The Flanagan farm, Greenhills road, Kilnamanagh, Co.Dublin

The old Flanagan family farm, on the Greenhills road (or Green Hills road).
In Kilnamanagh townland (and here), in Tallaght parish, SW Co.Dublin.

Things to do:
- The Kavanagh family might have photos of the house in the 1940s-1950s before it was demolished.

The Flanagan house and farm surviving in the late 20th century.
Shows the house was at the roadside. Shows the house and farm were still there when the first houses on the housing estate were built.
From Leo Swan Archive. Reference LS_AS_35CT_00056_12m. From here. Labelled as: "Oblique aerial photograph .. of Tymon North".
See full size. See other copy.
See other copy from here.

The Flanagan house is the old farmhouse at the roadside, on the bottom side of the road as we look here, to the RHS.
Beyond it to the RHS is the new housing estate. Constantine House is gone.
Below the Flanagan house you can see the shape of plot 15.
There is another old house on the top side of the road to the RHS. (This is still there today.)

The Flanagan farm at Green Hills, Kilnamanagh.
Home of Edward Flanagan before 1803, possibly as early as 1777. (Certainly he lived in the area at that time.)
[Deed, 1803] is a new lease by Edward Flanagan of the property he already occupies at Green Hills.

His son William Flanagan inherited the farm.
[Deed, 1825] is about the family property in Kilnamanagh. It refers to [Deed, 1803].
[Deed, 1825] says the William Flanagan property in Kilnamanagh is bounded on N and E by the property of "Michael Flanagan" (would be William's brother). It is bounded on S and W by the property of Patrick Reynolds.
William Flanagan is listed here with a farm of 21 acres in [Tithe Survey, 1826].
He is listed here with a farm of 15 acres (with a modest house) in [Griffiths Valuation, 1847] and later.
The plot is always listed as 15 acres in size in the Valuation Lists, 1855 to 1952.
William Flanagan died 1874.

His son William Flanagan the younger apparently inherited the Greenhills farm. He died 1886.
Alderman Michael Flanagan inherited the Greenhills farm.
Alderman Michael Flanagan still held it at his death in 1931. Valuation Lists show it as still 15 acres.

The [VO] records say the house was in ruins in 1939.
Kavanagh took over the farm from the Flanagan family in 1940.
Liam Cosgrave and Deirdre and Finola Flanagan saw the house in the 1940s-50s and do not remember it in ruins.
Perhaps Kavanagh did it up again.

The old maps clearly show that the Flanagan house was at the roadside.
The farm stretched behind it, down in a valley, down the slope off the E side of the Greenhills Road.
The Flanagan house was modest, much smaller than its two neighbours to the N and S.
The house was "beautifully thatched" [Frank Flanagan's memoirs].
The thatched roof was apparently replaced with a slate roof by the time Finola Flanagan saw it around the 1950s.

The house still exists on aerial photo when the first houses of the housing estate are built.
It was demolished in late 20th century.
The house is now gone. No trace of it.

Location of the (possibly future) Flanagan farm.
The Green Hills road, Kilnamanagh, on Rocque's map of 1760.
From South Dublin Historical Mapping.
The Flanagan farm location would be just above the crossroads in the centre here, on the E side of the road.
The Flanagan house was at the roadside. There is nothing marked here. It may not exist yet.
There is a building somewhat away from the road on the E side, which is marked, but does not seem to exist on later maps.
See wider version (rotated so N is to the right). From South Dublin Libraries.

The Green Hills road, Kilnamanagh, on Taylor's map of 1816.
From South Dublin Historical Mapping.
The Flanagan farm would be just above "Gayfield", on the E side of the road. Not marked here. Below the houses that are marked.

The Green Hills road, Kilnamanagh, on Duncan's map of 1821.
From South Dublin Historical Mapping.
The Flanagan farm would be the house marked at the roadside on the E side of the road, just above "Gayfield".

