The Parish of Carrigallen,
which today consists of 67 townlands,
has had its boundaries extended considerably over
the past few centuries. The oldest map of the parish, which gives
details of townlands and land ownership as well as
parish boundaries as they were then, dates back to the 1650's.
When the Cromwellian
war came to an end in 1652 with the surrender of Galway, its administration
charged Sir
William Petty with the task of carrying out a census and survey
of the whole country. The main purpose of this
exercise was to locate lands for confiscation, to be given in
payment to the soldiers and financiers who had supported
Cromwell in his campaign. Thankfully the result of this survey
is still available to us, and provides very interesting
information.
According to this survey,
the parish of Carrigallen did not extend very much beyond what
is to-day known as the
Carrigallen half of the parish.There are some blanks on the map,
which relate to lands around Killegar
already
granted to Sir James Craige in 1640 and not surveyed on this occasion.
As the map stands, the only portion of
Drumeela that would have belonged to the ancient parish of Carrigallen
would be the townlands of Curraghboy,
Corglass and Kilnemar.It
is possible that some other townlands, like Drumhaldry or Cullen
& Brownhill, which are
not shown on this map for the above reason, also belonged to Carrigallen.
The rest of Drumeela as it is to-day was
part of the parish of Drumreilly.
Modern parish boundaries
have their roots in ancient history, and are generally based on
the old Irish Tuatha system
under which the land was owned and run by an extended family system
and ruled over by a chieftain elected from
the family. The Tuatha in turn would form part of the greater
kingdom whose territories are represented by today's
diocesan boundaries. In ancient Ireland, Tuathas, Chieftains and
Kings were not a matter of consensus and election.
Powerful families emerged from time to time and carved out their
kingdom. Boundaries and territories altered with
the fortunes of war through the centuries.
The earliest settlers
in the parish would have travelled up rivers from the Erne valley.
Evidence of pre-historic
settlements can still be seen around Newtowngore where cromlachs,
locally know as druids altars, are almost
certainly megalithic tombs dating from about 3,000 BC. The coming
of the Celts to Ireland about 750 to 500 BC
brought with them the ring-forts and crannógs which we
can still see all over the parish. Early man depended on
rivers and waterways for travel and movement, so the greater evidence
of early life will be found around
Newtowngore, close to Garadice, and around the rivers and lakes
from Killegar to Gulladoo.
In the 7th and 8th centuries,
the area since known as Breifne was conquered and settled by the
Uí Briúin who were a
branch of the royal family of Connacht. The Uí Briúin,
of whom the O'Rourkes were hereditary chieftains,
established themselves, first in Leitrim and then into what is
now Co Cavan. During the 12th century the O'Rourke's
reached the height of their power under the kingship of Tiernan
O'Rourke. Tiernan spent most of his long reign
from 1124 to 1172 at war, and he expanded the boundaries of his
territory until it ran from Drumcliffe in Co Sligo
to Kells in Co Meath. Most historians now agree that King Tiernan,
also described as 'a great man of battle,' ruled
his kingdom from Tuam Shanshadha, now Woodford, at Lough Fenvoye
(Garadice), and maintained a fortress on
Cloch Inse na Dtorc (Cherry Island) on the same lake.
Tiernan married Dervorgilla,
Princess of Meath, in 1152. Like many royal matches, this had
more to do with power
than with love. Her family, the line of King Malachy, was in difficulty
with the High King, Ruaidhri O'Connor, who
depended on the support of O'Rourke to keep him in power. This
marriage must have been seen by the Meath
dynasty as the perfect alliance to secure the future of their
kingdom. The wrath of the High King was not however
stayed and a few years later he invaded the Kingdom of Meath.
Tiernan did not aid his wife's family, but appeared to
remain neutral. However when the spoils of war were being distributed,
he received the Kingdom of Meath by way
of grant from the High King.
Some of the most talked
of and written about events in the history of Ireland were about
to unfold on the shores of
Garadice Lake. For it was these events which were generally accepted
in folklore and tradition as having led to the
Norman invasion and the ultimate conquest of Ireland.
