Fearann an Ghiolla

Fearann an Ghiolla or Farranagilla is a townland of 66 hectares or 164 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 137 individual fields were mapped in this townland.

It is in the Electoral Division of Castlehaven North, in Civil Parish of Castlehaven and the Roman Catholic Parish of Castlehaven and Myross.

Fearann an Ghiolla is bordered by An Lisín Rua (Lisheenroe) to the south and Lios an Ruacháin (Lissarankin) to the north, An Ré (Rea) to the east and An Rosach (Russagh) to the west.

OpenStreetmap contributors, with input from the Castlehaven & Myross History Society, have created a detailed townland map including all its minor placenames. Zoom in for further detail.

Etymology

Fearann an Ghiolla is said to be a shortened version of Fearann Uí Ghiollamichil which was interpreted by Bruno O'Donoghue as the land of O'Gilmichael. He was said to be a sub-chieftain of the Corca Laidhe and also a chieftain of this area and possibly a warden of the parish church of Glenbarrahane. Fearann an Ghiolla might also be interpreted as the servant's land. In his article in Volume 7 of the Skibbereen and District Historical Society Journal, Eugene Daly also interprets it as the land of O'Gilmichael but adds the additional information that the O'Driscolls were the strongest sept of the Corca Laidhe.

History

Parish: In the 1850s the parishes of the Roman Catholic Church were set down and remain to the present day. Rea ,Bánnagollapy and part of Farrangilla returned to Castlehaven Parish while Derryleigh,Smorane,Cuilleanagh,Adrigole and Tooreensullane??.? and others were doled out to both Skibbereen and Kilmacabea parishes.

Butter: From the 1840s onwards farming changed from tillage to grass growing. Butter was now a major tradable commodity . In fact there were six butter traders in Skibbereen. Much of the butter was sent to England where a new middle class enjoyed it along with sugar coffee and tea from the colonies. To produce grass and milk , many small farmers of Rea and Farrangilla were relocated to poorer agricultural areas of Bluid. Once the landlord got his rent he didn’t really care as to what happened to the tenants. That job was left to the middlemen. They were often unscrupulous and granted land to dairymen of their choosing. The butter road ran from Schull all the way to Cork a long the old road. This road ran nearly parallel to the present N71. It passed through Forenaught and Shepperton before reappearing at Brade Cross.

Evictions: Letter to the Editor of the Cork Examiner from Charles Davis dated 1 December 1869. Charles Davis say he does not wish to be “diverted” from his “principal object” which was to prove that the Earl of Bandon was wrong when he stated that Middlemen, not the lords of the soil, were accountable for the numerous evictions which took place in the Skibbereen Union, but he does want to give an accurate statement. He writes, “The population of Rea was 152; there were 23 houses on it. I stated in my former letter that they paid 14s an acre – I have since ascertained that it was 16s 6d per acre. Mr Browne has the lands at 6s 8d an acre. They paid £220 a year; Mr Browne pays £88.” He goes on, “In 1850 there were 18 tenants on the lands of Rea; on the adjoining lands of Farnigilla, now in the possession of his uncle-in-law, another favoured Protestant, there were 20. I have the names of those 38 tenants now before me. I call upon Mr Browne to name the farms upon which they or their families are now residing; if he does not, and he cannot, would it not have been better for all concerned that he had remained in his retirement in Smithville?”

Crossroads: ”Sunville” was the biggest house in the townland and the entrance was at the cross going into Lisrohane. A tree lined avenue can still be seen today. In the early 60s the corner was widened and an old gate lodge was knocked down. The cross on those days was known as Maggie Cotter’s Cross as that lady lived in the lodge.

Bog Road: The bog road is a modern addition to the landscape. Originally the road ran through Murphys farm heading for Rea Hill.The road was aptly named as in former times the entire valley was bogland. Only one house was recorded as it was an inhospitable place. The O’Brien house at the top was a great place for scoraíochting and many were fearful of walking that road are dark as it was the chosen route for the fairies. Nowadays little remains of the bog except a stream which forms a boundary with Lisheenroe. One wonders is this the longest straight road in the parish.

Housing

As part of Griffiths Valuation in 1853, a survey of house quality was carried out to calculate what rates were due by each household. These were issued in 1850 in the form of house books and a guide on how to interpret these can be seen here. These show that there was only one house in this townland at that time and it was class 3. This means that it was a thatched houses with stone walls with mud or puddle mortar (as opposed to a slated house built with stone or brick and lime mortar). We can also see that it was described as being old (more than 25 years) but in repair. It was only 6 foot tall so presumably single storey.

By the 1901 census, there are now 2 houses in this townland and both have walls of stone, brick or concrete with roofs of slate, iron or tiles. One house has two, three or four rooms with two windows in front (so probably single story) while the other has seven, eight or nine rooms with five windows in front so it was probably two storey.

When we advance to the 1911 census, there are still two occupied houses in this townland and, not surprisingly, both still have walls of stone, brick or concrete with roofs of slate, iron or tiles. The house with two, three or four rooms now has three windows in front while the other still has seven, eight or nine rooms with five windows in front.

Places of Interest

Lake Cross: This is a crossroads in this townland. Also known as Lakemount Bridge

Lough Abisdealy: Part of this lake is in this townland. The origin of its name is not known. It is a source of water for a wide area of West Cork. According to Lankford, it was also known locally as Donovan's lake

There are no points in this townland mapped on the Historic Environment Viewer.

Interesting Placenames

There are roads called the Castletownshend Road and the Bog Road running through this townland.

No field names or any other placenames have been recorded for this townland. If you are aware of any, please contact us at please contact us at [email protected].

Folklore

Fairies: There’s a story told of a man going to the market early one morning . As he descended the bog road the horse suddenly acted as if it was drawing* a heavy load.On reaching the gate lodge to Glentighe the horse returned to a more normal state. It must have have been the fairies taking a lift to their destination.

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1825 list the following family names: Cornelius Donovan, Denis Donovan, Peter Donovan, Daniel Donovan, John Donovan, Patrick Leahy, Tim Coughlan, Hannon ?, Coughlan

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: None. However William Swanton leased an office and land from Rev. Townsend

The Census of Ireland of 1901 lists the following family names: Swanton, Cotter

The Census of Ireland of 1911 lists the following family names: Swanton, Cotter

Note: the term 'with' refers to a person or persons of a different family name staying in the house. This may have been an in-law or other relative, a guest, or a farm labourer/housekeeper or domestic servant.

Demographics and Landholding

		*Occupiers	Population	Change	Link to record
1825	Tithe Applotment	9	45 (est)		1825
1841	Census of Ireland	18	110
1851	Census of Ireland	1	7
1853	Griffith's Valuation	0	0		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	4	20
1871	Census of Ireland	4	27
1881	Census of Ireland	5	29
1891	Census of Ireland	5 (Incl. 1 unoccupied)	19
1901	Census of Ireland	2	6		1901
1911	Census of Ireland	2	3		1911

*Occupiers generally equate to households having a house and land but may also include households having houses but no land.

All of the 1841 occupants were in Castlehaven while all occupants from 1851 to 1871 were in Abbeystrowry. In 1881 and 1891 some were in Castlehaven and some were in Abbeystrowry

The proprietor of this townland in 1841 was Colonel John Townsend of Castletownshend and his agent was Charles Clarke of Skibbereen. It was all held by tenants without a lease.

In 1841 the soil was described as not good, producing light crops of potatoes, oats, wheat with a little barley and a little flax.