Scope. These pages contain a typewritten version of Griffith's Valuation for --
- all the townlands in Abbeyfeale Civil Parish,
- all the townlands in the western portion of Monagay Civil Parish, and
- most of the townlands in the western portion of Killeedy Civil Parish.
Abbeyfeale Civil Parish is in the far southwestern corner of Co. Limerick and borders Co. Kerry. Monagay & Killeedy Civil Parishes are adjacent to and just east of Abbeyfeale.
We hope to include additional townlands from this area at a later date.
Not a Census. Unlike a census, the Valuation listed only the names of persons who owned, leased, or sub-leased property and who, therefore, were required to pay taxes on that property. Many other persons were not listed, such as children, sons- & daughters-in-law, parents, parents-in-law, some farm workers, etc., who were living, rent-free, with the named individuals.
Owners vs. Renters. Very few of the persons listed in the Valuation actually owned property. Most of the Irish leased property from landowners and often subleased houses or portions of the land to others.
Timeframe. Although several Valuations were conducted during the first half of the 19th Century, the one presented on these pages was completed for Co. Limerick on 29 June 1853.
Place Names. The Valuation is arranged by civil parish and, within each parish, by townland, the smallest official subdivision of land in Ireland at the time. However, in southwest Co. Limerick (and probably throughout Ireland), inhabitants referred to even smaller subdivisions by name. For example, within the townland of Rathcahill West in Monagay Civil Parish are (at least) two small settlements called "Glenshesk" and "Gortnagloss" which are not mentioned in Griffith's Valuation and rarely appear on maps of the area. Similarly, a small settlement called "Grogeen" is located within the townland of Caher (Lane) in Abbeyfeale Civil Parish. Furthermore, place names were often transliterated from the Gaelic in various forms: "Templeglantine" in Monagay Civil Parish is presented as "Teampulglatane," "Templeglentane," "Templeglentan," "Templeglantan," and "Theampall a Ghleanntain," and may be abbreviated "Glantin." "Tulligoline North & South" may be referred to as "Tullig."
Contents. As shown in the following example, the typewritten version of Griffith's Valuation which appears on these pages includes much of the information from the original Valuation.
* Original Griffith's Valuation: Townland: Glengort North (Ord. S. 43) Ref. to Map: 1a Occupiers: Richard FITZGERALD Immediate Lessors: Trustees Earl of Devon Description of Tenements: Ho., offices & land Area (A.R.P.): 53 3 19 Net Annual Value: 16 10 0 * Typewritten version: GLENGORT NORTH Civil Parish: Killeedy Map Ref: OS-43 Immediate Lessor (unless otherwise specified): Trustees Earl of DEVON 1a Richard FITZGERALD - H,O,L(53)
In the typewritten version, abbreviations are used for "house" (H), "office" (an outbuilding) (O), "land" (L), and "garden" (G). Only the total acreage of the parcel is shown (e.g., "L(53)" = 53 acres). If no acreage is shown, the area of that parcel is less than one acre. The column entitled "Net Annual Value" in the original Valuation is not included in the typewritten version.
Property Identifiers. Major parcels of land were usually identified by a number (e.g., "1") or by a number & upper-case letter (e.g., "1A"). Structures were identified by a lower-case letter (e.g., "a"). The notation "1Aa" refers both to the parcel of land identified as "1A" and to the structure "a" which is located within that parcel. During the original Valuation these notations were marked in pen & ink on a copy of the appropriate Ordnance Survey (OS) map. OS map numbers for each townland are included in the typewritten version. Copies of the OS maps, marked with original Griffith's notations, are kept in the Valuation Office in Dublin.
Listed below are several fictitious examples of property identifiers. As previously noted, the acreage of each major parcel of land is shown in parentheses.
Example #1:
"11 Edmund ROCHE - L(39)"
Edmund ROCHE occupied a 39-acre parcel of land identified as
"11."
Example #2:
"8Aa Maurice DORE - H,O,L(18)"
"8B, 8C Maurice DORE - L(2,3)"
"8Cb Timothy SHEEHAN (from Maurice DORE) - H"
"8Cc Patrick LANE (from Maurice DORE) - H,G"
Maurice DORE occupied three parcels of land. His house and
office (perhaps a stable, pigsty, etc.) were located within the
first parcel (18 acres in area and identified as "8A"). The
house & office would be identified on the OS map with a lower-
case "a." Maurice DORE's second and third parcels of land were
identified as "8B" (2 acres) and "8C" (3 acres). Timothy SHEEHAN
leased a house from Maurice DORE. SHEEHAN's house was within
parcel "8C" and was identified on the map with a lower-case "b."
Similarly, Patrick LANE leased a house & garden located within
parcel "8C" from Maurice DORE. LANE's house was identified on
the map with a lower-case "c."
Example #3:
"9Aa Patrick AHERN - H,O,L(18, incl #9Ab)"
"9Ab Michael AHERN - H,O,L"
"9B Patrick AHERN, Michael AHERN - L(3)"
Patrick AHERN & Michael AHERN jointly occupied an 18-acre parcel
of land identified as "9A." Each had a house and office within
the parcel. Patrick AHERN's house & office were identified by a
lower-case "a" and Michael AHERN's house & office were identified
by a lower-case "b." In addition, Patrick & Michael AHERN
jointly occupied another parcel of land which was 3 acres in area
and identified as "9B."
Names. In some cases, a single farmer may have leased parcels of land in several adjoining townlands, and his name may therefore
appear several times in the Valuation. If two different
individuals with the same name are listed in a single townland or
in nearby townlands, the Valuation usually includes a comment.
Some fictitious examples:
"1a John HARTNETT - H,O,L(24)"
"2a John HARTNETT Junr - H,L(9)"
"3A John DEELY (woodranger) - H"
"4Aa James FITZGERALD (Pat) - H,O,L(19)"
"4Ab James FITZGERALD (John) - H,O,L(10)"
"4Ac Maurice ROCHE (Kate) (from James FITZGERALD (Pat) - H,O"
-- John HARTNETT in 2a is a junior
-- The father of the first James FITZGERALD was "Patrick," the
father of the second was "John"
-- Maurice ROCHE (son of "Kate") leased his property from James
FITZGERALD (son of "Patrick")
Due to the poor quality of some of the microfilm, the names of several persons listed in the original Valuation could not be deciphered. These names are noted with a question mark.
