Killedan Civil Parish Characteristics, County Mayo, Ireland
Killedan Civil Parish falls within Gallen Barony and had 42 Townlands when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856. Killedan Roman Catholic Parish, formed in 1834, covers Killedan Civil Parsh. (Mitchell, 1988, p. 89). This Catholic Parish is now referred to as Kiltimagh Roman Catholic Parish. The Church records for this parish are included on LDS microfilm number 1279231 and 926012 and cover the years 1834-1909. When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted for Killedan Civil Parish in 1856, there was a Roman Catholic Chapel in the Town of Kiltimagh that lies within the Townland of Cordarragh and a church of undocumented affiliation in the Townland of Ballinamore. Graveyards were present in the Townlands of Ballinamore and Oxford.
Samuel Lewis refers to a Thursday market being held in the Town of "Cultymough, or Newtown-Brown." It is my assumption that Cultymough is the same as Kiltimagh, a town that was incorporated into the Townlands of Cordarragh, Gortgarve and Kiltimagh when the Griffiths Valuation was conducted. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 135). There was no mention of this market in the 1852-53 report according to W.H. Crawford's essay in the book "A Various Country, Essays in Mayo History 1500-1900. (Gillespie; Crawford, 1987, p. 89).
From an economic standpoint, the Town of Kiltimagh that is part of the Townlands of Cordarragh, Kiltamagh and Gortgarve appears to be the hub of most of the activity in Killedan Civil Parish. The Town of Kiltamagh within the Townland of Kiltamagh was the location for the "Tolls and Customs." James Jordan was the occupier and Geo Eakins Browne the Landlord for this economically important parcel. The Townland of Kiltimagh was home to a farmhouse and the Town of Kiltimagh, in addition to the Tolls and Customs, had a Constabulary Force Police Barracks, the Swineford Union Dispensary, three building grounds and ruins.
In the portion of the Town of Kiltimagh that lies within the Townland of Kiltamagh, there was the Constabulary Force Police Barrack and the Swineford Union Dispensary. The Town of Kiltimagh in the Townland of Cordarragh had a pound, building ground and Ball-alley. I have been unable to determine what a Ball-alley is at this point. The Town of Kiltimagh within the Townland of Gortgarve had a forge, farmhouse and ruins. The Townlands of Shanvally and Craggagh each had a forge; corn mills were present in Carrick, Carrahoor (as well as a kiln) and Gowelboy. The Townland of Oxford had a mill and kiln, Treankeel had a Corn and Tuck mill, Carrowreagh had a farmhouse, and the Townland of Ballinamore had a mill. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Ballinamore and Craggagh. Ballinamore also had several Plantations. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Killedan).
As far as education goes, there was a Board of Education Female National School in the town of Kiltimagh that lies within the Townland of Kiltamagh, and schoolhouses in the Townlands of Canbrack and Killedan. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Killedan). All three of these schools were in the northeastern part of Killedan Civil Parish. I couldn't find evidence of any schools in the southwestern part of this parish. Samuel Lewis mentions "4 private schools" in his "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" but their location is not given. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 135).
Killedan Civil Parish had numerous designated "bog" parcels in the Griffith's Valuation. They were present in the Townlands of Ballinamore, Balloorclerhy, Carrownageeragh, Carrowndangan, Cordarragh, Craggagh, Knocknaskeagh and Treannagleragh. There were four different lakes in this parish: Carrigeen Lough, Cuiltybo Lough, Lough Carrick and Lough Naspada.
There were numerous landlords represented in Killedan Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted. George Eakins Browne (a minor), the Earl of Lucan, Anthony Ormsby and Patrick Tuohy were probably the most prevalent.
George Eakins Browne resided in Brownestown, Ballinrobe and held 2809 acres in County Mayo; Anthony Ormsby resided in Ballinamore House, Kiltimagh and held 4492 acres in County Mayo; the Earl of Lucan resided in Castlebar House and held 60,570 acres in County Mayo. (Local Govt Board, Ireland; 1876, p. 307, 310, 311). I was unable to find a listing for Patrick Tuohy in either the Local Government Board publication of "The Landowners in Ireland -Return of Owners of Land of One Acre and Upwards, or in Hussey Deburgh's publication "The Landowners of Ireland." published in 1878.
The population of Killedan Civil Parish dropped during the peak famine years falling from 6,410 in 1841 to 5,158 in 1851. By the year 1911 there were only 4,887 people remaining in this Civil Parish. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 7).