Ballynahaglish Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Corcoran Surname in Griffith's Valuation, County Mayo, Ireland

Ballynahaglish Civil Parish falls within Tirawley Barony and is part of Backs Roman Catholic Parish. Kilbelfad Civil Parish is also part of this Catholic Parish. There are two further divisions of this Catholic Parish that you may come across Backs (Rathduff) and Backs (Knockmore). The LDS microfilm covering this Catholic Parish is 1279205 and the date range covered is 1829-1880. When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856, there was only one Roman Catholic Chapel; it was located in the Townland of Knockmore. The Townland of Ballynahaglish was the location for the only Graveyard.

I couldn't find any patent applications for fairs or markets for Ballynahaglish Civil Parish. Ballynahaglish was only 2 1/2 miles from Ballina, one of County Mayo's major market towns of the 19th century. There were no designated "Fair Greens" or "Tolls and Customs of Fairs" in the Ballynahaglish Civil Parish Griffith's Valuation when it was conducted in 1856. As far as commercial activity goes, it was minimal and scattered throughout the Civil Parish. The Townland of Bellass had a Tuck Mill, the Townland of Corroy had the only Corn Mill, and there were no documented Kilns, Military Baracks or Pounds. There was one Orchard in the Townland of Ballyderg. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Curragh, Derrygaury, Derrynamuck and Gortaskibbole. This would seem to indicate a fair amount of pasture/grazing land in this Civil Parish. The River Moy did appear to course through many different Townlands of this Civil Parish including Ballyhiernaun, Ballynahaglish, Carrowtreila, Coolcronaun, Corlummin, Curragh, Derrygaury, Drumrevagh, Rahans, Rathbaun, Rathnaconeen, Srah, Sraheen and Tonybaun. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Ballynahaglish). Samuel Lewis describes an "extensive tracts of bog" area in this Civil Parish. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 156). I didn't see any documented "bog" parcels in the Griffith's Valuation, but there were several lakes, Derrymannin Lough, in the Townland of Derrymannin and Lough Alick in Derrynamuck.

As far as education goes, there were two National Schoolhouses, one in Ballynaraha and one in Lissaniska West. There was also a Schoolhouse in the Townland of Rathnaconeen. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Ballynahaglish). According to The Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis, this Civil Parish also had one hedge school. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 156).

A vast array of landlords were represented in this Civil Parish with Oliver Jackson being the most prevalent, followed by Jane E. Pugh, Lord Clanmorris, Major John Frederick Knox, Honorable Edward Perry, Thomas Jones and Colonel Charles Knox among others. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Ballynahaglish).

Ballynahaglish Civil Parish like many other Parishes in County Mayo had a significant drop in population during and after the peak famine years. In 1841 there were 5,397 people living in Ballynahaglish Civil Parish, dropping to 3,397 in 1851. By the year 1911 there were only 2,678 people remaining in the area. ('Ohara, 1982, p. 7).

There were Corcorans documented in two different Townlands in Ballynahaglish Civil Parish. Ballybeg, a smaller Townland in the northern part of Ballynahaglish, had four Corcorans -Michael, Patrick, Martin and James. A Corcoran with an unlisted given name was living in Gorthadrehy, a much smaller Townland further south.

Regarding my Irish Family Research: the surname Corcoran and Gaughan were both represented in the Townland of Gortnadrehy, a very small Townland with only 6 people.

There is one caveat to keep in mind when looking at these findings from the Griffith's Valuation: The Griffith's Valuation only includes the individuals (occupiers) who own, lease or rent a parcel. For instance it will list a householder but not the individuals who live with him. It was common in County Mayo for individuals to share parcels, particularly of land (The Rundale system of communal land sharing). Sometimes the whole town shared one parcel of land. Shared parcels may or may not be with related individuals. Just because an individual is a lone occupier of a parcel does not mean that he is living in (house) or tilling (garden) this parcel alone. He may have numerous family members living with him, but they will not be listed unless they actually lease or own the parcel. Occupiers who sublet their acreage of land or houses to others will be listed as landlords.

For helpful details on how to interpret the following records, please take a look at the page I created on "Deciphering Griffith's Valuation."

Townland Map Ref Number Occupier Landlord or his Rep Property Type Area in Acres, Roods and Perches - a-r-p Total Valuation in Pounds, Shillings and Pence Shared with (other occupiers)
Ballybeg 12a Corcoran, Michael Jackson, Oliver Land and House 19-2-17 10-5-0 none
Ballybeg 13a Corcoran, Patrick same Land and House 10-1-35 8-0-0 - total for this parcel and one below none
Ballybeg 14a Corcoran, Patrick same Land and House 1-1-23 same none
Ballybeg 15a Corcoran, Martin same Land and House 10-0-24 5-4-0 none
Ballybeg 18a Corcoran, James same Land and House 7-1-19 5-10-0 none
Gortnadrehy 1a Corcoran, ? Knox, Frederick Land, House and Office 74-2-17 3-0-0 none

(Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Ballynahaglish).