Crossmaglen is a townland and town of 324 statute acres and 27 perches about 8 miles north of Dundalk and 14 west of Newry. It is bounded on the north by Urcher, on the east by Monog and Sheiland, on the south by Moybane and Lissaraw, on the west by Creevekeeran and on the northwest by Rathkeelan. There is a separate page for that part of the town of Crossmaglen which is in the townland and that which in the townland of Rathkeelan.
The origin of the name 'Crossmaglen' is uncertain. It has been interpreted by John Donaldson as "The cross of the shading plain", and by Hugh Macauley as "McGlynn's crossroads. According to LP Murray, writing in the Vol VIII, No. 2 of the 1934 Journal of the County Louth Archeological Society -
In the Tithe Applotment Books of 1828 the area is recorded as 161 acres 1 roods and 36 perches (Irish). The Half Yearly Rectorial Tithe was £6-17-7.
Rateable Valuation
The rateable valuation includes the value of property in both the townland and that part of the town of Crossmaglen in the townland, but excluding the valuation for that part of the town in the townland of Rathkeelan. The changes in the valuation is shown in the Crossmaglen Town page.
The 1837 Townland Valuation recorded only houses worth £5 or more a year. There is a substantial list of property owners recorded in respect of Crossmaglen. Also recorded is a statement that there were 58 houses exempt. That this mainly refers to the Town of Crossmaglen is testified, not only by the numbers involved but also by reference to an unfinished meeting house. It is not possible to distinguish those properties appropriate to the townland alone. Therefore the 1837 list is contained in the Crossmaglen Town Page.
Information Sources
The table below shows the names listed in the the townland from the following sources.
The Third Revaluation (1975) did not identify property by townlands. Instead, it used the new Post Office system of road names and postcodes. It can therefore not be used to continue this series of household, land and property censuses. To get as close as possible to the present, the position in the townland at the date of the last recorded revision of the Second Revaluation is presented.
Grifiths Valuation records the owner of most of the townland and town as Thomas P. Ball. The distribution of land holdings in 1864 and 1935 are set out in the following table.
Census of Ireland 1901 1901 Census information in respect of "Dundalk Road" (an address not used in other sources) is included in the household and population figures for the townland though shown as a separate group in House and Land Holders Table below. In Census of Ireland 110 persons were enumerated in 21 households; a ratio of 5.2 people per household. The total number of rooms occupied was 65; a ratio of 3.1 rooms per household and 1.7 persons per room. One of the households occupied 6 rooms; two occupied 5 rooms; five occupied 4 rooms; four occupied 3 rooms; seven occupied 2 rooms and two had a single room. Seven of the houses were thatched. Native Irish Speakers
Of the 21 households enumerated in the Census, three contained a total of five native Irish speakers, all on the Dundalk Road. Since theirs was the last generation to have been born into a predominently Irish speaking environment, their names, occupations and ages are recorded here.
Of the group, three could read and write, one could read and one could neither read nor write. Names of House and Land Holders All the valuations since 1864 distinguish between those with houses in the townland and those, living elsewhere, who 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 house and landholders that were enumerated 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.
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Census of Creggan | Tithe Applotment Books | Griffiths Valuation | Census of Ireland | First NI Revaluation | Second Revaluation | ||
1766 | 1828 | 1864 | 1901 | 1935 | 1957 | 1970 | |
Cross | Crossmaglen | Crossmaglen | Crossmaglen | Crossmaglen | Crossmaglen | Crossmaglen | |
Households/Land | Households | Households | Households | Households | Households | ||
Barry John | Ball Esq. Samuel | Carney Stephen | Carrol Michael | Cassidy Joseph | Armstrong William | Brogan A. | |
Bickerstaff Widow | Caroll Nicholas | Corr William | Hale James | Clarke Thomas | Cassidy Joseph | Caragher Francis J. | |