As the purpose of Dervorgilla's
marriage to King Tiernan O'Rourke was no longer relevant, she
availed of his
absence on pilgrimage and gathered together her servants and her
cattle and departed for Leinster to join with King
Diarmuid MacMurrough, her lover of earlier years and an old ally
of her father's family. Tiernan on his return,
hearing what had happened mustered his army and called on the
High King, Ruari O'Connor, for help to wage war
on Leinster, and Diarmuid MacMurroughtheir mutual enemy.
Diarmuid agreed to peace talks, and an agreement
was worked out in the Black Stairs Mountains which provided for
the return of Dervorgilla with all her train to
Breifne.
Over the following 18
years as wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, Dervorgilla performed many
queenly ceremonies. She is
recorded in the annals of Ireland as having been with her husband,
Tiernan, at the consecration of the Church in
Melafont, and in 1167 she had the nuns' chapel of Clonmacnoise
restored. Clonmacnoise at this time was also within
the territory of Tiernan O'Rourke.
Dervorgilla's association
with the Norman invasion, and the loss of the Kingdom of Ireland,
grew through the ages
and she became an 'Eve' figure to an unhappy and defeated people.
There is nothing in history that can associate
Dervorgilla with the Norman invasion. Dervorgilla had in fact
lived 20 years as Queen of Breifne and dutiful wife
of Tiernan O'Rourke following her sojourn in Leinster, before
ever a Norman set foot in Ireland. In 1172 Tiernan
O'Rourke was killed at the Hill of the Ward in Meath while negotiating
terms with the new Norman Lord of Meath,
Hugh Delacy. Following the death of Tiernan O'Rourke, chieftains
of the clan continued to reside either on Inish na
Dtorc (Cherry Island) or at Tuam Shanshadha (Woodford)
depending on whether peace or war prevailed at the time
over the next 200 years.
A great battle fought
between the O'Reillys and the O'Rourkes in the year 1256 near
Ballinamore led to the division
of Breifne between the O'Rourkes and O'Reillys, with West Breifne
eventually becoming Co Leitrim and
East
Breifne becoming Co Cavan. This division changed the importance
of Tuam Shanshadha as a centre of power. So,
instead of being in the centre of what was all Breifne, it became
a stronghold on the Eastern margin of West Breifne,
as there is evidence to show that West Breifne was ruled from
Tuam Shanshadha intermittently up to the early 15th
century. Sr Elizabeth O'Rourke, in her recently published Stronghold
of West Breifne, cites a number of interesting
events which gives credence to this theory.
In 1257 Con, son of Tiernan
O'Rourke, having gone to the residence of the O'Connors to ratify
a peace with them,
conceded their demands for all lands of Breifne, together with
Clough Inish na d'Torc on Lough Fenvoy, to which
Hugh, the son of O'Connor sent a garrison. In the same year a
further entry in the annals or Ireland states that
'Clough Inish na d'Torc on Lough Fenvoy was burned by O'Rourke
and the garrison was turned out of it'.
In 1386 Anne, daughter
of Teige McDonagh and wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, one of the most
worthy women of
Leath Cuinn (northern half of Ireland), died at Tuam Shanshadha
at Lough Fenvoy and was buried at Sligo. In 1418
the annals of Ireland refer to Cherry Island again in two separate
mentions, noting that in that year Owen, son of
Tiernan Mór, Tánaiste of Breifne, was drowned after
Christmas while returning from Inish na d'Torc where his
father was on his death bed. Later it states that 'Annie's husband,
Tiernan Mór O'Rourke, Lord of Breifne, the most
valiant man of his race, died at an advanced age and was buried
at Sligo Abbey'. Following this time, the
administration of Breifne shifted away from Tuam Shanshadha and
from this parish, to North Leitrim initially and
Dromahaire, and eventually to Leitrim village. Cherry Island and
the great fortress at Tuam Shanshadha, which was
said to have covered more than half an acre, waned in importance,
not alone in the context of Breifne, but also
within the parish.
The late 16th and early part
of the 17th century were critical periods for the last remaining
outposts of the old Gaelic
order, which West Breifne still was, and of which this parish
was a part. In 1541, Henry VIII introduced a law
whereby chieftains who had not yet submitted to the Crown could
avail of an arrangement whereby they could
surrender their lands to the Crown and have them re-granted. Under
this settlement too, pardons would be extended
to all those who were named by the Chieftain as having participated
in previous wars or disturbances.
It is in this context
that we come across an entry relating to Carrigallen. On June
2nd 1585 Brian O'Rourke, Chief of
Breifne, living at Dromahaire, surrendered his lands to the Crown.
The entry lists his estates and names his
supporters and landowners who are to be pardoned. In his statement
which refers to Carrigallen parish we find that
there is no reference whatever to Tuam Shanshadha or Inish na
d'Torc and, while he includes the lands from
Gulladoo, to the Woodford river, the only O'Rourke named is at
Clooncorrick, so what becomes
obvious from this
is that Tuam Shanshadha had declined over the previous 150 years
and a new seat of importance had developed within
the parish at Clooncorrick. Another very interesting point which
arises from the detail of this surrender is the name
of the parish. It was known as Cowlloffluyn, which was a corruption
of the Irish Cúl Bhfloinn, meaning the 'backhill
of the O'Flynns', which was the old territorial name of the area.
The O'Flynns had been the dominant family in the
parish prior to the formation of Breifne. Around that time the
inquisition which set the boundaries of the county and
the baronies, meeting in Dromahaire, substituted the name of Carrigallen
for Cúll Ó Bhfloinn, and this appears to be
the first time the name of Carrigallen in its present form was
used. It is probable, therefore, that the name
Carrigallen is a corruption of the older name Cúll Bhfloinn,
and only came into general use around 1606. The
political scene within Breifne continued to change, as it did
within the whole country, and with it changes were felt
in Carrigallen. Briain (Ramparts) O'Rourke, the subject
of the surrender and re-grant arrangement, was hanged a
few years later in London for aiding
Spanish sailors wrecked
from the Armada. His son Briain Óg, based in Leitrim, took
over the chieftaincy, and joined
a general revolt by Ulster chieftains, which continued for nine
years. Their defeat at Kinsale and the eventual
surrender of O'Rourke left Leitrim without an effective chieftain.
In the years that followed, plans were made for a
plantation by King James I and this came into effect in 1620.
The Carrigallen half
of the parish remained in the hands of the natives, while the
Drumeela half was distributed
between the Earl of Westmeath, the Earl of Meath, Sir James Craige
and Robert Nugent. These arrangements,
however, were short lived. War was on the land again and defences
were being strengthened to protect the area
against Cromwell. Castles were built at Longfield, Clooncorick
and Woodford; the islands on Garadice were
fortified. Eoghan Roe O'Neill was training an army at Tully and
Gortermone.
At the end of the Cromwillian
war, we get the first information on population density from William
Petty's census.
The total population of the parish as shown in this census was
210 persons. This is broken down into two categories,
English and Irish. It is quite possible that this figure is understated,
since children under 16 are unlikely to have been
included,but it is obvious that there are large tracks of the
parish that were unoccupied, and large areas which would
have been totally covered with natural woodland. It should be
noted that the war at the beginning of the century was
said to have led to the deaths of one third of the population,
while the Cromwellian war reduced the population
further by 25%. The townland of Du Carraig for instance, which
is present day Newtwongore, had nobody
registered; nor had Mullyaster. Gortermone is also without population.
Towmanaghan, which was the name then
given to Tuam Shanshadha (Woodford), is recorded as having
46 occupants, 32 English and 14 Irish. This was
obviously a Cromwellian garrison.
