Templemore Civil Parish and the Incidence of the Corcoran Surname in Griffith's Valuation, County Mayo, Ireland

Templemore Civil Parish falls within Gallen Barony and is part of Straide Roman Catholic Parish. Unfortunately, records for this Civil Parish don't begin early and the date range is only 1872-1880. When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted for Templemore Civil Parish in 1857, there was only one Roman Catholic Chapel in the Townland of Strade, no other churches, one Graveyard in the Townland of Knockagarraun and a Burial Ground in the Townland of Knockagarraun.

As early as 1651 Richard Rutledge applied for and obtained a patent for markets and a fair for the Townland of Straide. (Gillespie; Crawford, 1987, p. 90). When the Statistical Survey of County Mayo was conducted in 1802, the Townland of Straide was listed as having a market or fair for cattle, but none for grain and fairs were held on May 31, July 30, October 23 and November 27. (McParlan, 1802; 2007, p. 45, 47-52).

When the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in Templemore Civil Parish, Strade was quite clearly the economic hub of this area. Strade had a "Fair Green," a "Tolls and Customs of Fairs," a Pound and a Cornmill. Several Townlands such as Aghalusky, Cloongee and Knocksaxon had a Turbary and there was a Salmon Fishery in the Townland of Cloongee. The Townland of Cloonconra had a Corn Mill and there were Herd's Houses in the Townlands of Aghalusky, Ashbrook, Carrowgalda, Gorteen, Knockagarraun, Knocksaxon, Pollagh, Rathrushel, Redhill and Tawnagh Beg. The number of Herd's Houses would seem to indicate that there was fair amount of pasture/grazing area in this Civil Parish. (Griffith, 1847-1864; 2003, Templemore). Templemore was only about 4 miles from Foxford, another significant County Mayo Market Town.

As far as education goes, only one school was noted in the Griffith's Valuation, a National Schoolhouse in the Townland of Knockafall. When "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" was first published in 1837, Templemore was described as having 4 private schools with about 240 kids. (Lewis, 1837; 1984, p. 609).

Numerous lakes dot this Civil Parish and the River Moy flows through the Townlands of Ballylahan, Carrowgalda, Gorteen, Rathrushel, Tawnagh Beg and Ummool. There were no designated "bog" parcels in the Griffith's Valuation for Templemore Civil Parish.

A variety of different Landlords were represented in this Civil Parish, but Sir William H. Roger Palmer Bart, Henry Joynt, Reps Fras Blake Knox and Sir Comptom Domvile Bt were the most prevalent.

Templemore Civil Parish saw a significant population drop during and after the peak famine years like many other Civil Parishes in County Mayo. In 1841 the population of Templemore was 4,251, dropping to 2,387 in 1851. This number continued to decline and by 1911 there were 1,938 people in this Civil Parish. (O'Hara, 1982, p. 8).

The Corcoran Surname was documented in one Townland in Templemore Civil Parish when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in 1857. Patrick and James Corcoran held parcels in the Townland of Lakill. This Civil Parish is divided between Swineford and Castlebar Union. Patrick and James Corcoran's parcels were in Castlebar Union.

There is one caveat to keep in mind when looking at these findings from the Griffith's Valuation: The Griffith's Valuation only includes the individuals (occupiers) who own, lease or rent a parcel. For instance it will list a householder but not the individuals who live with him. It was common in County Mayo for individuals to share parcels, particularly of land (The Rundale system of communal land sharing). Sometimes the whole town shared one parcel of land. Shared parcels may or may not be with related individuals. Just because an individual is a lone occupier of a parcel does not mean that he is living in (house) or tilling (garden) this parcel alone. He may have numerous family members living with him, but they will not be listed unless they actually lease or own the parcel. Occupiers who sublet their acreage of land or houses to others will be listed as landlords.

For helpful details on how to interpret the following records, please take a look at the page I created on "Deciphering Griffith's Valuation."

Townland Map Ref Number Occupier Landlord or his Rep Property Type Area in Acres, Roods and Perches - a-r-p Total Valuation in pounds, shillings and pence Shared with (other occupiers)
Lakill 15a Corcoran, Patrick Domvile Bart, Sir Compton Land, House and Office 19-0-19 8-10-0 none
Lakill 16a Corcoran, James same Land, House and Office 21-1-2 9-15-0 none

(Griffith, 1847-1864; Templemore).