Kilmainebeg Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Coffee (Coffey, Coffy) Surname in Griffith's Valuation
There were no individuals with the Coffee, Coffey or Coffy Surname documented in Kilmainebeg Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857.
Kilmainebeg Civil Parish falls within Kilmaine Barony and is part of Kilmaine Roman Catholic Parish (formed in 1854). (Mitchell, 1988, p. 89). Kilmainemore Civil Parish and Moorgagagh Civil Parish are also part of this Catholic Parish. The Catholic Church records for this parish are found on LDS microfilm numbers 1279214 and 926225 and cover the years 1854 to 1909.
There were no Catholic Chapels documented in Kilmainebeg Civil Parish when Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857, and only one graveyard in the Townland of Kilkeeran.(Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kilmainebeg). According to J.F. Quinn in "A History of Mayo," (Volume 2, Chapter 26, p.285)) there were churches in the Townlands of Kilkeeran and Kilmacduagh. (Quinn, 1996, p. 285). A Graveyard was noted in Griffith's Valuation for Kilkeeran, but not a Church, and there were no religious institutions documented in the Townland of Kilmacduagh in the 1857 Griffith's Valuation.
Kilmainebeg is down near the border with County Galway and contained only 22 Townlands when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted. This Civil Parish was quite small with just over 3000 acres, but was only 5 miles from Ballinrobe, one of County Mayo's major market towns in the 19th century.
Kilmainebeg Civil Parish appeared to have little documented economic activity when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857. I couldn't find any patent applications for fairs or markets. There were no "Fair Greens" or Tolls and Customs of Fairs mentioned in the survey for this Civil Parish. The Townland of Fountainhill that lies in the north-central section of this Civil Parish had a mill and kilns and the Townland of Knocknageeha had a Forge. Herd's Houses were present in the Townlands of Ballisnahyny, Ballyhenry (Caraun), Carrownturly, Carrowoughteragh, Hundred Acres, Kilkeeran, Knocknageeha and Pollnabunny. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kilmainebeg). The significant number of Herd's Houses in such a small Civil Parish would seem to indicate a fair amount of grazing/pasture area.
As far as education goes, there were no documented National Schools or other Schoolhouses documented in the Griffith's Valuation. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Kilmainebeg). Samuel Lewis, however, described a small private school in Kilmainebeg in his "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland." (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 169).
There were no bog areas, lakes or rivers designated in Kilmainebeg Civil Parish, and all of the Townlands were quite small.
Numerous Landlords were represented in Kilmainebeg Civil Parish, but Isidore Blake, listed independently and with Valentine O. C. Blake (who were listed together in several Townlands as landlords) was the most prevalent. Two other Blake Family members, Patrick and Joseph, were landlords here as well. Reverend William Cromie represented the Townlands of Ardmoran and Gortnaskohoge; Robert Fair, who was a landlord in numerous other Civil Parishes was the primary landlord in Kilkeeran; Col. Charles Knox was the only landlord in Ballisnahyny; Hon. Gonville Firench was the only landlord in Carrownturly and Edward Cooper was the landlord for all but one parcel in Knocknageeha (one of the larger Townlands in Kilmainebeg Civil Parish).
Kilmainebeg Civil Parish experienced a population drop during the peak famine years going from 1,491 in 1841 to 895 in 1851. By the year 1911, there were only 475 people remaining in this Civil Parish. (O'hara, 1982, p. 8).