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Hello,

I have a baptismal record for my great-grandmother's sister, Mary Foley, baptised 1852. The place of residence in the parish register for her parents, Henry Foley and Joan Cuggeran, was Rockmount. I have long worked with the understanding that the place name mentioned in a baptismal record (when one was named) was the residence of the family. Please correct me if that is not true.

No Foley was named in the Tithe Applotment Books of 1824 in Rockmount, although surnames of Cleary, Kennedy, Shaughnessy, McInertney, Finucane, Corbett, Egan and Hennessy were recorded in Rockmount. I know these names were the "occupiers" of titheable lands, and the actual heads of households within a townland were not really relevant to the purpose of the survey, as multiple families could have been living together in one dwelling place or two cabins on a plot of land, etc., and "occupier" and "head of household" were different and separate designations. However, I have not been able to establish a link with either Henry or Joan (aka Joanna and Susan) to any of those surnames.

Henry's father, Timothy Foley, was at Erribul in TABs. The place name of Rockmount disappeared by the 1842 Ordinance Survey, and so it does not appear on a map. I'm hoping to learn exactly where on a map this place would have been. I cannot find any reference to a map for this area connected with TABs. If I can find that out, maybe I can get a better handle on which family Henry and Joan would have been living with.

Furthermore, Henry was not named as "occupier" in the Griffiths Valuation of 1855, either, although subsequent children were born at Erribul, and Patrick Foley was head of household in Erribul for Griffith's. Clearly, Henry was not the first-born male. I have never found another head of household named Foley in Erribul except Patrick's direct lineage in both directions, and so I presume that any Foley who was born or lived or died at Erribul would be related to this line. Please correct me if I am wrong about that. So.... Two questions:

1. What place name took over where Rockmount would have been situated?

2. With whom were Henry and Joan living in 1852 when Mary was born?

Thank you,

Jeanne

jeannemarge

Sunday 16th Sep 2018, 06:45PM

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  • The description given in Lewis Topographical Dictionary of 1837 for the town and (civil) parish of Kildysart/Killadysert includes the following details for the associated Catholic parish for the area :

    "In the R. C. divisions this parish gives name to a union or district, which also comprises the parish of Kilfedane, and contains the chapels of Kildysart, Coulmeen (or Rockmount) and Cranny bridge..."

    The chapel is shown in the 1st edition OSI map c1840 at Coolmeen townland - see this link (Geohive.ie/OSI). There's no mention of Rockmount that I can see on the map, but appears to have been an old name, possibly used for part of the townland later called Coulmeen/Coolmeen.

    Shane Wilson, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Sunday 16th Sep 2018, 10:05PM
  • Thanks, Shanew147. I appreciate your feedback.

    jeannemarge

    Tuesday 18th Sep 2018, 01:26AM
  • Dear Jeannemarge:

    I have enquired about the name "Rockmount" through the Local Studies Centre at the Clare Library and here is the story that I was given:

     

    " It is just a placename not a townland, the townland is Coolmeen
    and it is located near and around the present Coolmeen church. The area is
    covered in crag/rock and legend has it that St Senan knelt and prayed there in
    search of his horse and the prints of the horses hooves are in Slievedooley
    and his knees are on a rock in Rockmount"

    I hope that this answers your question.  You might consider the Clare Library website and our wonderful Local Studies Centre as good sources for further research.

    Kind regards,

    Jane.

    The website for the Local Studies Centre is:  http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/local-studies/locstudi1.htm

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Tuesday 18th Sep 2018, 04:48PM
  • Thanks so much, Jane. I did try to search it on clarelibrary.ie, but I think I stopped short of what you found. I looked only in the townland listing.

    Thanks again,

    Jeanne

    jeannemarge

    Friday 21st Sep 2018, 12:00AM
  • You are very welcome, Jeanne!  Let us know how your research proceeds.

     

    All the best,

     

    Jane

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Friday 21st Sep 2018, 09:24AM

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