Evictions from Inishdea

[murf]

Several times lately I have come across reference to the effect that Fort Fergus landlord Major William Ball was responsible for the eviction of some 200 families from the adjacent townland of Inishdea during the 19th Century. See, for instance:
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... terest.htm
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/Members/tom.p ... grady1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballynacally
I have also heard this same statement by word-of-mouth from one of the Ballynacally locals.
However 19th Century census figures cast serious doubt on whether there was ever anything like this number of families in Inishdea. In 1841 (presumably when numbers were near their peak) there were 21 inhabited dwellings in Inishdea containing a total population of 135 souls. In 1851 this number had reduced to 34 residents in 4 houses. So doubtless evictions took place, but 200?? Has somebody, sometime added a zero and now the figure 200 becomes enshrined in history? I would be interested if anyone has factual evidence either way on this.
Murf

[smcarberry]

I can't add anything new to what you have already found, but here is some substantiation:

1. The same information on the O'Grady marriage to Ball is provided on p.117 of Gerard Madden's book History of the O'Gradys of Clare and Limerick.

2. The Clare property of William Hawkins Ball appears as six untenanted townlands including Inishdea in this publication:
Parliamentary papers, Volume 40
by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons
Appendix II, Table T. Untenanted Land, starting p. 321
p. 326 6 townlands listed as owned by Ball
http://tiny.cc/hV2am

Since you have access to the census statistics, I won't repeat the link to that here (but I will in a subsequent posting for the benefit of other readers), but I wonder what figure results from calculating the total number of tenants evicted from the named six Ball properties.

Sharon Carberry
not a West Clare descendant

[smcarberry]

Here is the table from the 1906 report, showing townlands apparently untenanted, as owned by William Ball.

Wm Hawkins Ball property.jpg (33.43 KiB) Viewed 6173 times

[murf]

Sharon, at your suggestion I have perused the census numbers for the six townlands of the Ball Estate. By far the greatest change occurred between the 1841 and 1851 censuses. During the remainder of the period up to 1891 the numbers remained relatively stable or showed a gradual decline.
The changes in the number of houses and people between 1841 and 1851 in each of the six townlands are shown below.

TOWNLAND HOUSES PEOPLE

Inishdea -16 -101
Fortfergus -1 -1
Crininish no change +9
Cornfield -9 -75
Carrowkilla -12 -102
Knockasaggart +11 +56

Net change -27 -214

The largest deficits were in Inishdea, Cornfield and Carrowkilla with a combined loss of 37 houses and 278 people. Knockasaggart contains the village of Ballynacally, so the eleven additional houses may have been built for tenants who relocated (voluntarily or forcibly) from other parts of the estate.
In trying to reconcile this with the apparent folklore statement of "200 families evicted from Inishdea", I am led to conclude that perhaps 200 people (not families) may have been evicted from their homes on the combined Ball townlands during this decade including the Great Famine.

As an aside, my gg grandfather Edmond Murphy and his family moved from Inishdea during this period. I don't know if he was evicted. Certainly he had sufficient means to take up substantial leases in neighbouring townlands from Major Ball's rival landlord, Thomas Rice Henn. Curiously, some ten or so years later, Edmond Murphy senior and junior both sat on the Kildysart Board of Guardians, of which Major Ball was chairman. If indeed the Murphys were former evictees, that makes for an interesting scenario! But Edmond Murphy may have exacted his revenge, albeit indirectly, since his granddaughter Bridget Murphy married Michael Garry, and it was he who purchased some 300 acres of the choicest part of the Ball Estate when it was carved up in the 1920's.

Murf