Ardfert Abbey

THE EARLS OF GLANDORE OWNED 9,913 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KERRY

This family came into Ireland during the reign of ELIZABETH I when one of the house of CROSBIE, of Great Crosby, in Lancashire, left two sons, Patrick and John.

PATRICK CROSBIE, the elder son, obtained a considerable landed property, and was succeeded by his son,

PIERS CROSBIE (1590-1646), who incurred the resentment of the great Earl of Strafford, for opposing in parliament his violent measures, which obliged him to quit the kingdom, when a second prosecution was carried on against him by the Star Chamber, in England, which ended in his confinement in the Fleet, from whence he escaped beyond seas, and continued abroad until Lord Strafford's trial, when he became, in his turn, evidence against him.

He is said to have been created a baronet by JAMES I, and was a gentleman of the Privy Chamber to CHARLES I, and a Lord of the Privy Council.

Sir Piers died without issue, and bequeathed his estates to his cousins, Walter and David Crosbie.

THE RT REV JOHN CROSBIE, his uncle, Lord Bishop of Ardfert, appointed to that see in 1601, married Winifred, daughter of O'Lalor, of the Queen's County, and had, with four daughters, six sons,

WALTER (Sir), 1st Baronet;
DAVID, ancestor of the EARLS OF GLANDORE;
John (Sir), of Tullyglass, Co Down;
Patrick;
William;
Richard.

The Queen's letter to Lord Deputy Mountjoy, dated from the manor of Oatland, 1601, directing his appointment to the see of Ardfert, describes the Bishop as

"a graduate in schools, of the English race, skilled in the English tongue, and well disposed in religion."

He was prebendary of Dysart in the diocese of Limerick.

His lordship died in 1621. His second son,

DAVID CROSBIE (1610-58), Colonel in the army, Governor of Kerry, 1641, stood a siege in Ballingarry Castle for more than twelve months.

He was afterwards governor of Kinsale for CHARLES I.

In 1646, Colonel Crosbie inherited a portion of the estate of his cousin, Sir Piers Crosbie, son of Patrick Crosbie, who had been granted a large portion of The O'More's estate in Leix.

He married a daughter of the Rt Rev John Steere, Lord Bishop of Ardfert, and had, with four daughters, two sons,

THOMAS (Sir), his heir;
Patrick, of Tubrid, Co Kerry.

Colonel Crosbie was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR THOMAS CROSBIE (1650-94), Knight, of Ardfert, High Sheriff of Kerry, 1668, knighted by James, Duke of Ormonde, in consideration of the loyalty of his family during the Usurper's rebellion.

Sir Thomas, MP for County Kerry in the parliament held at Dublin by JAMES II, 1688, refused to take the oath of allegiance to WILLIAM III.

He married firstly, Bridget, daughter of Thomas Tynte, of County Cork, and had issue,

DAVID, father of 1st and 2nd Barons Brandon;
William;
Patrick;
Walter;
Sarah; Bridget.

Sir Thomas wedded secondly, Ellen, daughter of Garrett FitzGerald, of Ballynard, County Limerick, by whom he had no issue; and thirdly, in 1680, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of William Hamilton, of Liscloony, King's County, by whom he had a daughter, Ann, living in 1694, and (with a daughter) four sons,

THOMAS;
John;
Pierce;
Charles;
Ann.

Sir Thomas's eldest son,

DAVID CROSBIE, of Ardfert, wedded Jane, younger daughter and co-heir to William Hamilton.

He died in 1717, and was succeeded by his heir,

SIR MAURICE CROSBIE (1690-1762), Knight, of Ardfert, who married the Lady Elizabeth Anne FitzMaurice, eldest daughter of Thomas, Earl of Kerry.

Sir Maurice, MP for County Kerry, 1713-58, was elevated to the peerage, on his retirement, in the dignity of Baron Brandon, of Brandon, County Kerry.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM, 2nd Baron (1716-81), MP for Ardfert, 1735-62, who was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1771, as Viscount Crosbie, of Ardfert, County Kerry.

His lordship was further advanced, to the dignity of an earldom, in 1776, as EARL OF GLANDORE.

He married firstly, in 1745, the Lady Theodosia Bligh, daughter of John, Earl of Darnley; and secondly, in 1777, Jane, daughter of Edward Vesey.

His lordship was succeeded by his only surviving son,

JOHN, 2nd Earl (1753-1815), PC, MP for Athboy, 1775.

The 2nd Earl chose to sit for the latter, and held the seat until 1781, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered the Irish House of Lords. He was sworn of the Irish Privy Council in 1785.

In 1789, he was appointed Joint Master of the Rolls in Ireland alongside the Earl of Carysfort; was married in London, in 1771, by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the Hon Diana, daughter of George, 1st Viscount Sackville. The marriage was childless.

The earldom and viscountcy expired on his death; the barony, however, reverted to his lordship's cousin,

THE REV DR WILLIAM CROSBIE, as 4th Baron (1771-1832), son of the Very Rev and Hon Maurice Crosbie, Dean of Limerick, younger son of the 1st Baron.

