Mayo Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Coffee (Coffey) Surname in Griffith's Valuation, County Mayo, Ireland
There were no individuals with the Coffee (Coffey) Surname documented in Mayo Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856.
Mayo Civil Parish lies primarily in Clanmorris Barony with a small portion in Kilmaine Barony. It is part of Mayo Abbey Roman Catholic Parish that includes the Civil Parish of Rosslee as well.
There were 52 Townlands in Mayo Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1856. There was a Roman Catholic Chapel in the Townland of Mayo Parks and a Church (undocumented affiliation) in the Townland of Gortaphuntaun. There were no documented graveyards in this Civil Parish according to the Valuation.
As far as Education goes, I didn't see any schools documented in the Griffith's Valuation for Mayo Civil Parish, but Samuel Lewis in "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," describes four private schools in Mayo Civil Parish. (Lewis, 1837;1984, p. 358).
From an economic standpoint, there was a patent applied for and obtained for the Townland of Brize (I believe this is the same as Brees) in 1607 by John Moore and Colonel G. Moore for a market and fair (Gillespie; Crawford, 1987, p. 85-86). The Statistical Survey of County Mayo that was conducted in 1802 shows Brize having a fair on August 11. (McParlan, 1802;2007, p. 49). Samuel Lewis described the Brize Fair as being for Horses, Cows and Sheep. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 358). This area appears to be more of a pastoral grazing area if the Griffith's Valuation is any indication. There are herd's houses in 17 different Townlands. There was an old dilapidated mill in the Townland of Ballinaster, a Forge in the Townland of Facefield and one in Knockrickard, and other than a Constabulary Barracks in the Townland of Carrowbrack and a Gatelodge in the Townland of Tonacarton that was about it for the commercial activity. I didn't see any documented "Fair Greens" or " Tolls and Customs of Fairs" in any of the Townlands in this Civil Parish including Brees. Mayo Civil Parish is between Ballinrobe and Claremorris (two fairly significant market towns) and is only 6 miles from Hollymount, a market town of some merit. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Mayo). I didn't recognize any "bog" parcels in the Valuation though Samuel Lewis mentions some reclaimed bog areas in this parish. (Lewis, 1837, 1984, p. 358).
A variety of different landlords were represented in the Mayo Civil Parish Griffith's Valuation, but Lord Clanmorris, Lady De Clifford, Sir Robert Lynch Blosse Bt and James Browne were the most prevalent. According to "The Landowners of Ireland- 1878" Lord Clanmorris held 12,237 acres in County Mayo and almost 6000 more in County Galway, one of the larger landholders of County Mayo. Sir Robert Lynch Blosse, Bart held a large amount of land in County Mayo as well with 17,555 acres as of 1878. (Deburgh, 1878;2007, p. 82, 284). I couldn't ascertain the holdings of Lady De Clifford or James Browne from this reference.
Mayo Civil Parish noticed a population decline during the famine years and beyond like many other County Mayo areas. In 1841 there were 4179 people in Mayo Civil Parish, that number decreased to 2379 in 1851and by 1911 it was down to 1617 inhabitants. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 8).