LISSARAW

Location Lissaraw is a townland of 260 statute acres and 25 perches in County Armagh co-terminous with the town and townland of Crossmaglen between the roads to Cullaville and Dundalk. It is bounded on the north by Rathkeelan, on the east by Crossmaglen, on the south by Moybane and Cappagh and on the west by Creevekeeran. Name of townland The name of the townland means "The fort of the racing". There are three townlands called 'Lissaraw' in Ireland; in Counties Armagh (2) and Monaghan. Sources of Information Information about the townland was extracted from the following sources - Hearth Money Rolls - 1664 Census of Creggan - 1766 Tithe Applotment Books - Creggan Parish - 1828 Townland Valuation 1837 Griffiths Valuation 1864 Census of Ireland 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1926, 1937, 1951 First Northern Ireland Revaluation 1935 Second Revaluation 1957 Valuation Annual Rateable Valuation of Townland Year 1828 1837 1851 1864 1935 1957 1970 Valuation £88-19-2 £147-10-0 £169-15-0 £169-15-0 £183-0-0 £204-0-0 £217-15-0 In the Tithe Applotment Books of 1828 the total acerage is shown as 125 acres 2 roods (Irish). The Half Yearly rectorial Tithe was £4-8-101/2. The 1837 Townland Valuation recorded only houses worth £5 or more a year. There were no such houses in the townland. The Third Revaluation (1975) did not identify property by townlands. Instead, it used the new Post Office system of road names and post codes. 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. In the Title Applotment Books the same name may appear more than once for different parcels of land. Griffiths Valuation records the owner of the land as Dominick Daly. Of the 26 land holdings, 13 were of less than 10 acres, 12 were between 10 and 20 acrea and one of 20 or more acres. The 1935 Revaluation recorded a reduction to 20, of which ten were of less than 10 acres, six were between 10 and 20 acres and four were of 20 or more acres. Both Valuations distinguished between those with houses in the townland and those living elsewhere who leased or owned land there. The table takes this into account. The 1901 Census enumerated 96 people in 22 families; a ratio of 4.4 persons per family. A family of six occupied a single room, 14 occupied two rooms, and seven occupied three rooms. Native Irish Speakers Of the 22 households enumerated in the Census, five contained at least one native Irish speaker - 6 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. Catherine Larkin, wife of Michael, 44 Owen McShane, farmer, 82 Bridget McEnteggart, farmer, 75 Thomas McKeown, farmer, 45 and his wife Mary, 37 Terence Loy, farmer, 82 * The average age of the group was 61. * Of the group, three could read and write, three could read. 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.   1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1926 1937 1951 Houses 40 32 30 32 26 21 22 17 18 18 16 People 210 141 128 150 115 85 96 87 79 55 54 People per house 5.3 4.4 4.3 4.7 4.4 4.0 4.4 5.1 4.4 3.1 3.4 In the period of 110 years, the number of households dropped by 60% and the population by 74%. The initial fall of 33% between 1841 and 1851 (the famine years), was followed by a fluctuating but steady decline for the next century. 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, it provides a comparison of the names 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.