His lordship wedded, in 1815, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of David La Touche, of Upton, by whom he had a daughter,

THE HON ELIZABETH CECILIA CROSBIE, who married, in 1837, Henry Galgacus Redhead Yorke MP.

The 4th Baron served as rector of Castle Island in County Kerry.

On his death, in 1832, the titles expired.

ARDFERT ABBEY, Ardfert, County Kerry, was a mansion originally built at the end of the 17th century by Sir Thomas Crosbie.

It was renovated in 1720 by Sir Maurice Crosbie (afterwards 1st Lord Brandon), and further altered about 1830.

The house comprised a two-storey block with seven-bay front, the two outer bays on either side breaking forwards and framed by quoins.

There was a pedimented centre; plain rectangular door-case; and a high, eaved roof on a modillion cornice.

The front was elongated by lower two-storey wings which protruded forwards at right angles to it, thus forming an open forecourt.

Inside the house, the panelled hall was decorated with figures painted in monochrome on panels.

There was an early 18th century staircase and gallery; Corinthian newels, and more panelling on the landing.

A large drawing-room boasted compartmented plasterwork on the ceiling.

Here there was a full-length Reynolds portrait of Lady Glandore.

The gardens had an early formal layout: sunken parterre; yew alleys; trees cut into an arcade; avenues of beech, lime and elm.

A ruined Franciscan friary was in the grounds.

The mansion was burnt to the ground by the IRA ca 1922, and all that remains are some relics of the formal garden.

Ardfert Abbey (or House) eventually passed to the 2nd Earl of Glandore's sister, the Lady Anne Crosbie, who married William John Talbot in 1775.

Her eldest son,

The Rev John Talbot-Crosbie MA, of Ardfert House, married Jane, daughter of Colonel Thomas Lloyd, in 1811; was MP for Ardfert, prior to taking Holy Orders.

In 1816, his name was legally changed to John Talbot-Crosbie.

He died in 1818.

His eldest son,

William Talbot Talbot-Crosbie JP DL (1817-99), of Ardfert House, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1848.

He married firstly, Susan Anne, daughter of Hon Lindsey Merrick Peter Burrell, in 1839. He married secondly, Emma, daughter of Hon Lindsey Merrick Peter Burrell, in 1853. He married thirdly, Mary Jane, daughter of Maj.-Gen. Sir Henry Torrens, in 1868 at Edinburgh. In 1880, his name was legally changed to William Talbot Talbot-Crosbie.

His youngest son,

Lindsey Bertie Talbot-Crosbie JP DL (1844-1913), married Anne Crosbie, daughter of Colonel Edward Thomas Coke and Diana Talbot-Crosbie, in 1871; Lieutenant, RN; High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1903. His 2nd son,

John Burrell Talbot-Crosbie (1873-1969), of Ardfert House, married Mary, daughter of Gilbert Leitch, in 1910.

The marriage was childless.

Mr Talbot-Crosbie sold Ardfert House (the garden gates being re-erected outside the parish church in Tralee as a memorial to the Crosbie family).

It stood close to Ardfert Village, next to Ardfert Friary with extensive surrounding grounds.

The house was evacuated by the Crosbies and most of its furniture and belongings removed prior to it being burned by the IRA in August, 1922.

Article from a publication written thereafter: The Lord Danesfort:

"May I give two illustrations of damage to property since the truce, and of the manner in which it has been treated? I take the case of Mr. Talbot-Crosby, and I mention his name because his case was fully reported in the Cork newspapers of May last.

What happened was this. His house, Ardfert Abbey, was burnt to the ground at the end of 1922, or the beginning of 1923. In May, 1924, his case came before the County Court Judge. It was, I venture to think, a most astounding case.

It was admitted that if, at or shortly before the time when the house was burnt, Mr. Talbot Crosby had been in residence, he would have been entitled, I think, to a sum of something like £21,000 compensation.

But the counsel or solicitor who appeared for the Free State at that hearing raised this extraordinary defence. He pointed to a section in the Act of 1923 to the effect that if the house was not at the time of the damage maintained as a residence by the applicant, the applicant should only get what they called market value.

Then he went on to argue that Mr. Talbot Crosby had been driven out of his house by threats of violence some few months before; therefore, his compensation, which would otherwise be £21,000, should be reduced to £2,250.

Did ever such a travesty of justice come before the Court of any civilised country in the world?

It comes to this, that if there is a ruffianly body in Ireland desirous of getting rid of a man, turning him out of his house and country and destroying his property, all it has to do is to terrorise him, shoot at him, turn him out of Ireland, and having allowed a few weeks, or whatever time this Court thinks necessary, to elapse after he has left Ireland, then to burn his house down and otherwise destroy his property.

Then, when he comes to ask for compensation, he only gets one-tenth of what he would otherwise receive. I hope the noble Lord will see the gravity of a ease of that sort. I have already given him particulars of it, and I trust he has applied to the Free State and is able to give me the explanation that they offer." 

Former Dublin residence ~ Fitzwilliam Square.

First published in August, 2013.   Glandore arms courtesy of European Heraldry.