drumbally

Drumbally is a townland (most of it on a large drumlin) of 265 statute acres roods and 12 perches in County Armagh about a mile and a half south east of Crossmaglen on the Creggan to Ballsmills road. It is bounded on the north by Cregganbane, on the east by Cornonagh, on the south by Coolderry and on the west by Liscalgat. From the hill top there are fine views far into Counties Louth and Monaghan. In the Tithe Applotment Books 1828 the area of the townland is given as 137 acres 7 roods and 3 perches (Plantation Irish measure).

Name of townland

Druim-bhaile, "The townland on the ridge" ⁽¹⁾.

There is no other townland of that name in Ireland.

Ordnanace Survey Name Books: Creggan Parish ⁽²⁾

DRUMBALLY (OSNB ii 28): This is situated about 1/2 a mile S.E. of Creggan Village, a bye road runs E. and W. thro' it. It is chiefly under tillage in small farms. The soil, light and inferior, produces small crops. Several scattered houses having an approach or lane to them.
It contains 256..0..27 of which 20..1..30 is uncultivated and Bog.

Griffiths Valuation records Richard Allen as the owner of the townland. Of the 23 land holdings recorded, 14 were of less than 10 acres, seven were between 10 and 20 acres and two were of 20 or more acres.

Census of Ireland 1901

In the Census, 78 people were enumerated in 17 households, a ratio of 4.6 persons per household. The total number of occupied rooms was 35, a ratio of 2 per household and a density of 2.2 persons per room. Eleven of the houses were thatched.

Native Irish Speakers

Of the 17 households enumerated in the Census, 11 contained at least one native Irish speaker - 13 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

• Patrick Murphy, farm labourer, 54
• Anne Harrison, sewer, 60
• Terence Quinn, farmer, 70
• Ellen Hearty, farmer, widow, 60
• Michael Hearty, farmer, 60
• Peter McKeever, farmer, 63
• Francis Hearty, farmer, 60
• Robert Lambe, farmer, 80
  and his wife Mary, 60
• Mary McShane, farmer, 40
• Edward McGeeney, farmer, 45
  and his aunt Catherine Begley, retired farmer, widow, 80
• John McKeever, farmer, 57

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 reduced by 44%, while the population dropped by 74% - almost threequarters. The population halved in the 60 years between 1841 and 1901 and halved again in the following 50 years, reflecting initially the effects of the Great Famine and subsequent lack of rural employment opportunities.

Family Connections

I was born in this townland as were three of my five sisters. My parents moved here from Drumboat, in County Monaghan, in 1937. We lived in a rented house, known locally as "James Pat's" after the owner, James McShane, for the next 12 years, moving briefly to Cregganbane in 1951, before settling in Cregganduff in 1952.

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.