COATES OF EYRECOURT

Hello Warren,

While we have very a poor survival rate of records here in the Eyrecourt Parish I can tell you that there were Coates here in the 19th century. A lane in the village of Eyrecourt is known as Coates lane and clearly points to their presence there. There was also a Dr Coates who was involved in the Portumna Poor Law Union. I have to check this out further but I think he was also the medical attendent to Portumna Workhouse. There were also Coates' in Clonfert in the townland of Abbeyland Little. One of them (Christopher I think) was involved in a murder case in 1846. He reputedly shot a land steward named Lenny who worked for archdeacon Butson the main landlord at that time. Coates absconded and was last heard of in Liverpool, England having broken his bail terms. The case was heard in Confert in the old Protestant School and makes good reading. I have extracts from the local newspaers of that time for the case and will dig them out. The name is not of local origin and therefore I feel that all of the Coates familys were probably related to each other. Clonfert is now part of the modern parish of Eyrecourt so the Coates in Eyrecourt could easily be part of the same family of Coates as were here in Clonfert. I hope that this is of some use to you. I realise it did not answer the specific question that you asked but it at least points to them having lived here and may possible point to other family members. There are no members of the family in the parish today.

Regards,

Christy Cunniffe

Hello Warren, Some more Coates material for you to work through.

Pigot's Directory of Ireland ? 1824 for Eyrecourt shows a Samuel Coates as a farmer but enters him under the heading ?Shopkeepers and Traders? so he must also have had a shop in Eyrecourt. Slater?s Directory of Ireland - 1846 for Eyrecourt shows Samuel Coates again as a farmer and notes that he lived in Coates? Lane - obviously named after himself or some of his ancestors. What is also of interest in Grifftihs Valuation is that it it shows that Samuel leased several properties in Coates Lane to others.

Griffiths Valuation 1855 shows Samuel Coates as also having property in Market Street and in The Mall Eyrecourt. He is also shown as holding property outside of the village in the townland of Lisfinny.

Have you accessed www.wikitree.com/genealogy/COATES  Perhaps you have, if not it may be well worth your while looking it up. I have not yet got around to checking it out properly. If you find something of relevance to our Eyrecourt/ Clonfert/ Portumna Coates? I would be interested in knowing about it.

Please keep in touch and also please invite your friends to sign up to the Ireland Reaching Out project.

Regards,

Christy C.

Dear Christy,

                       Thank you for this information, some of which I had previously.  I am troubled by distance, so searching for clues from so long ago is quite hard for me.  I hope that somewhere along the line I can trace my ancestors.  Was Samuel of Eyrecourt in 1824, the father of George? George joined the army in 1825 and said he was from Eyrecourt..  I will look up his profile on ancestry.com and see if I can add some clues for you.

Thanks again, Warren in Brisbane.

George Coates 1807-1853, of Eyrecourt, was supposed to have a brother LUKE, who died in London around 1885, not 1875.  A Luke Thomas Coates, with a father John, married Abigail DREW on 4 Aug 1846, in London.

In the 1851 Census there is a Luke Coates, with wife Margaret, and two step-sons living at 12 Basing Lane, London.  All were born in Ireland, Luke in 1811, Margaret in 1814, Henry DREWS in 1837, and Richard DREWS in 1839.  Was the DREW family from Eyrecourt?  The wives christian names differ, but the Name DREW/DREWS seems to connect with  Luke Coates. If he died in 1885 he would have been 74 years old.

Hi Warren,

Two Coates inscriptions from the graveyard attached to Clonfert Cathedral.

Christy C.

Coates.

            Here lieth the body of Jane Coates of Birr who                    

            dept this life 5th April 1810 aged 48 yre

            also her Husband Saml Coates who depd this life Octr                    

            1st 1827 aged 73 yrs.

            Erd by his Daughter Ann Coates alias Wilson.

Coates.

            Here lieth the body of Samuel Coates who depd                  

            this life the 11th? of August in the year 1763                       

            aged 60. Erected by his Relec Ann Coates alias                   

            Chamner also their Son John Coates depd this life               

            Sept. 1824 aged 84 yrs. Ered by Samuel Coates.

Hello Warren,

it is good to hear from you. I have someone about to search the Church of Ireland records in Eyrecorurt. I will add the Drew name to his list of names to search. I have no account of the Drew name here myself but I did hear of it in the town of Birr, Co Offaly (formerly known as Kings County). There is quite an amount of intermarriage between people from Birr and Eyrecourt. Hopefully we can turn up something.

Christy

hello warren                 I come from clonfert but live elsewhere in ireland now . I saw your request some time ago and was on a search for something in the 1901 census of ireland when i came across four children with the coates surname ' They were living with their mother and stepfather in the townland of Rooaun clonfert parish co galway.It is house number 11 and the stepdads name was Pat Hanney. the children were patrick 15 stephen 13 mary 9 and kate 7. You can acess this yourself by internet just browse the census of ireland 1901 aailable free on the net.You can then browse the 1911 census of ireland and you will find the family still in clonfert parish but in the townland of Ballinakill just check the Hanney family. by this time the eldest has left home but the other three are still there.  My mother who was born in 1920 remembers the hanneys but never anyone with the coates name.I remember pat hanney the young son you see on the 1911 census. Adirect descendant with the surname Doorly live on the old hanney holding .perhaps these children were the last of the Coates in the area. the townlands and the house are on the roadway midway between the villages of Eyrecourt co galway and Banagher co Offaly. if i come across any other info ill let you know.  Pat