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Urcher

Location

Urcher is a townland of 497 statute acres 1 rood and 10 perches lying to the east of Crossmaglen, straddling the Newry Road. It is bounded on the north by Cloghoge, on the east by Cregganduff, Cregganbane and Liscalgat, on the south by Drummuck and on the west by Sheiland, Monog and Carran. In the 1828 Tithe Applotment Books the total area is shown as 265 acres and 3 roods (Plantation Irish measure)

Name of townland

Urcar, "A cast or throw". According to Hugh Macauley, writing in the 1992 Journal of the Creggan Local History Society, the likely explanation of the name is that there was a church between Crossmaglen and Creggan at Killyloughran and the "cast" referred to the funeral practice of mourners casting a stone to form a cairn on or near the grave, or alternatively that the mourners built their cairn at a point from which they first caught sight of Creggan graveyard.(1)

There are three townlands called 'Urcher' in Ireland; in Counties Armagh, Cavan and Monaghan.

Ordnanace Survey Name Books: Creggan Parish (2)

URCHER (OSNB i 15): It is in the west of the village of Creggan, and principally under grazing. There is a considerable portion uncultivated and bog. In detached pieces a road to Crossmaglen runs thro' the N. of this td. from which it is distant about 1/2 a mile and which is its market town.
It contains 494..1..27 of which 55..2..11 is uncultivated and Bog.

Valuation

Although the decimalisation of the currency was introduced only in 1971, all of the valuations in the following table have been converted from £sd for convenience.

Year 1837 1851 1864 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1926 1935 1952 1957 1974
Valuation £254.62 £268.25 £336.20 £332.45 £331.95 £331.45 £320.20 £317.70 £301.95 £327.60 £394.10 £422.85 £584.35

The 1837 Townland Valuation recorded only houses worth £5 or more a year. There were two such houses in the townland

  • Elizabeth Johnston, and
  • Jonathan Smyth

Griffths Valuation records the owner of the townland as Thomas P. Ball.

Census of Ireland 1901

The Census enumerated 62 people in 17 households; a ratio of 3.6 people per household. The households ocupied a total of 54 rooms; a ratio of 3.2 rooms per household and 1.1 people per room. One household occupied more than 4 rooms, four occupied 4 rooms, six occupied 3 rooms, five occupied 2 rooms and one household had but a single room. Eight (40%) of the houses were thatched.

Native Irish Speakers

Of the 17 households enumerated in the Census, five contained at least one native Irish speaker - 8 in all. Since theirs was the last generation to have been born into a substantially Irish speaking environment, their names, occupations and ages are recorded here. All were born in Co. Armagh with the exception of Anne Conlon, born in Co. Monaghan and James Duffy, born in Co. Louth.

  • Mary Nugent, sister of Bridget Nugent, 56
  • Owen Morris, farmer, 75
    his wife Anne, 80
    their daughter, Katie, farmer's daughter, 48
    and son Patrick, farmer's son, 38
  • Anne Conlon, wife of Peter, seamstress, 50
  • James Duffy, farm labourer, 62
  • Bridget Donnelly, mother-in-law of Thomas Corr, 68
* The average age of the group was 61; oldest 80, youngest 38.
* Of the group, five could both read and write and three could neither read nor write.

Population Decline

The following table sets out the number of houses and population enumerated in the townland in each of the 11 Censuses held between 1841 and 1951.

  1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1926 1937 1951
Houses 33 34 31 27 20 17 20 18 12 14 14
People 201 152 148 126 86 87 68 67 50 46 65
People per house 6.1 4.5 4.8 4.7 4.3 5.1 3.4 3.7 4.2 3.3 4.6

In the period of 110 years, the number of households more than halved (58%) and the population dropped by 68%. The largest drop (57%) was in the 40 years after 1841, reflecting the continuing effects of the Great Famine.

Names of House and Land Holders (3)

The following table sets of the names of those who owned or rented houses and land on the townland at the time the valuation records or population censuses were compiled.


