Small Sources No. 74. This is a list of 50+ tenants of the Putland Estate in the Cork Civil parishes of Garrycloyne and Templeusque (see Fig. 1) between 1815 and 1825. They are in papers held by the National Library of Ireland (Ms. 12,768, 769 and 770) each entitled “Rental of the Estate of George Putland in the County of Cork …” . The originals are unbound sheets and contain the rental details for the same properties in 1815, 1823, 1824 and 1825 (See Figs 2 and 3). The majority of the tenants are the same in each year, but there are some changes and there are also differences in the spelling of names and places. The hand-writing suggests that they were compiled by different people. In addition to providing a location for the tenants, the Observation column (See Fig 3) provides information on the circumstances of some tenants. A selection of the more interesting observations are shown below.
The estate was owned by George Putland, who had estates in Bray, Co. Wicklow (where he lived) as well as in Cork. He was regarded as a progressive and generous landlord, and this has been documented in an article The Putlands, Best of Landlords‘ in Old Blarney: J. of Blarney & District Hist Soc. Vol 6. The rentals provide further evidence of his support for his tenants. Those who undertook to build houses for themselves or their labourers had their rent reduced by a portion of the cost of building the house. This was unusual in Ireland at the time – see our blog ‘Eyewitnesses to our Ancestors‘.
The property locations listed are all townlands, which are the smallest divisions of land in Ireland. They are of ancient origin and hugely variable in size and shape. Further information on townlands is in our blog ‘Know your place“. The townlands are in two unconnected Civil Parishes of Garrycloyne and Templeusque north of Cork City (See Fig. 1). The townlands are listed below with their current accepted spelling (if different from that in the rental) and the Civil Parish (CP) in which they are located:
- Ardamadaine (now Ardamadane, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Ballinraha (Ballynaraha, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Ballygibbeen (probably Ballygibbon, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Ballynaparson (Ballynaparson, CP of Templeusque)
- Coolenowry (No place of this name or variant could be found – may be a sub-townland)
- Cruiseryree (Crushyriree, CP of Templeusque)
- Dawston Demesne (Dawstown, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Killowen (CP of Garrycloyne)
- Knockesophe (Probably Knockasuff, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Knocknacorbally (Knockacorbally, CP of Garrycloyne)
- Sarsfield Court (Sarsfieldcourt, CP of Templeusque)
- Templeuskey (CP of Templeusque)
A full description of rentals and the useful family information they can provide is in our blog “Rentals as a resource for Irish family history” which is available here.
The family names in the rental are generally those commonly found in County Cork including Cronin, Kelliher, Hayes, Keilly (usually spelled Kiely), McCarthy, Mullane, Mulcahy and Murphy. The less common names are Forrest, Geffries and Sanders. It is interesting that these farmers would have spoken the Irish language at this time and have used the Irish form of their names. The name Fowler (in 1815 and 1823) is an anglicisation of the name O’Foghlu. In the 1815 rental it is given as Fowler, but in the later rentals it appears to be written as ‘Fowlue’. Perhaps the agent was trying to render the name more exactly to the way in which it was pronounced by the tenant.
An article describing Dawstown Cottage in 1831 is published in Old Blarney magazine and includes references to some of the families below. It states “Fr. Matt Horgan penned a description of his parish of Blarney, which has left us with a unique glimpse of the townland at this time. He remarked that Mullane’s house and offices were the best on the whole Putland estate, thanks, in part, to his munificent landlord. In addition to Dawstown, the Putlands owned several other Blarney townlands. Mullane’s, along with the holdings of Tim Kiely, Mick Hayes, the Cronins and Mick Cremin, were, at that time, “unequalled and the best on the Estate, for either pasture or agriculture”. ….. Tim Kiely’s farm at Dawstown Cottage, was, according to Fr. Matt, tastefully laid out, well fenced, and well cultivated, containing ‘about 150 acres’…”. Mullane and Keily are listed in rentals from 1823 onwards.
