The Ireland Lake

Pomeroy Demesne: Historic OS map of 1838-62

I recently visited the marvellous Pomeroy forest park. 

The villagers of Pomeroy are indeed fortunate to have it, especially since the local council is developing the existing trails, particularly the Renardine Trail, which is being transformed into a "children’s magical storybook adventure trail with iconic sculptures, interactive fun/art pieces and natural inclusive play areas."

A handsome new visitor centre has been built on the site of the 1960s forestry school and, before that, Pomeroy House.

Pomeroy House, by the way, was a mere eighty feet from the extant stable-yard; very regrettably the big house was demolished about 1970, like so many others in Northern Ireland that the forestry service discarded.

I spent four hours exploring the forest park, examining various locations, including the outbuildings, former sheep-wash, kennels, farm-yard, and the Alexander Vault.

I searched in vain, however, for a lake or pond in the shape of Ireland.

The Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, dated 1837, remarks:-

"In the demesne, which consists of 556 acres, is a small lake, the borders of which resemble in shape the coast of Ireland, on a scale of about one foot to a mile."

Whereas the present Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesne of Special Historic Interest in Northern Ireland states:-

"In the south-west section of the park, flanking the west avenue, were a series of three inter-linked artificial lakes, which was fed from water from the north-east. According to Samuel Lewis in 1837 the main lake was made in the shape of Ireland at a scale of 1- inch to 1-mile and stated by him to lie adjacent to 'an abundant' spring; this lake remains as a shallow boggy area enclosed in what is now coniferous woodland."

I have studied several historic maps of Pomeroy Demesne.

I could not see any lake or pond in the map of 1829-35; in the next version, however, dated 1838-62, there are what could have been a few lakes at one time, including a larger one that vaguely resembles the coast of Ireland.

It's a boggy area, and by 1900 these ponds or lakes had vanished from the map, though the location is marked Lake Wood and Town Bog.

I am convinced that, if there was ever an Ireland-shaped lake, the boggy area to the south-west of the mansion house contained it; especially given that it is marked as Lake Wood on a map.

Cabin Hill

CABIN HILL COMPRISED 39 ACRES OF LAND DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA

CABIN HILL, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast, is a fairly large and considerably extended two-to-four storey house, built around a sandstone Tudor-Revival gentleman’s residence of ca 1860, itself extended in similar style ca 1903-5.

A large, modern, flat-roofed, four-storey, rendered block was added to the rear by the school in 1946 with an adjacent, equally large and equally modern, brick wing of about 1980.

When it was built, Cabin Hill was originally closer to the village of Dundonald - or, indeed, Knock - than the city of Belfast.

This small farm in the townland of Ballycloghan was adjacent to the Belmont estate and the Clelands' Stormont estate.

The name Cabin Hill refers to a farmhouse built in 1786-7 by Samuel McTier and his wife, Martha (née Drennan), on a small parcel of land they had acquired for £50 (about £6,700 today).

The house itself, as the name implies, was a single storey, thatched farmhouse; however, a painting of 1847 shows that, by the standards of the day, it had a fairly prosperous appearance, being relatively large and prosperous looking ~ not the "cabin" one might have expected.

After Samuel McTier's death in 1795, Martha continued to use Cabin Hill as a country retreat, being joined on frequent occasions by her brother, the Belfast radical and founder of the United Irishmen, Dr William Drennan.

Historic map of Cabin Hill ca 1830

Drennan died in 1820 and Martha in 1837; however, the property appears to have been disposed of some time before the latter date, for in the 1833 valuation it is recorded as the home of a Mr Tomb.

David Tomb was connected with the Batesons in Belfast, and acquired considerable property in the neighbourhood. His sons were Henry Joy Tomb (d 1840), a Belfast merchant, and George Tomb QC. 

Benn believes that the Tombs were amongst the oldest families in Belfast. Henry Joy Tomb was a brother to the first wife of the Rev Dr Drummond.

By 1852, it had been acquired by John Dinnen, a Belfast solicitor.

Dinnen appears to have retained the original house for some years, though, by 1861, a new, much larger building appears to have been built.

This new dwelling, a two-storey gentleman's villa in the Tudor-Revival style, remained in possession of Dinnen's descendants until 1903, when it was acquired by Robert James McMordie QC, Lord Mayor of Belfast.

About 1903-5, McMordie greatly extended the house by adding the large section to the eastern side and the new entrance conservatory, all to designs by Hugh Brown.

Mr McMordie died at Cabin Hill in 1914.

