A Shifting Island Landscape: Changes in Land Use and Daily Life in the 19Th and 20Th Century Village of Inishark, Co
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University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2018 A Shifting Island Landscape: Changes in Land Use and Daily Life in the 19th and 20th Century Village of Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland Lauren Marie Couey University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Human Geography Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Couey, Lauren Marie, "A Shifting Island Landscape: Changes in Land Use and Daily Life in the 19th and 20th Century Village of Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1529. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1529 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. A SHIFTING ISLAND LANDSCAPE: CHANGES IN LAND USE AND DAILY LIFE IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY VILLAGE OF INISHARK, CO. GALWAY, IRELAND __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Lauren Couey November 2018 Advisor: Lawrence Conyers ©Copyright by Lauren Couey 2018 All Rights Reserved Author: Lauren Couey Title: A SHIFTING ISLAND LANDSCAPE: CHANGES IN LAND USE AND DAILY LIFE IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY VILLAGE OF INISHARK, CO. GALWAY, IRELAND Advisor: Lawrence Conyers Degree Date: November 2018 ABSTRACT This thesis investigates changes to village spatial arrangement and land use patterns in the nineteenth and twentieth century village of Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland. To understand how spatial changes within the historic village were shaped by interactions between villagers and outside groups, including landlords and government agencies, a landscape approach was utilized. An examination of historic maps, valuation documents, and Irish Census documents, combined with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey and archaeological excavation, were used to understand how historical pressures impacted island life. Inishark’s geographic isolation creates a unique case study to understand the impact of historical pressures on rural Irish communities during this period. Historical pressures examined were landlord and tenant relationships, the imposition of British ideals, and the shifts in economic activity and movement of people. Villagers’ responses to these outside forces impacted the movement of people and their economic activities, shaping the cultural landscape of the island. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful for the time that my academic advisor, Lawrence Conyers, put into discussing the research contained in this thesis, as well as the countless hours he dedicated to providing commentary. I am appreciative of his constant support in my academic ventures, as well as his pushes to “CONCLUDE!” and to conduct meaningful research, not just “get it done”. To Ian Kuijt, thank you for the many hours you have invested in me and my academic pursuits, and for inviting me to join the CLIC Project. This thesis would not exist had you not taken a chance on me. Additional thanks for taking the time to edit this thesis and provide commentary. To my thesis moral support team, Meagan Conway, Taylor Morrison, Claire Brown, and Zoe Hamilton, thank you for the constant words of encouragement and the toleration of my whining. Meagan, thank you for answering my constant emails and texts at all hours despite being busy. Taylor, this paper would have never happened without you. Claire, thank you for keeping me sane, editing, and telling me I deserve a beer. Zoe, thank you for always being around to laugh and for making me feel less crazy. To Ryan Lash, thanks for the help with content, editing, and a good phone chat about land use on Shark. Thanks to my parents for the constant nagging to “get your thesis done”. Thanks to Mel and Laura for housing me and allowing me to nag them to “get your thesis done”. Lastly, thank you to the CLIC family for the memories and support: Meagan, Claire, Katie, Ryan, Elise, Ian, Mere, Linda, Tommy, Franc, and Terry. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND ................................................................................ 11 Historical Background – National Context ........................................................... 11 Site Background and Project History – Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland ................ 23 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 32 Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR) Survey ............................................................. 34 Archaeological Excavation ................................................................................... 43 Historic Map Digitization ..................................................................................... 45 1838 Ordnance Survey Map ..................................................................... 46 1856-57 Griffith’s Valuation Map ............................................................ 48 1898 Ordnance Survey Map ..................................................................... 50 1902 Valuation Revision Map .................................................................. 50 1910 Valuation Revision Map .................................................................. 52 Land Valuation Documents .................................................................................. 54 Irish Census Documents ....................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 58 1838 Inishark ........................................................................................................ 59 1856-1861 Inishark ............................................................................................... 65 1863-1889 Inishark ............................................................................................... 69 1890-1903 Inishark ............................................................................................... 78 1904-1907 Inishark ............................................................................................... 90 1910 – 1918 Inishark ............................................................................................ 99 1920 – 1960 Inishark .......................................................................................... 106 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 108 CHAPTER FIVE: DATA INTERPRETATION ............................................................ 110 Landscape Theory and Hybrid Space ................................................................. 111 Spatial Change and the Creation of Hybrid Space on Inishark .......................... 114 Spatial Change and Economic Shifts on Inishark ............................................... 129 Synthesis ............................................................................................................. 134 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 136 iv LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER ONE Figure 1: The location of Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland ........................................ 1 Figure 2: The remnants of the historic village of Inishark as they stand today. ..... 2 CHAPTER THREE Figure 3: Location of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey grids ................... 35 Figure 4: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) 400mHz antenna ............................... 36 Figure 5: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) reflection profile from survey Grid 1. ............................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 6: Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) amplitude map of Grid 1 .................. 37 Figure 7: Building locations on 1838 and 1898 Ordnance Survey Map of Inishark. ............................................................................................................................... 38 Figure 8: Location of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey Grid 2 ................. 40 Figure 9: Location of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey Grid 3 ................. 41 Figure 10: Location of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey Grid 4 ............... 42 Figure 11: The 1838 Ordnance Survey map of Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland .... 47 Figure 12: 1856-57 Griffith's Valuation Map of Inishark ..................................... 48 Figure 13: The southeastern corner of the island of Inishark ............................... 49 Figure 14: The 1898 Ordnance Survey map of Inishark....................................... 50 Figure 15: The 1902 valuation survey map of Inishark ........................................ 52 Figure 16: The 1910 valuation survey map of Inishark ........................................ 53 Figure 17: Land valuation revision book for Inishark depicting changes to tenants and the value of holdings ...................................................................................... 55 Figure 18: Map