Cowan
Joseph H. Cowan was in possession of an estate in the baronies of Leitrim and Longford, county Galway, at the time of Griffith's Valuation. Derrywillan House, on the Leitrim part of the estate, was recorded as vacant at the time. This source also records Joseph Cowan as the immediate lessor of many properties in the town of Eyrecourt and the holder of several townlands in the parishes of Fahy and Meelick, both in the barony of Longford. The demesne and house at Prospect were offered for sale in the Landed Estates court in November 1863. The schedule indicates that Rev. John Usher had leased Prospect to Joseph Henry Cowan for three lives from February 1853. By the 1870s Captain Patrick Cowan, of Prospect, Eyrecourt, held over 2000 acres in county Galway. At the same time Stephen Cowan of Gortnamona, was the owner of over 1200 acres. On 30 July 1864 Stephen Cowan married Helena Skerrett of Finavarra, Ballyvaghan, county Clare. Capt. Stephen Cowan held about 200 acres of untenanted land in the area in 1906.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrywillan House | Tynagh | Tynagh | Portumna | Tynagh 184 | Leitrim | Galway |
OSI Ref: M757112
OS Sheet: 117 Discovery map: 53 |
|
| Tully | Tully | Meelick | Portumna | Eyrecourt | Longford | Galway |
OSI Ref: M896157
OS Sheet: 108 Discovery map: 53 |
|
| Prospect (Meelick) | Prospect Demesne | Meelick | Portumna | Meelick 176 | Longford | Galway |
OSI Ref: M910153
OS Sheet: 108 Discovery map: 53 |
|
Archival sources
- Landed Estates Court rentals (O'Brien), Usher estate, 20 November 1863, Vol 70, MRGS 39/035. (Microfilm copy at NUIG).; National Archives of Ireland
- Prospect (Eyrecourt). Photographs. 024/081.; Irish Architectural Archive
- Personal and estate accounts of William Joseph Skerrett of Finavarra, 1857-1867. MS 19,476; National Library of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Portumna Union, 82 & 83.
- 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] : 104
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 294.
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of names of proprietors and area and valuation of properties in counties in Ireland, held in fee or perpetuity or long leases at chief rents,'' 1876. (412) LXXX. 395: 148.
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: 334.