Morris (Spiddle)
In 1684, George Morris who had served in the army of King James II married Catherine Fitzpatrick and through this marriage the Morris family gained land in the parish of Killannin, barony of Moycullen, county Galway. Beggan writes that the Morris family purchased land at Spiddle from the sale of part of the estate of Patrick Sarsfield Comyn in the early 1860s. In the second half of the 19th century Michael Morris was a prominent lawyer and judge and was made a Baronet in 1885 and 1st Lord Killanin in 1900. He owned 1274 acres in county Galway in the 1870s and his brother George Morris of Wellpark owned 748 acres. Lord Killanin sold an estate of 2,557 acres to the Congested Districts' Board on 31 Mar 1914. Michael Morris, 3rd Lord Killanin, was President of the International Olympic Committee 1972-1980.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiddle House | Bohoona East | Killannin | Galway | Spiddle | Moycullen | Galway |
OSI Ref: M125224
OS Sheet: 92 Discovery map: 45 |
|
| Furzepark House | Treanlaur | Ballynacourty | Galway | Ballynacourty 53 | Dunkellin | Galway |
OSI Ref: M362218
OS Sheet: 95 Discovery map: 46 |
|
| Wellpark | Wellpark | St Nicholas | Galway | Galway East Urban 42 | Galway | Galway |
OSI Ref: M313 263
OS Sheet: 82 Discovery map: 45 |
Archival sources
- Copy of confirmation of arms to descendants of James Morris and his grandson the Rt Hon Michael Morris, Lord Chief Jusice of Common Pleas of Spiddal, 7 Sept 1885. GO MS110: 69-70; National Library of Ireland
- Draft pedigree of Morris of Galway and of others, c 1710-1950. GO MS 816: 19; National Library of Ireland
- Copy sale of Galway town properties by the Landed Estates' Court to the Rt Hon Michael Morris, 25 Apr 1868. 999/390/10; National Archives of Ireland
- Spiddal House sale catalogue, June 1978. 092/075; Irish Architectural Archive
Contemporary printed sources
- 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] : 327
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 298
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''24th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland'', [Cd 8356], HC 1916, vi, 564-586. Appendix VIII: 47
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Galway Union, 173 (Treanlaur)
Modern printed sources
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 262-263
- SEMPLE, Maurice. ''By the Corribside''. Galway: the author, 1981: 174
- SHEERIN, Norbert. ''Renmore and its environs: An Historical Perspective''. Galway: Renmore Residents Association, 2000: 37-44
- MOSLEY, Charles (ed). ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage''. Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999: I, 1574
- BEGGAN, G. ''The Political Lives and Times of the Comyns of Woodstock'', unpublished, 2003. (Copy in NUIG): 34, 90-91
- ''Jnl. of the Galway Family History Society : Galway Roots'': Big Houses of Co Galway. I (1993), 42
- MELVIN, Patrick. The Galway Tribes as Landowners and Gentry. In MORAN, Gerard (ed). ''Galway: History & Society''. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1996 : 319-374
- WYNNE, Maud. ''An Irishman and his family: Lord Morris and Killanin''. London: J. Murray, 1937: All