Kirwan (Cregg)
The Kirwans of Galway city were established at Cregg Castle in the parish of Annaghdown, barony of Clare, county Galway, by the mid 17th century. Under the Acts of Settlement they were regranted 3,634 acres. Their estate included lands in the parishes of Annaghdown, Lackagh and Kilcoona, barony of Clare, Dunmore and Addergoole, barony of Dunmore, county Galway and in the barony of Clanmorris, county Mayo. In November 1856 they advertised an estate of 5,885 acres for sale in the Encumbered Estates' Court and are recorded as still owning 4,308 acres in the 1870s. In 1803 Patrick Kirwan leased Cregg Castle and demesne to Francis Blake and went to live at nearby Baunmore, where his descendants were still resident in the early 20th century. Francis Blake is reputed to have won Cregg Castle in a game of cards. Richard Kirwan, the scientist was an 18th century member of this family. In 1856 Richard Andrew Hyacinth Kirwan advertised for sale 5,885 acres in the baronies of Dunmore and Clare. These lots were eventually sold in May 1857 to Nicholas Kirwan and Mr. Courtney. Parts of the estate of Denis Agar Richard Kirwan were vested in the Congested Districts' Board in July 1906 and April 1907 and negotiations were in progress for a further 1,000+ acre in March 1916.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cregg Castle | Cregg | Annaghdown | Galway | Liscananun 69 | Clare | Galway |
OSI Ref: M357 376
OS Sheet: 69 Discovery map: 46 |
|
| Baunmore | Baunmore | Annaghdown | Galway | Liscananaun | Clare | Galway |
OSI Ref: M372375
OS Sheet: 69 Discovery map: 46 |
|
Archival sources
- Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Kirwan, 6 Nov 1856 & 21 May 1857, Vols 42 & 45, MRGS 39/020 & 39/022, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Account books of rents received on the Kirwan estate by Patrick Nestor, bailiff, 1849-1854 & 1861-1901. MSS 7990-7993; National Library of Ireland
- Confirmation of arms to Sir John Waters Kirwan of Perth, Australia, a descendant of the Kirwans of Woodfield and Cregg, 10 Aug 1931. GO MS 111d: 53-54; National Library of Ireland
- Pedigree of Kirwan of Cregg, Curraghan, Woodfield, Correnante, c 1650-c 1800. GO MS 112: 329a-330; National Library of Ireland
- Manuscript map of part of Conagher, [parish & barony of Dunmore], Co Galway, traced by R.A.H. Kirwan, Kirwan estate map, mid 19th cent. 21.F.76(26); National Library of Ireland
- Rentals of the estate of Richard H. Kirwan (and later of Martin O. Kirwan) in the barony of Dunmore, Co Galway, 1873-1904. MSS 4314-4316; National Library of Ireland
- Encumbered Estates Court Rental, Kirwan, 6 Nov 1856, baronies of Dunmore & Clare. M24,247; Galway County Library
- F.S. Bourke Collection, 3 volumes of information and anecdotes about the Kirwans of Woodfield and other Co Galway families, includes family tree of the Kirwan family, 19th century. MSS 9854-9856; National Library of Ireland
- Cregg Castle photos & cuttings. 030/057; 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: 297
- DUTTON, Hely. ''Statistical and agricultural survey of the county of Galway''. Dublin: Royal Dublin Society, 1824. : 414
- TAYLOR, George & SKINNER, Andrew. ''Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783''. Facsimile of 2nd edition. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969: 211 & 218
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : 215 (Baunmore)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix I, Grants under Acts of Settlement: 246
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''24th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland'', [Cd 8356], HC 1916, vi, 564-586. Appendix VIII: 47
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. '' 18th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland'', [Cd 4927] HC 1909, xvi. Appendix XXXII: 139 & 141
- 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] : 253
- 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.
- WILSON, William. ''The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland''. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 398 (Cregg Castle)
Modern printed sources
- ''Jnl. of the Galway Family History Society : Galway Roots'': GOLDING, Patrick. The Kirwans. II (1994), 56-61
- ''Jnl. of the Galway Family History Society : Galway Roots'': MURRAY, Margaret. Cregg Castle, Corrandulla, Co Galway. I (1993), 47-48
- EUSTACE, P. Beryl (ed.). ''Registry of Deeds, Dublin: Abstracts of Wills''. Dublin: Stationery Office, 1954: II, 236
- BURKE, Sir Bernard. ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Ireland''. London: Harrison & Sons, 1904: 309
- MELVIN, Patrick. The Galway Tribes as Landowners and Gentry. In MORAN, Gerard (ed). ''Galway: History & Society''. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1996 : 319-374
- ''The Galway Reader'': Galway Profiles 3. Richard Kirwan, II Nos. 1 & 2 (1949), 66-71
- ''Jnl. of the Galway Family History Society : Galway Roots'': Family tree of Kirwans of Cregg. II (1994), 59-60
- ''Freeman's Journal'': Encumbered Estates Court sale reports, 22 May 1857, p.4.