Although known locally as Ballyteerim, this clachan was located in the townlands of Ballyteerim and Altagore. At times this can cause confusion because whilst the local inhabitants of the clachan would have regarded themselves as living in Ballyteerim, government officials would have recorded them as living in either the townland of Ballteerim or the townland of Altagore. The problem was made worse by the fact that the locals regarded a stream which ran through the cluster as the boundary between Ballyteerim and Altagore whereas the official townland boundary was an imaginary line on a map and lay further to the south-west of the stream. Another complication was the fact that most of the strip of land down the Ballycleagh side of the townland was held by people who lived in Ballycleagh or even Ballindam and had little or no connection with the Ballyteerim clachan.
In 1860 there were three families of O’Hara, two families of O’Drean (Adrain), two families of Laferty (Laverty) and a family of McNeill who held land in the clachan and lived within the tight cluster of houses that made up the clachan. In addition there were other single families of McNeill, Fox and Robinson who held cottier houses within the cluster but did not hold any land. Finally, there were two other families who lived outside the cluster but may have been connected to the clachan. In Ballyteerim a Charles O’Hara held a house and land (no. 5 in Griffith’s). He may have been related to the other O’Haras in Ballyteerim. In Altagore a John McDonnell held a house and land (no. 8 in Griffith’s) some distance away from the cluster but within the total area of land that made up the clachan. He also held a piece of mountain land jointly with one of the Lafertys who lived in the cluster.
The O’Haras
Griffith’s Valuation of 1860 shows a John O’Hara holding a house, offices and land (no. 1 in Griffith’s) from James White in the townland of Ballyteerim. This John O’Hara was still holding the same property in 1901 and the census for that year lists him as an unmarried farmer, aged 74, living with his niece Eliza, aged 48, who was his housekeeper.
There was also a John O’Hara holding land only in Ballyteerim (no. 9 in Griffith’s) but he lived in the adjoining townland of Ballycleagh and had nothing to do with the clachan.
The 1881 the RIC Census lists a John O’Hara and his family living in Ballyteerim. This John O’Hara was aged 60 in 1881, was married to Margaret, aged 56, and had two daughters Mary and Elizabeth, aged 26 and 28 respectively in 1881. Was this John O’Hara either of the two listed above?
He is not likely to have been the John O’Hara of Ballycleagh, he had gone by 1874. You would expect him to be the John O’Hara listed in Griffith’s in Ballyteerim (no. 1). However the discrepancy in marital status causes a problem. At the same time, the Eliza of 1901, aged 48, could be the same Elizabeth aged 28 in 1881 but why was she listed as John’s niece in 1901? Clearly, the two Johns could not have been brothers. One possibility is that they were cousins and Eliza became her father’s cousin’s housekeeper. It was not unusual for such persons to be referred to as nieces.
Also in the townland of Ballyteerim there was a Charles O’Hara holding a house, offices and land circa 1860 (no. 5 in Griffith’s). This house and land was some distance from the main cluster adjoining the townland of Ballycleagh. The revisions made to the valuation show that by 1879 this holding had been taken over by a Michael McCormick who came from outside the area. He does not appear to have lived in the house at this time because in 1880 an Alexander McFall was listed as the occupier of the house, but not the land. An Alexander McFaul (spelt ‘McFall’ in Griffiths) is listed in the 1901 census for the townland of Ballyteerim, as a 67 year old unmarried agricultural labourer, this is almost certainly the same individual. An earlier source cites Alexander’s occupation as a ‘surface man’ employed on the roads and the RIC census indicates that he lived with his aunt Annie McFall for a time. Cushendun parish records show that an Archie McFall and Nellie McCormack were married on the 30th December 1838, this couple may have been Alexander’s parents.
Michael McCormick was also listed in 1901, but in the townland of Altagore – see below.
In Altagore there were two further families of O’Hara. Donald O’Hara held a house, offices and land just inside the Altagore side of the official boundary between the two townlands of Ballyteerim and Altagore, but on the Ballyteerim side of the stream that divided the townlands. Initially locating this caused some confusion for us because the locals regarded his house as being in Ballyteerim whereas all of the records relating to it were in Altagore.
The Griffith’s revisions show that by the early 1880s this holding had been taken over by the Michael McCormick mentioned above. McCormick also became the immediate lessor of Robert Hamilton’s cottier house but this house was down by the time of the 1901 census and Hamilton had gone.
The RIC Census lists Michael McCormick, aged 45, living with his wife Rose, daughters, Mary Jane (6), Anne (5) and Catherine (3) and a son Patrick Joseph who was only a few months old. Michael’ wife Rose was a McNeill, a sister of Daniel McNeill of the ‘Park’ McNeills – see below.
