CULLYHANNA BIG

Location Cullyhanna Big is a townland of 656 statute acres and 30 perches about four miles north of Crossmaglen. It contains the village of Cullyhanna. It is bounded on the north and northeast by Tullyvallen, on the southeast by Tullynavall, on the south by Cullyhanna Little and on the west by Skeriff. Cullyhanna Big and Cullyhanna Little were not recorded as separate townlands before the Griffiths Valuation. Therefore I have included the earlier census/survey information in each of the townlands. Name of townland The name of the townland means either "The holly plain" or "The marshy hill or the marshy hollow" depending on the authority consulted. There is no other townland of that name in Ireland. Sources of Information Information about the townland was extracted from the following sources - Hearth Money Roll of the Fews 1664 Census of Creggan 1766 Tithe Applotment Books - Creggan Parish - 1828 Townland Valuation 1937 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 £481-5-0 £376-15-3 £403-10-0 £531-5-0 £582-17-0 £986-7-0 £1071-12-0 In the Tithe Applotment Books, which enumerates the single Cullyhanna, the total area is given as 543 acres 1 rood and 16 perches (Irish). The Half Yearly Rectorial Tithe was £24-1-3. The 1837 Townland Valuation recorded only houses worth £5 or more a year. There were six such houses in the townland - John Donnelly William Hueston Felix O'Hanlon Peter O'Hanlon John Quinn James Spear 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. Griffiths Valuation records Thomas P. Ball as the owner of the townland. It also records a National School House, a Police Barracks, a RC Chapel and a forge (Neal McGeeny). In 1935 there is no mention of the forge but there is a quarry (James O'Hare) and a Motor House (Patrick McMahon). The distribution of land holdings by size in 1864 and 1935 is set out in the following table.   Holdings - number by acreage   Less than 10 10 to 19 20 and over Total 1864 21 14 12 47 1935 13 11 14 38 Census of Ireland 1901 The Census enumerated 191 persons in 44 households; a ratio of 4.3 people per household. The households occupied a total of 131 rooms; a ratio of 3 rooms per family, and 1.5 people per room. Twelve of the households had 4 or more rooms, seven had 3 rooms, 21 had 2 rooms and four had a single room. One of these single room household enumerated eight persons and one enumerated six. Native Irish Speakers Of the 44 households enumerated in the Census three contained one native Irish speaker each. 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 - Francis Lennon, farmer, 83 Patrick Hughes, farmer, 62 Francis McGinn, farmer and grocer, 42 * Two of the group could read and write, one could neither read nor write. Note: Francis Lennon was the father of Paddy Lennon who fought with the Boers in South Africa. (See 'Creggan' - Journal of the Creggan Local Historical Society No.10 - 2002/2002 - p.74) Population 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 1841 and 1851 the "Town of Cullyhanna" was separately enumerated, combining with the townland thereafter. For the purposes of this table town and townland have been combined in the two early censuses.   1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1926 1937 1951 Houses 71 60 52 48 54 49 45 42 43 43 46 People 429 354 293 259 246 217 196 166 194 140 168 People per house 6.0 5.9 5.6 5.4 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.0 4.5 3.3 3.7 In the period of 110 years, the number of households reduced by 35% and the population by 61%. The decline was continuous from 1851 to 1911 after which it rallied so that by 1951 it was increasing slightly. 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..