Boyounagh More (Middletown)

Boyounagh More (Leagan Gaeilge – Buíbheanach Mór) 

The townland of Boyounagh More, or Middletown as it is more commonly known, is situated four kilometres west of Glenamaddy Town in north-east County Galway. The Irish form of the townland name may be translated as ‘the big yellow marsh”, buidhe(buí) meaning yellow, aibhneach possibly meaning marsh and mór meaning big, or large. Other forms of the townland name used in the past were Bweeaunaghmore, Big Boyounagh, Buidhe Aibhneach, Buidhe Abhnach and Buoiowanaghmore.

Distinctive Features:

  • The Yellow River flows westward in the northern part of the townland.
  • There is a Children’s Burial Ground in the townland but it is not registered with the National Monuments Service and is not mapped.
  • The 1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map shows the locations of about forty dwelling in Boyounagh More. One cluster containing about fifteen houses fitting the definition of a traditional clachan village was situated in the centre of the townland close to the boundary with Eskeromullacaun (Esker). Two other clusters of about ten dwellings lay to the west and south west while a fourth cluster of five house was situated along Middletown Road close to the Glenamaddy to Tuam Road.

1656-58 Down Survey: 

There is no information available on the townland of Boyounagh More (Middletown) in the Down Survey.

1823 – 1838 Tithe Applotment Books: 

Surviving documentation of the Tithe Applotment Books is in poor condition making it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to decipher the names of landholders. In so far as it can be ascertained the only Catholic landholders in the townland of Middletown who paid the tithe (tax) levied to support the Established Church (Church of Ireland) were Pat Canach, John Connelly and Daniel Connelly. Protestant occupiers of agricultural holdings were exempt from this tax.

1838 O’Donovan’s Field Name Books: 

O’Donovan describes the townland as follows – “About 1/2 of this townland is bog chiefly situated in the East portion. There is a small Lough situated in the bog 61/2 chains from the N.E. boundary, there is a pool of water in the S.E. portion, a river passes through the N.W portion. The remainder of the townland is tillage and pasture.”

1856 Griffith’s Valuation: 

The townland covers an area of 714 acres 3 roods 16 perches and the total rateable valuation of the land and buildings combined amounted to £162 11s 0d. The occupiers in the townland of Boyounagh More are given as – Mannion (4), Concaugh (3), Connelly (2), Darmody (2), Slattery (2), Cornelly (2), Walsh (2), Cunnally, Glynn, Cooney, Keavany, Connolly, Connell, Gleeson and Murphy. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation the landlord of the townland was Martin McDonnell.

Adjoining Townlands: 

The following townlands share a border with Boyounagh More (Middletown): 

CashelCloonkeenCultiafaddaLoughpark and Eskeromullacaun (Esker).

Census Records: 

Population and Household data for the townland of Boyounagh More:

Glenamaddy and the Irish Folklore Collections:

The article posted on this website under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab provides an overview of the folklore material submitted by Glenamaddy parishioners to the National Folklore Commission, now known as the Irish Folklore Collections. It also explains the background to the 1937 Schools’ Collection (Bailiúchán na Scol) project which has good representation from a parish perspective.

The Irish Folklore Collections housed in the Folklore Department of University College Dublin contain a treasure trove of folklore material, some of which is accessible online. Both the Main Manuscript Collection and the Schools’ Collection contain a considerable number of submissions from collectors and informants who resided in the parish of Glenamaddy. The quick reference directories featured in the ‘Parish > Townlands’ section of this website complement the user-friendly search features of the dúcas.ie website and are helpful in tracking Schools’ Collection submissions associated with townlands. Submissions are categorised under – School, Teacher, Language, Volume Number, Page Number, Collector, Collector’s Townland, Informant and Informant’s Townland. Where applicable, Schools’ Collection directories showing online townland-related submissions appear at the end of the following townland posts on this website – BallinapeakaBallinastackBarnaBoyounagh_More (Middletown),_BushtownCashelClassaghroeCloonacross,  Clooncon_EastClooncon_WestCloonkeenCultiafadda,  Eskeromullacaun (Esker), FelimsparkGlenamaddyGortaganny, Gortnagier,  KiltullaghKnockauns,  Lisheenaheltia,  LoughparkMeelick, Scotland, Shannagh_More, Stonetown and Woodfield.

Schools’ Collection Townland-Related Quick Reference Directory:

Parish folklore submissions contained in the Schools’ Collection are also accessible online via the following links:-

Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613680

Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613681 

Glenamaddy Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613677

Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613678

Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613679 

Gort na Léime National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569061   

Gort na Léime National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569062 

Lisheenaheltia Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613675 

Lisheenaheltia Boys’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613676    

Glenamaddy submissions which form part of the Main Manuscript Collection are not posted online but may be examined in the reading room of the Folklore Department in U.C.D., Belfield, Dublin 4. Typed versions of some of the parish contributions contained in the Main Manuscript Collection are published under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab on this website.   

Quick Reference Directory of Glenamaddy folklore submissions in the Main Manuscript Collection:-

Author:Pat Keaveny

Sources:

Townlands in County Galway

1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map

Place Name Books of Galway

The Down Survey of Ireland

The Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837

Griffith Valuation – Ask About Ireland

Central Statistics Office

National Archives: Census Reports 1901/1911

Essex University: Historic Population Census Reports

Historic Environment Viewfinder