Browne (Coolaran, Kilskeagh & Mountkelly)
The Browne's lands at Coolaran were confiscated by the Cromwelllian Commissioners but restored again by Charles II by patent dated 1677, when Oliver Browne was granted 2,481 acres in the baronies of Athenry and Dunmore, including "Cularan". They lost much of their estate in the 18th century through marriage and disputes between family members, resulting in sales to the Mahons of Belleville and the Lamberts, who established the Castle Ellen estate from former Browne property. In 1788 Dominick Browne of Kilskeagh and Ashford, parish of Cong, married Emily a granddaughter of John Browne of Westport, 1st Earl of Altamont. Their eldest son Robert Browne, Ranger of the Curragh, county Kildare, held lands in the parishes of Athenry and Lackagh, barony of Clare, county Galway in the 1850s. Their second son, John William Browne, was a Dublin solicitor, who acted as agent for the Marquess of Sligo's county Galway estate. In 1846 J.W. Browne bought the lease of Mount Kelly estate in the parish of Boyounagh, barony of Ballymoe, from Henry Lanauze. Mount Kelly was part of the Marquess of Sligo's estates leased to Christopher Kelly Bellew in the late 18th century and in 1800 to Lanauze. Hussey de Burgh records that Robert J. Browne owned over 2,000 acres in county Galway in the 1870s and James Browne of Mountkelly owned 1,905 acres. http://www.glenamaddy.net/files/history/browne.shtml
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilskeagh | Kilskeagh | Athenry | Galway | Belleville 65 | Clare | Galway |
OSI Ref: M478 351
OS Sheet: 71 Discovery map: 46 |
|
| Mount Kelly | Mountkelly | Boyounagh | Glennamaddy | Glennamaddy 76 | Ballymoe | Galway |
OSI Ref: M639 617
OS Sheet: 18 Discovery map: 39 |
|
| Coolaran | Coolaran | Athenry | Galway | Lackaghbeg 68 | Clare | Galway |
OSI Ref: M443 355
OS Sheet: 70 Discovery map: 39 |
|
Archival sources
- Copy of confirmation of arms to John Clement Parker of Kilskeagh and his wife Emily, daughter of Robert Browne, Ranger of the Curragh, 3 May 1915. GO MS 111B: 11; National Library of Ireland
- Copy of confirmation of arms to Dominick Browne of Kilskeagh, Co Galway, 4 May 1819. GO MS 106: 120; National Library of Ireland
- Copy of grant of arms to Robert Browne, Ranger of the Curragh of Kildare, son & heir of Dominick Browne of Coolarne & Kilskeagh, 24 Dec 1830. GO MS 107: 42-43; National Library of Ireland
- Westport Estate Papers, Collection List 78; National Library of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- LEET, Ambrose. ''A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland''. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 249 (Kilskeagh)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 293
- HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. ''The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland''. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie] : 56
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix I, Grants under Acts of Settlement: 237
Modern printed sources
- BURKE, Sir Bernard. ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Ireland''. London: Harrison & Sons, 1904: 65
- MELVIN, Patrick. The Galway Tribes as Landowners and Gentry. In MORAN, Gerard (ed). ''Galway: History & Society''. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1996 : 319-374
- O'HART, John. ''The Irish and Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry when Cromwell came to Ireland''. Dublin: M.H.Gill & Son, 1884: 603-607