Droma Bheag -Drummaveg

Drummaveg/ Droma Bheag is a small farming, Gaeltacht townland in theTaobh Garbh, side of the Civil and Roman Catholic parish of Moycullen, in the Electoral Division of Tullokyne. A central townland. Bounded on North and West by Drimmavohaun, on East.

by Carhoolustraan and Gurtaloughlin, on S. by Lealetter and on West by Drimmavohaun. The total area is circa 272 acres. It is within the Moycullen Bogs Natural Heritage Area.

Topography and Feature

Drummaveg is on an elevated site, with panoramic views over Lough Corrib, The Twelve Bens, and the Plains of Galway to the Northeast. There are scattered portions of this townland in cultivation. The greater part is a moorish wet sort of land. A stream called Sruffaundimmavohaun is the boundary between Drimmaveg and Drimmavoher and Gurtnamona E. townlands. View- O’Donovan field Names and Logainm.ie.

The Origin of the Townland name

Logainm, – shows the name Droma Bheag means small ridge.

Ciallaíonn drom nó druim cnoc, ach go háirithe cnoc atá cosúil le droim ar dhuine. Ciallaíonn Droma Bheag, mar sin, cnoc beag. Our own Publication Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir gives this explanation – Drom or Druim means a ridge or long hill. Drumabeg or Druimabeg is a long, small ridge or hill.

See Appendices 1-4 View- O’Donovan field Names and Logainm.ie.

Places of Cultural/Historical Interest

The rough terrain is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including several varieties of moss, insect-eating plants, lichen, and furze. There are fertile stonewalled fields in the lower part of the Townland.

Field and other local names:

See the list of field names supplied by Tomás MacFhlannchada/Tomás Clancy in Appendix 6

Land ownership, tenants and census records

Down Survey 1656-1658 – No apparent record

Land Valuation Records

You can research details of landlords and tenants for your townland from 1862 onwards. by visiting the Valuation Office (now part of Tailte Eireann), in the Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey St., Dublin 1

Census Information – See Table 1 and Table 2

Blake Census Covering the Years (1793-1813): There was no data for this townland in the Blake Census. It was included in the area referred to as ‘Mountains’ by Father Blake, in the An Cnoc/Knock section of this book.

Tithe Applotment Books 1823-38: See Table 2

The Griffith Valuation Records (1847-64):  The Landlord was, George E Burke. See Appendix 5

Census 1841 to 1891: The only records available for the period between 1841 and 1891 are the total number of houses and population.

Census 1901 and 1911 – View, The National Archives of Ireland

Table 1 – Houses and Population: Blakes Census to 1911 Census

Table 2 – Blakes Census, Tithe Applotment, Griffith’s Valuation, 1901 and 1911 Census

Long-term families in Drummaveg

Tow of the families mentioned in the Tithe Applotment records, there are still descendants of Clancy’s and Earners, present day Lydons living in Drummaveg.

People of Drummaveg  present-day

The landholders of this townland leased their small holdings from various landlords until 1903, when they got absolute ownership of their holdings. The traditional way of life existed from the famine years well into the 1960s. Over this time, rural life changed extraordinarily little.

Up until the 1980s they sowed potatoes, vegetables, and corn and reared beef, pork, and poultry for the local markets. They made butter for sale and raised hens, and sold the eggs.

Fair days were held in Spiddal and in the Fair Green Galway, for cattle, sheep and horses, and a pig fair was held in the Fair Green, Moycullen.

Today, the farm family members combine off-farm work with part-time farming, including saving enough turf for their own needs.

Notable Drummaveg People

See pastimes below.

Pastimes

Football and hurling are strong in Drummaveg, members of the Clancy, Faherty and Lydon families represented Moycullen and Galway teams in all grades over the years. Paul Clancy won senior All-Ireland medals in 1998 and 2021. Martin Clancy was a noted golfer in Dublin in the twenties and thirties. Johnny Clancy was an accomplished boxer in the seventies. See Appendix 5.

Education

Scoil Mhuire Maigh Cuilinn is the local primary school for Drummaveg.

Photo Album to be supplied.

No photos in Geograph – Photographs in the green book p 393

References

• https://www.townlands.ie
• Place names of Galway, Galwaylibrary.ie/place, O’Donovan’s field name books:
• logainm.ie The Placenames Database of Ireland was created in collaboration with The Placenames Branch (Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht)
• Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir – Cumann Staire Ruaidhrí Uí Fhlaitheartaigh
• Maigh Cuilinn a Táisc agus a Tuairisc – Pádraic Breathnach
• Blake Census – moycullen.galwaycommunityheritage.org
• Down Survey 1656-1658, – http://downsurvey.tcd.ie › down-survey-maps
• Tithe Applotment Books – http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie ›
• http://www.askaboutireland.ie › griffith -valuation
• Land Valuations Records, Valuation Office, Abbey Street Dublin
• Blake Census – moycullen.galwaycommunityheritage.org
• 1841-1891 Census figures www.histpop.org
• Census of Ireland 1901/1911 National Archives nationalarchives.ie/help/history
• Prompt list – https://moycullen.galwaycommunityheritage.org. 
• General information and Place Names, Walter McDonagh.
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2