High Flyer

I was thirteen years old when this picture was taken.

Believe it or not, I won the senior 100 yards, long jump, triple jump and, I think, the 220 yards; and went on to win the Victor Ludorum.

The occasion was the annual Brackenber House School sports day, which took place at North of Ireland Cricket Club grounds, Ormeau Road, Belfast, in 1973.

The gentleman wearing the hat was Mr Bull, the PE teacher; Mike Bull's father.

First published in January, 2013.

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.

Ballinderry Park

THE COMYNS OF BALLINDERRY OWNED 1,473 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY GALWAY

ANDREW COMYN, of Ryefield, County Roscommon, married, in 1786, the sister and heir of Lewis Ward, of Ballymacward and Ballinderry, County Galway, and had an eldest son,

NICHOLAS COMYN (1787-1843), of Ballinderry and Ryefield, who wedded, in 1830, Sabina, daughter of John Joyes, of Woodquay, County Galway, and had issue,

ANDREW NUGENT, his heir;
John Ward;
Mary Ellen; Sabina; Elizabeth.

Mr Comyn was succeeded by his eldest son,

ANDREW NUGENT COMYN JP (1831-1917), of Ballinderry and Ryefield, who married, in 1867, Mary, second daughter of John O'Connell MP, and granddaughter of Daniel O'Connell, of Derrynane, and had issue,

NICHOLAS O'CONNELL, his heir;
Andrew Daniel;
Lewis James;
Elizabeth Mary; Geraldine Mary; Eily Mary.

The eldest son,

NICHOLAS O'CONNELL COMYN JP (1869-1945), of Ballinderry, High Sheriff of County Galway, 1917, wedded, in 1911, Mary Cecilia Hyacinth, daughter of Francis Walter Mahony, of St Helen's, Blarney, County Cork, and had issue,

ANDREW FRANCIS MICHAEL O'CONNELL;
Nugent Gerald Ward;
Arthur;
Reginald;
Frederick;
Marguerite Mary Cecilia; Maureen; Veronica Joan Mary.

BALLINDERRY PARK, Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, County Galway, is a plain Georgian house of ca 1740, rising from the plans of east County Galway.

It originally belonged to Kilconnell Friary, a Franciscan foundation of 1280.

In the late 17th century the land passed to the Diocese of Clonfert and was leased to Henry Stanford, who shortly afterwards leased his house to Lawrence Ward from a local family in the vicinity.

His tenancy was inherited by his sister and passed to her son, Nicholas Comyn.

Nicholas Comyn's descendants farmed this small property, sandwiched between some of County Galway’s largest estates, where they were closely involved with horses and hunting.

They purchased the freehold from the Church of Ireland following its disestablishment in 1871.

Nicholas’s son Andrew married Mary, granddaughter of Daniel O’Connell ‘The Liberator’.

Nicholas O'Connell Comyn was the last of the family to live at Ballinderry and when he died, in 1945, the estate was acquired by the Irish Land Commission, which subdivided the property.

The house thereafter became derelict.

George and Susie Gossip bought Ballinderry in 2000 and began a careful restoration.

They reversed some Victorian alterations to the façade and, by 2005, work had progressed sufficiently to allow them to move in.

The hall, staircase and landings, which take up a third of the house, have been authentically restored; while the principal rooms have been panelled in the early 18th century style and given early chimney-pieces.

The Gossips have filled the house with their collection of furniture, pictures, porcelain and objects.

Much of this was passed down from Susie’s ancestors, the Dillon family from nearby Clonbrock, so that it is, in effect, returning home.

Ballinderry is surrounded by fine specimen trees, including a large and remarkable London plane tree, rarely, seldom found in a parkland setting.

First published in November, 2017.  Select bibliography: Irish Historic Houses Association.

Jameson of Windfield

THE JAMESONS OWNED 3,123 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY GALWAY

WILLIAM JAMESON, of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, married, in 1737, Helen Horne, of Thomanean, Kinross-shire, and had, with other issue, a son,

JOHN JAMESON (1740-1824), Sheriff Clerk of Clackmannanshire, who wedded, in 1768, Margaret, elder sister of James Haig, of Blairhill, Perthshire, and Lochrin, Midlothian, and had issue,

Robert (1771-1847), died unmarried;
John, of Prussia St, Dublin;
William, b 1777; dsp;
JAMES, of whom presently;
Andrew, b 1783;
Margaret; Anne; Jennett.