Other tenants are mentioned in the GenUK Gazeteer which states “In the parish are several gentlemen’s seats: Blarney Castle is described in the account of that village, to the north of which is Putland’s Glen, the residence of George Jeffreys, Esq., by whom it was planted, and who holds a lease of it from Mr. Putland”.
Interestingly, a comparison of the Dawstown return in Griffith’s Valuation (conducted 1851-53) shows that almost all of the families were still in residence almost 30 years later. (This presumes that persons of the same family name are descendants of the tenants listed below). Denis Hayes, John Hayes and Tim Kiely are still in occupation; while Tim and Michael Kelliher, Edmund Mullane, and Edmond Walsh all have holdings and are probably descendants of John Kelliher, Daniel Mullane, and R. Walsh below. William Murphy has disappeared, but a Daniel Ahern and Jeremiah Kiely are new landholders.
Further information on some of these families may be included in our publication ‘Sources for Irish Family History 2021‘ which lists books and articles on over 2,500 Irish families. Ancestor Network also publish ‘A Guide to Tracing your Cork Ancestors‘ by Tony McCarthy and Tim Cadogan as an e-book or a print version. This is an acclaimed guide to the family history sources in Cork and how to use them.
Ancestor Network will also offer readers 1 free hour of research by a professional family historian to conduct further study on these individuals, or on other tenants of the estate. We can also obtain images of the original documents. Click here and quote ‘CorkSS74’ in the subject line.
The tenants in the 4 rentals are listed below (alphabetically in each rental), showing the townland in which their holding was located. In a small number, there are ‘observations’ in the rental (see Fig.2). Relevant extracts from these are shown at the end of each rental. Reps. is ‘Representatives’ which suggests that the named tenant is dead, but the lease still exists and is being maintained by others, usually family.
Rental for 1815
Burke, Thomas See Florence McCarthy
Butler, Reps. Wm. Ballynaparson
Coleman, D. & Martin Forrest Knocknacorbally
Crimmins, Thos. Ballygibbeen?
Cronin, D. & partners Knockesophe
Cuffe, Thomas & William Templeuskey (See note 1)
Davis, Reps of Geo. Dawston Demesne
Forrest, Martin See Thomas Cuffe (See note 2)
Fowler, Pat See Timothy Kelly
Jeffries, G.C. Esq. Ardamadaine
Gray, Pope Esq. Sarsfield Court
Hayes, Denis Dawston Demesne part l (see Note 3)
Hayes, Bartholomew Dawston Demesne part l (son of Denis above – see Note 3)
Hayes, Denis Jr. & John Hayes Dawston Demesne part l (See note 4)
Hayes, John See Denis Hayes
Horigan, Denis Ballinraha
Hurley, Daniel Killowen
Keily, Reps of John & partners Dawston Demesne part
Keily, Reps of Michael Ballinraha
Kelliher, Bartholomew Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, Darby Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, Denis Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, John Dawston Demesne part
Kelly, Timothy and Pat Fowler ? Coolenowry
Kenny, John, Thomas & Michael Templeuskey (See note 5)
Lynch, Cornelius Killowen (Commons part)
Martin, Robt. Cruiseryree
McAuliffe, J & D Ballygibbeen
McCarthy, Denis Kilclough
McCarthy, Florence & James White. Assignees Of Thomas Burke Coolenowry
Mulcahy, Edmund Killowen (See note 6)
Mulcahy, Edmund Templeuskey
Murphy J & D Ballygibbeen?
Murphy, J & L Killowen
Sanders, Revd. T F Coolenowry
Sheehy, Reps Bryan Killowen
Sullivan, J & D Ballygibbeen?
Walsh, R. Dawston Demesne part l
White, J See McCarthy, Florence
Comments in Observation column (abbreviated):
- Thomas and Will Cuffe to be allowed £100 for a house
- Received from Forrest by distress £216.0.0 viz cash £210 retained towards the chapel £56
- Denis Hayes expended the whole of his substance upon this farm and was not able to pay arrears. …. He assigned part of his original farm to his son Bart Hayes….
