Islandeady Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Gahagan (Goaghan, Goghan, Gaughan, Geoghegan) Surname in Griffith's Valuation
There were no individuals with the Gahagan, Goaghan, Goghan, Gaughan or Geoghegan Surname documented in Islandeady Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1855 and 1857.
Islandeady Civil Parish lies within the Barony of Burrishoole in the South, but the larger portion is within Carra Barony. When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted (appears to be 1855 for Westport Union and 1857 for Castlebar Union), there were 62 Townlands with Cashel being partially in both Burrishoole and Carra Barony. This number includes the named, occupied islands in Islandeady and Beltra Lough. Islandeady Civil Parish is part of Islandeady Roman Catholic Parish (that was formed in 1839). (Mitchell, 1988, p.88). Records for this Roman Catholic Parish are included in Microfilm number 1279213 and cover the years 1839-1913. Islandeady is sometimes referred to as Islandine or Islandedin. When the Griffith's was conducted for Islandeady Civil Parish, there were Roman Catholic Chapels in the Townlands of Barnastang (northern part of the parish) and Cloonan (southern part of the parish). Graveyards were noted in the Townlands of Drumneen and Islandeady. Samuel Lewis mentioned a Chapel on Glen Island in his "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," but I couldn't find this island in the Islandeady Griffith's Valuation Townland list or in the "General Alphabetical Index of the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland,"
I was not able to locate any patent applications for markets or fairs for any townlands in this parish, nor did I see any Townlands in this parish mentioned in the Statistical Survey of County Mayo that was conducted in 1802. The Griffith's Valuation didn't show any "Fair Greens" or "Tolls and Customs of Fairs" in any of the Townlands of Islandeady Civil Parish. From a commercial perspective, there was very little to speak of in Islandeady Civil Parish. There was an Old Mill and Kiln in the Townland of Kilgarve, Constabulary Force Barracks in Drumminahaha and Monagarraun, a Pound in Ballynamarroge, a Forge and Pound in Beltra and a Dispensary in the Townland of Dooleague. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Bohehs, Carha, Carrownaclea, Claggan, Cornagashlaun, Derryharriff North and South, Drumminaguncan, Drumminahaha, Drumminwonagh, Drumneen, Fairhill, Graffa Beg, Graffa More, Islandeady, Keeloges, Knockanedan, Lapallagh, and Raheen Barr. This extensive list of Herd's Houses would seem to indicate that this Civil Parish had a significant of pasture/grazing land. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Islandeady).
There were no designated "Bog" parcels noted in the Griffith's Valuation for Islandeady Civil Parish, but there were many lakes throughout the parish. Samuel Lewis describes Islandeady as having "much bog and mountain." (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 27).
As far as education goes, there was a National Schoolhouse in Claggarnagh East and a Schoolhouse in Cogaula. Samuel Lewis identified one public and five private schools in his "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland." (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 27).
A variety of different landlords were represented in Islandeady Civil Parish Griffith's Valuation, but Sir William Roger Palmer Bart was far and away the most prevalent, distantly followed by Capt. Alex W. Wyndham, Capt. John Palmer, Earl of Lucan, Lord Kilmaine and William Levingston.
Hussey De Burgh compiled his "The Landowners of Ireland" in 1878 that included landlords owning greater than 500 acres or having land valued at over 500 pounds. I was able to find the following information on the most prevalent landlords in Islandeady Civil Parish: Sir William Roger Palmer Bart had numerous residences, among them Keenagh Lodge in Castlebar, County Mayo. He had 80,990 acres in County Mayo, 9,570 acres in County Sligo and 4,202 in Dublin. I was unable to find entries on Capt Alex W. Wyndham or Capt John Palmer. The Earl of Lucan (George Charles Bingham) held 60,570 acres in County Mayo and 32 acres in Dublin and held numerous residences including Castlebar House in County Mayo. Lord Kilmaine (Francis William Browne, 4th Baron) held numerous homes as well with one in County Mayo at the Neale, Ballinrobe. He held 11,564 acres in County Mayo and held property in Counties Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath and Wexford as well. Finally, there was a listing for a William Livingstone (same as Livingston?) who resided in Westport, County Mayo, holding 2,223 acres in County Mayo and 5 acres in County Galway. (De Burgh, 1878; 2007, p. 250, 274, 280, 361).
The population of Islandeady dropped by almost 50% between 1841 (8,463) and 1851(4,699). By the year 1911 there were only 3,402 people remaining in Islandeady Civil Parish. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 7).