JAMES JAMESON (1781-1847), succeeded to the fortune of his immediate elder brother, William, of Merrion Square, Dublin, and purchased the estate of Windfield, County Galway, and the demesne of Montrose, County Dublin.

He married, in 1815, Elizabeth Sophia, youngest daughter of the Rev William Woolsey, of Priorland, County Louth, by his wife Mary Anne, youngest sister of Sir William Bellingham Bt, of Castle Bellingham, County Louth, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
William, of Montrose;
James, of Airfield;
Sydney Bellingham;
Robert O'Brien;
Mary Anne; Elizabeth Sophia.

Mr Jameson, a director of the Bank of Ireland and Deputy Governor at the time of his death, was succeeded in his Windfield estate by his eldest son,

THE REV JOHN JAMESON (1816-72), of Windfield, who espoused, in 1845, Isabella Anne, eldest daughter of General Sir Henry David Jones GCB, and had issue,

JAMES FRANCIS, his heir;
Harry William, Lt-Col RIR;
Arthur Bellingham;
Charlotte Elizabeth; Edith Sophia Inkerman.

The eldest son,

JAMES FRANCIS JAMESON JP (1848-96), of Windfield, Major, 4th Battalion, Connaught Rangers, wedded, in 1879, Helen Maud, eldest daughter of William Jameson, of Montrose, County Dublin, and had issue,

MAURICE EYRE FRANCIS BELLINGHAM JAMESON (1888-1950), of Windfield, who espoused, in 1915, Amelia May Moss, and had issue,

JOHN MAURICE RICHARD, born 1917;
Patricia Joan, born 1915.

THE JAMESONS were best known as distillers of Irish whiskey.

Portmarnock Hotel

THE PORTMARNOCK HOTEL, Portmarnock, County Dublin, stands on land which was originally part of the Jameson family estate.

The house itself was called St Marnock's.

EDWARD VII often visited the Jamesons.

On his last official visit in 1907, His Majesty unveiled a plaque which was designed specially for the occasion of the marriage between members of two great distilling families, Jameson and Haig. The plaque is still to be seen in what was the secret south garden.

The Jameson family had a nine-hole golf course on the site over a century ago.

This course is now part of both Portmarnock Golf Club and the Bernhard Langer-designed Dublin Golf Links course.

Sutton House

SUTTON HOUSE, Sutton, County Dublin, was also a Jameson residence.

It is Victorian-Tudor in style, with mullions, gables and huge chimneys.

One end of the mansion has a tower of four storeys.

Sutton House subsequently became a hotel.

*****

WINDFIELD HOUSE, County Galway, was purchased by James Jameson in the 1820s.

The family owned Windfield for over a century.

First published in October 2017.

Lissen Hall

THE HELY-HUTCHINSONS OWNED 766 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY DUBLIN

THE RT HON JOHN HELY-HUTCHINSON (1724-94), an eminent lawyer and statesman of Ireland (son of Francis Hely, of Gortroe, County Cork, by the daughter of Christopher Earbury), married, in 1751, Christiana, daughter of Lorenzo Nickson, of Munny, County Wicklow, and niece and heir of Richard Hutchinson, of Knocklofty, County Tipperary (in consequence of which marriage he assumed the additional surname of HUTCHINSON), and had issue,

Richard Hely, cr EARL OF DONOUGHMORE ;
John, successor to his brother as 2nd Earl;
FRANCIS, of whom we treat;
Augustus Abraham;
Christopher;
Lorenzo;
Christiana; Mary; Prudence; Margaret.

Mr Hely-Hutchinson's wife, Christiana, was elevated to the peerage, in 1783, suo jure, in the dignity of BARONESS DONOUGHMORE, of Knocklofty, County Tipperary.

The third son,

FRANCIS HELY-HUTCHINSON (1759-1827), MP for Dublin University, 1790-98, Naas, 1798-1801, wedded Frances Wilhelmina, daughter and heir of Henry Nixon, of Belmont, County Wexford, and had issue,

John, 3rd Earl;
Henry, Lieutenant-Colonel;
COOTE, of whom hereafter;
George;
Richard;
Anne Louisa; Catherine Henrietta; Charlotte Sophia; Louisa Frances.

The third son,

THE HON COOTE HELY-HUTCHINSON, Captain, Royal Navy, espoused, in 1834, Sophia, youngest daughter of the Rev Sir Samuel Synge-Hutchinson Bt, and had issue,

Samuel, died in infancy;
JOHN, of whom we treat;
Francis Henry;
Sophia Dorothy.

Captain Hely-Hutchinson died in 1842.

