Knockaun

Information taken from a variety of official documents

Research: Eileen Keane, Abbey Heritage

Knockaun Townland

Knockaun, An Cnocán, hillock

Knockaun is situated in the civil parish of Ballynakill, in the barony of Leitrim, in the electoral district of Drumkeary and in the county of Galway. It is located in the north east end of the parish of Ballynakill about 3½ miles north of Woodford.

According to O’Donovan’s field name books (1838) the standard name for the townland in Knockaun and its Irish form of name according to logainm is Cnocán. The translation of the name is given as hillock. O’Donovan’s field name books states that there is a reference to Abbeyville in the following documents;
Inq Temp Jac I, Hyath. Clarke, Esq, BS Sketch

The Down Survey Map of Ireland

There were no records for this townland.

TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS

There were no records for this townland.

Old Age Pension Census

There were no records for this townland.

Griffiths Valuation 1847-1864

According to Griffith’s Valuation 1855, the townland of Knockaun contained 132 acres, 14 perches. Therefore it stated that Sir Thom J Burke Bt leased 132 acres and 2 roods to the following tenants: Winifred Larkin, Thomas Mangan, John McDonogh, Thomas Martin, Francis McDonogh and John Hughes.

Winifred Larkin paid a total of £2-5-0 for land. Thomas Mangan paid a total of £1-0-0 for house and land. John McDonogh paid a total of £5-5-0 for house, offices and land. Thomas Martin paid a total of £4-0-0 for house, offices and land. Francis McDonogh paid a total of £28-0-0 for house, offices and land. John Hughes paid a total of £0-2-0 for land. Sir Thos J Burke Bt, who was in fee, paid a total of £8-10-0.

Census 1901

There were three inhabited houses and one inhabited house at the time of the 1901 census. The N Form documents that there were 6 males and 7 females and all were Roman Catholics. They were all born in Co Galway except for one born in King County. The heads of households were John Ryan, Margaret Whelan and Martin McDonogh. The B1 Form showed that all of the houses in Knockaun were built as private dwellings. All of the house roofs were made of perishable material while all of the house walls were made of permanent material. The B2 Form showed that there were 13 farm buildings consisting of 3 stables, 2 cow houses, 3 piggeries, 1 fowl house, 1 barn and 3 sheds.

John Ryan was 42 years old and he was a farmer. He could read and write and he spoke Irish and English. He was a single man whose birthplace was listed as Kings County. Mary Ann Manning, a widow who was 79 years old, was a boarder in the household. She was listed as a housekeeper. Ann could not read and she spoke Irish and English. John’s house was listed as a 3rd class house with 2 front windows and there were 3 rooms in the house. John owned the land on which his house was situated along with 1 stable, 1 piggery and 1 shed.

Margaret Whelan, a widow, was 57 years old and she was a national teacher. She could read and write and she spoke Irish and English. She lived with her son Michael who was 23 years old. Michael, who was listed as a farmer, could read and write and he spoke English. He was a single man. John Moran who was a farm servant was 48 years old. He could not read and he spoke English. He was a single man. Margaret’s house was listed as a 3rd class hosue with 2 front windows and there were 3 rooms in the house. Margaret owned the land on which the house was situated, along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery and 1 shed.

Martin McDonagh was 48 years old and he was married to Kate who was 35 years old. Martin was listed as a farmer whilst there is no record on the Census Form of an occupation for Kate. They could both read and write and they both spoke Irish and English. There were 3 daughters and 1 son living in the house. Kate was 5 years old, Emily was 4 years old and Martha was 1 year old. Mary and Kate were listed as scholars whilst Emily was listed as a farmer’s daughter. The older children could read and all of the children spoke English. Edward Burke who was 20 years old was a farm servant and he could read and write. He spoke English. Martin’s house was listed as a 3rd class house with 2 front windows and there were 4 rooms in the house. Martin owned the land on which his house was situated along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house, 1 barn and 1 shed.

1911 Census

There were three inhabited houses at the time of the 1911 census. The N Form showed that there were 6 males and 5 females and all were Roman Catholics. They were all born in Co Galway. The B1 Form documents that all of the houses in Knockaun were built and listed as private dwellings. All of the house walls were made of permanent material while all of the roofs were made of perishable material. The heads of households were Martin McDonagh, William Hayes and Margaret Whelan. The B2 Form showed that there were 18 farm buildings consisting of 1 stable, 3 calf houses, 3 cow houses, 3 piggeries, 3 fowl house, 2 barns and 3 sheds.

Martin McDonagh was 61 years old and he was married to Kate who was 52 years old. Martin was listed as a farmer who could read and write and he spoke English. Kate could read and write and she spoke English. According to the Census 1911, Martin and Kate were married for 18 years and they had 5 children born alive and 5 children still living. There were 2 sons and 3 daughters listed on the Census Form A. Martin James was 11 years old, Pat Joe was 9 years old, Mary was 17 years old, Kate was 15 years old and Emily was 13 years old. Most of the children were listed as scholars. They could all read and write and all of them spoke Irish and English. Thomas Martyn, a widower who was 45 years old, was a farm servant in the household. He could read and write and he spoke English. Martin’s house was listed as a 2nd class house with 3 front windows and there were 3 rooms in the house. Martin owned the land on which his house was situated along with 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house, 1 barn and 1 shed.

William Hayes was 45 years old and he was a single man. He was a farmer who could read and he spoke English. William’s house was listed as a 3rd class house with 2 front windows and there was 1 room in the house. William owned the land on which his house was situated along with 5 out offices and farm steadings consisting of 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house and 1 shed.

Margaret Whelan, a widow was 67 years old and she was a farmer who could read and write. She spoke English. According to the 1911 Census Form she was married for 31 years and she had 7 children born alive and 7 children still living. Michael was 32 years old. He could read and write and he spoke English. He was a farmer and a single man. Margaret’s house was listed as a 3rd class house with 2 front windows and there were 2 rooms in the house. Margaret owned the land on which her house was situated along with 6 out offices and farm steadings consisting of 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery, 1 fowl house, 1 barn and 1 shed.