Reputable Ireland businesses or people that undertake small group tours of Ireland.

Hello Dianne,

I can't recommend a reputable tour company for Ireland and Scotland, but if you have plans to visit your Power ancestral townland of Runnaruag, County Roscommon, you can fill out a Meet and Greet form available from this website, Ireland Reaching Out. 

If a local volunteer is available for the dates you plan to go to Runnaruag, they will be able to meet with you and show you the area where Ellen Power had lived. This is a free service.

The Meet and Greet form can be downloaded from the following Ireland Reaching Out link: https://irelandxo.com/meet-and-greet#google_vignette

Ireland Reaching Out volunteers who participate in Meet and Greet are not professional tour guides, but they would be familiar with the area in Roscommon you want to visit.

You can read about a successful Meet and Greet adventure by a lady from Australia named Victoria Mail, who met with Meet and Greet Cork volunteer Kieran Jordan and his daughter Sarah. See Victoria's story posted at Ireland Reaching Out on August 27, 2024: https://www.irelandxo.com/success-story/drom-and-blarney-australia-and-…

On another note, in your message to Ireland Reaching out, dated 16 October 2024, you had written, “According to Griffith’s Valuation 1847-1864, an ‘Ellen Power’ was listed as the occupier of property 2 in the Townland of Runnaruag, Elphin, Roscommon in 1857.  Given the fact, that each of the children of Anthony Power and Eleanor McManaway were born at Runnaruag, County Roscommon, I assume ‘Ellen Power’ was in fact Eleanor McManaway who married Antonium Power born in 1809.  For Ellen to be listed as the occupant of Runnaruag in 1857, I also assume her husband Antonium Power must have been deceased.”

The Griffiths Valuation entry for Ellen Power, attached to this reply for quick viewing, shows her property was located on a Griffiths Valuation Map at map reference location 2a in Runnaruag. 

This map, like Griffiths Valuation itself, is available to download from the Ask About Ireland website. 

Attached is a copy of the map. The green arrow pinpoints the Griffiths Valuation map location 2, subdivision (a) of Ellen’s house, office, and over 35 acres of land that she had leased in Runnaruag from an Immediate Lessor named James Murphy.

An “office” in Griffiths Valuation could be a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc.

Utilizing the Griffiths Valuation Map and a Google Map overlay from the Ask About Ireland site, I found the location, or approximate location, of Ellen’s lease on the Google Map. 

From the map I accessed the Street View of the area which shows an old farmhouse with a slated roof located just by the side of the road. The Street View is from May 2024, and can be viewed at: https://tinyurl.com/4maa7rxf

Here is another view of the house looking north: https://tinyurl.com/4xburwh7

The house appears to be vacant, but someone is taking care of the place, as you can see new slate roofing tiles over the entrance, and to the right of the entrance, just above the gutters.

I don’t know if this is the house Ellen leased from James Murphy. If not, it would be (or would have been) close to Ellen’s house in Runnaruag. 

A volunteer familiar with Runnaruag should be able to locate the house and road you see in the Google Street Views so that you can walk the area where Ellen Power leased her house and land from James Murphy in the 1850s.

Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

Ireland Reaching Out: Meet and Greet Form
Post to Ireland Reaching Out by Victoria Mail on August 27, 2024 
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation Map
Google Maps
Google Street Views

Hello Dave,

Thank you so much for the time and effort you’ve taken in responding to my post.  I appreciate your willingness to help both with recommending I apply for a volunteer to help me when I visit County Roscommon, and for the hints and links you’ve shared with me in relation to my Power family who lived in the townland of Runnaruag.  

I will definitely fill out the meet and greet form once I know the dates I will be in Roscommon.  

Thanks for sharing the links in relation to the property in Runnaruag.  It would be lovely if I could find any historical images of the farm on which my Power family lived.  It’s interesting that you state the house on the property currently looks vacant.  I understand from one of my ancestry facebook groups, that the property changed hands in recent years.  

Anthony Power and Eleanor McManaway’s son, James Power, appeared in the 1901 and 1911 Census records as living on the property.  He died in 1915 - a bachelor with no offspring.  Although a Terry McManaway was named as the administrator of his estate, I have no idea who inherited James’ ‘assets’.  Given that was over 100 years ago, there may have been several owners before the current one.  

Thanks again for your help.  Much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Dianne 

Hello Dianne,

You’re welcome, and thank you very much for your reply.

If you have time when visit Ireland next year, stop by the Valuation Office in Dublin City. The Valuation Office has what are known as the Current Land Books, which shows the successive owners of property in Ireland from the 1860s up to, I believe, the 1990s. Until the 1970s, these books were written by hand.

The Current Land Books are also known as Revision Books and Cancelled Land Books.

The Current Land Books should tell you who took over the property in Runnaruag after James Power died in 1915.

For a comprehensive explanation of the Current Land Books/Cancelled Books/Revision Books, go to the Irish Genealogy Toolkit link called “Griffiths Valuation Revision Books.”: https://tinyurl.com/2ewrcxvc

If looking through the Current Land Books is something you’d like to do when you’re in Ireland, I recommend making an appointment with the Valuation Office before leaving for Ireland. Just let the Valuation Office know what dates you’ll be in Dublin. For more information and to set up an appointment, go to the Valuation Office “Archive Research” link at: https://www.tailte.ie/en/valuation/archive-research/book-a-public-offic…

Also see the Valuation Office’s “Genealogy” link at: https://www.tailte.ie/en/valuation/archive-research/genealogy/

The address for the Valuation Office is below:

Valuation Office
Block 2, Irish Life Centre,
Abbey Street Lower,
Dublin 1
D01E9X0
----

This Google Map shows the Valuation Office is just north of the River Liffey and Trinity College near Dublin City Centre: https://tinyurl.com/m6r2wwmd

If you do visit the Valuation Office ask one of the officials if they can go over the Griffiths Valuation Map for Ellen Power’s lease in Runnaruag, and confirm that this was the location of her property. That way, you have a second opinion about the location of her property on the Griffiths map from a knowledgeable official. Then too, you’ll know if the house by the side of the road in the Google Street View I provided, is the place where Ellen and her son James had lived in the 19th and 20th centuries.

If you find a volunteer familiar with Runnaruag, they should be able to take you to the property as it is today, or know someone who could take you to the property. 

The first time I visited Ireland many years ago, I went to the Valuation Office, and an official there confirmed the location of my great great grandfather’s property on a Griffiths Valuation Map, and then on a modern map for County Limerick. I rented a car and drove to County Limerick and visited that location, though the original house, probably with a thatched roof, was no longer standing.

Again, thank you for your reply Dianne, it is very much appreciated.

Dave

SOURCES

The Valuation Office, Dublin: Archive Research and Genealogy
Irish Genealogy Toolkit: Griffiths Valuation Revision Books.
Google Maps: Irish Life Centre, Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1

Hi again Dave,

Once again I thank you for your help and advice.  A visit to the Valuation Office sounds like a good plan.  

What a shame the valuation records don’t go back from the early 1700’s as I do know from the 1749 Census of Elphin that John Power resided on the property in Runnaruag at the time.  I think I may have mentioned before, that this John Power must be either my gggg grandfather or ggggg grandfather.  This is what I found on the record:-

“Census 1749 • Runoghue, Elphin, Roscommon, Ireland.  Census of Elphin 1749 record number 6 - John Power and wife (Papt - Roman Catholic) had three children under 14, and had 1 male servant and 1 female servant.”

For your interest, I thought I’d share a recent ‘discovery’ about my family.  I recently submitted a post on the County Roscommon, Ireland Genealogy facebook page, and one of the admin people, Patrick J Carney, posted a reply as follows:-

“The storey goes that £ Power brothers came from Waterford to Roscommon I think sometime after the Cromwellian invasion. The brothers were Protestants  and thatchers by occupation. At that time a Catholic monastery existed in Runnaruag which the brothers were engaged to thatch. At the time there was in existence a Penal law which stated that if a Protestant ousted a Catholic from his lands and took possession of it then by law it became his. One day all the Monks were out on the farm working bar one who looked after the Monastery. One of the brothers persuaded this Monk help him make a hay/straw rope for use on the roof. As the rope was long the Monk had to stet out of the monastery to twist it whereupon the thatcher  Power brother closed the door and took possession. The monks were thus dispossessed and left the lands which were then occupied by the Powers.  The brothers redeemed themselves later in life when they owned lands in neighbouring Flaska where they became Catholic and built a local Church which later doubled as a school.”

Seems a bit strange when my Anthony Power and his wife Eleanor Cotton didn’t own the land, they were tenants of a James Murphy.  

Doesn’t family history research reveal some interesting information?

Have a good day!

Cheers - Dianne 

Thanks again Dave. 

Dianne,

There was a census taken in Elphin Diocese in 1749. It is accessible on the subscription site FindMyPast, and there is information about it on other sites. I don't know if you will find anything there; you might know someone who has a subscription and you never know what you will find.

Best wishes, Kieran

Hello Kieran,

It appears whilst I was typing up my last comment to Dave, you’ve posted your comment - which I’ve only just seen. Thank you for taking the time to offer some assistance.  I appreciate help from anyone who is willing to provide it.  

As you can see from my reply to Dave, I did find a record in the 1749 Census of Elphin which revealed John Power as living at Runnaruag.  Like I said to Dave, I just wish I could connect the dots between John Power and Anthony Power who married Eleanor Cotton.  Obviously from the place of residence, Anthony is either a son or grandson of John Power.  Unfortunately I can’t find any records that magically fill in those years between 1749 and 1793 when Anthony and Eleanor married.  

I actually have a subscription with FindmyPast, which is where I found the record some time ago.  I also subscribe to MyHeritage, Family Search, Roots Ireland, etc., etc.  All of them have been helpful in some way or another in building my Power family tree.  Unfortunately the owners of some of the sites have increased their fees significantly over the past few years, so I may need to consider my options when the renewals are due.  No doubt it’s because family history research has become so popular in recent years.  My research journey began back in the early 2000’s on MyHeritage.com when I was organising a family reunion for my maternal family - the McLeod clan from the Isle of Skye.  Since then a whole new World has opened up in researching family history.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Dianne 

Hello Dianne,

Many thanks for your reply, and I apologize for the delay in responding to your last message, but I was doing some research and found records that I think pertain to your Power ancestors in County Roscommon.

Family history does reveal some very interesting information. 

That’s a great story about the Power brothers coming from Waterford to Roscommon, and as Protestants, taking over the Catholic monastery, and then later becoming Catholic in Flaska. 

Hopefully, members of your family will become as interested as you are in their Irish heritage. 

You’re mentioning Faska in your reply (there’s actually the townlands of Flaskagh Beg and Flaskagh More in the Elphin Civil Parish), prompted me to see if the surname Power was recorded in those two townlands in Griffiths Valuation. I found they were not. Neither was the surname Cotton.

For the Flaskagh townlands, both located in the Civil Parish of Elphin, see the IreAtlas entries: https://tinyurl.com/5da7m4cn

One of the earliest records I uncovered for what I believe to be an ancestor of yours, is for an Antony Power recorded in the Spinning Wheel Survey of 1796. The Spinning Wheel survey is also known as the Flax Growers Bounty. 

Under this survey famers planting an acre or more of flax were awarded 4 spinning wheels. Those growing over 5 acres of flax were awarded a loom. 

Antony Power is recorded in the Flax Growers Survey for 1796. He is found in an index available to search at the failteromhat.com website link: https://www.failteromhat.com/flax1796.php 

The index only notes that Antony was living in the Civil Parish of Elphin, County Roscommon. It doesn’t record the town he was in, or if had been awarded spinning wheels or a loom.

