Killasser Civil Parish Characteristics, County Mayo, Ireland
Killasser Civil Parish lies within Gallen Barony and had 58 Townlands when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856. Killasser Roman Catholic Parish, which was formed in 1847 covers this Civil Parish. (Mitchell, 1988, p. 98). There were Catholic Chapels in two Townlands, Callow and Listernan, and graveyards in Coollagagh, Graffy and Knockmullin when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted. The Civil parish of Killasser was named after Lasair, an 8th century Irish Saint. Church records for this Roman Catholic Parish are available on Microfilm numbers 1279232 and 926011 and cover the years 1847-1921.
I didn't see any patent applications for fairs or markets for any of the Townlands in Killasser Civil Parish and there weren't any "Fair Greens" or "Tolls and Customs of Fairs" that were noted in the Griffith's Valuation for Killasser Civil Parish. This Civil Parish is only 6 miles from Foxford, one of County Mayo's premier market towns in the 19th Century. The Townland of Attimachugh had a Turbary, Callow had a Forge, Bellanacurra and Darhanagh each had a Ferry (possibly for transport over the River Moy?), Carrowmoremoy had a Corn and Tuck Mill and Askillagh, Coollagagh, Cuillonaghtan, Toorard and Tumgesh had Corn Mills. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Carrowmore, Cloonainra, Coollagagh, Doonty, Knockmanagh and Knockmullin. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Killasser). This would seem to indicate that there was a fair amount of grazing/pasture area in this Civil Parish.
As far as education goes, there is a Board of Education National Schoolhouse in Attimachugh, and National Schoolhouses in Callow, Carrowmore, Carrowmoremoy, Loobnamuck, and Tulleague. I haven't read any specifics about hedge schools in this area.
This Civil Parish has an abundance of lakes and the River Moy runs through many of the Townlands. A Ferry is present in the Townlands of Bellanacurra and Darhanagh. There were no bog areas noted in Griffith's Valuation for this Civil Parish; however, Samuel Lewis in his book " A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" notes that there is a "large tract of irreclaimable bog" in Killasser Civil Parish. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 132).
John Nolan Ferrall and Robert Orme were the two most prevalent landlords in Killasser Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted. Other landlords with significant representation were Major Wm Ormsby Gore, Sir C. Domville Bart and a smattering of others. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Killasser).
Hussey De Burgh created a compilation of "The Landowners of Ireland" in 1878 that covered all the Landlords of Ireland holding more than 500 acres or having land valued at more than 500 pounds. I was unable to find a specific entry for Major Wm Ormsby Gore in this compilation. Nohn Nolan Ferrall, on the other hand, was included and held 9,731 acres in County Mayo. His residence in County Mayo was listed as Logboy House in Ballyhaunis. Robert Orme the other major landlord represented in Killasser Civil Parish, held 3,094 acres in County Mayo and 1,405 acres in County Sligo. His residence in County Mayo was listed as Enniscrone, Ballina. Sir C. Domville Bart (William Compton Domville Bart) held 6,040 acres in County Mayo, 1,513 acres in Dublin, 1512 acres in Queens and 1 acre in County Wicklow. He did not have a residence in County Mayo listed. (De Burgh, 1878; 2007, p. 312, 153, 356).
The population of Killasser Civil Parish saw a significant population decline like most of the other County Mayo Civil Parishes during and after the peak famine period. The population declined from 6,962 in 1841 to 4,852 in 1851. By the year 1911 there were only 4,213 people residing in Killasser Civil Parish. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 7). The population drop between 1851 and 1911 of only 623 was, however less than many other parishes for this period.