Kilgarvan Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Brennan Surname in Griffith's Valuation
There were no individuals with the Brennan Surname documented in Kilgarvan Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856.
Kilgarvan Civil Parish is located within Gallen Barony and had only 19 Townlands when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856. It is part of Bonniconlan Roman Catholic Parish (also known as Kilgarvan Roman Catholic Parish founded in 1844). (Mitchell, 1988, p. 88). Church records for this parish are available on microfilm number 926013 and cover the years 1844-1881. The only Roman Catholic Chapel noted in the valuation for this Civil Parish was in the Townland of Bunnyconnellan West and the only graveyard was in Kilgarvan.
As far as economic activity is concerned, I didn't see a "Fair green" or "Tolls and Customs of Fairs" documented in the Griffith's Valuation for Kilgarvan Civil Parish, but a patent was obtained for 4 fairs for the Townland of Bonniconlon (also known as O'Dowda's Town) in the early 19th century and as of 1845 two fairs were still being held. (Gillespie; Crawford, 1987, p. 85). I didn't see any listings for fairs in Bunniconlon or any other Townlands in Kilgarvan Civil Parish in the 1802 "Statistical Survey of County Mayo." Kilgarvan Civil Parish is located only 5 miles from the Town of Ballina, one of the premier market towns of County Mayo in the 19th century.
Commercial activity appeared to be distributed fairly evenly throughout Kilgarvan Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856. The Townland of Bunnyconnellan West had a pound, two forges, Corn Mill or Herd's House. Carrowcastle had a Constabulary Barrack and a Farmhouse; Carrowcrom had a corn mill, kiln and forge; Carrownaglogh had a forge, pound, corn mill and kiln; Carrowreagh had a Farm; Ellagh Beg had a Farm and a Herd's House; Ellagh More had a Corn Mill, Kiln and Orchard; Kilgarvan had a Pound, Corn Mill, Kiln and Herd's House and Lissard More had a Pound. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kilgarvan).
As far as education goes, there were National Schoolhouses in three Townlands when Griffith's Valuation was conducted: Bunnyconnellan West, Carha and Carrowcastle. (Griffith, 2847-1864; 2003, Kilgarvan).
There were 8 designated bog areas in the Townland of Carrownaglogh. I didn't see any lakes or rivers documented for Kilgarvan Civil Parish in Griffith's Valuation. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kilgarvan).
A variety of landlords were represented in Kilgarvan Civil Parish, but John T Kirkwood, Charles Downing and David Thompson were the most prevalent.
John T. Kirkwood, Charles Downling were listed in the "Land Owners of Ireland," a compilation presented by the Local Government Board of Ireland in 1876 that included landlords with one acre or more. John T Kirkwood resided in Imperial Square, Cheltenham, England and held 8345 acres in County Mayo. (He also held acreage in County Sligo). Charles Downing was listed as residing in Oatlands, Ballina, County Mayo as well as having a residence in Kingstown and held 4500 acres in County Mayo. There was a listing for David Thompson (Reps of) who had a residence at Cloonkeagh Castle in Dublin and held 7390 acres in County Mayo. (Local Government Board, 1876; 1988, p. 310, 312, 808). I found it interesting that David Thompson was not listed in the De Burgh compilation "The Landowners of Ireland" that was produced in 1878 and included Landlords in Ireland with more than 500 acres or having land valued at more than 500 Pounds.
Kilgarvan Civil Parish had a drop in population during the peak famine years like most Civil Parishes in County Mayo. There were 4,158 people residing in Kilgarvan Civil Parish in 1841, dropping to 3,194 in 1851. The population continued to decline during the tumultuous years after the famine dropping to 2,860 by the year 1911. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 7).