Gerry Fox's Manorhamilton launch of excellent Ballaghameehan book

There was a good attendance for the Manorhamilton launch of Gerry Fox's excellent “Ballaghameehan Parish, Co. Leitrim 1800-1922” book in the Library on Tuesday evening, March 28.
The entertaining and informative launch was performed by Leitrim Guardian Editor, Tommy Moran, Ballinamore. Gerry's detailed and easy to read 239 page book, which he spent 30 years researching, details many interesting items about his native Ballaghameehan over a period of 122 years of crucial Irish history.

Among these details Gerry gives a first rate account of the Wynne family of Hazelwood, Sligo and originally of Lurganboy (1558) who were the landlords in the Ballaghameehan part of the Rossinver parish while the Johnston family of Kinlough were the landlords of the other two parts of Rossinver parish, namely Rossinver and Glenaniff.
Because of the costs of fighting parliamentary elections in the period circa 1800, as well as the payment of substantial dowries, the Wynne family amassed massive debts and as a result the Wynne tenants in Ballaghameehan had to pay a huge increase in the rents.

Gerry Fox explains what happened in his book “ Ballaghameehan Parish, County Leitrim” – 'Owen Wynne (1755-1841) increased the number of tenants paying rent to his estate nine-fold. The new tenants were now predominantly Roman Catholic.
'The original middle-men received smaller tenancies. Some remained in the same townland. Others were relocated to other townlands in the parish of Ballaghameehan. The division of townlands into smaller parts became the farm structure which still exists in the parish of Ballaghameehan.

'Prior to the restructuring of the tenancies of the Wynne Estate in Ballaghameehan, there were fourteen tenancies with seventeen middlemen tenants. Seventeen of the middlemen or forty-one percent were Protestant. The Wynne Estate received annual rents of £708 from these middlemen.
'Following the restructuring of the tenancies there were now one-hundred and forty-two tenancies with one-hundred and forty-eight tenants.' Copies of the “Ballaghameehan Parish, Co. Leitrim 1800-1922” book can be purchased in the Ballagh Centre or from the Amazon website.