Kylagowan

Information taken from a variety of official documents

Research: Eileen Keane, Abbey Heritage

Kylagowan Townland

Kylagowan, coill, coillidh, coillte, coille, wood, smith

Kylagowan is situated in the civil parish of Ballynakill, in the electoral district of Ballynagar, in the barony of Leitrim and in the County of Galway. It is located in the the east of the centre of the parish of Ballynakill about 1¼ mile north west of Woodford.

O’Donovan’s field name books (1838) states that the standard name for the townland is Kylagowan and its Irish form is Coill a Ghabhán. The translation of the name is given as wood of the smith. O’Donovan’s field name books states that there is a reference to Kylagowan in the following documents:
Hyath. Clarke, Esq., Larkin’s County Map, and B.S. Sketch.

The Down Survey Map of Ireland 1641 (pre Cromwell) states that the owner of the townland of Kylagowan in 1641 was the Earl of Clanrickard. The Down Survey of Ireland states that the Earl of Clanrickard was a protestant and that he continued to own the land in 1670. According to the Down Survey of Ireland, the names assigned to the townland was Killegowly.

1851 Old Age Pension Census

There are no records for the townland of Kylagowan.

Tithe Applotment Books 1823-37

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 Kylagowan was undertaken in 1834. It states that the townland of Kylagowan was in the parish of Ballinakill and in the Diocese of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh.

There was 1 proprietor in the townland at this time, namely: Sir J. Burke Bart.

According to the Tithe Applotment Books, Sir J. Burke Bart held 202 acres 2 roods 37 perches of land which was occupied by 9 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:

John Kelly held 4 acres of land that was valued at 5s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £1. He paid 7¼d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1d and the Vicar got 4½d which was a total of 5½d.

John Kelly held 5 acres of land that was valued at 6s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £1 10s. He paid 10¾d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1¼d and the Vicar got 6¾d which was a total of 8d.

James Kenny held 18 acres 3 roods 37 perches of land that was valued at 6s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £5 13s 10d. He paid £3 4s 0¾d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 5s and the Vicar got 2s 1½d which was a total of 2s 6½d.

Wm (William) Mitchell held 40 acres of land that was valued at 7s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £14. He paid 8s 5d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1s 0¾d and the Vicar got 5s 3d which was a total of 6s 3¾d.

Pat Dolan held 4 acres 2 roods of land that was valued at 9s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £2 0s 6d. He paid 1s 2½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1¾d and the Vicar got 9d which was a total of 10¾d.

John Mahon held 8 acres of land that was valued at 7s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £2 16s. He paid 1s 7½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 2¾d and the Vicar got 1s which was a total of 1s 2¾d.

Andw (Andrew) Winter held 4 acres of land that was valued at 6s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £1 4s. He paid 8½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 1d and the Vicar got 5¼d which was a total of 6¼d.

Thos (Thomas) Kenny held 11 acres of land that was valued at 6s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £3 6s. He paid 1s 11½d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 2¾d and the Vicar got 1s 3d which was a total of 1s 5¾d.

Sir J Burke held 107 acres 1 rood of land that was valued at 5s per Irish acre and had a total valuation of £26 16s 3d. He paid 16s 1d of a tithe tax. The Bishop got 2s 0¾d and the Vicar got 10s which was a total of 12s 0¾d.

Griffiths Valuation 1855

According to Griffith’s Valuation 1855, the townland of Kylagowan contained 328 acres and 28 perches of land therefore, it stated that Sir J Burke Bart, leased 328 acres and 1 rood 24 perches to the following tenants: Patrick Dolan and Denis Rafferty. The overall rent paid was £30-15-0.

Sir Thos. J. Burke, Bt (In fee) paid a total annual valuation rate of £23-15-0 for offices and land. Patrick Dolan paid a total annual valuation of £2-5-0 for land. Denis Rafferty paid a total annual valuation rate of £4-15-0 for house, offices and land.

Census 1901

The N Form showed that there was one inhabited house at the time of the 1901 census with 3 inhabitants.  There were 2 males and 1 female and all were Roman Catholics.  The head of household was Michael Rafferty. All occupants were born in County Galway. The B1 Census Form showed that the house in Kylagowan was built and listed as a private dwelling. The house roof was made of perishable material while the house walls were made of permanent material. The B2 Form showed that there were a total of 5 farm buildings consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery and 1 barn.

Michael Rafferty was 42 years old farmer and he was married to Catherine who was 30 years old.  Michael’s brother John was listed on the Census Return Form A. He was listed as a farmer’s brother and he was a 30 year old single man.  All the occupants could read and write. Michael’s house was listed as a 2nd class house with 4 front windows and there were 4 rooms in the house. Michael Rafferty owned the land on which his house was built along with 5 out offices consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house, 1 calf house, 1 piggery and 1 barn.

Census 1911

The N Form shows that there was one inhabited house at the time of the 1911 census with 6 inhabitants.  There were 3 males and 3 females and all were Roman Catholics.  They were all born in County Galway. The head of household was Michael Rafferty. The B1 Form showed that the house in Kylagowan was built and listed as a private dwelling. The house walls were made of permanent material while the house roof was made of perishable material. the B2 Form showed that there were a total of 3 farm buildings consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house and 1 piggery.

Michael Rafferty was 59 years old and he lived with his wife Catherine who was 50 years old. They were married for 11 years and they had 3 children born alive and still living. Rose was 9 years old. Dennis was 6 years old. John was 2 years old. Michael’s sister Annie who was 30 years old was listed on the census. She was a single lady. Rose and Dennis were listed as scholars. All the family could read and write apart from 2 year old John. Michael’s house was listed as a 2nd class house with 3 front windows and there were 3 rooms in the house. Michael owned the land on which his house was situated along with 3 out offices consisting of 1 stable, 1 cow house and 1 piggery.

This page was added on 13/03/2017.

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