1664 1766 1828 1864 1901 1935 1957 1974

Households/Land Households Households Households Households Households
Patte Fean Patrick Callaghan Thomas P. Ball Esq. James Begley Patrick Begley James Begley James Begley Patrick Begley
Hugh O'Farrassy James Doyle Michael Byrn Margaret Anne Bernard James Boyle Francis Boyle Owen Boyle Owen Boyle
  James Duffy Patt Connolly Charles Boyle Mary Boyle Patrick Finnegan Thomas Comiskey Thomas Comiskey
  Art Hughs Cormick Coyle Cormack Boyle Peter Conlon John Garvey James Conlon (Cornonagh) Patrick Conlon
  John Johnston David Doyle Patrick Boyle Thomas Corr Mary Gormley John Cowan Thomas Donaghy
  Bryan Lavill Samuel Gilmer Bridget Burns William R. Corr Mary Maguire Thomas Donaghy Margaret Gregory
  John McGeeney Patt Grahams Patrick Conolly James Duffy Reps David Marks Peter Gregory Mildred Lowe
  Michael McGeeny Denis Hearty Michael Lamb Eliza Jackson Bernard McAneaney John Lynch Thomas Mackin
  Owen McGeeny Mrs Jackson David Jackson Hugh Largap (?) Patrick Nugent Thomas Mackin Alice Maloney
  Patrick McGill George Kerfoot Daniel Marks David Marks Joseph O'Reilly J.C. Magee Hugh O'Neill
  Charles McShane John Kerfoot Peter McAnulty Charles McElroy Reps Robert Rowland Alice Maloney Samuel Rowland
  Terence Meehan Josua Kerfoot Owen McCoy Patto McNulty RJ Smith Joseph O'Reilly Major Michael Wright
  Henry Morrise Widow Kerfoot David McKenna Owen Morris Thomas Wilson Elizabeth Rowland  
  Owen Morrise Francis Lannen Owem Morris Bridget Nugent   A. White  
    Alex Marks Denis Nugent Denis Nugent   J.F. Wright  
    Patt McElroy Mary Nugent Isobel Rowland      
    John McNickle Rose Nugent Mary Rowland Land Land Land
    Patt McShane Thomas Nugent Robert Rowland Reps Peter Connolly Patrick Conlan (Drummuck) Patrick Conlan (Drummuck)
    Owen Morris Michael Pidgeon William Rowland John Donaghy Reps Peter Connolly John Comiskey
    Michael Nugent Peter Reilly Mary C. Shields David Gilmore John Comiskey John F. Foley
    Thomas Nugent John Rowland   Owen Hearty David Gilmore Francis Kernan
    Thomas Rowland Richard Rowland   Sir Thomas Jackson Bart. Mary Hearty Joseph Kernan
    Roger Shields Robert Rowland   Hugh Largy Francis Kernan Michael Largey
    Peter Wade William Rowland   Kate Lennon Joseph Kernan Patrick Morgan
      William Rowland   Patrick McAnulty Michael Largey Patrick Morgan (Crossmaglen)
      Patrick Shields   George McCullagh Bridget McAneaney Thomas Morgan (Moybane)
      Patrick Wade   Patrick Morgan Patrick Morgan James Shiels
          Patrick Morgan (Crossmaglen) Patrick Morgan (Crossmaglen) Thomas Treanor (Chum)
      Land   Robert Rowland Thomas Morgan (Moybane)  
      Samuel Gilmore   James Shiels Bridget Murphy  
      Michael Lennon   Owen Treanor James Shiels  
      Patrick McElroy     Thomas Treanor (Chum)  
      Patrick Nugent     Mary Wright  

Note:
1. Hugh Macauley, "Creggan", Journal of Creggan Local History Society, No.6 1992 p.38
2. G. Jarvis (up to 1835) as compiled by A.J. Hughes in Seanchas Ard Mhacha Vol 15 No 1 1992 pp 97 - 112.
3. See Appendix 2

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Last Updated on 9 February 2006
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© Patrick Devlin 2006