drumboy

Drumboy is a townland of 273 statute acres 3 roods and 1 perch in County Armagh on the border (the River Fane) with Co Monaghan not far from the village of Cullaville. It is bounded on the north by Clonalig, on the east, south and southwest by Co Monaghan and on the northwest by Annaghgad. In the Tithe Applotment Books of 1828 the total area is shown as 130 acres 3 roods and 17 perches (Plantation Irish measure)

Name of Townland

Druim-Buí, "The yellow ridge" ⁽¹⁾.

Until 1864 official records show slightly different spelling - 1664 (Drombee); 1766 and 1828 (Drumbee); 1864 onwards (Drumboy). It is still known locally as Drumbee.

There are five townlands called 'Drumboy' in Ireland. They are in Counties Armagh (1), Donegal (2), Fermanagh and Leitrim.

Ordnanace Survey Name Books: Creggan Parish ⁽²⁾

DRUMBOY (OSNB ii 30): A large portion of bog & uncultivated ground, besides) a quantity of water. There are only very narrow bridal lanes thro' it. The County meer runs along its S.W. side. The land is very inferior in quality producing miserable crops. The dwellings very poor. A large fort with [text breaks off].
It contains 273..3..1 of which 82..0..36 is uncultivated and Bog, & 6..2..0 water.

Griffiths Valuation records Denis Kelly as the owner of the townland. It also records 11 acres of bog. Of the 23 land holdings recorded, 12 were of less than ten acres, five were between ten and 20 acres and six were of 20 or more acres.

Census of Ireland 1901

The Census enumerated 58 people in 15 households; a ratio of 3.9 persons per household. The households occupied a total of 30 rooms; a ratio of two rooms per household and 1.9 people per room. Of the 15 houses, 10 were thatched. One house had 3 rooms, 13 had 2 rooms and one had one room. One family of five people occupied the single room dwelling and there was a family of 11 people in a two-roomed house.

Native Irish Speakers

Of the 15 households enumerated in the Census, five contained at least one native Irish speaker. 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 Mary McKenna, born in Co. Monaghan

• Mary Harvey, mother of Patrick Harvey, widow, 70
• Hugh Campbell, farmer, 82
• Phillip Kelly, stonemason and farmer, 60
• Edward McKenna, farmer, 69
  and his wife Mary, 60
• Ann Gartland, farmer, widow, 60

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 more than halved (55%) and the population dropped by 62% - almost two thirds. The largest drop (54%) was in the second half of the nineteenth century reflecting the continuing effects of the Great Famine and lack of rural employment opportunities.

Family Connections

My paternal Great grandfather was Edward McKenna. Many of the families of Cairns, Callan, Casey, Collins, Conlon, Devlin, Donnelly, Duffy, Hearty, Keenan, Kelly, McAlister, Murphy, Quigley, Richardson, Watters in South Armagh, Fitzpatrick and McArdle in Co Monaghan and others such as Adler, Bryars, Durkan, Hart, Maddock, Martinez, McGuill, Murray, Rowland - scattered throughout the world share a common ancestor in Edward McKenna, listed here in 1864 and 1901. There are two James McKennas recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books. It is likely that they are the same person as the McKenna land was in different locations in Drumboy. For example there are also two Patt Breens and two Edward Gartlands. James is probably Edward's father. It seems likely that the Edward McKenna recorded in Griffiths is the same as the Edward McKenna in the 1901 Census as he would have been about 30 at the time the report was compiled, and his eldest daughter, Brigid, was born the year it was published. Edward died in 1901 without heir (his only son, James - probably named after his grandfather - died in infancy in 1872) and the name finally died out in Drumboy when his widow (Mary Brady from Keenoge, Co Monaghan) sold the land and went to live with her daughter, Rose Keenan, in Crossmaglen. It is probable that Ross McKenna (1766) was also an ancestor, possibly, given the 62 year gap, James' grandfather.

Names of House and Land Holders

All the Valuations since Griffiths identified those with houses in the townland and those who while living elsewhere leased or owned land there. The Census of Ireland enumerated only households in the townland. The following table uses this approach.

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 landholders that 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.