Gortnamona

 

Gortnamona Townland

Gortnamona, Ghort na Móna, Field Bogland

Gortnamona 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 in the north east end of the parish of Ballynakill about 3½ miles N E of Woodford. This townland is partially cultivated about the centre, being composed of rough boggy land, rocks and furze.

According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books (1838) the standard name of the townland is Gortnamona.  O’Donovan also states that there is a reference to Gortnamona in the following documents: B S Sketch, Larkin’s County Map, Hyath, Clarke, Esq and Grand Jury presentments. He further states that there are the following references: to Gortnamony in Alphi. List of townland names in the County Galway; to Gurtnamona in Hyath Clarke, Esq and Gortemona in Inq. Temp.

The Down Survey Map 1641 (pre Cromwell) states that the owner of Gortnamona was Earl Clanrickard (Protestant). The Down Survey Map 1670 (post Cromwell) shows that the owner remained the same. The Down Survey name is Gortnamona alias Lisnecronoige. It lists Gortnamana as a townland in the parish of Killcuan and the Barony of Longford. There were 45 plantation acres of profitable land.

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 Gortnamona was undertaken in 1834. It states that the townland of Gortnamona 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 104 acres and 17 perches of land which was occupied by 2 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:

Mat^w [Matthewl] Whyte held 69 acres 3 roods and 17 perches of land that was valued at 18 shillings per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £62 17s 6d. He paid  £1 17s 9d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 4s 9d and the Vicar received £1 3s 6¾d which was a total of £1 8s 3¾d

Martin Whyte held 34 acres 1 rood and 0 perches of land that was valued at 18 shillings per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £30 16s 6d. He paid 18s 4d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 2s 3d and the Vicar received 11s 6d which was a total of 13s 9d

1851 Old Age Pension Census Search forms

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

Griffith’s Valuation

According to Griffith’s Valuation (1855) the area of the townland of Gortnamona is 169 acres, 0 roods and 34 perches. The valuation of the land was £70 0s 0d and the valuation of the buildings was £1 0s 0d giving a total valuation of £71 0s 0d. Sir Thos J Burke Bt owned all the property in the townland and leased all of it to John Moloney.

Census 1901

There was one inhabited house in Gortnamona at the time of the 1901 census with 5 inhabitants. There were 4 males and 1 female and all were Roman Catholics. All the residents were born in Co Galway. John Moloney was the head of the household. According to the B1 Form the house was built as a private dwelling and had walls and roof both made from permanent materials. The B2 Form reveals that there were 6 outhouses consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 dairy, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house and 1 barn. Form A was collected on 8^th April, 1901.

John Moloney was a 79 year old farmer. He was married to Anne who was 61 years of age and they had 3 sons listed on the census form: John who was 34 years old; William who was 27 years old and 26 year old Danniel (sic). All the family could read and write. All the sons were listed as farmer’s sons under occupation and none of them were married at the time of the census. John Moloney’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 4 room. John owned the land on which the house was built.

Census 1911

There was one inhabited house in Gortnamona at the time of the 1911 census with 4 inhabitants. There were 3 males and 1 female and all were Roman Catholics. All the residents were born in Co Galway. Anne Moloney was the head of the household. According to the B1 Form the house was built as a private dwelling and had walls and roof both made from permanent materials. The B2 Form reveals that there were 9 outhouses consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 dairy, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house, 1 barn 1 turf house and I shed. The census form was collected on 11^th April, 1911.

Anne Moloney was a 72 year old widow. She was married for 44 years and had 10 children, 8 of whom were living at the time of the census. She lived with her sons: John who was 48 years old; William who was 37 years old and 35 year old Dan. All the family could read and write. All the sons were listed as farmers under occupation and none of them were married at the time of the census. Anne Moloney’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 4 rooms. Anne owned the land on which the house was built.

Monuments & Architectural Heritage

GA125-067—-

Class: Quarry

Townland: GORTNAMONA (Leitrim By.)

Scheduled for inclusion in the next revision of the RMP: No

Description: This is a disused gravel pit.

A116-058—-

Class: Quarry

Townland: GORTNAMONA (Leitrim By.)

Scheduled for inclusion in the next revision of the RMP: No

Description: In rolling pastureland. A hachured feature marked on the 1920 edition of the OS 6-inch map proved on inspection in 1983 to be a disused gravel pit defined by a slight hollow. As it is of post-AD 1700 date it does not come within the remit of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland.