drummuckavall

Griffiths Valuation records that the land was owned by Thomas P. Ball. Of the 25 land holdings, 13 were of less than 10 acres, eight were between 10 and 20 acres and four were of 20 or more acres.

Census of Ireland 1901

The Census enumerated 94 people in 20 households, a ratio of 4.7 people per household. The households occupied a total of 54 rooms; a ratio of 2.7 rooms per household and 1.7 people per room. Seven of the households had 2 rooms, nine had 3 rooms and four had 4 rooms. 17 of the houses were thatched.

Native Irish Speakers

Of the 20 households enumerated in the Census, 7 contained at least one native Irish speaker - 11 in all. Since theirs was the last generation to have been born into a predominently Irish speaking environment, their names, occupations and ages are recorded here. All were born in Co. Armagh with the exception of Margaret Kirk, born Co. Louth and Anne Byrne, born Co. Monaghan.

• Mary Luckie, farmer, widow, 43 and her brother Edward Morris, boarder maintained by interest, 33
• John Luckie, farmer, 56
  and his wife Anne, 58
• Mary Devlin, sister of Patrick Devlin, widow, 54
• Thomas Daly, farmer, 68
  and his daughter Annie, housekeeper, 28
• Margaret Kirk, farmer, widow, 48
  and her brother-in-law John Kirk, farm servant, 55
• Owen McEneny, farmer, 56
• Anne Byrne, housekeeper, widow, 79

Population Decline

The following table sets out the number of houses and population enumerated in the townland in each of the 11 Censuses held between 1841 and 1951.

In the period of 110 years, the number of households halved but the population dropped by 72% - almost threequarters. The largest drop (43%) was in the 60 years from 1841 to 1901 reflecting the continuing effects of the Great Famine and lack of rural employment opportunities. The decline continued through the first half of the 20th century.

Family Connection

My Great Grandfather Patrick Devlin lived in this townland. I am not yet sure whether the Patrick Devlin in Griffiths is he, or if the Patrick Devlin in the 1901 Census is my grand uncle.

Names of House and Land Holders

All the Valuation records identify separately those with houses in the townland and those who leased or owned land these while living elsewhere. The Census enumerated only those with households in the townland. The Table below sets out this information accordingly.

Although the data is not strictly comparable since the information was gathered for different purposes and used varying criteria, the details provide a comparison of the names of house and land holders who were listed in the Townland at the different periods. While we can not discern the direct lines of descent it is clear that many are from the same families.