The Murrins - Page 2

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The Murrin Family of Croaghlin Townland

 Two Murrin families lived in this townland:  James Murrin and Thomas Murrin.  It appears four people also shared land in Section 6 – James Murrin, Hugh McIntire, Michael McCluskey and Mary McGill.  Why is this interesting?  Catherine Murrin’s mother was born Bridget McCloskey.  This ‘James Murrin’ entry may be our great ancestor since Peter McGonigle lived only a few farmlands away in Drumbarity townland.  Family lore says Francis McGonigle and Catherine Murrin were friends in Ireland.  Too great of a distance would have made them acquaintances at best.  From one farmland to the other the distance may be 1/8 to ¼ mile.  If I were a betting man I would place my wager on this location as the likeliest where Catherine Murrin lived.  It is very likely Peter McGonigle and this James Murrin knew each other.

Look at this map to your right.  The area enclosed in ‘red’ is where Peter McGonigle lived in Drumbarity townland.  The area enclosed in ‘blue’ is where the James Murrin family lived.  Thomas Murrin lived in section 5 which is a short distance east by southeast of Section 3, James Murrin’s residence.  James Murrin was listed as a partial tenant in Section 6.  Section 6 can be found in the same area you see the giant ‘Y’.  It is a short distance (several parcels of land) east southeast from Section 3, which is circled.  Please note that the lower right section of this map is where Corporation townland begins.

The Murrins of Drumanoo (or Drumano) townland

The following Murrins lived in this large townland:  Bryan, James, Mary, Robert, Bridget, Hannah, Patrick Sr., and Patrick Jr.  These were the heads of household for the Murrin families living in this area of County Donegal.  Drumanoo appears to be where there the largest concentration of Murrins was found in Upper Killybegs Civil Parish.  There is a James Murrin living in this townland but it is some distance from Drumbarity townland where Peter McGonigle lived.  From Drumbarity one would travel south to get to Drumanoo.  You would pass through the following townlands before reaching Drumanoo:  Drumbeagh, Cashelcummin, Killybegs, Glebe and Roshin.

In Section 4 one finds Bryan and James Murrin.  Section 5 lived James Murrin and Mary Murrin. Section 6 lived Robert Murrin and Bridget Murrin.  Below, Patrick Murrin was a tenant on Section 15a.  Hannah Murrin lived in Section 16.  The last map shows where Patrick Murrin Sr. and Patrick Murrin Jr. lived.  They lived near the southern coast of Upper Killybegs Civil Parish.

The Murrins of Killybegs

Only one Murrin could be found living in Killybegs during the mid-nineteenth century.  Bridget Murrin lived in a house off Old Chapel Road.  Her house is referenced by a ‘2’ on the map below.  What is confusing is that there appears to be two different houses on the map with a reference number of ‘2’ off Old Chapel Road.  Take your pick! 

Townland AKA Acres County Barony Civil Parish PLU Province KILLYBEGS T.   xx Donegal Banagh Killybegs Upper Glenties Ulster Killybegs   325 Donegal Banagh Killybegs Upper Glenties Ulster

Old Chapel Road appears to swing down and right in this picture.  Look for the ‘O’ in ‘Old’.  To its left is a house referenced by ‘2’.  The Valuation Survey above lists Bridget Murrin living in ‘2’.  This may be the correct location where Bridget Murrin lived even though we see another ‘2’ reference listed in the lower left section of this map.

 The Murrins of Meenreagh Townland

Meenreagh Townland is another large townland in a rather isolated area of Upper Killybegs Civil Parish.  This area appears to contain hills and mountains.  The following Murrins lived in this area:  Thomas Murrin, James Murrin Jr., James Murrin Sr., Margaret Murrin and Hugh Murrin.  Starting from Drumbarity townland one would travel through the following townlands to get to Meenreagh:  Letter, Meenyhoghay, Cornacahan, Cullion, Meenawley and Meenaroshin.  The latter townlands are very large.  While it is possible to travel from Drumbarity to Meenreagh within a day, the travel would be tedious because of the mountains.