Between 1920 and 1922, his widow leased the property to Sir James Craig Bt (afterwards 1st Viscount Craigavon), the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

Several cabinet meetings were held at the house.

In 1924-25, McMordie's widow sold Cabin Hill to Campbell College, which converted it for use as their preparatory school.

Ca 1935, the school added a porter's lodge to the main gateway and, in 1946, the large four storey modern style wing was added to the rear of the main building itself.

Further separate classrooms were built to the north east side of the building in 1973, with a further modernist extension added to the main school later.

These books give no indication of major building work at Cabin Hill between 1864 and the McMordie extension of ca 1903-5, suggesting that the original section of the Tudor Revival house is pre 1864.

Cabin Hill was for sale in April, 2021.

It is currently (2026) being redeveloped into a new residential community featuring private detached homes and two and three-bedroom apartments.

First published in May, 2014.

1st Earl Landaff

The family of MATHEW originated from Wales, where at Radyr, Glamorganshire, they long resided; and possessed the town of Llandaff in that county. SIR DAVID MATHEW (1400-84), Knight, was Standard-Bearer of EDWARD IV, whose monument is still to be seen in Llandaff Cathedral, Glamorganshire.

EDWARD MATHEW, of Radyr, was possessed, in 1600, of the town of Llandaff, and other estates, which his ancestors enjoyed for time immemorial.

At his decease he left an only son,

GEORGE MATHEW, the first of the family in Ireland, who became seated at Thurles, County Tipperary, and married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Poyntz MP, of Iron Acton, Gloucestershire, and widow of Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles (who died before his father Walter, 11th Earl of Ormond).

Mr Mathew died in 1636, leaving two sons and a daughter, and was succeeded by the elder son,

THEOBOLD MATHEW, of Thurles, who married Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir Valentine Browne Bt, and was succeeded by his elder son,

GEORGE MATHEW, of Thurles, who wedded Eleanor, second daughter of Edmond, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne, and was succeeded by his son,

GEORGE MATHEW, who erected a splendid mansion upon his estate at Thurles, containing forty bedrooms, and ample corresponding accommodation for as many guests.

This gentleman distinguished himself by hospitality upon an unprecedented and almost boundless scale. He fitted up his sumptuous residence as a guest house of the first magnitude, and his guests were informed upon their arrival, that as such they were to regard it, and to consider themselves, in every sense of the word, quite at home. 

They might either live in their own suite of rooms, or at the table d'hôte, as they pleased. There was a coffee-room, tavern, billiards-room, etc, and Mr Mathew himself appeared only as one of the guests. 

This highly accomplished and celebrated person had the degree of LL.D conferred upon him, 1677, by his half-brother James, 1st Duke of Ormond, Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Mr Mathew wedded firstly, Catherine, third daughter of Sir John Shelley, 3rd Baronet, by Mary, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Gage Bt, of Firle, East Sussex, and had issue, an only child,

GEORGE, his heir.

He espoused secondly, in 1716, Ann, widow of James, 3rd Earl of Tyrone, by whom he no issue, and at his decease, the estates devolved upon his brother-in-law,

GEORGE MATHEW, married his cousin, Mary Anne Mathew, and had issue,

George (1733-8);
Elizabeth.

On the failure of male issue in this branch, the estates devolved to

GEORGE MATHEW, of Thomastown, who wedded firstly, Margaret, fourth daughter of Thomas Butler (grandson of the Lord Richard Butler, younger son of James, 1st Duke of Ormond, by the Lady Margaret Burke, eldest daughter of William, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, and widow of Bryan Magennis, Viscount Iveagh, and had issue, a daughter.

Mr Mathew espoused secondly, Isabella, fourth daughter of William Brownlow, of Lurgan, County Armagh (by the Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, eldest daughter of James, 6th Earl of Abercorn), and had issue, a son, who died in infancy, when the estate devolved upon a junior branch of the family,

THOMAS MATHEW, of Thurles, and subsequently of Thomastown, who married, in 1736, Miss Mary Mathews, of Dublin, and had issue,

FRANCIS, his heir;
Catherine Ann Maria.

The only son and heir,

FRANCIS MATHEW (1738-1806), wedded firstly, in 1764, Ellis, second daughter of James Smyth (son of the Rt Rev Edward Smyth, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor), and had issue,

FRANCIS JAMES, his heir;
Montague James, Lieutenant-General in the Army;
George Toby Skeffington;
Elizabeth.