- Denis Hayes to be allowed £70 for buildng his house to be slated but lofted and joiced at his own expanse.
- J and T Kenny to be allowed £100 towards building a dwelling house and £80 for 2 labourers houses. Michael Kenny to be allowed for a house £100
- E. Mulcahy to be allowed £100 for a house
Rental for 1823
Butler, Reps. Wm. Ballynaparson
Coleman, D & Martin Forrest Knocknacorbally
Cremmin, Thos. Ballygibbeen? (spelled Crimmins in 1815)
Cronin, D. & partners Knockesophe
Cuffe, Thomas & William Templeuskey
Foster, Revd. T. S. Coolenowry
Forrest, Martin See Coleman, D.
Fowler, Bart. Coolenowry
Geffries, G.C. Esq. Ardamadaine
Gray, Pope Esq. Sarsfield Court
Hayes, Bart See Kelliher, John (and also Note 1 below)
Hayes, Denis Junr. Dawston Demesne part l
Hayes, John Dawston Demesne part l
Hayes, Denis Jr. & John Hayes Dawston Demesne part l
Horrigan, Denis Ballinraha
Hurley, Daniel Killowen
Keilly, Reps. of Michael Ballinraha
Keilly, Timothy Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, Denis and Bartholomew Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, Jeremiah Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, John Dawston Demesne part
Kelliher, John for Bat Hayes, late farm Dawston Demesne part l
Kelly, Timothy Coolenowry
Kenny, John, Thomas & Michael Templeuskey
Lynch, Cornelius per James Rowan Killowen
Martin, Robt. Cruiseryree
McAuliffe, J & D Ballygibbeen?
McCarthy, Denis Kilclough
McCarthy, Florence & James White Coolenowry
McCarthy, Florence & James Coolenowry
Mulcahy, Cornelius Killowen
Mulcahy, Edmund Killowen
Mulcahy, Edmund & Denis Templeuskey
Mulcahy, Widow Killowen
Mullane, Daniel Dawston Demesne
Murphy J & D Ballygibbeen
Murphy, William Dawston Demesne part l
Murphy, J & L Killowen
Rowan, James See Cornelius Lynch
Sheehy, Reps. Bryan Killorven ?
Sullivan, J & D Ballygibbeen?
Walsh, R. Dawston Demesne part l
Comments in Observation column (abbreviated):
- Denis Hayes expended the whole of his substance upon this farm and was not able to pay arrears. He assigned part of his original farm to his son Bart Hayes….
Rental for 1824
Butler, Reps. Wm. Ballynaparson
Coleman, D & Martin Forrest Knocknacorbally
Cremmin, Thos. Ballygibbeen
Cronin, D & partners Knockesophe
Cuffe, Thomas & William Templeuskey
Forrest, Martin See Coleman, D.
Foster, Revd. T S Coolenowry (See note 1)
Fowlue?, Bart. Coolenowry
Gray, Pope Esq. Sarsfield Court
Hayes, Bat See Kelliher, John
Hayes, Denis Junr. Dawstown
Hayes, John Dawstown, part of
Horrigan, Denis Ballinraha
Hurley, Daniel Killowen
Jeffries, G.C. Esq. Ardamadaine
Keilly, Reps. of Michael Ballinraha
Keilly, Reps. Timothy Coolenowry
Keilly, Timothy Dawstown
Kelliher, Denis & Bartholomew Dawstown
Kelliher, Jeremiah Dawstown
Kelliher, John for Bat Hayes, late farm Dawstown
Kelliher, John Dawstown
Kenny, John, Thomas & Michael Templeuskey 5 & 6
Lynch, Cornelius per James Rowan Killowen
Martin, Robt. Cruiseryree
McAuliffe, J & D Ballygibbeen
McCarthy, Denis Kilclough
McCarthy, Florence & James Coolenowry
McCarthy, Florence & James White Coolenowry (See note 2)
Mulcahy, Cornelius Killowen
Mulcahy, Edmund & Denis Templeuskey
Mulcahy, Edmund Killowen (See note 3)
Mulcahy, Widow Killowen
Mullane, Daniel Dawstown
Murphy J & D Ballygibbeen (See note 4)
Murphy, J & L Killowen
Murphy, William Dawstown
Rowan, James See Cornelius Lynch
Sheehy, Reps Bryan Killowen
Sullivan, J & D Ballygibbeen
Walsh, R. Dawstown
Comments in Observation column (abbreviated):
- This farm was ejected for non-payment of rent and let to Denis and Timothy Daly, who were under-tenants to Mr Foster…..
