On Friday March 23 1846, the sub sheriff of County Galway, accompanied by a large force of policemen and soldiers, approached the townland of Ballinlass, and evicted 270 people.
The townland, which is to the northeast of Mountbellew, was in the ownership of John Netterville Gerrard and his wife Marcella, who lived in Meath.
Possibly because of such a heavy police and military presence, the locals were intimidated and the 61 families, a total of 270 people, were evicted and their homes demolished.
The evictions and what led up to them will be the subject of a lecture hosted by the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society in The Harbour Hotel, Dock Road, on Monday April 13 at 8pm. The talk, entitled Awful Extermination of Tenantry - The Ballinlass Evictions, 1846, will be given by Tom Crehan. His study, Marcella Gerrard’s Galway estate, 1820-70, was published in 2013 as part of the Maynooth Studies in Local History series.
Admission is free and all are welcome. See www.gahs.info
