Boyounagh Beg (Leagan Gaeilge – Buíbheanach Beag)
The townland of Boyounagh Beg is situated 7.5 kilometres west of Glenamaddy Town in north-east County Galway. The Irish form of the townland name may be translated as ‘the little yellow marsh”, buidhe(buí) meaning yellow, aibhneach, possibly, meaning marsh and beag meaning little or small. Other forms of the townland name in archival records are Buidhe Aibheanach Beag, Buidhe Abhnach Beag, Bweeounaghbeg, Buidhe Eamhnach beag, Bweenaunaghbeg and Buoiowanaghbeg.
Distinctive Features:
- The Enclosure in Boyounagh Beg registered with the National Monuments Service features in the National Monuments Service Archaeological Survey Database.
- The 1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map shows a clachan style village called Boyounaghbeg containing about twenty houses in the south western part of the townland and a Mill Pond and Flood gate further south along the boundary with Gortaganny.
- The Sinking River flows westward through the southern portion of the townland.
1656-58 Down Survey:
There is no information available on the townland of Boyounagh Beg in the Down Survey.
1823 – 1838 Tithe Applotment Books:
Surviving documentation of the Tithe Applotment Books is in poor condition making it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to decipher the names of landholders. In so far as it can be ascertained the only Catholic landholder in the townland of Boyounagh Beg who paid the tithe (tax) levied to support the Established Church (Church of Ireland) was John Bryan. Protestant occupiers of agricultural holdings were exempt from this tax.
1838 O’Donovan’s Field Name Books:
O’Donovan describes the townland as follows – “About 2/3 of this townland is bog chiefly situated in the East portion. There is a pond at the S.W. boundary. The remainder of the land is tillage and pasture”.
1856 Griffith’s Valuation:
The townland covers an area of 325 acres 0 rood 39 perches and the total rateable valuation of the land and buildings combined amounted to £51 14s 0d. The occupiers in the townland of Boyounagh Beg are given as – Cunningham (10), Corneely (4), Mannion (3), Murray (2), Moore (2), Brennan (2) and Connell. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation the landlords were Martin McDonnell and James Murray.
Adjoining Townlands:
The following townlands share a border with Boyounagh Beg – Ballinphuill, Cashel, Cloonkeen, Cloonmaghaura (Parish of Templetogher)and Gortaganny.
Census Records:
Population and Household data for the townland of Boyounagh Beg:
Glenamaddy and the Irish Folklore Collections:
The article posted on this website under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab provides an overview of the folklore material submitted by Glenamaddy parishioners to the National Folklore Commission, now known as the Irish Folklore Collections. It also explains the background to the 1937 Schools’ Collection (Bailiúchán na Scol) project which has good representation from a parish perspective.
The Irish Folklore Collections housed in the Folklore Department of University College Dublin contain a treasure trove of folklore material, some of which is accessible online. Both the Main Manuscript Collection and the Schools’ Collection contain a considerable number of submissions from collectors and informants who resided in the parish of Glenamaddy. The quick reference directories featured in the ‘Parish > Townlands’ section of this website complement the user-friendly search features of the dúcas.ie website and are helpful in tracking Schools’ Collection submissions associated with townlands. Submissions are categorised under – School, Teacher, Language, Volume Number, Page Number, Collector, Collector’s Townland, Informant and Informant’s Townland. Where applicable, Schools’ Collection directories showing online townland-related submissions appear at the end of the following townland posts on this website – Ballinapeaka, Ballinastack, Barna, Boyounagh_More (Middletown),_Bushtown, Cashel, Classaghroe, Cloonacross, Clooncon_East, Clooncon_West, Cloonkeen, Cultiafadda, Eskeromullacaun (Esker), Felimspark, Glenamaddy, Gortaganny, Gortnagier, Kiltullagh, Knockauns, Lisheenaheltia, Loughpark, Meelick, Scotland, Shannagh_More, Stonetown and Woodfield.
Parish folklore submissions contained in the Schools’ Collection are also accessible online via the following links:-
Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613680
Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613681
Glenamaddy Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613677
Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613678
Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613679
Gort na Léime National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569061
Gort na Léime National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569062
Lisheenaheltia Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613675
Lisheenaheltia Boys’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613676
Glenamaddy submissions which form part of the Main Manuscript Collection are not posted online but may be examined in the reading room of the Folklore Department in U.C.D., Belfield, Dublin 4. Typed versions of some of the parish contributions contained in the Main Manuscript Collection are published under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab on this website.
Quick Reference Directory of Glenamaddy folklore submissions in the Main Manuscript Collection:-
Author: Pat Keaveny
Sources:
Townlands in County Galway
1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map
Place Name Books of Galway
The Down Survey of Ireland
The Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837
Griffith Valuation – Ask About Ireland
Central Statistics Office
National Archives: Census Reports 1901/1911
Essex University: Historic Population Census Reports
Historic Environment Viewfinder