- McCarty and White were ejected for non-payment of this rent and their farm let to Denis Haly and John and Thomas Brown from March 1824 ……
- Edmund Mulcahy division, with 6 acres, part of the widow’s lot … let to Wm. Kelliher…
- This farm was ejected and relet to Denis and Pat Murphy from March 1824 …
Rental for 1825
Browne, John and Thomas Coolenowry (see Note 1)
Butler, Reps. Wm. Ballynaparson
Coleman, D & Martin Forrest Knocknacorbally
Cremmin, Thos. Ballygibbeen
Cronin, D & partners Knockesophe
Cuffe, Thomas & William Templeuskey
Daly, Michael Coolenowry
Daly, Michael, Denis and Timothy Coolenowry (See Note 2; and Note 2 in 1824)
Forrest, Martin See Coleman, D.
Foster, Revd. T S Coolenowry
Fowlue?, Bart. Coolenowry
Gray, Pope Esq. Sarsfield Court
Haley, Denis Coolenowry (see Note 2 in 1824 rental)
Hayes, Bat. See Kelliher, John
Hayes, Denis Junr. Dawstown
Hayes, John Dawstown, part of
Horrigan, Denis Ballinraha
Hurley, Daniel Killowen
Jeffries, G.C. Esq. Ardamadaine
Keilly, Reps. of Michael Ballinraha
Keilly, Reps. Timothy Coolenowry
Keilly, Timothy Dawstown
Keilly, Widow: tenant of Fowlue?, Bart. Coolenowry
Kelliher, Denis and Bartholomew Dawstown
Kelliher, Jeremiah Dawstown
Kelliher, John Dawstown
Kelliher, John for Bat Hayes, late farm Dawstown
Kenny, John, Thomas & Michael Templeuskey 5 & 6
Kiely, Widow Coolenowry
Lynch, Cornelius per James Rowan Killowen
Martin, Robt. Cruiseryree
McAuliffe, J & D Ballygibbeen (See Note 3)
McCarthy, Denis Kilclough
McCarthy, Florence & James Coolenowry
McCarthy, Florence & James White Coolenowry
Mulcahy, Cornelius Killowen
Mulcahy, Edmund & Denis Templeuskey
Mulcahy, Edmund Killowen
Mulcahy, Widow Killowen
Mullane, Daniel Dawstown
Murphy, Denis and P. Ballygibbeen (See note 4 in 1824)
Murphy, J & L Killowen
Murphy, William Dawstown
Rowan, James See Cornelius Lynch
Sheehy, Reps. Bryan Killowen
Sullivan, J & D Ballygibbeen
Walsh, R. Dawstown
Comments in Observation column (abbreviated):
- Half years rent allowed …in consideration of ground being in bad consideration
- A quarter rent allowed to Daly in consideration of his getting the ground late and in bad condition.
- An ejectment was brought .. to which defence was taken by Buckley, an under-tenant of James Auliff and the farm given to Danl. McAuliff …..
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Further articles in our series on Irish Family History sources include:
- Petty Sessions– the records of local courts
- Catholic Church records
- Grand Jury Presentments – records of local councils on payments for public works and staff
- Rentals – management of tenants by estates and the records created
- Middle names – the use (or non-use) of second or middle names in Irish records
- How comprehensive are Irish Civil Records?
- Census returns in Gaelic or Irish language
- 70+ blogs with names extracted from manuscript sources from many counties. A handy map index to these is available here.
