Tenants of the Trant Estate, Dovea, Co. Tipperary: 1815-20

Small Sources 47: This is a list of 98 tenants on the Trant estate in the area of Dovea in the Civil Parish of Loughmoe West, Co. Tipperary mainly in the period 1815-20. Some accounts continue into the 1830s. The rentals for these estates are included in the Trant Papers which are in the National Library of Ireland. This list is from an index to a rental found among these papers (NLI Ms. 1756). See our article here for a detailed account of rentals and their relevance. The index includes the names of all tenants and the page of the rental which contains their individual account. Each of these accounts provides basic details on the rent due and the payments made. It does not always specify the location of the holding. Two examples are below in Figs 1 and 2. These show a common feature of Irish rentals, which is a holding occupied by a group of people who collectively paid the rent and divided the land between them. Fig 1 shows a detailed account of a partnership between CLear, Gleeson and Shelly; while Fig 2 shows a list of the rent contributions due by the partners in a holding headed by William Fogerty. Rentals are the records of the landlord on tenants, their holdings, and their payments. A full description of rental formats and practices, and on the useful family information they can provide is in our blog Rentals as a resource for Irish family history. Note that many more tenants could be found within this rental document by analysis of all of the partner tenants included. The list below is mainly the head tenants.

Some common abbreviations are used, including Thos. = Thomas; Wm. = William; Michl. = Michael; Edwd. = Edward; Patk = Patrick; Corns. = Cornelius; and Danl. = Daniel. The images are by Ancestor Network and reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

The Trant family originally held significant estates in Co. Kerry but moved to a house and extensive estate in Dovea in the Civil Parish of Inch, Co. Tipperary in the mid-18th century. By the end of the 18th century the family holdings had expanded further and they held land in Tipperary, Kildare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry. In 1883 the Trant estate in county Tipperary amounted to almost 3,000 acres in the parishes of Ballycahill, Inch, Loughmoe West and Thurles, barony of Eliogarty. Further information on the Trant family and their estates is in the Landed Estates Database. A detailed account of the family in Dovea and Killahara, and of their relationship with the Fogartys, who were the Gaelic chieftains in this area is available here. Dovea house is now owned by a company specialising in cattle breeding. An account of the great divide in lifestyles between landlords and their tenants is in our blog entitled ‘Eye-witnesses to our ancestors‘ which summarises the accounts of travellers to Ireland in the period covered by this document.

If you are interested in information on the specific families listed, our e-book title ‘Sources for Irish Family History 2021 lists 6,500 books and articles on over 2,500 Irish families. These sources contain a wealth of information on the history and genealogy of the listed families. The full details of the book are described in one of our blogs.

We have previously published a list of tenants on the Trant estate in Dingle in 1791 and also a list of Trant tenants on the same estate in Dovea in 1837 . Ancestor Network will offer 1 free hour of research by a professional researcher to conduct further research on these individuals, or on the lists of tenants of this estate. We can also obtain images of the original documents. Click here and quote ‘Tipp SS47’ in the subject line. We also publish ‘A Guide to Tracing your Tipperary Ancestors‘ by local historian Noreen Higgins-McHugh .

The tenants are listed below in alphabetical order, with addition information where it is availabe. As this list is compiled from the index, there is minimal additional information. However, research on the individual account of these tenants could identify the location of the holding, and also addition tenants.

Fig. 1. The full account of a rental by partners Cleary, Gleeson & Kelly showing (on the left) the rent due; and (at right) the payments made by the various parties involved.

Barry, James
Brian, Mary – Dairy maid
Brien Michl. in part of Tim Ryan place
Brien, Patk. (Patrick)
Burke, John Dovea
Burke, Michael
Butler, Theobald
Carr, John
Carty, John
Cary, Jim

Fig. 2. A further account of a partnership (Heading is Willm. Fogerty & Parts.

Cleary, Corns. (Cornelius)
Cleary, Edmd. (Edmund)
Cleary, Patk. (see Fig 1 above of Cleary/Gleeson shared tenancy account)
Coragan, Widow
Cormick, James
Cormick, John
Cormick, John
Cormick, Michl. (Michael)
Cormick, Widow Thomas
Culla, John
Culla, Robt.
Cullow, Thos.
Cunningham, Do…
Darmody, D…
Darmody, Philip
Delany, William
Dickson, Saml. (Samuel)
Doyle, John
Eagan, Matthias
Eagan, Michael & Michael Peters ?
Eagan, Patk. (usually spelled Egan)
Eagan, Philip now White
Eagan, William in Lary Mahers place
Eagan, William Smith
Egan, Thomas
Farrell, Michl. (Michael)
Flinn, Thos.
Fogarty, Danl. See Fig.2
Fogarty, Patrick
Fogarty, Patrick Andrew
Fogarty, Patrick in Lynch’s place
Fogarty, Philip Castlequarter
Fogarty, William See Fig.2
Fogarty, Wm.
Fogerty Michl. (Michael)
Fogerty, John Wm.
Fogerty, John (note the name is spelled as Fogarty and Fogerty in the rental).
Fogerty, Martin now John
Fogerty, Phill
Gleeson, James (see illustration in Fig 1 above of Gleeson/Cleary shared tenancy account)
Gleeson, Laurence in Lynch Place
Gleeson, Michl ?
Gleeson, Widow
Gleeson, William & James.
Going, Caleb – Representatives of Cooper Crawford &
Hall, William Taylor
Hannon, T.
Harrington, John
Harrington, Patrick See Fig.2
Hayden …. Reps.
Hayes, Henry
Headon, Timothy
Healy, James
Healy, Thos. (Thomas)
Heydon, Patrick See Fig.2
Holford, Thomas See Fig.2
Hynes, Lary (probably Larry)
Hynes, Thos.
Kirkland, John
Lalor, William & servants
Listin, Thos. (Thomas)
Long, Widow
Lowery, Patrick
Lynch, Richd.
Maher, James & William …?
Maher, Michael Dovea
Maher, Patrick Dovea
Mara, Michl. (Michael)
McGrath, Patrick
Meagher, Edmd.
Meagher, James Widow
Meagher, Laurence
Meagher, Mary now William Carr (‘now’ indicates that holding is now occupied by William Carr)
Meagher, Wm. (William)
Moloney, John
Norton, Philip
Peters, James
Purcel, Edmd. (Edmund)
Purcel, Lary
Purcel, Philip
Ryan, Martin
Ryan, Phill now Thomas
Ryan, Timothy (.. overwritten with) Michael Brennin? Part of Tim Ryan
Ryan, Wm. (William)
Shelly, (see illustration in Fig 1 above of the Gleeson/Cleary shared tenancy account)
Spain, Widow account states .. this to be charged to Patt McGrath
Towhy, Michl. (probably a variant of Tuohy)
Trant, John Esq.

Guide to Tracing Tipperary Ancestors

– by local historian Noreen Higgins McHugh.

Published by Flyleaf Press and available here.

Some of the Tipperary and general articles in our series on Irish Family History sources:

General Articles

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 containing original material extracted from Irish manuscript sources