Liberty, a place? in Co Laois

[Rakiura John]

Take the births to Kyran Phelan & Anne Murphy as a case study.

All children were Baptised in Borris-in-Ossory RC Parish [Film 5014/11].

All Birth Regn's were in Borris-in-Ossory Regn District, Union of Donaghmore, Queen's Co [therefore IrishGeneaology.ie has the Regn's under Donaghmore].

The town of Borris-in-Ossory, the Townparks townland surrounding that town, the nearby Sentryhill townland, and the “distant” Tooreagh townland, are all located within Aghaboe civil parish and within the Union of Donaghmore. Therefore none of these places can be eliminated by using Civil Regn location.

1901 & 1911 Census has the family in Sentryhill townland.

The family Headstone is in Knockaroo Cemetery, near Borris-in-Ossory town.

1863 son Patrick – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; pre Civil Birth Regn
1864 son Joseph – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Liberty”
1865 dau Mary – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “CentryHill” [sic]
1867 dau Ann – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Touereigh”
1868 dau Honora – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Liberty”
1870 son Kyran – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Toaureigh”
1875 dau Teresa – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty Borris”; Birth Regn not found

The reference to “Liberty Borris” in Teresa's 1875 Bap is revealing – it supports Liberty being in the neighbourhood of Borris township, e.g. the Townparks surrounding the town. It also suggests the family's Residence was, at least in Teresa's case, being given due consideration and not just being entered pro-forma by the Priest.

The father is shown as “Farmer” in all Birth Regn's. This suggests a static abode (as is evidenced by all Baps having his residence as “Liberty”), as opposed to say a “Farm Labourer” who might move about.
The fact that the Birth Regn Residence jumps from Liberty – Sentryhill – Touereigh – Liberty – Touareigh, is the perflexing factor. In all cases the Informant was the father, so it's not a case of different Informants having different perspectives on a location name.

As regards Tooreagh townland, it is a small area, some 24 acres. Griffiths Valn (1850) has 1 Occupier (Jeremiah Nolan) occupying the total area – Land only (i.e. no house), which further argues against Tooreagh being the family's dwelling place “Touereigh”.

This would seem to be a case of someone with local knowledge (or access to historical maps) eventually coming across this post and coming to the rescue.

Thanks for input so far.
John

[Wexflyer]

The Down Survey map of the parish (1655) can be seen at
http://downsurvey.tchpc.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php#bm=Upper+Ossory&c=Laois+(Queens)&p=Aghavoe

[Wexflyer]

Take the births to Kyran Phelan & Anne Murphy as a case study.

1863 son Patrick – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; pre Civil Birth Regn
1864 son Joseph – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Liberty”
1865 dau Mary – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “CentryHill” [sic]
1867 dau Ann – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Touereigh”
1868 dau Honora – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Liberty”
1870 son Kyran – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty”; Birth Regn has birthplace & father's dwelling place as “Toaureigh”
1875 dau Teresa – Bap's Residence column has “Liberty Borris”; Birth Regn not found

John

I have only checked the first registration from this list, that of Joseph in 1864.
The birth is registered as Joseph Whelan, not Phelan.
Is it that the two surnames are to be taken as the same?

Note that RootsIreland, which is usually good at this, does not seem to treat Whelan and Phelan as interchangeable.

[Wexflyer]

Andrew Phelan of Sentryhill was murdered (per newspaper reports) in 1894.
Death regsitration
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/deaths_returns/deaths_1894/05949/4690573.pdf

Note that Union is now ROSCREA.

[shanreagh]

I've only ever come across Liberty/Liberties in Ireland in connection with the Liberties of Coleraine.
 
'The "liberties of Coleraine" refers to a specific barony (a medieval territorial division) and a historical area in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It's not a general term about freedom or autonomy but rather a geographical and historical designation. Specifically, the North East Liberties of Coleraine comprises the lands east of the River Bann, which were governed as part of the Coleraine town.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Barony:
In the medieval era, a barony was a territorial division often associated with a lord or manor.
North East Liberties of Coleraine:
This barony is located in County Londonderry, east of the River Bann.
Geographic Context:
The term refers to the lands that were historically governed as part of the town of Coleraine, even though they were physically on the opposite side of the river.
Historical Significance:
This area was part of a larger medieval territory known as the "Route" and later became the barony of North East Liberties of Coleraine.
North East Liberties of Coleraine - Wikipedia
The North East Liberties of Coleraine (named after Coleraine town) is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It borders...

Wikipedia

North East Liberties of Coleraine - Wikishire
9 Mar 2018 — The North East Liberties of Coleraine are those parts of County Londonderry which lie to the east of the River Bann, and...
Wikishire


The North East Liberties of Coleraine are those parts of County Londonderry which lie to the east of the River Bann, and they constitute a barony of that county. They are the lands across the Bann which were governed as appurtenant to Coleraine, a town which stands mainly on the river's west bank.9 Mar 2018' from Wiki

There is also the Liberties in Dublin
The Liberties' name originates from areas that were independent of the usual city government due to special jurisdictions and manorial rights.

In studying old land tenure forms back in the day, connected with a law degree, a liberty was one of these
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_(division)

The general populace was able to move about more freely on the liberties surrounding a town

[Rakiura John]

Wexflyer, hadn't come across that 1894 death of Andrew Phelan. Thanks for that.
regards
John

[Rakiura John]

Wexflyer, Phelan/Whelan tends to be interchangeable - not sure if this is due to record-keepers having their own preferences or because the subject person is just casual about which name they use. I've been chasing Phelans/Whelans for many years now and have found some families rigidly follow their particular version of the surname while others chop and change, sometimes within the same document.
Whether the names are associated in reality, I don't know.
The IrishGeneaology search engine will bring up both names if you search either name, so they are taking a pragmatic approach.
FamilySearch on the other hand, while it will bring up many variant spellings within the Whelan name, it won't treat Phelan as a variant; and vice versa.
The reality is to treat them as interchangeable.

[Rakiura John]

shanreagh, the fact that the area surrounding the town of Borris-in-Ossory is named "Townparks" might suggest it's tenure allowed some special treatment in former times. If the area was locally known as the liberty, that may well have some historical basis. We just haven't been able to find any background information regarding this area so far.
Thanks for your input.
John

[Rakiura John]

The FamilySearch Catalogue has the "Valuation Revision Books" for the area I'm concerned with. See the screenshots below. They are available on microfilm. Does this mean I can view them by going to a LDS Library near me? (never done this before).