Browne — Ethnography of Ballycroy, Co. Mayo. 



91 



In Knight's " Erris" the following are given as results of a census 

 in 1831 (p. 99):— 



Houses inhabited, .... 







424 



Number of families, 







505 



Number of persons, male and female, 







2925 



Number of males, .... 







1420 



Number of females. 







1505 



Number of males over 20, 







473 



Employed as handicrafts {sic), 







59 



Employed in agriculture, &c.. 







817 



Farmers of first class. 







16 



Farmers of second class, 







489 



(b.) Acreage and Rental. — The total area of the district is 51,882 

 acres, and the valuation £1937. 



The holdings are small, averaging about 4|- acres under tillage : 

 the whole would average some 15 acres, with a rental of about £5 for 

 the better class, about £3 for the poorer. The tillage land is in 

 many cases held in strips, often by two or more men in partnership. 

 There is but little commonage, as most of the "mountain" or moor- 

 land is in the landlord's hands, and let out for grazing. In 1891 

 there were 76 holdings of between £4 and £10 valuation, 289 of £2 

 and under £4, and 96 of under £2. 



^Formerly in Ballycroy, as in the rest of Erris, the land was held 

 by communities, under a head man or king, who parcelled out the 

 collops, or holdings, by lot every third year, as described by Mr. 

 Knight, and quoted in last year's Report. This system has ceased to 

 exist for many years, and the holdings are now mostly held at judicial 

 rents. 



(c.) Language and Education — Language. — The people may be said 

 to be practically bilingual, as most of them speak both Irish and 

 English. A number of older people speak Irish only, but they are 

 rapidly becoming fewer. The dialect they speak is somewhat diffe- 

 rent from that of the other peoples of Erris, though not so much so as 

 formerly, and has most of the characters of Ulster Irish. The exact 

 proportion of those speaking Irish only, and Irish and English, was 

 not ascertainable, as the census only gives language returns by baro- 

 nies. In 1891 the barony of Erris, with a population of 16,504, had 

 726 who spoke Irish only, 5394 Irish and English. 



Education. — There is a very considerable proportion of illiteracy 

 in the district ; but here again I am unable to give the exact amount, 

 as the returns on this subject are made by parislies, and Ballycroy 