This survey and awarding of spinning wheels, or a loom, tells you that Antony Power and his family were involved with growing and spinning flax for the linen trade, perhaps to supplement their farming income. 

For more information the linen trade in Ireland, see the Ireland Reaching Out link: https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irish-linen-industry-ran-our-ance…

I suspect the Antony Power in the 1796 Flax Grower Survey is the Antony Power who married Eleanore Cotton. 

I next found the baptism transcription of their child, Antony, at the Find My Past website. But I believe you already have this record, which shows the baptism took place in the Elphin Catholic Parish on 3 July 1809.

But, it’s a copy of the original baptism record in Latin that is interesting, in that the baptism gives the residence of Antonio and his wife, Helenor Cotton, and their son Antonium.

A copy of the original baptism is linked to National Library of Ireland website for the Catholic Parish of Elphin. The copy of the original baptism record is attached to this reply. I’ve transcribed the baptism record as best as possible, given it is in Latin, though my transcription varies slightly from the FMP transcription:

July 3. Antonium filium Antonie Power & Helenora           2  8½
Cotton de Renroed    SS Johanes Power &
Margretta Flanagan

Filium is the Latin for “son of.” The “de Renroed” notation is the residence of Antony, Helen, and their son Antony. In a copy of the original baptism record the name of the town looks like “Prenroed,” but after enlarging the image I could see the capital P is actually a capital R. I believe Renroed is the way the priest spelled the townland of Runnaruag.

The double SS is the Latin abbreviation for “Sponsoribus,” meaning sponsors, or godparents. 

Joanes is the Latin for John, who was probably Antony Sr’s brother. Margretta Flanagan could be a friend, or perhaps even a relation to the Power or Cotton families.

The numbers 2  8½ in the right margin of the baptism record shows that Antony and Helenora made a donation of 2 Pence and 8½ Shillings to the church for performing the baptism of their son.

Antony may be the youngest child of Antony and Eleanor.

According to the National Library of Ireland, the Elphin Catholic Parish baptisms begin on 1 January 1809. Marriages begin on 6 May 1807.

I didn’t uncover the baptism transcriptions of any more of Antony and Eleanor’s children at the FMP website following the year 1809, hence the thought that their son Antony may have been their youngest child.

One thing I took away from this research is that Antony and Elenor were likely farm labourers who made additional income by spinning flax for the lucrative linen trade in Ireland. 

The 1796 Flax Grower Survey index shows only one person named Power in County Roscommon, who was awarded a spinning wheel(s) or a loom. This was Antony Power, living in the Civil Parish of Elphin. Indications are, this is your Antony Power. 

What do you think Dianne?

Some final information before closing:

The Catholic Parish of Elphin was one of those Catholic Parishes that recorded some death records before the civil registration of deaths took place in Ireland in 1864.

The are large gaps in the Elphin Catholic Parish death records however. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0556?locale=en

Even though there are gaps in the Elphin Parish deaths, I looked for the FMP death transcriptions of anyone named Power in the Elphin Parish, and found one for Joannes (John) Power, who died in “Flask” on December 1, 1837. See the FMP transcription at:  
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBUR%2F0245328&tab=…

A copy of his original church death record is attached to this reply. 

The death record does not indicate whether John died in Flaskagh Beg or Flaskagh More, or how old he was when he died. He may be Antony Power’s brother, or perhaps a nephew.

Thank you very much again for your reply Dianne.

With Best Wishes in your continued research.

Dave

SOURCES

IreAtlas Townland Data Base: Flaskagh Beg and Flaskagh More County Roscommon
Find My Past: Irish Linen Industry Ran By Our Ancestors: Flax Growers List of 1796
Find My Past: Elphin, County Roscommon Catholic Parish Registers
National Library of Ireland