Kildacommoge Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Coffee (Coffey, Coffy) Surname in Griffith's Valuation, County Mayo, Ireland
There were no individuals with the Coffee, Coffey or Coffy Surname in Kildacommoge Civil Parish when Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857.
Kildacommoge Civil Parish falls within both Gallen and Carra Baronies, and had 29 Townlands when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857. Keelogues (translation: narrow strip of land) Roman Catholic Parish it the primary Catholic Parish covering the bulk of this Civil Parish, but two small sections appear to be part of Templemore (Straide) Roman Catholic Parish. Kildacommoge Civil Parish Catholic Church records are found on microfilm number 1279259 and cover the years 1847-1909. The Templemore Catholic Parish microfilm does not mention Kildacommoge Civil Parish so one would think that the records are covered by the Keelogues film 1279259. Kildacommoge is sometimes referred to a Kildecamogue and it only 5 miles from Castlebar, on of the major market towns in County Mayo in the 19th century.
When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857, A Roman Catholic Chapel was documented in the Townland of Ballygomman; Graveyards were noted in both Knockatemple and Moyhenna and a burial ground was present in the Townland of Ara. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kildacommoge). From what I have read there were churches in ancient times in Ara, Moyhenna, Corraun as well as Knockatemple, which possibly explains the graveyards that were noted when Griffith's Valuation was conducted.
The Griffith's Valuation for Kildacommoge Civil Parish did not show a fair green, but there was a "Tolls of Fair" noted in the Townland of Old Keelogues. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kildacommoge). A patent was obtained for fairs for Ballyvary (I believe this is the same as Bellavary), the largest Townland in Kildacommoge) in 1762 by H. Cope and W. Thewles. The Townland of Keelogues also apparently held a fair, although I couldn't find any patent applications for this Townland. (Gillespie; Crawford, 1987, p. 85, 88). According to the Statistical Survey of County Mayo that was conducted in 1802, The Townland of Ballyvary had fairs on May 29, August 17 and November 15 and Keelogues had a fair on September 6. (McParlan, 1802; 2007, p. 48-51).
The Townland of Bellavary appears to be the hub of economic activity in this Civil Parish. Bellavary has the Grand Jury of County Mayo's Petty Sessions House,"Presbyterian Assembly" Industrial School Rooms, Constabulary Barracks, a Flour Mill, Mill Pond, Pound and Forge. The Townland of Danganmore has a Turbary, Boleyard and Old Keelogues each have a Pound, Drunganagh West has a Forge, Laghtavarry has an Orchard, Knockatemple and Grallagh each have a Corn Mill and Moyhenna has a Corn and Tuck Mill. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Atticahill, Bellavary, Cornanaff, Gneeve, Grallagh, Keeloges Old, Knockatemple, Laghtavarry, Lissaniska and Moyhenna. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kildacommoge). This is a significant number of Herd's Houses for a smaller Townland and would seem to indicate a fair amount of grazing area/ pasture.
As far as education goes, there was a National Schoolhouse in the Townland of Ballygomman and a Schoolhouse in Moyhenna. I couldn't find any documented information about "Hedge Schools" in this area.
There was one lake (Lough Holan) documented in the Griffith's Valuation for Kildacommoge. I didn't see any "Bog" Parcels noted in the Valuation but Samuel Lewis described a "moderate proportion of Bog" in Kildacommoge in his "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland." (Lewis, 1838, 1837; 1984, p. 87).
Numerous landlords were represented in this Civil Parish with Louisa Moore, Charles L Fitzgerald, Reps Fras Blake Knox and Dorothea Fitzgerald being the most prevalent. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kildacommoge).
I couldn't find any listings for the Landlords Louisa Moore, Reps Fras. Blake or Dorothea Fitzgerald in De Burgh's compilation "The Landowners of Ireland." This publication includes landlords of Ireland that held more than 500 acres or land valued at over 500 Pounds. Charles Lionel Fitzgerald held 8359 acres in County Mayo and 8 acres in County Galway. His County Mayo residence was at Turlough Park, Castlebar, County Mayo. (De Burgh, 1878; 2007, p. 159).
The Civil Parish of Kildacommoge saw a population decline during the peak famine period like most other Civil Parishes in County Mayo. There were 3,923 residents in Kildacommoge in 1841, dropping to 2,234 in 1851. By the year 1911, there were only 2,014 people remaining in this Civil Parish. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 7).