the county of Galway. It is situated north of the centre of the parish of Ballynakill about 2¾ miles north of Woodford. This townland is all under cultivation with a Danish Fort in the north and the townland does not contain any matter worthy of remark.

According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books (1838) the standard name for the townland is Cuilleen and its Irish form is Coillín. In addition to this, the townland name has had various spellings assigned to it over time. They include the following: Culleen listed in B S Sketch; Kilmeen from the Grand Jury Presentments; Kelleen in Larkins County Map; Killeen in Hyath. Clarke Esq; Coillin was listed in Inq. Temp. Jac. 1; Kolline in Inq. Temp. Jac. 1 and also Cuillin in Inq. Temp. Jac. 1

Cuilleen is referred to as Linn alias Connereogh in the Down Survey Map. The Down Survey Map 1641 (pre Cromwell) states that the owner was the Earl of Clanrickard. The Down Survey Map 1670 (post Cromwell) further states that the owner was the same.

Tithe Applotment 1834

The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. The land was measured in Irish acres or plantation acres at the time and this equated to 1.6198 English acres.

The tithe applotment for the townland of Cuilleen was undertaken in 1834. It states that the townland of Cuilleen was in the parish of Ballinakill and in the Diocese of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh.

There was one proprietor in the townland at this time, namely Sir J Burke Bart.

According to the Tithe Applotment Books he held 62 acres 3 roods and 0 perches of land which was occupied by 7 named tenants. The following is an account of the tenants’ landholdings, the value of their acres, the amount of composition of the tithe and how this was dispersed among the church hierarchy:

Michl [Michael] Tully held 10 acres of land that was valued at £1 4s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £12 0s 0d. He paid 7s 6d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 11 pence and the Vicar received 4s 8½d which was a total of 5s 7½d.

Pat Tully held 10 acres and 2 roods of land that was valued at £1 4s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £12 12s 0d. He paid 7s 10d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 1d and the Vicar received 4s 0½d which was a total of 5s 10½d.

Thos [Thomas] Martyn held 11 acres of land that was valued at £1 4s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £13 4s 0d. He paid 8s 1d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 3½d and the Vicar received 4s 9¼d which was a total of 6s 0¾d.

Maly [Malachy] Giverty held 6 acres of land that was valued at £1 4s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £7 4s 0d. He paid 11s 3d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 7d and the Vicar received 2s 7¼d which was a total of 3s 2¼d.

Francis Fahy held 9 acres and 3 roods of land that was valued at £1 4s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £11 14s 0d. He paid 7s 2½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 0d and the Vicar received 4s 6½d which was a total of 5s 7½d.

James Tully held 5 acres and 2 roods of land that was valued at £1 5s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £6 17s 6d. He paid 4s 1½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 7d and the Vicar received 2s 6¼d which was a total of 3s 1¼d.

Michl [Michael] Hayes held 10 acres of land that was valued at £1 5s 0d per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £12 10s 0d. He paid 7s 6d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 1d and the Vicar received 4s 6½d which was a total of 5s 7½d.

Old Age Pension Census Search Forms

There was no old age pension census search form listed for Cuilleen.

Griffith’s Valuation

According to Griffith’s Valuation (1855) the area of the townland of Cuilleen is 102 acres, 2 roods and 36 perches. The valuation of the land was £63 17s 0d and the valuation of the buildings was £2 3s 0d giving a total valuation of £66 0s 0d. Sir Thomas J Burke, Baronet was the immediate leaser of all the property in the townland. The occupiers were James Kenny, Michael Tully, Michael Geraghty, Thomas Fahy, Michael Fahy, Matin Fahy, John Tully and Michael Hayes. James Kenny paid a total of £5 15s 0d for a labourer’s house, offices and land. Michael Tully paid a total of £19 10s 0d for a house, offices and land. Michael Geraghty paid a total of £7 15s 0d for a house, offices and land. Thomas Fahy paid a total of £7 10s 0d for land. Michael Fahy paid a total of £3 15s 0d for land. Martin Fahy paid a total of £4 0s 0d for a house, offices and land. John Tully paid a total of £6 0s 0d for land. Michael Hayes paid a total of £11 15s 0d for a house, offices and land.

Census 1901

There were three inhabited houses and one uninhabited house in Cuilleen at the time of the 1901 census with 21 inhabitants. The N Form shows that there were 10 males and 11 females and all were Roman Catholics. All the residents were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were Thomas Murray, Catherine Fahy and Thomas Geraghty. According to the B1 Form the houses were built as private dwellings and had walls built of a permanent material and just one house had a roof made from permanent material. The B2 Form reveals that there were 13 outhouses consisting of 3 stables, 3 cow houses, 3 piggeries, 1 fowl house, and 3 sheds.

