Ireland is divided into counties. The counties are further divided into parishes. The parishes are a civil unit, although they frequently coincide with the ecclesiastical parishes. The civil parishes are subdivided into townlands.

Many Parishes contain a town with the same name as the parish; the town of Ballinrobe is in the Parish of Ballinrobe. The Parish of Ballinrobe is comprised of several townlands the boarders of which are in the town itself. For instance, people who live on the north side of Glebe Street, Ballinrobe live in the townland of Friarsquarter West and people on the south side of Glebe Street live in the townland of Carnaroya.

Civil records, including the Griffith Tax Valuation, make a distinction between Carnaroya and Carnaroya, Town of Ballinrobe. The problem is determining the town limits. Obviously everyone in Ballinrobe knew the difference, but I am having trouble with the concept in trying to determine exactly where John Walsh and family lived. I keep trying to find a map that makes all the distinctions.

Ballinrobe, 2004

Ballinrobe, 2004

In March 2007 Donal Buckley emailed that he was trying to locate the RIC (Royal Irish constabulary) barracks in Ballinrobe which he believes was adjoining the old post office. Donal says that The Police Barracks have

"been demolished. Gannon's Hotel was used to billet some of forces during the War of Indedpendence. These MAY have been Black and Tans, Auxilliaries or indeed maybe Old RIC who were withdrawn from more rural police barracks/stations. One of your Old Ballinrobe photos shows these buildings and maybe there is a policeman in the doorway." April 7, 2007

"The District Inspector (Commanding Officer) of the RIC was a Captain Pococke and the Barrack Sergeant was Sgt Goulden. Also, as far as I have made out, the last British infantry unit in Ballinrobe was 'C' Company, The Border Regiment, commanded by Captain Chatfield, MC.

March and May of 1921 were significant as both forces were ambushed in turn. On March 7, a patrol commanded by Capt Chatfield was ambushed by the South Mayo Brigade Old IRA. Capt. Chatfield MC was wounded as was a Private Wardle and a Corporal Bell was killed. Lt. Ibberson took over command of 'C' Company.

The following May 3rd a RIC/Tan patrol from Ballinrobe was ambushed in Tourmakeady in which a Tan and a number of RIC men were killed. After the ambush party withdrew to the hills they later had contact with Lt. Ibberson and some troops from 'C' Company. During this contact the IRA commander, Tom Maguire was injured as was another Volunteer, and his Adjutant Michael O'Brien was killed. Lt. Ibberson was badly injured and was lucky enough to survive. He and a Lt. Smith were decorated with an MBE and the RIC/Tan patrol was awarder the Irish Constabulary medal for their actions on the day. Much controversy surrounds the events of 03 and 04 May '21. I am at present writing a thesis (and maybe a book) on the incident. If you want to plug my website Military History Tours please feel free to."

Donal Buckley, April 16, 2007

The Glebe House was erected in the early 1800s and was the residence of the rector of the Church of Ireland (Anglican Church)

All of the children of John Walsh and Fanny Feeney were baptized in St Mary's.

Three of the children of Mathias Langan and Penelope Byrne were baptized in St Mary's.

Walsh was one of the most common names in the area.

Most of the houses on Glebe Street had thatched roofs. This cottage may have been similar to the cottages that the Walshes and Langans lived in Ballinrobe in the the mid to late 1800s.

Bridge Street runs from the intersection of Main Street, Abbey Street, and Glebe Street to the Robe River Bridge where the name changes to High Street. The white and black truck at the lowest part of the road is just about where the name changes from Bridge Street to High Street.

A view of the River Robe, June 2004, from the Bridge that separates Bridge Street from High Street.

High Street is a continuation of Bridge Street as far as the intersections of Creagh Road, Chapel Road and an unnamed road that goes north to Ballyglass. The north side of High Street is in the townland of Knockanotish.

Pat Langan was listed as a resident of High Street at his death in 1888. Note: This may have been a clerical error, as the Griffith Tax Valuation show Pat Langan on Creagh Road for a number of years.

John Walsh and his family lived in Knockanotish from at least 1869 to 1882. During that time he was listed as: farmer, gardener, and steward.

The boundaries for the townland of Knockanotish are the Robe River, the north side of High Street and the unnamed road that lies east of the graveyard and runs north to Ballyglass. The only buildings shown in the townland of Knockanotish in the 1900 Ordnance Survey are along the north side of High Street and on the corner of the unnamed road to Ballyglass as shown in the following photos.

A 1980's view of High Street, Knockanotish showing most of the buildings facing High Street. The large building on the right, the Robe Villa, was the home of the Kenny family, and is the same as the one on the left in the above photo.

The large building is the Robe Villa. The dash of bright green on the extreme left of the photo is scaffolding covering on the building on the corner of High Street and the unnamed road to Ballyglass.

There is an opening between the Robe Villa and the vine covered ruin to the left of it that goes into the property behind. See photos below.

The green scaffolding covering on the front of the building on the right continues around the corner to that visible in the previous picture.

The four photos above show all the areas where houses were indicated in the 1900 Ordnance Survey Map.

The Griffith Tax Valuations Ledger that covered the years 1869 to 1882 (the same years that John Walsh and family were listed in Knockanotish) listed:

• 2 heads of household in Knockanotish:
  1. Stanhope Kenny, house, land (2 acres) and offices
  2. Caretakers house and land (280 acres)
• The flour mill, Knockanotish, High Street, Town of Ballinrobe
• House, offices, and yard of Stanhope Kenny, Knockanotish, High Street, Town of Ballinrobe
• 12 houses, each with a head of household in Knockanotish, High Street, Town of Ballinrobe, none of which were John Walsh.
• One dwelling, with one head of household but three numbers, Knockanotish, High Street, Town of Ballinrobe, not John Walsh.

