Eidhneán

Eidhneán or Inane is a townland of 32 hectares or 79 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 19 individual fields were mapped in this townland.

It is in the Electoral Division of Castlehaven North, in Civil Parish of Castlehaven and the Roman Catholic Parish of Castlehaven and Myross.

Eidhneán is bordered by Gleann Bearcháin (Castlehaven) and Fearann Deilgín (Farrandeligeen) to the east and An Glaisín Álainn (Glasheenaulin) and An Gort Breac (Gortbrack) to the west.

OpenStreetmap contributors, with input from the Castlehaven & Myross History Society, have created a detailed townland map including all its minor placenames. Zoom in for further detail.

Etymology

Eidhneán (or aighneán) was interpreted as "ivy" by JM Burke in his Southern Star article in 1913. However Bruno O'Donoghue interpreted it as Oighnean which means little cauldron-shaped hollow. There is another townland with this name in Ringarogy

near Baltimore.

History

Early Mention: The first mention of this townland was in the Calendar of Patent Rolls of King James I in 1624 when it was recorded as Eynan. The spelling was fairly similar though the years and the current spelling seems to have been consistent since the Lease Of Land documents in 1791.

Shop: There was a shop at the crossroads in Inane in the past, It closed in the 1960s. A shop is mentioned in both the 1901 and 1911 census. A house at this location was known as the White House

Souterrain: A souterrain was discovered in a field in Inane around 1984 following a spontaneous collapse. It was explored by a local teacher and was then filled in for safety reasons. The Historic Environment Viewer mentions that the souterrain contained three stone-built chambers roofed with lintels.

Coursing: Coursing (hare-hunting) was very popular in this townland in the 1940s and 1950s

Mass Path: The mass path from Tracarta to Fahouragh church ran through Inane

Housing

As part of Griffiths Valuation in 1853, a survey of house quality was carried out to calculate what rates were due by each household. These were issued in 1850 in the form of house books and a guide on how to interpret these can be seen here. These show that 6 of the 7 houses in the townland at that time were class 3. This means that they were thatched houses with stone walls with mud or puddle mortar. Two are described as being old (more than 25 years) but in good repair while two more are also old but out of repair. The other two class 3 houses are described as medium (not new), deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. The remaining house in Inane at this time is class 1 which means that it was slated and built with stone or brick and lime mortar - it was described as being medium (not new), deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. All six class 3 houses in the townland at this time are between 4 foot 6 inches (!) and 6 foot 9 inches tall which indicates that they are single storey at this time. The class 1 house is 14 foot tall so it is possibly two storey.

By the 1901 census, there were only five occupied houses (plus a shop) and all had walls of stone, brick or concrete with roofs of slate, iron or tiles. Four houses have two, three or four rooms with either one or two windows in front which indicates that they were probably still single storey at this time. The other house had seven, eight or nine rooms and seven windows in front.

When we advance to the 1911 census there are now just three occupied houses in this townland (plus a shop). Not surprisingly all still have walls of stone, brick or concrete with a roof of slate, iron or tiles. All three houses still have two, three or four rooms with two windows in front which indicates that they were probably still single storey at this time.

Places of Interest

Lios: There are two ringforts (liosanna) in close proximity in this townland . A ringfort is a circular fortified settlement that were mainly built during the Bronze age up to about the year 1000. They are both still visible.

There are a number of sites listed in this townland in the Historic Environment Viewer. As well as the lios and souterrain mentioned above, there is also an enclosure mapped. The Historic Environment Viewer mentions that this enclosure is no longer visible.

Interesting Placenames

The road that runs through this townland is known as Bóthar an Gleanna (the glen road)

A few field names have been captured in this townland. These are as follows: The Hill (was made up of 5 or 6 fields but known as The Hill - it was very rough ground), The Wet Field (the stream in this field is the boundary between Glasheenaulin and Inane), The North Field and The Pond Field (there is a stream at the bottom of this field).

If you want to see the actual locations of any of these, go to detailed townland map on Open Street Maps. If you know any other field names or placenames in this townland (or if you need to correct any or give further background information), please contact us at [email protected]

Folklore

Evictions: There may have been a number of evictions here in the past as there are a number of bothán ruins to be seen in the earlier maps and the history of them is unknown. There are no traces left today. It may also have been as a result of the famine as there were 29 occupied houses in Inane in the 1841 census but this had dropped to six in 1851

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1825 list the following family names: Fitzgerald, Murphy, Leahy and Courtney (note that it is incorrectly transcribed as Treane in the Tithe Applotments)

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: Carthy, West, Hallahan, Ryan, Rierdan. In addition Rev, Charles Bushe leased a garden here and Cornelius Buckley rented some land - both from Colonel French.

The Census of Ireland of 1901 lists the following family names: Collins, Buckley (with Hennessy and Carey (both daughters) and Collins (servant)), West, West, Sheehan (with Hegarty (boarder))

The Census of Ireland of 1911 lists the following family names: Carey (with Twomey (niece), Murry and Sullivan (both servants)), Collins, Sheehan, Collins

Note: the term 'with' refers to a person or persons of a different family name staying in the house. This may have been an in-law or other relative, a guest, or a farm labourer/housekeeper or domestic servant.

Demographics and Landholding

		*Occupiers	Population	Change	Link to record
1825	Tithe Applotment	4	20 (est)		1825
1841	Census of Ireland	29	116
1851	Census of Ireland	6	31
1853	Griffith's Valuation	7 (Incl. 2 unoccupied)	40 (est)		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	6	31
1871	Census of Ireland	6	24
1881	Census of Ireland	7	33
1891	Census of Ireland	6 (Incl. 1 unoccupied)	26
1901	Census of Ireland	6 (Incl. 1 shop)	17		1901
1911	Census of Ireland	4	11		1911

*Occupiers generally equate to households having a house and land but may also include households having houses but no land.

Between 1656 and 1658 the Down Survey mapped all areas of the country to track ownership of land after much had been granted to followers of Cromwell after the war of the 1650's..The most prominent proprietor (titulado) of this townland at that time was Daniel O'Donovane and also O'Donovane. This townland was part of Gortbrack & Ballycahen at that time.

The proprietor of this townland in 1841 were Rev Michael Becher and Rev Phillip Townshend of Mallow and George Rogers of Youghal. It was all held under lease by James Fitzgerald of Inane and part sub-let to tenants without a lease.

In 1841 the soil was described as coarse mostly but had some arable mixed, producing light crops of potatoes, oats and barley.