On Sunday, May 20, 2001 at 9:46:03 AM UTC-7, Padraig O Gealagain wrote:

Backgrounder:  In May of 1834 a Commission of Inquiry into the
state of religious and other instruction was set up.  The famous Daniel O'Connell ("The Liberator") wished to ensure that the proportion of Protestants would not be exaggerated in relation to Catholics and so he advocated and urged that all parish priests should undertake a census of their  parishes.
 
Although returns continued to be
reported until May 1835, it seems  that only a small number of parish priests compiled such censuses, and thus the venture was
unsuccessful.
 
Surviving unnoticed in manuscript in an unsorted
collection of material in the archives at Archbishop House, Dublin, is such a population return undertaken by Father Thomas Mahony, P.P. Pallasgrean
& Templebredin, for August 1834,  a month before the urging of
O'Connell.
 
Civil Parish of Templebredin Described:
This parish
is partly in the barony of Clanwilliam, County Tipperary, and partly in the barony of Coonagh, Co. Limerick. It lies more in Co.Limerick than in Co. Tipperary.  The parish is about 2 1/2 miles long and 2 miles wide, composed of excellent arable and pasture land, with a small bog used by the tenantry for
fuel.  Pallasgrean was on the road from
Cappaghmore to Bruff and it
served the parish of Templebredin which was joined to Grean in the Roman Catholic parochial arrangements.  There were chapels at Nicker and Templebredin.  Father
Thomas Mahony (a farming priest with a holding of
15 acres in one of the townlands of Ballyneety which forms part
of Templebredin) was the parish priest of Grean & Templebredin and Father Kennedy was his curate.
 
Father Mahony's listing is rare in that it
means that for this parish the great number of landless men, the cottiers, artisans and tenants-at-will, can be named by those seeking genealogical roots
in this parish when compared to the lists of tithe payers in the  two Tithe Applotment Books (T.A.B's) for Templebredin - one compiled in
October,
1826 (T.A.B 17/70); and the second one in February, 1834.
 
Mahony's
returns list 13 townlands while the 1826 T.A.B lists 14 and the 1834 T.A.B lists
11 townlands - despite this apparent discrepancy, it is almost certain that the
sources (The T.A.B's; the 1841 Census, and Mahony's returns) are referring to
the same geographic area known as the civil parish of Templebredin.  The 1826 T.A.B. lists  the townlands of Templebredin, Ballyneety and Killeenagalive twice.  It also lists Tonaree, unlike Mahony, but it has not noted Coolagrene, Tearmana and Ballynagrena, as Mahony does. The Townland Index
for the 1851 Census (Published 1861)
establishes the following 11 townlands
in Templebredin.  (Coolagrene is not in the Index.  Ballinagrena is in Kilteely parish. Tearmana is not in the Index.  Ballyneety [North and South] are in Templebredin, but not the neighbouring
Ballyneety):
 
IN CO.TIPPERARY: (1) Knockalegan,
 (2)
Killeenagalive, (3) Cloghaready

IN CO. LIMERICK (4)Coolnadown,
(5) Knockaundoolis, (6) Garrydoolis
(Coolagrene), Cloghaready Nth., and  Cloghaready Sth.

(7) Cloghihawarreela [Knockervilla], (8) Clynabroga,
(9) Templebredin,
(10) Ballyneety Nth. & Ballyneety Sth. (11)Tonaree (Ballynagrena,
Tearmana)
 
Notes:  The spelling follows that shown on the
Ordnance Survey Maps (O.S.).  In No.6, Coolagrene does not appear on the O.S. map, but as certain names listed by Father Mahony under Coolagrene, appear
in T.A.B. 17/70,1826 under Garrydoolis, it has been assumed to be part of Garrydoolis. The two Clogheready's (Nth./Sth.) are in County Limerick.
In
No.10 only two of the three Ballyneety townlands have been noted, as it is clear
that the T.A.B's do not place the three in the parish of Templebredin.  In No.11 the townland of Tonaree is given for
Mahony's Ballynagrene and
Tearmana. (Ballynagrena is a big townland of
well over 350 statute acres and
it would definitely have had more than 12 people.  It has been assumed here by reference to the same names in the T.A.B's that Father Mahony is referring to
Tonaree, which is adjacent to both Ballynagrena and to Templebredin.  Tearmana does not appear on the O.S. map, but is noted here  with Ballynagrena, as Mahony records the details of each townland in an order related to geographic proximity to each other.  This supports the conflation of his 13 Townlands.
 
Population of Templebredin:
1821
Census - 1,070
1831 Census - 1499
Mahony's 1834 Return - 1490
Public
Instruction(1834) Report - 1414
Enumerator's (1831)Return - 1353
1841
Census - 1457
One can see from these returns that the 1831 Census, Mahony's
1834 Return, and the 1841 Census are mutually supportive as the difference between them is quite small.
 
A comparison between
Mahony's Return and the T.A.B for  the townland of Knockalegan (Co.Tipperary) - which has over 180 statute acres
- shows:
 Mahony's Population List:
 John
Harrigan   - 2 Males, 4 Females
 James Connors  - 4 M, 4
F
 Laurence Ryan  - 2 M, 4F
 Denis Hogan - 1M,
6F
 Timothy Mulvihill - 7M, 2F
 Widow Ryan - 5M,
4F
 Michael Sullivan - 3M, 4F
 Widow Sullivan _ 3M,
2F
 Michael McEnerny - 4 M, 5F
 
Thus the townland had 9
households with a total population of 66 ( 31 males and 35 females).  Three of these households occupied nearly all the land: Denis Hogan farmed over 55 acres; Catherine Ryan (widow of Patrick) farmed over 71 acres; and Michael Sullivan farmed 53 acres, with Timothy Mulvihill had a one acre holding (total 180 acres). The townland was the property of John Mahon and was set out
by him to the above landholders.  The remaining five households must therefor fall into the category of cottiers, artisans, or landless labourers.
 
There were three hedge-schools in Templebredin, with an
enrolment of 110 males and 74 females.  These were supported by small payments made
 by the parents.  One of them, kept by Mrs. Drew, was
mainly for girls, and in addition to spelling and reading, she taught needlework.  The other two taught writing, spelling and reading.  The
1841 Census records 306 males and 145 females as being able to read and write;
86 males and 105 females as been able to read, and 245 males and 374 females in
the parish who could neither read nor write.
 
Father Mahony's 1834
Population Returns for the Townlands situated in the County of Limerick - (Heads of Households Only - full household population numbers on request - BUT
no other first names are given :

GARRYDOOLIS: Cornelious Meehan, Thomas
Darreux, Daniel Hanly, John Kelly, James Ryan, Patrick Magrath, Patrick Humphries, Cornelious Mara, John Flood, Edmond Wild, Wm. Ryan, Richard Quinn,
Widow Grace, Patrick Coughlan, Denis Humphries, Martin Hays, William Lynch, Thomas O'Donnell, John Hogan, Philip Fennelly, Michael Torpy, Edmond Murphy, Daniel Connelly, Patrick Harrigan, Patrick Crow, Wm. Crow, Patrick Hogan, David
Bourk, John Conway, John Tracy, Patrick Ryan, Cornelious Hanly, Michael Loughnane.
 
COOLADOWN: James Ryan, Thomas Ryan, Thomas
Landrigan.
 (Part 2 to follow)

 

Source: Fergus O'Ferrall,  Nth. Munster Antiquarian Jnrl,
1975
 
Padraig+
:

I am a descendant of William Ryan from Coolnadown. Do you happen to have any more information about this townland? I can be reached at howlingbutterfly@cox.net

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