Bawnboy

Bawnboy (Irish: an Bádhún Buí, meaning "the yellow bawn") is a small village in a valley at the foot of Slieve Rushen, between Ballyconnell and Swanlinbar, in County Cavan, Ireland. The current population is about 250. A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word badhún meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure" – its original purpose was to protect cattle during an attack. The remains of a late medieval bawn is to be seen at Bawnboy House, which is the origin of the village name. The earliest surviving mention of the placename is in the 1664 Hearth Money Rolls for Templeport where it is called Baonboy'. Another name for the village is Kilsub or Kilsob. The 1622 Survey of County Cavan states: "Sir Richard Greames, holdeth 1000 acres of this land, upon which there is built a Bawne of stone and lyme, sixty foot square and nine foot high, with a little stone house within, where in Lieutenant William Ruttledge dwelleth and hath a lease thereof and of 200 acres of land for 21 yeares and the rest of Sir Richard’s 1000 acres are sett to the Irish from yeare to yeare, who plowgh after ye Irish fashion."

A synod of the Roman Catholic Provincial Council of Armagh was held in Baunbuidhe (Bawnboy) on 25 May 1669 where the Bishop of Kilmore, Eugene MacSweeney tried to depose Thomas Fitzsimons, the vicar general of the diocese.

Bawnboy is part of the ancient parish of Templeport, birthplace of St Mogue. Its most famous building is a Victorian workhouse, built in 1853, long disused and now derelict.

The 1821 Census of Ireland states that the population of the village was 189.

The 1831 Census of Ireland states that there were 12 houses in the village, all occupied. The population was 60, of which 28 were males and 32 females, so the population had dropped by 129 since 1821. The occupations were 2 female servants, 1 male servant, 1 professional, 4 retailers or craftsmen, 6 agricultural labourers, 4 farmers.

The 1841 Census of Ireland states that there were 26 houses in the village, 8 of which were unoccupied. The population was 96, of which 47 were males and 49 females, so the population had increased by 36 since 1831.

...
Wikipedia