Pallas

Information taken from a variety of official documents

Research: Noreen Shiel, Abbey Heritage

Pallas Townland

Pallas, An Phailis

Pallas is a small townland in the civil parish of Tynagh, in the electoral district of Pallas, the barony of Leitrim and the County of Galway. It is near the centre of the parish of Teena [Tynagh], about 1 mile South of Teena village. Pallas is a large townland all under plantation and ornamental ground. Pallis House is situated near the centre, a spacious dwelling, the residence of Lord Riverstown, about 10 chains west of the house, is Pallis Castle, an antiquity. It commands a tolerable good view of the surrounding country.

According to O’Donovan’s Field Name Books (1838) the standard name of the townland is Pallis.  O’Donovan also states that there is a reference to Pallis in the following documents: Inq Temp Car I; Inq Temp Gul III; Inq Temp Jac I B S Sketch and Alph List of Townland names in the County Galway. It was referred to as Pallas by Lord Riverstown.
It is referred to as Pallace in Larkin’s County Map and Edward Kelly, Esq. Furthermore he states it was referred to as Pallace in Inq Temp Elizand as Pallice in Inq Temp Jac I.

The Down Survey Map 1641 (pre Cromwell) states that the owner of Pallas was Thomas Currough (Protestant). The Down Survey Map 1670 (post Cromwell) shows that the owner was Sir Thomas Newgent [Nugent]. There was 310 plantation acres of profitable land, 72 acres of unprofitable land and 310 acres of forfeited land.

1851 Old Age Pension Census Search forms

Thomas Donohoe

The applicant, 70 year old Thomas Donohoe gave his address as Mr J Keary, Merchant, Woodford, Co Galway. He applied for the old age pension on 2nd January, 1917. According to Thomas his parents were Thomas Donohoe and Bridget Cavanagh.  The form also shows that the applicant Thomas Donohoe was found on the 1851 Census and therefore the application was successful.

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 Pallas was undertaken in 1826. It states that the townland of Pallas was in the parish of Tyna (Tynagh).

According to the Tithe Applotment Books there was 310 acres of land which was occupied by 4 named tenants. The following is an account of the tenants’ landholdings, the value of their acres and the amount of composition of the tithe.

The Right Honourable Lord Riverston had 247 acres. It was valued at 11 shillings per acre and had a total valuation of £11 6s 5d. Burkes farm had 40 acres. It was valued at 11 shillings per acre and had a total valuation of £1 16s 8d. Thomas Mitchell had 20 acres. It was valued at 11 shillings per acre and had a total valuation of 18s 4d. John Nugent had 3 acres. It was valued at 11 shillings per acre and had a total valuation of 2s 9d. They owed a total tithe of £14 4s 2d.

Griffith’s Valuation

According to Griffith’s Valuation (1855) the area of the townland of Pallas was 636 acres, 1 rood and 2 perches. The valuation of the land was £432 0s 0d and the valuation of the buildings was £47 5s 0d giving a total valuation of £479 5s 0d. Sir Thos Anthony F Nugent owned all the property in the townland and leased a portion of it to Walter White. Nugent was in fee for 580 acres 2 roods and 7 perches. He paid a total of £413 10s 0d for a house, herd’s house, offices and land. Walter White paid a total of £35 15s 0d for a house and land.

Census 1901

There were 4 inhabited houses in Pallas at the time of the 1901 census with 15 inhabitants. The N Form documents that there were 15 residents, 6 male and 9 female and all were Roman Catholics apart from 4 residents who were members of the United Free Church. Some of the residents were born in Co Galway but others were born in other counties and in Scotland. James Kiernan, James McKendrick and Denis Smyth were the heads of the households and John Kelly was the first name listed in house 3. According to the B1 Form all the houses were built as private dwellings and had walls and roofs both made from permanent materials. There were 29 out offices but there was no B2 Form to itemise them.

James Kiernan was a 61 year old gardener and domestic servant. He was married to Bridget who was 52 years of age. James was born in Co Westmeath and Bridget was born in Co Tipperary. Both of them could read and write. They were both Roman Catholics. James Kiernan’s house had 5 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 4 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built.

James McKendrick was a 36 year old forester. He was married to Georgina who was 32 years of age. They had 2 daughters living with them: Eliza who was 9 years of age and Annie who was 6 years of age. Christopher Kelly who was an 18 year old visitor was a grocer assistant. Eliza and Annie were scholars. James, Georgina, Eliza and Annie were born in Scotland and Christopher Kelly was born in Co Westmeath. All of them could read and write. All 4 members of the McKendrick family were members of the United Free Church and Christopher was a Roman Catholic. James McKendrick’s house had 5 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 4 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built.

