Mayo's Clooncundra Heritage Group launch historical occupation report
Image 1 of 5
John McDonagh, Tom Burke, Ann Vera Burke, Sean Naughton and Pauline McDonagh at the Clooncundra heritage launch in Belcarra Community Centre.Image 2 of 5
Guest speaker Dr. Michael O’Connor with Mary Fitzgerald.Image 3 of 5
Devin Burke presents a copy of the report to Deirdre Cunningham, heritage officer at Mayo County Council.Image 4 of 5
Jackie Biggins in the audience at the launch.Image 5 of 5
Catherine Joyce and Aine Fox playing at the launch.THE Clooncundra Heritage Group has launched its report on Historical Occupation in the Townlands of Ballinagarha, Clooncundra East and Clooncundra West.
There was a large attendance from the community at the launch event, held in Belcarra Community Centre.
The report follows six months of work by the community and was supported by Mayo County Council under the Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2022.
The wide-ranging report traces the occupiers of land in the townlands up to the present day. It also considers settlement patterns, population, and the terrible impact of the famine.
The report contains a review of the five archaeological sites in the townlands.
An extensive collection of old photographs provided by community members is also reproduced in the report.
Guests at the launch enjoyed talks by Dr. Michael O’Connor and archaeologist Ciara O’Connor, as well as a display of items by the Clooncundra community and music.
Dr. Michael O’Connor, in his talk, said like Belcarra, the townlands that make up the Clooncundra community have a long and interesting history. The oldest reference to the area he had seen is from 1410 - over 20 years before the first reference to Belcarra.
The records showed there were many people at the launch whose ancestors walked the land in the townlands of Ballinagarha, Clooncundra East and Clooncundra West 200 years ago, he stated. The surnames have endured along with forenames passed down over the generations. They included his own great-great-great-grandfather, Michael Walsh.
Dr. O’Connor commented: “The people of the townlands were predominantly farmers who lived off the land.
“At the beginning of the 19th century, they supplemented their income by growing flax and weaving. At the beginning of the 20th century, they took ownership of the land they had farmed for generations.
“The history of the townlands mirrors the history of Mayo and Ireland more generally.”
He continued: “When you read the records, you get a strong sense that the people in the townlands did not arrive from anywhere. It is as if they were always there.
“The reality is that we don’t have records before 1800, so we don’t know.
“In the records of the past 175 years, you see the whittling away of the core group of family names that inhabited the townlands in the early decades of the 19th century.”
He added: “In 100 years from now, the record will show that in the summer of 2022, the people of Clooncundra came together to remember those who came before and record their histories. Our project is as much about making history as it is about documenting history.”
Copies of the report are available in PDF version on the Clooncundra Heritage Facebook page.