There are just enough buildings on High Street and the unnamed road to Ballyglass to account for the dwellings listed in the Griffith (1869-1882).

The records for John Walsh list him in Knockanotish, not Knockanotish, town of Ballinrobe. His occupations, as listed, would be in keeping with someone who lived in the caretakers house and took care of the 280 acres of land.

Where was the caretakers cottage? Since it is listed in Knocknatosh but not the town of Ballinrobe, it must have been off the roads and perhaps in the yard behind the main house. Irish landlords liked to have their employees close to their work. According to Bridie Mulloy in Itchy Feet and Thirsty Work, most of the workers at the Kenny flour mill lived on High Street.

Why was Stanhope Kenny listed twice?

This driveway leads to to the property off High Street and the building, including the mill, which lie behind.

The Kennys were major landholders in the Ballinrobe area. The Robe Villa was build by the Kenny family around 1740.

Griffith with dates from the mid 1880s to the mid 1890s lists Stanhope Kenny on High Street with house, land and offices and as landlord of the flour mill.

I do not know the function of this very unusual looking building which sits opposite the mill behind the villa.

The seven story mill was powered by the Robe River and was used for grinding flour. The Griffith Valuation Ledger from the mid to late 1880s listed William Livingston as the tenant of the mill with Stanhope Kenny as the landlord.

A notation with the dates 1884 and 1887 says:

"Mill had ceased working. Mills very old and not now half worked. An annually (can't read word) expenses for repairs."

Online information shows plans to convert the mill into 21 condos.

I did not find a building that looked like a caretakers house. However, as one can see it was a bid overgrown.

The graveyard lies between Chaple Road, which goes to Partry, and the unnamed road to Ballyglass.

We did not find a tombstone for John and/or Fanny Walsh or Mathias, Margaret and/or Pat Langan during either the visit in 2000 or the visit in 2004. However, both times there were a number of stones we could not reach and/or read.

View of the graveyard with the old Chapel on Chapel Road in the background.

John Walsh and family were listed in the townland of Carrownalecka in 1865 and 1867. John is not listed in the Griffith Tax Valuation as a head of household. Therefore, they must have been living with someone else who was the designated head of household.

Carrownalecka's boarders are not completely clear to me. However, the townland appears to be triangular in shape: bordered on the east side by the unnamed road to Ballyglass and on the west by Chapel Road. The northern boundary is not clear. And there are several houses on Creagh Road listed in Carrownalecka.

There are a number of Walsh listings. However I do not have enough information at this point to determine if any of them are related to John Walsh.

• Margaret Langan was listed at #10 Creagh Road between 1867-1868. Margaret Langan died in 1876 on Creagh Road.
• Pat Langan was listed at #10 Creagh Road from 1872-1880. In 1890 Patrick langan was crossed out and Matthew Langan was entered. Pat Langan was listed in the civil records as having died on High Street, Town of Ballinrobe in 1888.
• In 1892 Mathias Langan was crossed out. This was the year they left for America.

I do not know how the numbering system worked for the Griffith Valuation. It is not consistent with the Censuses. Therefore, I do not know which was the house listed as #10. However, it must have been one of the houses show in this photo even if it is one way down at the end.

The Walshes were living on Abbey Street from at least 1892 to 1894.

Abbey Street, which lies in the townland of Friarsquarters West runs north south from the intersection on Main, Bridge and Glebe Street, then veers to the right towards Hollymount and Claremorris. The red "x" marks the intersection.

Houses on the right hand side of the road going north from the town center. In this photo the town center is on the right side of the picture.

Houses on the left hand side of the road going north. These houses mark the end of the town going northeast in 1901.

The Augustinian Friary, founded c. 1312, gives name to both Abbey Street and the townlands of Friarsquarters East and Friarsquarters West. The ruins are surrounded by a graveyard. We did not find tombstones for any Walshes, Langans or related families.

The glebe was property belonging to the Church of Ireland.

Glebe Street runs east west from the intersection of Bridge, Main, and Abbey Streets.

Matthew Langan was listed on Glebe Street at the birth of his son, James, in 1877. He was also listed at 27c Friarsquarters in the Griffith Tax Valuation that covers that year. The tax listing indicates that they were living on the north side of the street.

Ellen Moughan, the wife of Martin Langan, and her daughters, Martha and Helen, were listed in the 1911 Census on Glebe Street.

Mathias and family lived on the left side of the street as seen in this photo.

Ballinrobe was a garrison town for many years. The armed forces stationed in Ballinrobe gave an important monetary boost to the town until their withdrawal in 1926.

To the left of the townland of Friar's Quarters between the blue and green lines is the townland of Knockanotish (2).

Still further left, between the green and orange lines is the townland of Carrownalecka (1). The townland between the orange and purple is Rathkelly.

The Walshes and Langans lived in Carrownalecka, Knockanotish and Friar's Quarters.

Number 11 was the Infantry barracks. Number 12 was the cavalry barracks now in ruins. Number 7 is Main Street. 5 was the old Church of Ireland Church, now the library. 6 is the Roman Catholic church. 8 was the Glebe house. 9 is the Market Square. 10 is the River Robe.