Although there are many references to the name Grant throughout the southern counties of Ireland from 1169 onwards, they are by and large single one off references to a Grant , but with no indication that the family settled there. However one can find in the records the places that they did settle
The main settlement until Cromwells confiscations were in Iverk and Waterford City. There are one or two other places where the family may have settled - Mallow, Youghal and New Ross in Co Wexford.
Also statistics show that the family did not live in Dublin before the Cromwellian confiscations.
Land Held by Knight Service |
Census |
Hearth Money Roll |
Tithe App |
Griffith | Protestant Marriages |
Land-owners |
|
1570 | 1659 | 1666 | 1830 | 1850 | 1845/63 | 1890 | |
Waterford | 6 | 19 | 23 | 4 | 3 | ||
Kilkenny | 3 | 40 | 9 | 106 | 111 | 2 | 5 |
Cork | 1 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 3 | ||
Tipperary | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 9 | 1 |
Kings Co | 0 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 1 | ||
Limerick | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | ||
Down | 0 | 179 | 42 | 5 | |||
Armagh | 0 | 102 | 34 | 2 | |||
Antrim | 1 | 39 | 40 | 2 | |||
Tyrone | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
Fermanagh | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||
Derry | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||
Monaghan | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |||
Louth | 0 | 20 | 1 | 3 | |||
Dublin | 0 | 18 | 20 | 1 | |||
Wexford | 0 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 1 | ||
Wicklow | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 1 | ||
Kerry | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||
Galway | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
Mayo | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||
Sligo | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
Donegal | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||
Kildare | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
Meath | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |||
Westmeath | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Statistical View
We can look at the documents that cover the whole of Ireland and draw conclusions from the spread of the family by county and their religion. (where "0" is shown the record shows no Grants, where blank the record has not been found/consulted)
The 1570 survey of land held by Knight Service gives 3 landowners in Kilkenny and 0 in Tipperary. They were firmly rooted in Iverk and Waterford prior to 1650.
In addition the only dispossessed landowners in 1664 were 4 in Kilkenny and 1 in Waterford.
There is no evidence of the family setting down roots in any of the major towns - Dublin, Cork or Limrick prior to 1650
If we now look at the growth of the population of Ireland from 1200 until after the famine, we can see that apart from ups and downs with plagues and wars, the population remained fairly constant at around one to two million until 1600. Growth continued after the Cromwellian War and climbed to a peak of about 8.5 million when the famine hit in the 1840's.
One can assume that there were roughly as many Grant families in Ireland in 1600 as in 1200. With about 2.5 times the number of families in 1700 and 5 times the number of families by 1800. With a peak of 8.5 times the number in 1845.
From the figures point to about 3 families in Waterford in 1600 (and it would appear that the Grants only went to Waterford after 1550. And to 13 families in Co Kilkenny in 1600. However the evidence is that Waterford had more than 3 families prior to Cromwells arrival in Ireland I would guess at 6 Grant families in the city then, and they would have fled to Co Kilkenny after being expeled from the town by the Cromwellians.
This would lead us to the view that in 1600 there were 6 Grant families in Waterford, and 10 in Co Kilkenny, with another 2 families in Co Wexford. These would have been the descendants of the original Norman baron.
The figures for Tipperary and Kings County suggest that around 1800 there were 8 families in Tipperary and 3 in Kings Co. These would have been.
date |
marriages
|
deaths |
before
1600 |
1 |
1 |
1601 -
1650 |
0 |
0 |
1651 -
1700 |
3 |
3 |
1701 -
1750 |
6 |
3 |
1751 -
1800 |
27 |
10 |
The earliest references to births is a series of children born to David(labourer) & Catherine from 1683. There is also a second couple David(labourer) & Elizabeth having a family at the same time.
The 3 marriages from 1650 to 1770 are all Elizabeth. The deaths at this period are Henry (innkeeper) in 1663, Richard (merchant) in 1696 and Thomas in 1664.
date |
marriages |
deaths |
before 1700 |
0 |
0 |
1701 - 1750 |
2 |
0 |
1751 - 1800 |
9 |
2 |
1801 - 1850 |
8 |
2 |
Diocesan Records
1600/99 |
1700/99 |
1800/99 |
||||
wills |
mar |
wills |
mar |
wills |
mar |
|
Leighlin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Kildare |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|||
Cashel + Emly |
0 |
0 |
8 |
11 |
||
Killaloe + Kilfenora
|
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
||
Limrick |
0 |
0 |
||||
Tuam |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Waterford |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
|
Ossory |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Ferns |
3 |
0 |
1 |
|||
Cork + Ross |
0 |
1 |
20 |
11 |
||
Elphin |
0 |
0 |
||||
Clonfert |
0 |
0 |
||||
Cloyne |
1 |
0 |
8 |
18 |
||
Killala + Achonry |
2 |
1 |
||||
Clougher |
1 |
|||||
Kilmore + Ardagh |
4 |
|||||