Sonnagh West (Leagan Gaeilge – Sonnach Thiar): The townland of Sonnagh West is situated five kilometres east of the town of Glenamaddy in north east County Galway. The dictionary translation of sonnach is a stockade. Thiar is the Irish for west. Fr Conway interpreted the sonnach in the early 1900s as a wall, castle, or fortress. O’Donovan asserted in the Field Name Books in the 1830s that ‘Sionach’ signified a mound or rampart. Other forms of the townland name are Sionach, Sunnagh West and Shinnagh.
Distinctive Features:
• A cluster of twenty two houses fitting the definition of a traditional clachan called Sunnagh Village straddles the boundary between Sonnagh West and Sonnagh East.
1656-58 Down Survey: The Down Survey name of the townland is given as Shyanagh and the owners as Keadagh Kelly and Alaxander Beatach who were both Catholics and Silvester Hehir who was a Protestant. The unprofitable land was adjudged to be 184 plantation acres, the profitable land came to 88 acres. The 88 profitable acres were forfeited under the Cromwellian Act of Settlement.
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 Catholic landholders in the townland of ‘Sunnagh’ who paid the tithe (tax) levied to support the Established Church (Church of Ireland) were James Dowd and Harry Mitchell. Protestant occupiers of agricultural holdings were exempt from this tax.
1838 O’Donovan’s Field Name Books: O’Donovan described Sonnagh West in the Field Name Books as follows – “There are three portions of bog situated in the North portion of this townland. Sunnagh village is on the E. and West side of the East boundary. The remainder of the land is tillage and pasture.”
1856 Griffith’s Valuation: The townland covered an area of 139 acres 0 rood 38 perches and the total rateable valuation of the land and buildings combined amounted to £50 0s 0d.
At the time of Griffith’s Valuation there was only one occupier in the townland of Sonnagh West by the name of William Cornwall. The landlord was John W. Browne.
Adjoining Townlands: The following townlands share a border with Sonnagh West – Ballyhard, Sonnagh West, Lisnageeragh (Ballynakill Parish) and Frass
Census Records: Population and Household data for the townland of Sonnagh West:
| Census Years | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 2011 |
| Population | 28 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Households | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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 – Ballinapeaka, Ballinastack, Barna, Boyounagh More (Middletown), Bushtwon, Cashel, Classaghroe, Cloonacross, Clooncon East, Clooncon West, Cloonkeen, Cultiafadda, Eskeromullacaun (Esker), Felimspark, Glenamaddy, Gortaganny, Gortnagier, Kiltullagh, Knockauns, Lisheenaheltia, Loughpark, Meelick, Scotland, Shannagh More, Stonetown and Woodfield.
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
Historical Notes on the Parish of Glenamaddy. Fr Walter Conway