Look at the map to your right.  According to the Griffith Valuation Survey the following Murrins lived in Section 2 as shown in this map:  Thomas Murrin, James Murrin Jun., Margaret Murrin, James Murrin, Sen., and Hugh Murrin.  According to the Griffith Valuation Survey the area they lived on was a mountain.  From the map you can see the striations which suggest elevated land features.

 The Murrins of Stragar Townland

Stragar Townland abuts Carricknamoghill townland, which was discussed earlier.  Stragar is found on the northeast corner of Carricknamoghil townland. William Murrin, Hugh Murrin and James Murrin live in this townland.

William and Hugh Murrin shared land in Sections 18A and 18B.  James Murrin was a tenant in sections 25A and 25B.  This townland is located in the eastern portions of Upper Killybegs Civil Parish.  By acreage this is another large townland and appears to be located in a non-mountainous area of County Donegal.

Conclusion

 Were any or all of these Murrins distant relatives of ours?  Very like some of the names found here are related to our family.  These parishes were not extremely large and it is also likely the Murrin family had relatives in nearby parishes.

The map to the side shows the lower portion of County Donegal.  Upper Killybegs is ‘27’.  Lower Killybegs is ‘28’.  Surrounding Civil Parishes include Killaghtee (25), Kilcar (24) and Inishkeel (34).    The main industry for Killybegs appears to have been fishing.

The following lists the ‘Murrin’ surnames found in the Tithe Applotment Book for Killybegs in 1834.  The Composition Act of 1823 specified that tithes due to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, which before had been payable in kind, should now be paid in money.   As a result, it was necessary to carry out a valuation of the entire country, civil parish by civil parish, to determine how much would be payable by each landholder.  This was done over the ensuing 15 years, up to the abolition of tithes in 1838.  No one was exempt and the tithe was required payable by Catholics and Protestants alike.  The following Murrin names appear on the Tithe Applotment list of 1834 for Killybegs Upper Civil Parish.  Some of these people may have been alive during the time when the Griffith Valuation Survey was taken:

Tithe Applotment Book for the Parishes of Killybegs Upper and Lower, Signed 1834

 Murren, Bryan, Grany   (unknown old placename)
Murren, Patt., Croghlin Mor  (Possibly Croaghlin in Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, Bryan, Ceonchoe (unknown old placename)
Murrin, Bryan, Drumnanooe, Roscocraw & Griggog  (Drumanoo in Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, James, Drumanooe, Carragh & ? (Drumanoo in Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, James, Drumnanooe, Roscocraw & Griggog  (Drumanoo in Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, James, Killybeggs (Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, Patt., Killybeggs (Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, Thomas, Drumanooe, Carragh & ? (Upper Killybegs)
Murrin, Thomas, Killybeggs (Upper Killybegs)

Earlier we pointed out a James Murrin living in Croaghlin townland.  This James Murrin lived only a few farmlands away from Peter McGonigle of Drumbarity townland.  In the list above one finds a Patt Murren living in Croghlin townland.  This appears to be a variation for the same placename.  Is it possible Patt Murren in Croghlin is the father to James Murrin of Croaghlin?  Even Drumanoo townland has different spelling variations.  Two other variations are mentioned in this document – Drumanooe and Drumano.

In the Tithe list above we see several ‘James Murrin’ names referenced.  One was listed living in Drumanooe, another living in Drumnanooe and another living in Killybeggs.  According to the 1880 US Census James and Bridget Murrin lived in Belvidere, Illinois.  The Census shows their birth years as 1804 so it is possible we may be seeing this ‘James Murrin’ listed in the Tithe list above.  James would have been 31 years old at the time.

Finally, it is also interesting to note the Murrins living in nearby Civil Parishes.  Four parishes surrounded Upper Killybegs – Lower Killybegs, Kilcar, Inishkeel and Killaghtee.  There were no Murrins living in Inishkeel Civil Parish.

  We have maps and Griffith Valuation Surveys for this group of Murrins.  These can be provided upon request.

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