Land, politics and religion on the Clancarty estate, east Galway, 1851–1914

Studies of landed estates are important for understanding not just the life of the landlords, but also for assessing the social history of the community resident on estates. This thesis expands upon existing knowledge regarding landlordism in Ireland, with its focus being land, politics and religion upon the Clancarty estate between 1851 and 1914. The estate was situated in east Galway and comprised 23,000 acres and included the large town of Ballinasloe, which underwent a radical transformation in the nineteenth century under the watchful eye of the Clancarty family. They oversaw its development from a town of dirt roads and unsanitary conditions to a superbly designed estate town that was praised by contemporaries as an example for other landlords across the country to follow. Both the urban and rural parts of the estate witnessed massive economic, political and social change, paralleled with the rest of the country. This thesis examines the common ground that existed between urban and rural tenants and traces the development of urban society and how this impacted upon the rural hinterland and vice versa. It examines the relationships that existed between townsmen, tenantfarmers and others on the estate, such as labourers. A study of this nature allows a closer examination of the reasons underpinning an estate’s decline and break up. Particular attention is paid to urban tenants and the benefits they derived from the shifting power structures in Ballinasloe, as a new elite emerged following the collapse of the Clancarty estate and the departure of the family from the town they constructed