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Papers: List of Papers 2002-09 |
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The Townland of Balcunnin |
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At the SHS June meeting Jack Baker discussed the subject ‘The Townland of Balcunnin’, touching upon the different aspects composing it’s make up and the history of some of it’s owners & occupiers. An early description in 1654-6 Civil Survey describes Balcony along with Heathstown as: - a total of 360 acres by estimate comprising of 6 acres meadow, 40 acres of coarse pasture & the remaining 314 acres as coarse land. The Down Survey map of 1655 draws the outline of Ballcony, nearly in all respects coinciding with the present day boundary. Balcunnin was once part of the manor of Rush that belonged to the Earl of Ormonde. It is in the Barony of Balrothery & the civil parish of Lusk. From 1730 it formed part of the modern RC parish of Skerries. A possible archaeological feature is a standing stone in the field opposite the Cricket Club the origins and purpose of which are not known. The only archaeological feature in Balcunnin recorded by the National Monuments Section is the holy well known as Ladywell. Pattern day was the 1 May. The water was drunk for the cure of sore throats & rags were hung on a nearby tree. In a letter of 1495, it was recorded that the Lordship of Rush was given to Sir Theobald (Tybot) Fitzwalter Le Bottyler (d.1206) in King John’s days. Balcunnin along with Kinnure was part of that manor. In 1546 the main free tenant of Balcony was one James Blackny who held it at 40s rent per annum. This family held Balcunnin & the neighbouring townland of Heathstown as the principle free tenant, de facto owner, for at least a century & a half. The 1641 Rebellion: George Blackney and others made a proclamation at the market place in Lusk, for men to assemble at Swords. The meeting composed of a large number of landholders and others reached agreement for their own defence and against any further aggression from their own government. They organised themselves into an army. The Lords and gentlemen of the Pale were basically loyalist and royalist and held a strong allegiance to the crown of England, but they were also Catholic. In Balcunnin Mrs.Sarah Doughtie widow of the late Reverend Thomas Doughtie was forcibly evicted and robbed by a gang of men. George Blackney was indicted for high treason and expelled from the Irish Parliament in November 1641. |
The frequent changes in ownership or tenancy at Balcunnin during the following 150 years were thoroughly explained by Mr. Baker showing an example of this troubled period even in the Pale. Then came the United Irishmen and 1798. A list of Balcunnin men involved is available. 300 men assembled in Hynes field in Balcunnin with the intention of attacking the yoemanry in their barracks in Skerries and Balbriggan, but the order was changed. Various incidents occurred including the robbing of the mail coach. Soon the rebellion was suppressed in Wexford and a mopping up operation took place around Ballyboughal. Following the Act of Union law and order and information gathering was improved. On Balcunnin there are lists of tenants, estate maps, tithe books, rent boooks, Griffith's Valuation and census data. There have been further changes in land ownership since then when tenants gradually acquired their holdings under the various lands acts and through the usual vicissitudes of family life, death, marriage etc.
Not many people know that Balcunnin was for a time part of the official Irish Racing Calendar. Meetings were held there annually from 1855, a grandstand was built, land improvements were made, drainage, and field divisions removed. It was known as the Skerries steeplechase and Flat Races and included the Farmers' Plate for horses of farmers residing in Co.Dublin run on a course of two and a half miles. The race meeting held in 1861 was the last official meeting recorded in the Racing Calendar. A branch of Conradh Na Gaelige was founded in Balcunnin. It remained on the books for a short period from 1901-1907. Its main purpose was the revitalisation of the Irish language, culture and sport. Language classes were held several nights per week with beginners and advanced classes in O’Growney’s and McHenry’s Irish books. Singing followed these classes and dancing which brought a social aspect to the proceedings. These activities in Balcunnin reflected a more general Irish renaissance happening on a national Level and did not meet with universal approval. The Skerries Historical Society is greatly indebted to Mr. Baker for the depth of his research.
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