Michael McCormick’s family are also listed in the 1901 census for Altagore. Michael, aged 60, lived with wife Rose, aged 41, and their children Annie (21), Catherine (20), John James (18), Patrick J (16), Hugh (14), Michael (12), Rose (10) and Caroline Margaret (8).
Details of Michael’s house in the house and buildings return in the 1901 census indicate that his house was built of stone, had a slated roof, had four rooms and five windows at the front of the house – suggesting that it was either a two storey or a storey and a half house. Photo no. 4 in the photo gallery on the Ballyteerim mainpage shows this house today, now deserted and in a ruinous state – clearly a storey and a half house.
Michael’s son, John James, eventually inherited the farm. He was known as ‘Ford’, after he declared that he was ‘as rich as Henry Ford’ upon receiving news of a windfall from America.
Michael McCormick was the secretary of a local tenants’ group which represented the interests of tenants in the Land Courts which had been set up as a result of the 1881 Land Act. The purpose of these courts was to make judgements on the fairness of rents. Click here to read a letter sent to Colonel White, the local landlord, in 1882. You will also be able to read a letter sent in 1880 by the Rev. Eugene McCartan, a member of the Glens Relief Committee, to the Belfast News Letter praising the efforts of the local landlords during the hard times prior to that date.
The other O’Hara family in Altagore was James O’Hara who held a house, offices and land circa 1860. This house was on the Altagore side of the stream. James was replaced by a Mary O’Hara (probably his widow) around 1884. Her name continues to appear in all the Griffith’s Revision Books until 1923. Mary was not listed in the 1901 Census Returns so it looks as if nobody bothered to change her name against this holding in the books.
There is, however, a Francis O’Hara listed in the 1901 Census Returns and, although he was not listed in an earlier RIC Census, other members of his family were, including his mother Mary. In 1901 Francis was listed , aged 49 and unmarried, living with his unmarried brothers and sisters – Daniel (47), Margaret (44), Anne (42), Charles (39), and Rose (34). Perhaps the fact that they were all unmarried they could not agree which name should go against the farm in the Griffith’s Revision Books!
This Francis O’Hara also acquired the house and land of Hugh McNeill in the townland of Ballyteerim – see below.
By 1901 there were still a couple of O’Hara families in the clachan – John from 1860 and Francis, the son of James O’Hara of 1860. This was half the number of O’Hara families that had been there in 1860. The missing families had been replaced by two new families to the townland – McCormick and McFall.
The McNeills
Hugh McNeill held a house, offices and land (no. 2 in Griffith’s) in the townland of Ballyteerim circa 1860. The 1881 RIC census records Hugh as 62 years old and unmarried. Hugh was from the family of McNeills known as the ‘Veillys’. In the mid twentieth century another family of unrelated McNeills of the ‘Parks’ also took land in Ballyteerim. These were descendants of the Hugh McNeill in Altagore (no. 1 in Griffith’s). By 1884 Hugh of Ballyteerim’s property was occupied by Francis O’Hara of Altagore, mentioned above. The Griffith’s Revisions record the house as being down in 1887 but later in 1904 it seems to have been resurrected and Patrick Laferty’s name is recorded against it and a garden added. Presumably this was the same Patrick Laferty that we will encounter below in Altagore. We do not think that Patrick was actually living in that particular house at that time. However, later in the twentieth century, his son Archy built a brand new two storey house in this garden and part of that house can be seen in the background of photo 3 on the Ballyteerim mainpage. The house in the foreground of photo 2 probably belonged to the McNeills originally. Again you can see the new Laferty house in this photo.
Catherine McNeill was leasing a house from Hugh McNeill (she was possibly Hugh’s sister) circa 1860. By 1875 she no longer lived in the house and it was reported as down. Similarly Jane Fox also leased a cottier house from Hugh McNeill which by was down by 1871.
Thus by 1901 the McNeills listed in the 1860 Griffith’s (Hugh and Catherine) were gone from the clachan but, as stated above, the name was to return to the clachan in the middle of the twentieth century when descendants of the unrelated ‘Parks’ Mc’Neills acquired land in the clachan. Also, as in many clachans during this period, the cottiers had also gone.