"William Flanigan" is listed at "Killamana" (Kilnamanagh) in [Tithe Survey, 1826]. See p.1 and p.2.
He is holding 21 acres of "Meadow, Pasture and Tillage".
The holding is 21 English acres or 13 Irish acres ("Plantation Measure").
In Kilnamanagh he is the only Flanagan listed.

The Flanagan farm (Plot 15 in the numbering below) highlighted on 1829 to 1842 map.
See unhighlighted.
[Deed, 1825] says the William Flanagan property in Kilnamanagh is bounded on N and E by property of "Michael Flanagan", who would be his brother.

William Flanagan is listed at Kilnamanagh in [Griffiths Valuation, 1847]. See p.87 and p.88.
William Flanagan is occupying 15 acres (with a modest house).
Leasing from "Reps. of H. Hudson, Esq." (i.e. the heirs of Hartley Hodson who died 1839).
Shows the Flanagan house at plot 15 as much smaller (buildings value £4) than its two neighbours at plots 14 and 16 (£9 and £19).

William Flanagan is listed at Kilnamanagh in [Griffiths Valuation, 1850]. See p.83.
William Flanagan is occupying 15 acres (with a modest house).
Leasing from "Reps. H. Hudson, Esq.".
Shows the Flanagan house as much smaller (buildings value £4) than its two neighbours (£8 and £17).

[VO] Griffiths Valuation maps, Dublin county, map 22.
See full size.
Plot numbers exactly match [Griffiths Valuation, 1850]. Can't see any mis-match.
William Flanagan is listed in [Griffiths Valuation, 1850] as occupying 15 acres (with a modest house) at plot 15.

Plots 14A, 14B, 15 and 16 on map in [VO] of unclear date.
See full size.

Close-up of Flanagan farm.
Similar map to above, of uncertain date. See full size.

Proof that Constantine House was the Dunne house (plot 14).
Above is from Freemans Journal, April 24, 1886.
At Laurence Dunne's funeral were his neighbours Michael Flanagan, TC and teenage Michael Flanagan, junior and Robert Stubbs, PLG and Robert Stubbs, junior.
"W. Flannagan, TC" may be William Flanagan (PLG, not a TC) or may be a Dublin Corporation councillor called William Fanagan, TC.

The Flanagan farm highlighted on 1887 to 1913 map.
See unhighlighted.
The Dunne house (Plot 14) is now called "Constantine House".

Map in [VO] of unclear date.
Showing "Constantine House".
See full size.

The area on 1935-1938 map. From South Dublin Historical Mapping.
Note there is no house downhill except Constantine House.
[Watchorn, 1985, p.164] has a map of c.1948 showing "Constantine House".

Proof that the Flanagan farm is plot 15

The plot numbering in Kilnamanagh is consistent from [Griffiths Valuation] through decades of Valuation Lists. Everything matches. The plot numbers on the map match plot sizes in the text. All other records (such as newspapers) agree with both text and map. There is no doubt. In summary:

Plot 14 is the Dunne house, later called Constantine House.
Plot 15 is the Flanagan house and farm.
Plot 16 is Airmount (or "Air Mount", later "Palatine House").

Therefore the Flanagan house was at the roadside. There was no house downhill in the Flanagan farm.

Memory of a house downhill

Various family members thought the Flanagan house was downhill:

Liam Cosgrave remembered the farm at exactly this location, but thought the house was down the slope, not at the roadside. He said the house was a 1 storey house, modest size, but 15 acres of land, including an orchard laid out symmetrically.
Deirdre and Finola Flanagan both thought that their father Frank pointed out the house as downhill. Finola thought it was a "solid" 1 storey house, think with a slate roof. Possibly with dark red painted door and window frames.

But it is clear from the late 20th century aerial photo that there was no house downhill.
Perhaps people confused the house with Constantine House next door, which is a bit downhill.

The Flanagan farm - Valuation Lists

The Flanagan farm - The site today

Other properties in Greenhills, Tallaght

My ancestors - Flanagan - Contents