Oileán na gCapall

Oileán na gCapall or Horse Island is a townland of 12 hectares or 29 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 9 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.

Oileán na gCapall is not bordered by any townlands.

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

Oileán na gCapall can be interpreted as horse island. It may have got this name as its grass had a great reputation for fattening horses. The old name was Oileán Molua or Oíleán Mholugha which was interpreted by Bruno O'Donoghue as St. Lua's island. Lua was believed to be the sister of Bearchán and she is said to be buried there - the ruined church was named after her.

History

Tower: What was the use of the tower on Horse Island ? Three of Reverend Thomas Somerville’s sons moved to America and prospered. The eldest son (who became known as Tom The Merchant) hoped to follow in his father’s footsteps as a clergyman but lost an eye in Trinity University, so instead became a successful shipping merchant. He’d send butter and salted provisions to the West Indies and bring back rum, sugar and timber. He built his house at Drishane, on the edge of the village of Castletownshend, where he had a view of his ships in Castlehaven Bay. Among items he imported from the West Indies was the mahogany which was used to make the doors of the reception rooms in Drishane (irishhistorichouses.com). A smoky fire was lit in the tower and this marked the entrance to Castlehaven Harbour. One village local, Locals had the task of lighting the fire in the tower up to the 1940s .

Church: While there may have been a church on Horse Island, there was a beautiful one around the corner at Castlehaven Strand. This was replaced by a timber church in Castletownshend after a boating accident and this was itself replaced in 1827 by the current, beautiful edifice. Much of the snecked (mixture of roughly-squared stones of different sizes) masonry materials for this church were quarried on Horse Island and ferried by boat to the village. This quarry was reputed to be a freestone sandstone quarry which means that the fine-grain stone could be easily cut in any direction. A feature of the sandstone was that it eroded over time. The new church cost a grand total of £1250. The accompanying photo came with the logo 'God is working from home’. .

St Barrahane’s Church ,Castletownshend which was built with stone quarried on Horse Island

Coal: According to the Samuel Lewis Topigraphical Dictionary of Ireland 1837, there were also ten seams of coal on Horse Island.

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 there was only one house on Horse Island at this time and it was a slated dwelling house built with stone or brick and lime mortar. Its condition was described as medium (not new), slightly decayed, but in good repair. It was 6 foot 6 inches tall (so single storey).

Horse Island is not mentioned on either the 1901 or 1911 census so, presumably, there was no occupied houses on the island at that time (it is believed to be vacant since about 1890).

Places of Interest

Church Ruin: There is a ruin on the island which is reputed to be a church

Burial Ground; There is a disused burial ground on the island. People in Castlehaven were taken there by boat at low tide (departing from the beach known as Trá na Marbh on the mainland).

Watch Tower: There are the ruins of a Watch Tower on the island. This was used by the Somerville family as mentioned above. It is a circular tower and is described in the Historic Environment Viewer as a belvedere.

Cuas na bhFrancach: There is a cove of this name on the eastern side of the island and it can be interpreted as the cove of the French

Cuas an tSolais: There is a cove of this name on the southern side of the island and it can be interpreted as the cove of light.

Flea Sound: This is the name of the channel separating Horse Island from the mainland

Black Rock: This is the name of the rock to the south of the island

The burial ground and watch-tower listed above are mapped on the Historic Environment Viewer

Interesting Placenames

Besides those mentioned above, there is another cuas on Horse Island that is known as Cuas Cneig. The interpretation of this is not known.

Whilst the old map shows a number of distinctive fields, no names have been captured for any of these. Can you help.

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

Origin of Name: There is a story that the island got its name because a farmer left a young mare alone on the island for over a year. However she produced a foal and it was said that this was fathered by a sea-horse, but perhaps a male equine friend swam out of its volition (without the aid of the usual Good Friday tradition). Cuas na bhFrancach is on the eastern side of the island and it is said to have got its name as the bodies of some French sailors were washed up there possibly in thelate 18th century.

Tunnel: It was said that there was a tunnel that ran from Horse Island to Knockdrum

Occupants and Animals: There is plenty of animal feed on the island. In the 1970s, the owners decided to spray the raithneach (ferns) with a form of weedkiller by aeroplane (which was a first for the parish). However the prevailing winds on the day ensured failure. A Peter Driscoll farmed the land around 1850 and it incurred a charge of £15/5 shillings, for both land and buildings. Prior to this there is a mention of Daniel Courtney in the Tithe Applotment Books of 1825. According to the Schools Collection the island has been uninhabited since 1890. Local lore states the last occupant was Connie O Driscoll and he moved to Castletownshend to take up residence, across from Lill McCarthy's Bar (formerly The Townshend Arms). Of note is that this man made the pews in the Catholic Church.

Cattle and sheep were traditionally ferried to the island on Good Friday. This coincided with the lowest tide of the year (as Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox). The sheep had the best of this travel experience as they were in boats while the cattle and horses swam out, tied loosely to the stern.

Coursing was a popular pastime in former times. To have a ready supply of hares, they were placed on Horse Island for breeding purposes. This was very successful, unlike rounding up the produce, which was not as easy as planned. They would string a net across certain ‘gaps’ to ensnare the hare. However trying to get the hares to where they could be caught was ‘obair in aisce’.

Skeleton: There is also a story in the School's Collection that some workmen uncovered a skeleton in a stone coffin from the disused graveyard when they were repairing a fence by a cliff on the island around 1920

Magnesium: It was said that there were high levels of magnesium in the soil. Horses were thought to thrive on this and were sent here when they were sick (Glasheenaulin is similar).

Oileán Molua as seen from Faill Ard. A former lios was located at the headland, now eroded.

Poem: According to Lankford an old poem about Myross refers to the following:

Baile na Tóna agus paróiste Mhiodhruis

Meall Uí Chorráin agus dá Rinn theas

An t-Oileán Árd agus an t-Oileán Íseal

Oileán Molua agus Oileán Brighde

(Ballinatona and the parish of Myross, Maulicarrane and the two South Reens, High Island and Low Island, Horse Island and Rabbit Island)

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1825 do not give any clear information as Horse Island is not listed separately from Castlehaven and Traharta. However the Samuel Lewis Topigraphical Dictionary states that there were 7 occupants on the island in 1837.

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: Driscoll (Peter) had a house and 'office' but no land. In addition, Thomas Somerville had 26 acres of land but no house.

The last resident was a Connie O'Driscoll who made the pews in Castlehaven Catholic Church after moving to Castletownshend.

The Census of Ireland of 1901 does not give any clear information as Horse Island is not listed separately from Castlehaven and Traharta. However it is thought that the island may have been unoccupied at that point.

The Census of Ireland of 1911 does not give any clear information as Horse Island is not listed separately from Castlehaven and Traharta. However it is thought that the island may have been unoccupied at that point.

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	?	?
1837	Lewis Topigraphical Dictionary	?	7
1841	Census of Ireland	1	12
1851	Census of Ireland	1	5
1853	Griffith's Valuation	1	5 (est)		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	1	7
1871	Census of Ireland	1	9
1881	Census of Ireland	1	7
1891	Census of Ireland	1 (Unoccupied)	0
1901	Census of Ireland	?	?
1911	Census of Ireland	?	?

*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. Horse Island was mapped by this survey but no prominent proprietor (titulado) was listed.

No detail on the proprietor of this townland in 1841 is listed.

No detail of the soil quality in 1841 is listed. However in 1837, Samuel Lewis described it as having excellent arable land which was in a high state of cultivation.