Thomson
The Salrock/Salruck estate, barony of Ballynahinch, county Galway, originally belonged to the Miller family of Milford, parish of Kilmainemore, county Mayo. In 1803 it was estimated to contain approximately 8000 statute acres stretching along the western coastline from the Killary Harbour to Cleggan. In 1815 Colonel Alexander Thomson married the widow of General Charles Miller who was killed in the Peninsular War. Colonel Thomson had some claim on the Milford estate and after a protracted law suit he purchased in lieu of this claim the Salruck property in the early 1830s. Members of his family continued to follow military careers and one of them was agent to Mitchell Henry at Kylemore Abbey. In 1876 the Thomsons still owned an estate of over 8000 acres in county Galway. 1332 acres of their estate was sold to the Congested Districts' Board on 2 Apr 1897 and by March 1916 a final offer for a further 7,819 acres had been accepted by the family. Alexander Thomson leased 13 acres of Illaunroe to Sir William Wilde in 1853 and the farm of Dernasliggan, 250 acres on the edge of the Killary, to Alexander C. Lambert in 1854. Descendants of the family still live at Salruck House and own some land in the locality.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salrock | Salrock | Ballynakill | Clifden | Cushkillary 30 | Ballynahinch | Galway |
OSI Ref: L774 638
OS Sheet: 10 Discovery map: 37 |
|
Archival sources
- Milford Papers, contact John Ormsby, Milford, Kilmaine, Co Mayo; Private Possession
- Salruck Papers, contact Bowen Ormsby, Salruck, Lettergesh, Renvyle, Co Galway; Private Possession
- Salruck photos. 022/090 & 117/086; Irish Architectural Archive
Contemporary printed sources
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 299
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Clifden Union, 36
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. '' 18th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland'', [Cd 4927] HC 1909, xvi. Appendix XXXII: 134
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: 311
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''24th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland'', [Cd 8356], HC 1916, vi, 564-586. Appendix VIII: 48
- 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: 149.
Modern printed sources
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 254
- TULLY CROSS GUILD IRISH COUNTRYWOMEN'S ASSOCIATION, ''Portrait of a Parish, Ballynakill, Connemara''. Tully Cross I.C.A., 1985: 35-40 & 58
- HEANEY, Henry (ed). ''The Irish Journals of Robert Graham of Redgorton''. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1999: 263
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Special Lists.: List of Salruck Papers. No. 380