Book Review: "Richard Griffith and His Valuations of Ireland" by James Reilly
By James Reilly and published by Clearfield Company, 2000, ISBN 0-8063-4954-9
An odd-sized paperback book (8.5x11), this publication is an absolute treasure trove for anyone researching their Irish ancestors circa 1826-1852 using Griffith’s Valuation as a data source.
Reilly is a Board-Certified Genealogical Records Specialist, and his experience and knowledge is clearly represented in this work.
Griffith generated the assessment valuation of the entire island of Ireland for the purposes of taxation. This required Griffith to first map the entire country, producing high quality, large (six inches to the mile) ordnance maps. For this task, he utilized the Royal Corp of Engineers. Then, he sent out teams of assessors to determine the quality of the soil, the size and quality of the land and buildings to determine the ability of any taxable property to generate income.
In fact, Griffith made three valuations (1826, 1846, 1852) in line with the various bits of legislation that appeared during this period (for example, the Poor Law Act of 1838). Reilly describes each valuation and what records remain of each.
Prior to Griffith, there was only a Cess Tax which was used to pay for roads, bridges, jails, courthouses etc. This tax varied immensely depending on the location and was typically only assessed on the gentry. The new valuation captured everyone and despite the many appeals was deemed far superior.
The book details (with numerous examples and images of Griffith’s working papers) how the valuation took place and who did the work. The appendices list the townland field books that contain lot occupier names, dates of publication of valuations, issue dates, inventory of Griffith’s books and where to find them by county and Poor Law Union. The latter is pure gold for genealogists.
Consider this book as a necessary companion to any research you might consider diving into Griffith’s Valuation.
Ron Gilmore
Last Updated: January 18, 2022