His third son,

JOHN HELY-HUTCHINSON JP DL (1826-1919), of Seafield and Lissen Hall, County Dublin, High Sheriff of County Dublin, 1872, married, in 1865, Mary Louisa, eldest daughter of Robert Tottenham, of Annamult, second son of Charles Tottenham, of Ballycurry, County Wicklow, and had issue,

COOTE ROBERT, his heir;
Richard George, a military officer;
Ethel Mary; Cecil Frances Katharine; Eleanor Blanche.

The elder son,

COOTE ROBERT HELY-HUTCHINSON OBE (1870-1930), Lieutenant-Colonel, Reserve Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, wedded, in 1914, Julia Harriet Vere, daughter of William Clayton Browne-Clayton, and had issue,

JOHN;
Michael;
David Coote;
Mary Caroline; Julia Louisa.

The eldest son,

JOHN HELY-HUTCHINSON (1914-85), died unmarried.

LISSEN HALL, Donabate, County Dublin, was constructed in at least two different periods.

The original house was a long, plain, gable-ended dwelling of the late-17th or early 18th century.

Slightly later, though still in the first half of the 18th century, Lissen Hall was extensively remodelled and a new front built at right angles to the earlier house to form a large T-shaped building.

The new five-bay façade shows a typical mid-Georgian design, with a tripartite door-case and a Venetian window above.

Lissen Hall (Image: Historic Houses of Ireland)

The tripartite arrangement is repeated on the upper storey, where the central window is flanked by two blind sidelights.

There are projecting bows, with semi-conical roofs at either end, while the walls of the façade continue upwards without a cornice to form a parapet, adorned with urns and eagles.

These embellishments were clearly aimed at replicating Mantua, a neighbouring house now long demolished, which faced Lissen Hall across the tidal estuary of the Meadow Water.

Architectural drawings from 1765 can be seen in the house, which at that time was owned by John Hatch, MP for Swords in the old Irish Parliament before it voted itself out of existence in 1801.

Lissen Hall later passed to the politically influential Hely-Hutchinson family, of nearby Seafield House.

In the 1870s the grounds comprised 78 acres.

In 1950 Terence Chadwick purchased Lissen Hall from the Hely-Hutchinsons, and it was subsequently inherited by his daughter, Lady Davis-Goff, of Ballinacor.

As a result Lissen Hall has been sold only once in over two hundred and fifty years.

The Irish Times has published an interesting article about the Hely-Hutchinsons.

First published in January, 2018.  Donoughmore arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  Select bibliography: Irish Historic Houses Association.

Ballyarr House

LORD GEORGE AUGUSTUS HILL WAS A MAJOR LANDOWNER IN COUNTY DONEGAL, WITH 24,189 ACRES

LORD GEORGE AUGUSTUS HILL (1801-79), fifth son of Arthur, 2nd Marquess of Downshire, married firstly, in 1834, Cassandra Jane, fifth daughter of Edward Austen Knight (the novelist Jane Austen's brother), of Godmersham Park, Kent, and had issue,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL GEORGE SANDYS;
Augustus Charles Edward (1839-1908);
Norah Mary Elizabeth.

He wedded secondly, in 1847, Louisa, daughter of Edward Knight, and had further issue,

Cassandra Jane Louisa;
George Marcus Wandsbeck (1849-1911).

Lord George was succeeded by his eldest son,

ARTHUR BLUNDELL GEORGE SANDYS HILL (1837-1923), of Gweedore, County Donegal, who espoused, in 1871, Helen Emily, daughter of the Most Rev and Rt Hon Richard Chenevix-Trench, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, and had issue.

BALLYARR HOUSE, near Ramelton, County Donegal, was built ca 1780.

It was acquired in 1842 by Lord George Hill.

Lord George had previously bought 23,000 acres in and around Gweedore.

Ballyarr’s most famous visitor during Lord George's time was the historian Thomas Carlyle, and it was he who later described the house as ‘a farm-like place’ with a ‘piazza’, an Italian style square that was then considered fashionable.

After Lord George's death, in 1879, the house passed through his family until it was sold in 1900, along with the adjacent mill, to William Russell.

It remained in the Russells’ hands until it was bought in 1974 by Ian Smith, a former hotelier and war hero, and his artist wife Peggy.

One wing of the house, which had been barely altered since Lord George’s time, had fallen into ruin and was demolished.

However, one large fanlight window was saved and later erected in a house in Castle Street, Ramelton, known as ‘ The House on the Brae’, owned by Ramelton Heritage Society.