By the end of the 17th
century, with the conquest and plantations completed, the parish
was fully in the hands of what
became known as the landlord class. The next indication we get
of population is from the religious census of 1766,
which records that there were 126 Protestant families and 398
Catholic families living in the parish in that year. The
population continued to grow until it peaked before the famine
at a population of 8,100. Through deaths, emigration
and migration the population declined steadily from there on,
and by the end of the century had dropped to around
3,500 It can be seen from the foregoing figures that high population
levels only covered a short period relative to
the long history of the area. Large families were a contributing
factor, nature's reaction to uncertainty, famine and
untimely deaths. But a greater influence was the huge number of
migratory refugees who would have come to the
area from other parts of the country where the hard landlord regime
of the 18th century was executing forced
clearances and dispossessing the indigenous people. Many such
people from various parts of the country moved into
the parish, rented small portions of land, built a cabin and paid
rent to the local landlord, usually for what was called
a tenancy-at-will. The repressive regime of the 18th century begot
a severe backlash, when in 1798 the oppressed
Presbyterians, supported by the Catholic population, led a rebellion
against the Government and the Crown. It was a
bloody civil war, which we know involved great numbers on both
sides from the parish, and ended in September of
that year with a massacre of rebels at Ballinamuck.
A story remembered from
the period was told to me outside Drumeela church by the late
Michael McGovern and
Eugene O'Kelly. As the French army under General Humbert marched
through the county that September on their
way to Granard, many young men along the way joined up to travel
with them in support. These in turn were very
often followed by their families. One such family, a group of
children, lost their way and were gathered up in the
townland of Drumbrick. These camp followers, as they were called,
were set upon by yeomen at the end of the
Drumbrick Lane, and some of the children were said to have been
killed and buried there. All would have been
killed only for the intervention of an Arnold man who lived in
Drumeela and came to their rescue. He took home
two children whom he and his family fostered and reared until
they were able to look after themselves. But if 1798
might appear a failure, it brought in its aftermath changes which
were for the better. Freedom and equality were
eventually granted in the 1820's for both Catholics and Presbyterians,
and agitation through the 19th century was for
land rights and votes.
Following the famine
of the 1840's, as before in local famines, disease and afflictions
continued to plague the people
of the parish. By the late 1870's, Charles Steward Parnell, a
landlord from Co Wicklow, was providing the
leadership to harness the power of an aggrieved people and converted
to a political force to bring about much
needed changes. Meetings were being organised all over the county,
and in September 1879 a great rally was
organised in Carrigallen. Parnell's political career was sadly
short, but the movement to which he had given
leadership and credibility would not be set aside until the people
had control of their lands and control of their lives
as they saw it.
To this end came a great
ally from within the parish in the person of John Arthur Godley,
who had inherited
Killegar when still a schoolboy, and became private secretary
to Gladstone when still a young man. As such, he
worked with the premier on the first of a series of Irish Land
Acts that would enable tenants to become owners of
their lands. While this act was resisted vigorously by landlords
throughout the country, Godley was one of the first
to encourage tenants to purchase through a long-term land-purchase
scheme, which up to our own time was run by
the Land Commission. John Arthur Godley for his services was created
a Baron by King Edward VII in 1909 and
became the first Lord Kilbracken.
The villages of Carrigallen
and Newtowngore are late arrivals in the history of the parish.
The first suggestion of
establishing a town came in 1640, when Charles I granted an area
around Killegar and Drumeela to Sir James Craige
and Dr John Craige of Riccarton in Scotland to be established
as the Manor of Craigstown with a patent to hold
courts and establish a town, fairs and markets. However, while
Craigstown remained in the Craige family into the
following century, no town was established.
We know that in 1686,
when Tadgh O'Roddy of Fenagh published a survey of the county
and refers to all the towns
and villages, no town or village appears for this parish. It is
probable that some semblance of a village must have
existed around Clooncorrick, which continued in use as an O'Rourke
castle up to the Williamite/Jacobite wars of the
1690's, and a list of the high sheriffs of Leitrim shows a Hugh
O'Rourke of Clooncorrick, high sheriff in 1689.
Carrigallen as a village
in its present location probably started to develop in the early
18th century after the purchase
of Craigstown by the Morgans.
This article by Tommy McCartin
is from "Carrigallen Parish-A History."
"Carrigallen Parish-A
History."1996, Design inc.
© Ronan Ward Design
2003. All Rights Reserved.