John Kelly was the name of the first of 6 servants listed in house 3 in Pallas. He was a 45 year old general servant. The other servants listed were: Bridget Murphy who was a 40 year old dairy maid; Bridget Murphy a 24 year old under housemaid; Mary Kelly a 22 year old upper housemaid; James Farrell a 21 year old footman and Maryanne O’Neill a 20 year old kitchen maid. John Kelly was married but all the other residents were single. All of the residents were born in Galway apart from Bridget Murphy the under housemaid who was born in Co Kildare, Mary Kelly who was born in Co Westmeath and Maryanne O’Neill who was born in Co Carlow. All of them could read and write and all were Roman Catholics. The house had 31 front windows and it was listed as a first class house with 28 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There were 25 out offices but there was no B2 form to itemise them.

Dennis Smyth was a 33 year old carpenter. He was married to Jane who was 25 years of age. Dennis was born in Co Galway and Jane was born in Co Meath. Both of them could read and write. They were both Roman Catholics. Dennis Smyth’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There were 2 out offices, namely a stable and a fowl house.

Census 1911

There were 5 inhabited houses and one uninhabited house in Pallas at the time of the 1911 census with 13 inhabitants. The N Form documents that there were 13 people living in Pallas at the time, 8 males and 5 female and all were Roman Catholics apart from 5 residents who were members of the Presbyterian church. Some of the residents were born in Co Galway but others were born in other counties and in Scotland. John Hogan, Denis Smyth, James Kiernan, James McKendrick and Laurence Holloron were the heads of the households. According to the B1 Form all of the houses were built as private dwellings and all apart from one house with a roof made from perishable material had walls and roofs made from permanent materials. According to the B2 Form there were 29 out offices, namely: 6 stables, 2 coach houses, 1 harness room, 1 cow house, 1 dairy, 3 fowl houses, 1 boiling house, 1 turf shed, 1 potato house, 1 workshop, 2 sheds, 3 stores, 1 forge, 2 laundries, 1 sawmill and 1 weigh bridge room.

John Hogan was a 34 year old general labourer. He lived with his brother Thomas who was 32 years old and was also a general labourer, John and Thomas were born in King’s County [Co Offaly]. Both of them could read and write. They were both Roman Catholics and were both single at the time the census was taken. John Hogan’s house had no front window and it was listed as a third class house with one room. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There was one out office, namely a stable.

Denis Smyth was a 45 year old carpenter. He was married to Mary Jane who was 35 years of age for 10 years. John Darcy, a 36 year old boarder was also resident with them. Dennis was born in Co Galway and Mary Jane was born in Co Waterford. John Darcy was a mason and was born in Co Tipperary. He was single. All of them could read and write and all were Roman Catholics. Denis Smyth’s house had 3 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 3 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There were 4 out offices but there was no B2 form to itemise them.

James Kiernan was a 72 year old gardener and domestic servant. He was married for 34 years to Bridget who was 62 years of age. James was born in Co Westmeath and Bridget was born in Co Tipperary. He was single. Both of them could read and write and spoke English and Irish. James Kiernan’s house had 5 front windows and it was listed as a second class house with 4 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There were no out offices.

James MacKendrick was a 46 year old general estate manager. He was married to Georgina who was 42 years of age for 23 years. They had 3 children who were all alive at the time of the census and lived with them: Eliza who was 19 years of age, Annie who was 16 years of age and Alistair who was 7 years of age. Alistair was a scholar. James, Georgina, Eliza and Annie were born in Scotland and Alistair was born in Co Galway. All the family could read and write. All members of the McKendrick family were members of the Presbyterian Church. James McKendrick’s house had 28 front windows and it was listed as a first class house with 10 rooms. The Earl of Westmeath owned the land on which the house was built. There were 25 out offices including: 4 stables, 2 coach houses, a harness room, a cow house, a dairy, a fowl house, a boiling room, a turf house, a potato house, a workshop, 2 sheds, 3 stores, a forge, 2 laundries, a sawmill and a weigh bridge house.

Laurence Holloron was a 37 year old agricultural labourer who lived alone. He was a widower and was born in Co Galway. He could read and write. Laurence Holloron’s house had a roof made from perishable material and it had 2 front windows and 2 rooms. It was classed as a third class house. The land on which the house was built was owned by the Earl of Westmeath. There was one out office, namely a fowl house.

This page was added on 05/03/2016.

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