Ballyarr House was bought in 1981 by Andy O’Loghlin, bank manager, and his wife Breda.

They sold it to Roy and Noreen Greenslade in 1989 and the following year they oversaw a substantial restoration in order to return the interior to something like its original Georgian appearance.

The drawing room and library were returned to their previous proportions, with the addition of new fireplaces.

Ceiling cornices in the main bedroom were restored.

The exterior front elevation was also stripped of its stucco to reveal the original stone-work. 

LORD GEORGE HILL

In 1838, Lord George Augustus Hill purchased land in Gweedore and over the next few years expanded his holdings to 23,000 acres, including a number of offshore islands, the largest of which was Gola island.

He estimated that his lands had about 3,000 inhabitants, of whom 700 were rent payers.

Unlike previous landlords who often left their holdings and people alone, Lord George came to stay, and set about to improve the roads and bridges.

He had an advantage in that he knew the Irish language, the main language of the people of the area.

The first road into Gweedore was constructed in 1834 when the Board of Works constructed a road from Dunlewey to the Gweedore River and Lord George further improved the roads on his estate.

At Bunbeg he constructed a harbour and corn store and a general merchandise store.

By purchasing grain at the prices prevailing in Letterkenny, Lord George hoped to curb the practice of illicit distillation, which he perceived was one of the prime causes of distress in the area.

The suppression of illicit distillation was one thing in which Lord George had to admit he wasn't as successful as he would have liked.

Quite conveniently, although not mentioned by him or his admirers, the purchasing of grain from the tenants would have given them money with which to pay their rent. Potatoes were grown for their own needs.

About four miles from Bunbeg, up the Clady River, Lord George constructed a hotel, which he surrounded by a model farm.

Early editions of Hill's book were subtitled With Hints For Donegal Tourists, and this was, apart from demonstrating his agricultural improvements, the other purpose for writing Facts from Gweedore; he wanted people to come and stay in his hotel.

Hill also set up a shop in Bunbeg and imported a Scot named Mason to open a bakery.

Lord George was not for the "free market,"  and made sure that no one else opened up in opposition to him.

Margaret Sweeney was evicted for trying to set up a bakery without permission.

Almost immediately on taking up his land in Gweedore, Hill set about to improve the agricultural practices of his estate.

His tenants naturally were not so inclined to share the landlord's view of what was good agriculture and this became a bone of contention for many years even though Lord George was quite successful in abolishing the Rundale system.

Even he admitted that the re-organization of the farms was

a difficult task, and much thwarted by the people, as they naturally did not like that their old ways should be disturbed or interfered with...the opposition on the part of the people to the new system was vexatious and harassing.

In 1888, there were 800 official tenancies on the Hill estate, which increased the next year to 920, due to sub-tenants being recognized as official tenants, after a settlement negotiated between the landlord and the parish priest.

Downshire arms courtesy of European Heraldry.  First published in November, 2011.

Hold your tongue, Ross!

A Caricature of Richard Dowse, by Ape,
published in Vanity Fair in 1871

An extract from Chapter XVI of The Years of my Pilgrimage, by the Rt Hon Sir John Ross Bt, last Lord Chancellor of Ireland:-

"It was several years before I learned the first duty of a Judge, and that is, to hold his tongue on the Bench.

There is a great temptation to be facetious in the presence of a most appreciative audience, but in the case of the ordinary Judge, it is well to resist the temptation.

The parties interested in the matter look upon the hearing as  very serious affair; their whole future and the future of their families may depend on the result; their minds have been obsessed by it night and day for many months.

To find the presiding Judge treating it all as a subject for jesting, disturbs them and weakens their confidence in the administration of the law.

On the other hand, where you have Judges like the late Baron Dowse, or Lord Darling, with such an intense sense of humour, the case is different.

The jests pour out naturally and spontaneously; the Judge would not be himself at all, if he were compelled to refrain.

The litigants soon get to understand in such cases, and do not resent it."

Prince Edward in NI

THE EARL OF WESSEX has arrived in Northern Ireland for a series of engagements.

His Royal Highness was greeted at Belfast City Airport by Mr Adrian Donaldson MBE DL.

HRH, Royal Colonel, The Rifles, visited the 2nd Battalion at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn, County Antrim.

Prince Edward afterwards visited Lisburn City Church Community Trust, and was received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell.

During the afternoon The Earl of Wessex visited Unicorn Group, Lisburn.

His Royal Highness later visited Denroy Plastics, Bangor, County Down, and was received by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Down, Mr David Lindsay.