• County Leitrim
• Drumkeerin, Leitrim
• The Townsland of Lisfuiltaghan
• Views of Lisfuiltaghan
• Inishmagrath Parish (townslands)
• Griffith's Valuation (1857) Lisfuiltaghan
• Index to Griffith's Valuation (1848-1864) Drumkeerin
• 1901 Census of Ireland (Lisfuiltaghan)
• Drumkeerin Notables
• Curragh's Graveyard at the Ancient Abbey of Tarmon

Drumkeerin, Innishmagrath Parish, Co. Leitrim

 

special thanks to JOHN FLYNN at "Drumkeerin on-Line"
http://ireland.iol.ie/~jfflynn/for permission to use this image.

COUNTY LEITRIM

     "Leitrim, a maritime county of Ireland, province of Connaught, bounded S by
     Roscommon and Sligo, W by the bay of Donegal, N by Donegal and Fermanagh, and E
     and SE by Cavan and Longford; 52 m. long and 16 in its greatest breadth, and 6 m. its
     least, containing 407,260 acres. The surface is extremely uneven, being composed of
     bogs and high mountains, which afford sufficient herbage for the breeding of cattle. The
     valleys are fertile, and watered with rivulets, and the mountains contains inexhaustible
     stores of lead, iron, and copper ores, and coal mines. Potatoes, barley, rye, and wheat,
     are cultivated in small quantities, and oats in greater abundance. Chief river, the
     Shannon. 2 members are retutned to parliament. Chief town, Carrick. Pop. 105,976."
     (From The New London Gazetteer (1826))

Drumkeerin, Leitrim

[Droim Caorthainn- "Rowan-tree Ridge"]

Lies between Lough Allen and the smaller but attractive Bellavel Lough.  Some lonely hills rise to the north and south of the village.  Across Lough Allen, to the south-east, rises Slieve Anierin 1922 ft, in the Iron Mountains. South of Drumkeeran are the Brawlieve Hills, the highest of which attains an altitude of 1377 ft.

****Topographical Dictionary of Ireland- [Vol 1] Samuel Lewis

"A village in the Catholic Parish of Innismagrath, Barony of Dromahaire, County of Leitrim, and Province of Connaugh. 5 1/2 miles [S/E] from Dromahaire, on the road from Carrick-on-Shannon to Manor Hamilton. It contains 51 houses and 284 inhabitants. [ca. 1832]

It has a "Penny Post"* [livery coach?] to Carrick-on-Shannon, a market on Wednesday, and twelve Fairs: 1/27- 2nd Wed in Feb.- 3/18- 4/4- 5/27- 6/24- 7/18- 8/18- 9/16- 10/19- 11/11- and 12/12.

"Petty Sessions"* [small-claims court?] are held here every fortnight, on Wednesday."

 -SEPTEMBER 6, 1798: The Franco-Irish army reaches Drumkeerin in the evening. An envoy from Lord Cornwallis offers terms for surrender but they are rejected.
(http://homepages.iol.ie/~fagann/1798/conaught.htm)

-Drumkeerin is the noted home of Fr Maguire and the village where the play, "The Black Pigs Dyke" by Tarman man Vincent Woods was set.

A "townsland" was a small collection of tenent farms laying outside a central village.     In 1901, the townsland of Lisfuiltaghan ("Lis-ful-sha-haun") consisted of 360 acres, and encompassed part of Seltanasaggart Mountain.  Located south west of the town of Drumkeerin, it had 11 dwellings and one under  construction.  This village is no longer extant;  a legacy of the large number of individuals and families who were forced to immigrate due to the opressive land policies of the British Crown.     These policies, combined with the horrors of the Famine,  decimated the population of Leitrim.     As of 1997, there remained only one house standing; the ancestorial home of Stephen and Norah McGrail.

Views of Lisfuiltaghan
 

                View of the McGrail farmlands                                 View of Drumkeerin
                                     (courtesy of Kieran Concannon and "Video Ireland")

from Owen McGreal's farm  

GRIFFITH'S VALUATION (1857)

LISFUILTAGHAN VILLAGE (heads of households)

-James McHugh
-Patrick Higgins
-Francis Kelleher
-Margaret Fury
-Bartley McGreal
-Stephen McGreal
-Thaddy Flynn
-Patrick McPartland
-William McNiff
-Hugh McNiff
-Francis Nesbitt Cullen

Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864
 (Drumkeerin)

Mc Greal, Bartley       County : Leitrim
        Parish : Inishmagrath
        Location : Lisfuiltaghan

Mc Greal, Charles       County : Leitrim
        Parish : Inishmagrath
        Location : Glasdrumman More

Mc Greal, John  County : Leitrim
        Parish : Inishmagrath
        Location : Tullycorka

Mc Greal, Martin        County : Leitrim
        Parish : Inishmagrath
        Location : Lugmeen Town of Drumkeeran

Mc Greal, Stephen       County : Leitrim
       Parish : Inishmagrath
        Location : Lisfuiltaghan
 

In the 1901 Census of Ireland, the heads of household in Lisfuiltaghan were:

1] Owen Magowan-  7 persons in family

2] Honor McGreal-  5 persons in family: Patrick  McGreal (son)

                                                             -  Ellie Devitt McGreal (son's wife)

                                                             -  John McGreal (grandson-2yrs)

                                                             -  Stevie McGreal (grandson-infant)

3] under construction

4] John McHugh-  9 persons in family

5] Catherine Creamer-  5 persons in family

6] Anne Keleagher-  2 persons in family

7] Michael McGreal-  9 persons in family

8] James Flynn-  7 persons in family

9] Myles McPartland-  5 people in family

10] Peter McNiff-  7 person in family

11] Michael McNiff-  7 people in family

12] Patrick McNiff-  6 people in family

TOTAL POPULATION- 69 people

Drumkeerin Notables
                             John McKenna 1880-1947(flautist)
                                       Damian O'Brien (fiddler)
                                     Oliver Loughlin ( piano / accordionist)

McGrail is the 15,744th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.001%; percentile is 75.754
[SourceCBN].

return to MAIN PAGE

return to TOP
                                      Please send comments to
                                               shamrock@lsa.net

SPECIAL THANKS to Mike McTiernan, John Flynn, Hugh McGrail and John Blest for contributing to this page!