Brown John | Ellis John | Duffy Anne | Hale Jonathan | Cumiskey James | Clarke T. | Casey ? | |
Buchanan John | Finegan Hugh | Ellis John | Hale Joseph | Duffy Mary | Clarke Thomas | Cash ? | |
Camaway Terence | Goodfellow Samuel | Hale (Nicholas) Richard | Hale Samuel | Duffy Michael | Donaldson James | Clarke T. | |
Cullin William | Gordon Michael | Hale James Jun. | Hale William | Durkan Walter | Duffy Michael | Cumiskey Patrick | |
Donaldson Alexander | Hale James | Hale James Sen. | McCardle Patrick | Hale Caroline | Duffy Patrick | Devlin ? | |
Donaldson Widow | Hale James | Hale Jane | McCardle Philip | Hale James | Fee P.J. | Donaldson James | |
Donaldson William | Hale Nicholas | Hale Jonathan | Morris Thomas | Hale Joseph | Gilford J. | Duffy Michael | |
Hillan Patrick | Hale Richard | Lennan Thomas | Shields James | Hearty Joseph | Hale William | Duffy Patrick | |
Hillan Widow | Hale William | Lennon Anne | Shields Lawrence | Hughes James | Hanratty James | Fee P.J. | |
Keenan Dennis | Hamilton Johnston | McArdle Denis | Stephens John | Hughes Patrick | Harvey John | Hale William | |
Keenan Patrick | Hanratty Hugh | McArdle James | Hughes Peter | Hearty Coleman | Hanratty ? | ||
Lennan Owen | Kearney James | McArdle Philip | Dundalk Road | Kelly Albert G. | Hearty Joseph | Hanratty James | |
Little Adam | Lannen Bryan | McEntaggart Peter | Bray James | McAllister Robert | Hughes Ellen | Harvey John | |
Makkin James | Lannen Thomas | Shiels Anne | Kerns Patrick | McArdle James | Hughes Joseph | Hearty Catherine | |
McCullagh George | Largey Michael | Shiels Francis | Martin John | McEntee Francis | Hughes Patrick | Hearty Coleman | |
McCullagh Samuel | Mackin Patt | Stephens John | McAllister Thomas | McGarroll Mary | Kearney Margaret | Keegan Mary | |
McCullagh William | McAlister James | Waters Owen | McEnaney Bryan | McShane Mary | Keegan Mary | Kirk Leo | |
McGill Bryan | McAnulty Hugh | McEneaney Peter | Quigley Michael | McAllister John | Martin ? | ||
McGrane Dennis | McArdle Dennis | Land | Morgan James | Shiels John | McArdle Henry | McAllister John | |
McIlvine David | McArdle Patt | Stitt William | Shields Patrick | Shiels Patrick | McArdle James | McAllister William | |
McKnight Josh | McArdle Rose | McConville James | Reilly Annie | Smith John | McCusker Michael | McCune Trevor | |
McManus Patrick | McArdle Simon | McQuillan Patrick | Stephens George | McEntee Francis | McCusker Michael | ||
McShane Hugh | McArdle Simon | Hale (Richard) Richard | McEntee John | McEntee ? | |||
Moffit Samuel | McArdle Widow | Carney Eleanor | Land | McGarrell Mary | McEntee Hugh Joseph | ||
Smith William | McArdle Widow James | Gordon Francis | Coyne Felix Claude | McNamee Patrick | McEntee John | ||
Stephens William | McConville Hugh | McDonnell Jeremiah | Fitzpatrick Patrick | McNamee Patrick | McEvoy Morgan | ||
Tomson William | McGragh Sally | McConville Patrick | Gibson Martha | McShane James | McNamee patrick | ||
O'Hanlon John | Hale William | McShane Patrick | McNamee Patrick | ||||
O'Hare Owen | Martim Margaret | Morris Thomas | McNamee Patrick | ||||
Shields Frank | Martin Patrick | Newell John | McShane James | ||||
Shields Patt | McAllister James | O'Callaghan Patrick | McShane Patrick | ||||
Stephens George | McArdle Michael | O'Neill Vincent | Morgan Eugene | ||||
Stephens George | McConville Francis | Patton James | Morris Thomas | ||||
Stephens John | McConville Michael | Quigley Mary J. | Newell John | ||||
Stephens Thomas | McConville Patrick | Regan Gilbert | O'Callaghan Patrick | ||||
Stephens William | Ritchie Robert | Patton James | |||||
Ward John | Rush J.J. | Quigley J. | |||||
Rush S. | Quigley Mary J. | ||||||
Shields Joseph | Quinn ? | ||||||
Shields Patrick | Regan Gilbert | ||||||
Stephens George | Ritchie Robert | ||||||
Stephens John. | Rush J.J. | ||||||
Rush Patrick | |||||||
Land | Rush S. | ||||||
Ball Reps Thomas P. | Shields Patrick | ||||||
Duffy Mary | Shiels G. | ||||||
Fitzpatrick Patrick | White Edward | ||||||
Martin J. | |||||||
Martin Patrick | Land | ||||||
McAllister James | Ball Reps Thomas P. | ||||||
McCardle Patrick | Fitzpatrick Patrick | ||||||
McConville Catherine | Martin Patrick | ||||||
McConville Patrick | McAllister James | ||||||
McShane Patrick (Square) | McCardle Patrick | ||||||
Rodgers Patrick | McConville Patrick | ||||||
McShane Patrick (Square) | |||||||
O'Neill Vincent | |||||||
Rooney Paul | |||||||
Stephens George |