1901 Census Research for Dunfierth, Co. Kildare

Dunfierth Electoral Division Population Changes 1841 to 1901

The Electoral Division of Dunfierth consists of 10 townlands and 5,550 acres, the largest being the townland of Kilmurry with 1,017 acres, some of it bog. Townlands such as Dunfierth, Dysart and Gorteen border Co. Meath. The area was sparsely populated with only 356 residents present on Census night, March 31^st 1901, an average of 1 person for every 16 acres or one household for every 98 acres. Between 1841 and 1901 the population declined 62% from 930 residents to 356. The population has recovered to 804 residents in 2022 according to that census. 

According to the Civil Survey of 1654, John Bermingham, an Irish Papist, owned all of the land, which consisted of 800 arable statute acres, 64 acres of meadow, 1,280 acres of pasture, 96 acres of shrubby wood, and about 3,200 acres of red bog.

The area lies to the east and south  Johnstown Bridge on the Kildare/Meath border. Within its boundaries it is served by two roads: the road from Enfield to Timahoe provides access to  Dunfierth, Killyan, Mulgeeth, Mucklin and Clonagh; while the road from Enfield to Carbury feeds  Kilmurry, Kilshanroe, and Clonagh.

Dunfierth’s Main Landlords in the 1854

Griffith’s Valuations tell us that the main landlords in this area around 1854 were the Reps. of Frederick Hamilton in Clonagh and Mucklin, the Reps. of Sir Francis MacDonnell in Coolrea and Killyan, Michael Errington, Sarah Bourke and Rt. Hon. Richard More O’Ferrall in Dunfierth; Soloman Watson, Mary Donohue and the Earl of Milltown in Dysart, James MacDonnell in Gorteen, and George MaGrath in Kilmurry. 

In 1804, the townland of Dunfierth contained 651 acres valued at £580, including Dunfierth House. It was the family home of the Hamilton family since 1710 but was sold by Frederick Hamilton to Sir Francis MacDonnell in 1821, who also lived there.

In the 1901 Census, a Francis MacDonnell in England was still the landlord of Dunfierth House, a 1^st class  twenty roomed property but the tenant was Englishman Francis Ffrench-Davis, his wife Margurite Mary Julia, nee Hibbert, and their first child Gwendoline Mary.

In 1999 Kildare County Council restored the standing remains of Dunfierth’ s medieval church which dates back to c.1500. It contains the Hamilton family vault which was built in 1815 by Frederick Hamilton and which incorporated the alter tomb of the Birmingham family dating from 1548. Photos can be found here.  

In 1838, Mulgeeth House in the townland of Mulgeeth was occupied by Mr. Edward Ruthven, Member of Parliament for Kildare from 1832 to 1837. He won the parliamentary seat for Kildare in the 1832 general election standing for the Repeal Association. He argued for the confiscation of land belonging to the Church of Ireland and for the revenue on the land to support the poor. He was re-elected in 1835 but lost his seat in 1837. His father, Edward Southwell Ruthven (1772-1836) MP was also an Irish Repealer politician who supported the Daniel O’Connell campaign to repeal the Act of Union.

Francis Metcalfe lived at Metcalfe House in the townland of Gorteen in Griffith’s Valuations. The house was   a five-bay three-story Georgian home built around 1720, which had 18 rooms in 1901 and was occupied then by son and namesake Francis Metcalfe, Justice of the Peace, his wife Ellen, nee Dennis, and daughter Helen. 

Excellent Book published on Farming and Society since 1700 in the barony of Carbury

At the end of 2024, as part of the Maynooth Studies in Local History, The Four Court Press has published an excellent book on this part of Co. Kildare that is worth purchasing. The title is “Farming and society since 1700 in the barony of Carbury, Co. Kildare, by Lesley Whiteside. Detailed farm records from the likes of the Holt family were used when researching this local study, and the book can be purchased from the publisher at this link. 

Population Decreased by 62% between 1841 and 1901.

The population decrease of 62% between 1841 and 1901 is similar to surrounding areas but significantly higher than that endured in South Kildare.  There were 167 houses in 1841 housing 930 residents, an average of 5.6 people per house. By 1901 only 98 houses were occupied, housing just 356 residents, an average of 3.6 per household.

During the famine decade, the population declined by 186 (20%) between 1841 and 1851, similar to the neighbouring area of Drehid, but after that, the decline each decade averaged about 6 people per year. 

The population declined in all townlands except Gorteen, where it increased from 12 to 20, due to the development of Metcalfe Park. Dysart’s population only fell by 11%. Kilmurry was the largest and most populated townland and experienced a 55% decline from 295 residents to 132 by 1901.

Clonagh’s population fell by 79% from 246 to 51 residents. Most of the decline happened between 1841 and 1861 when it fell 65% in 20 years.   

Ryan, Owens, and Connor were the most common surnames in Dunfierth in 1901

There were 15 residents in the Dunfierth ED with the surname Ryan in 1901, followed by Owens and Connor with 13 each and then Flanagan, Sheridan, Daly, McNally, and Mangan with 12 each.