Flyleaf Press has published two new guides: to tracing ancestors in Counties Tipperary and Leitrim. Both are filled with information on the records of these counties, and how and where they can be accessed. This includes guidance on Irish archives and on many on-line sources. Both titles are well illustrated with maps and examples of the types of records to be found; and with other background material. They also provide an understanding of the social history of the respective counties and how this history has affected the keeping and survival of records. There is also a comprehensive index. Read More
Monthly Archives: October 2018
Small Sources 35: Below is a list of 114 workmen and traders serving the Fitzwilliam estate, Co. Wicklow in the period 1796 – 1805. The original ledger, which is in the National Library of Ireland (Ref. NLI Ms. 4949) records payments to workmen on the Fitzwilliam Estate at Coolatin over the period 1796 to 1805. Read More
By Tom Coughlan, Author: Research always seems to throw up the unexpected. Before starting to write Tracing Your Leitrim Ancestors (Flyleaf Press 2018), I believed that Leitrim had always been the least populated county in Ireland – as it is today. However, this is not the case. In 1841 Leitrim had 155,000 residents, making it only the 6th smallest county in terms of population. It dropped to 112,000 in 1851, and continued to drop in every subsequent census. Other economic factors during the 20th century continued the decline to a low of around 25,000 in 1996. Since then it has risen to about 32,000. The decline of 28% between 1841 and 1851 can be attributed to the Great Famine of 1845-1849, and its aftermath of emigration and disease. The scale and duration of the impact makes Leitrim one of the most significantly affected. Perhaps the simplest explanation for this can be found in McPartlan’s Statistical Survey of the County Leitrim, 1802, which jokes that land in Leitrim was sold by the gallon and not by the acre. Like many other words written in jest, there is a large element of truth in this. Much of Leitrim is covered in water, and much of the rest is either mountain or bog. It is not a county offering a great living to a farmer, and neither does it support much industry.
