Ceathrú an Loistreáin-Carrowlustraun

Carrowlustraun/ Ceathrú an Loistreáin is a small farming, Gaeltacht townland in the, Taobh Garbh, side of the Civil and Roman Catholic parish of Moycullen, in the Electoral Division of  Tullokyne. Carrowlustraun borders the following other townlands: Drimcong to the north, Drimmavohaun and Drummaveg to the west, Gortnamona East to the north and Gortyloughlin to the south. The total area is c118 acres. It is within the Moycullen Bogs Natural Heritage Area.

Topography and Feature

Carrowlustraun is on an elevated site, with panoramic views over Lough Corrib, The Twelve Bens, and the Plains of Galway to the Northeast.  See Places of Cultural/Historical Interest below.

The Origin of the Townland name

Logainm, – shows the name Ceathrú an Loistreáin, which means quarterland. Our own Publication, Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir, provides this explanation.

”Síltear gur loisceadh arbhar san áit seo agus gur as an gcleachtas seo a tháinig an t-ainm. It is thought that Carrowlustraun was a place for the grinding or singeing of corn and hence the name, literally the place/quarter of the grinding.”

Places of Cultural/Historical Interest

Townland History and Description- Extract from Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir by Tomás Maclochlainn

”Ceathrú Loistreáin lies south of the N59, the Droma Bhótháin stream defining its western boundary. The disused sandpit, one mile west of Maigh Cuilinn, clearly shows where the limestone of An Taobh Mín adjoins the gravel and granite of the southern half of the parish. In the nineteenth century thirteen families lived off this acidic hillside. Now its main features are a Connemara pony stud and a holiday village. There are about a dozen modern homes now where fifty years ago Josie and Annie Clancy’s two storey and Martin Bane’s cottage were the only houses.

Seán Clancy, Rás Tailteann cyclist; Joe Maclochlainn and Ray Silke, Galway County footballers are well known athletes associated with Ceathrú Loistreáin. The northern half of the townland, An Aill Fhraoigh was reclaimed in the fifties for Seán Maclochlainn by Tadhg Shaughnessy’s bulldozer. Willie Power was tragically killed in the sandpit in the mid-sixties. Wire fencing with oak stakes secured it in the seventies. Willow, mountain ash, whitethorn, blackthorn, downy birch, hazel and oak abound. Ferns, briars and furze invade. The guilder berries, hazelnuts, rosehips, haws, sloes, wild strawberries and blackberries provide wild food. Wood anemones, dandelions, and primroses give colour.

The unnamed graves, Cnocán Fhíoruisce, the struggling cherry, the occasional crab apple, the basket maker’s neglected hazelrows, the one-roomed ruin suggests an earthier, earlier culture.”

Tomás Maclochlainn

Sceach – Sliocht as Maigh Cuilinn a Táisc agus a Tuairisc – Pádraic Breathnach

”Is ar an mbaile seo atá Sceach Sheáin Uí Eidhin. Fear siúil ba ea Seán agus ligeadh sé a scíth le hais an chrainn seo ar sceach gheall í. Ba é féin a chuir an crann, tá sé ráite, ba í an chéad chrann í gConnachta i. Nuair a leagadh faoi Dheireadh I tháinig fuil aisti agus bhásaigh an té a chonaic.”

The old road at Sceach was a notorious frost black spot. When my uncle Dennis visited us years ago, the first thing he was asked was if ‘the frost was bad at Sceach’.

Field and other local names:

Land ownership, tenants, and census records!

Down Survey 1656-1658 – No apparent records

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 of Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir publication.

Tithe Applotment Books 1823-38: No apparent records.

The Griffith Valuation Records (1847-64): There were two households – See Table 2. The Landlord was, George E Burke.  Bartholomew Kenny and Patrick Earner had land in the Townland.

Census 1841 to 1891: The only records available for the period between 1841 and 1891 are the total number of houses and population. Interestingly, those records show the number of houses in the Townland in 1851 and 1861 was six, whilst the Griffith Valuation only shows two households.

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 Carrowlustraun

of the Griffith Valuation records, there are no descendants now in Carrowlustraun.

Photographs in the green book p224

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 courtesy of Tomás Maclochlainn report in (Maigh Cuilinn a Muintir & Lorg)

Appendix 1