Thomas Murray was a 52 year old farmer. He lived with his wife Sophia who was 58 years old, their 20 year old daughter Frances and their 21 year old son, Michael. Frances was listed as a farmer’s daughter and Michael was listed as a farmer’s son. Michael and Frances were single. All the family could read and write. Thomas and Sophia spoke both Irish and English. Thomas Murray’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Thomas owned the land on which the house was built and there were 5 outhouses including a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house and a shed.

Catherine Fahy was a 70 year old farmer. She was a widow and lived with her son Frank who was 48 years old and her 38 year old daughter in law Sabina. Also resident with her were her grandchildren: Martin who was 10 years old; Thomas who was 9 years old; Catherine who was 6 years old; Mary who was 4 years old; 3 year old John and 9 month old Hugh. Frank was listed as a farmer’s son. Martin and Thomas were listed as scholars. All the family could read and write except for the four youngest children. Catherine was the only one who spoke English and Irish. Catherine Fahy’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. She owned the land on which the house was built and there were 5 outhouses including a stable, a cow house, a piggery, a fowl house and a shed.

Thomas Geraghty was a 62 year old farmer. He lived with his wife Mary who was 42 years old and their 5 children: Patrick who was 25 years old; John who was 13 years old; Maria who was 18 years old; Katie who was 15 years old and 10 year old Annie. Thomas’s widowed mother, 80 year old Mary was also resident with them. All of the family could read and write. Thomas wife and mother both spoke English and Irish. None of the adult children was married. Thomas Geraghty’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Thomas owned the land on which the house was built and had 4 outhouses namely a stable, a cow house, a piggery and a shed.

Census 1911

There were four inhabited houses in Cuilleen at the time of the 1911 census with 24 inhabitants. The N Form shows that there were 13 males and 11 females and all were Roman Catholics. All the residents were born in Co Galway. The heads of the households were Thomas Murray, Patrick Kelly, Frances Fahy and Thomas Geraghty. According to the B1 Form the houses were built as private dwellings and had walls built of a permanent material and just one house had a roof made from permanent material. The B2 Form reveals that there were 27 outhouses consisting of 4 stables, 4 cow houses, 4 calf houses, 4 piggeries, 4 fowl houses, 4 barns and 3 sheds.

Thomas Murray was a 63 year old farmer. He lived with his wife Sophia who was 71 years old and they had 3 children all of whom were living at the time of the census. Their 30 year old son, Michael, their daughter in law Ellen who was 28 years old and 50 year old Bridget Coen were the other residents. There were no details on how long Michael and Ellen were married. Bridget Coen was single. Michael was listed as a farmer and Bridget was a servant. All of the residents apart from Bridget could read and write. Thomas and Sophia spoke both Irish and English. Thomas Murray’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Thomas owned the land on which the house was built and there were 7 outhouses including a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house, a barn and a shed.

Patrick Kelly was a 55 year old farmer. He lived with his wife Bridget who was 53 years old. They were married for 8 years and they had 3 children, none of whom was living at the time of the census. Martin Larkin, a 37 year old servant was the other resident in the house. Martin was single and described as a farm servant. Bridget and Martin could read and write. Patrick Kelly’s house had 4 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 5 rooms. Patrick owned the land on which the house was built and had 7 outhouses including a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house, a barn and a shed.

Francis Fahy was a 55 year old farmer. He lived with his 49 year old wife Sabina. They were married for 21 years with 8 children, 7 of whom were alive at the time of the census. They lived with their children: Martin who was 20 years old; Thomas who was 18 years old; Kate who was 15 years old; Mary who was 14 years old; 12 year old John; 10 year old Hugh and Bridget who was 7 years old. Martin and Thomas were listed as farmer’s sons. Kate, Mary, John, Hugh and Bridget were scholars. All the family could read and write apart from Francis who could read only. Thomas, Kate and Mary could speak English and Irish. Francis Fahy’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. He owned the land on which the house was built and had 6 outhouses including a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house and a barn.

Thomas Geraghty was a 75 year old farmer. He lived with his wife Mary who was 60 years old. They were married for 38 years and had 7 children all of whom were living at the time of the census. Four of the children were resident with them: Patrick who was 37 years old; Margaret who was 35 years old; John who was 25 years old and 22 year old Annie. All four were single at the time of the census. (Thomas also revealed that his 32 year old son Malachy was living in England and had been married for 5 years. His 20 year old daughter Mary was living in America as was 28 year old Catherine). All of the family could read and write. Thomas and Mary spoke English and Irish. Thomas Geraghty’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. Thomas owned the land on which the house was built and he had 7 outhouses namely a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house, a barn and a shed.

This page was added on 10/02/2016.

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