Castlemore Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Coffee (Coffey) Surname in the Griffith's Valuation, County Mayo, Ireland

Castlemore was part of Costello Barony, County Mayo when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857. It was later transferred to County Roscommon in 1898. The County Mayo portion of Castlemore Civil Parish had 21 Townlands in 1857, and was part of Castlemore and Kilcolman Roman Catholic Parish. Kilcolman Civil Parish (Costello Barony) was also part of this Catholic Parish.

The Griffith's Valuation didn't list any Catholic Chapels for Castlemore Civil Parish when it was conducted in 1857, but there was a chapel in the Town of Ballaghadireen (Kilcolman Civil Parish) that was only two miles away. Ballaghadireen was one of County Mayo's major market towns in the 19th century. I didn't see any "Fair Greens" or Tolls for Markets and Fairs" listed in the Valuation for Castlemore, and I couldn't find any patent applications for fairs or markets for any Towns in Castlemore. The close proximity to Ballaghadireen, a strong market town probably made this fact inconsequential. There was one graveyard listed in the Townland of Glebe.

As far as education goes, there was a National Schoolhouse in the Townland of Bogtaduff and a schoolhouse in the Townland of Ishlaun. Samuel Lewis mentions two national schools in his 1837 section on Castlemore in "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" one was listed as in Brusna and the other in Aughalustra. (Lewis, 1837;2005, p.305). I couldn't find either of these towns listed in the "General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland."

From an economic standpoint, the Town of Ardkill had a forge as did the Townland of Ishlaun. A pound was present in Ishlaun a well. There were herd's houses in the Townlands of Knockanaconny, Lung and Toomanagh and a mill in the Townland of Boghtaduff. That was about the extent of any sort of commercial activity for Castlemore Civil Parish. The River Lung ran through the Townlands of Cloonavullaun, Crunaun and Lung and there was one "bog" parcel in the Townland of Kilkeeran. Samuel Lewis describes this Civil Parish as having 2780 acres that were "bog and wasteland...the land is cold and unproductive." (Lewis, 1837;2005, p. 305).

Viscount Dillon was the predominant landlord in Castlemore Civil Parish with a smattering of others such as Thomas Strickland, Elizabeth Moore and Laurence Waldron represented as well.

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

The Surname Coffey was present in one of the 21 documented Townlands in Castlemore Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857. Michael Coffey held two parcels in the Townland of Boghtaduff.

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)
Boghtaduff	19,20,20A	Coffey, Michael	Dillon, Viscount	Land, House and Office	14-1-12 and 8-1-34	2-0-0	one other
Boghtaduff	21	Coffey, Michael	same	Land	2-1-35	0-5-0	none