The O’Dreans (O’Drain)
In the 1860 valuation a John O’Drean is recorded as possessing a house, offices and land in the townland of Ballyteerim. This was probably the house shown in photo no. 1 on the Ballyteerim home page. The 1881 RIC census records that John, aged 45, lived with his wife Sarah (40) and children John (12), Margaret (14), Mary A (16), Rose (10) and Alice (8). The 1901 census shows John, a widower aged 74, living with his son John (35) and a daughter Margaret (27). It should be noted that the ages given to enumerators in 1901 were often estimates and ages in the RIC Census of 1881 were often inaccurate which helps to explain the discrepancies between ages in 1881 and 1901. Local residents of the clachan today recall that the last person to occupy this house in the twentieth century was a Maggie O’Drean, clearly Margaret aged 27 in the 1901 census.
An Archibald O’Drean is listed in the 1860 Valuation as holding a house, offices and land in the townland of Altagore. Again this house, like MCormick’s, was on the Ballyteerim side of the stream, although officially listed in Altagore. Around 1875 the holding passed to a Patrick O’Drean, probably a son, but by 1890 the family had gone and the property was in the hands of a John Murphy who continued to hold it into the twentieth century. Murphy does not appear in the 1901 Census so we can only assume that he lived elsewhere. Again a present day resident recalls this house being tumbled.
Thus by 1901 there was still one family of O’Drean (John from 1860) in the clachan where there had been two in 1860.
The Lafertys
When the original valuation was conducted, circa 1860 a Duncan Laferty held an office and land in the townland of Ballyterrim and John Laferty held a house, offices and land in the townland of Altagore. It looks as if Duncan lived with John in the house in Altagore and was probably his brother. The 1881 RIC census lists a John Laferty (56) and his children Patrick (28), Dennis (18) listed as gone to America, John (16) and Rose (20). Another daughter Alice is mentioned in the RIC census though no age is given. Knocknacarry school records show a P. Laverty from Ballyteerim attended the school, aged 7 in May 1855, this is probably Patrick. No other Lafertys (or Lavertys) are mentioned in the census. Is John’s wife not mentioned in this census?
By 1882 John’s son Patrick acquired Duncan’s property. If Duncan was his uncle then this property was probably willed to his nephew Patrick. Patrick’s father John must have died some time around the late 1880s because a Mary Anne Laferty was listed in the Griffith’s Revisions as the occupier of the property in Altagore
The 1901 Census Returns listed Mary Ann Laverty, a widow aged 77. Mary Anne Laferty was an O’Connor from Straid. She lived with her son Patrick J, aged 50, her daughter-in-law, Annie (nee McNeill of Park) aged 37, and her grandchildren Mary Jane (12), subsequently the postmistress of Cushendun, Annie (9) who later married Charles McKay of Corrameleagh, Margaret (7) who later married Archy McKinley of Balyloughran, John (5) who died in 1933, Archy (2) who died in 1971 and Elizabeth who later married Dan McHenry of Ballymena.
Patrick’s mother, Mary Anne, must have died some time around 1905 because his name is listed against the farm at that time. Patrick’s wife, Annie, died in 1919 and he died in 1920.
As we move into the twentieth century only one family of Lafertys live in the clachan – that of Patrick and Annie Laverty with Patrick’s mother still alive. As we said above Archy, the son of Patrick built a new house in the garden of what, formerly, had been Hugh McNeill’s and Francis O’Hara’s land.
People holding land only in the townland of Ballyteerim
With one exception, plots of land 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the townland of Ballyteerim were held by people who lived in either the adjoining townland of Ballycleagh or in the one beyond it – Ballindam.
John Kane, Duncan McRob & John Laferty held a small piece of land between them (no. 6 in Griffith’s). A local source recalls that this plot was used to graze a horse when cutting turf on the mountain. John Laferty lived in the clachan but Kane and McRobb lived in Ballindam and had land also in Ballycleagh.
The other plots of land were held respectively by Alexander McBride (no. 7), Donald McBride (no. 8) and John O’Hara (no. 9), all of whom lived in Ballycleagh. If you look at the 1860 Valuation map you will see that their respective plots in Ballyteerim are contiguous with their lands in Ballycleagh.
All of these lands in Ballyteerim and indeed in Ballycleagh and Ballindam were acquired by a Hugh McDonnell during the latter part of the nineteenth century. McDonnell appears to have emigrated to America at an earlier date and returned with sufficient money to buy up large tracts of land. It looks as if there had been a clachan in Ballycleagh in the earlier part of the nineteenth century and that it had been broken up some time after the Famine into single farms within the townland. McDonnell’s purchase of land in the later part of the century carried the consolidation process even further. This was in stark contrast to what was happening in the townlands of Ballyteerim and Altagore. The reasons for these differences are not entirely clear to us at the moment.