He espoused secondly, in 1784, the Lady Catherine Skeffington; and thirdly, in 1799, ______ Coghlan, second daughter of Jeremiah Coghlan.

Mr Mathew, MP for Tipperary, 1768-83, High Sheriff of County Tipperary, 1769, was elevated to the peerage, in 1783, in the dignity of Baron Landaff, of Thomastown, County Tipperary.

He was advanced to a viscountcy, in 1793, as Viscount Landaff, of Thomastown, County Tipperary.

His lordship was further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1797, as EARL LANDAFF.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

FRANCIS JAMES, 2nd Earl (1768-1833), KP, MP for County Tipperary, 1801-6, Knight of St Patrick, 1831, who married, in 1797, Gertrude Cecilia, daughter of John La Touche, of Harristown, County Kildare, though the marriage was without issue.

His lordship died of syncope in Dublin, on 12 March 1833, aged 65, when the titles expired.

Dying intestate, his estates went to his sister, the Lady Elizabeth Mathew, who died in 1842, leaving the estates to a cousin, the Vicomte de Chabot, the son of her mother's sister, Elizabeth Smyth.

THOMASTOWN CASTLE, Golden, County Tipperary, was built by George Matthew and dated from ca 1670.

It comprised a long, two-storey house of pink brick.

The house in its present form was enlarged in the Gothic style by Francis, 2nd Earl Landaff, in 1812.

(Sir) Richard Morrison designed the house incorporating a veneer of Gothic openings, including the ornate polygonal and square towers to the front elevation.

The office wing to the right was also enlarged in the Gothic style.

From ca 1872 the great mansion fell into disrepair to become the impressive and spectacular ruin it is today.

Father Theobald Mathew, the famous temperance reformer whose father was a cousin of the 1st Earl, grew up at the Castle.

The 2nd Earl's sister, Lady Elizabeth Mathew, bequeathed Thomastown to her maternal cousin, the Vicomte de Rohan-Chabot, son of the Comte de Jarnac.

The estate later passed to the Daly family.

The ruinous building was purchased in 1938 by the Rt Rev David Mathew, the historian, who wished it to be kept in the family and saved from destruction.

This expectation proved to have been in vain.

The arched gate lodge to the east reflects the architecture of the main house and retains many fine details, such as the cross loops and hood mouldings.

The walled gardens provide an example of the many demesne-related activities thereby contributing context to the site.

First published in September, 2018.  Landaff arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

Kilmore House

JOHN MacDONALD, second son of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, by his wife, the Princess Margaret, daughter of ROBERT II, King of Scots, was founder, about 1380, of the clan "Ian Vore," or Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, whose chiefs were also styled Lords of Dunnyveg, Islay, Kintyre, and the Glens of Antrim.

ALEXANDER MacDONALD (c1480-1538) 5th of Dunnyveg, who invaded Ulster with 8,000 men in 1532, had by his wife, a daughter of the Lord of Ardnamurchan, five sons, of whom

JAMES, 6th Chief, married the Lady Agnes Campbell, daughter of Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll, and was slain in 1565, leaving issue, a son, Angus, Lord of Kintyre.

James MacDonnell transferred, however, his Irish possessions to his brother, Sorley Boy MacDonnell, father to the 1st Earl of Antrim.

COLLA MacDONNELL, brother of James, 6th Chief, wedded Evelyn MacQuillan, Lord of Dunluce, and was father to GILLASPICK, Chief of Iona and Colonsay, whose son, by his wife, a daughter of O'Cahan (O'Kane) of Loughlynch,

COLL MacDONALD (1570-1647), was besieged in the castle of Dunnyveg and put to death by Archibald, Marquess of Argyll, in 1647.

He married Mary MacDonald, of Sanda, and was father of

SIR ALEXANDER MacDONALD (c1610-47), Montrose's celebrated Lieutenant-General, who having survived the royal cause in Scotland, was killed in Ireland whilst second in command of the royal forces at Knocknanuss, County Cork, 1647.

He wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Hector MacAlister, and had issue,

COLL, his heir;
Archibald.

The elder son,

COLL McDONNELL, married Anne Magee, of Murlough Bay, County Antrim, and was succeeded by his son,

ALEXANDER McDONNELL, of Kilmore, living in 1738, who married firstly, a daughter of McDonnell, of Knappin, and had issue (with another son, Alexander, who died unmarried),

Randal, died unmarried;
Michael;
JOHN, of whom we treat.

The youngest son,

JOHN McDONNELL, of Kilmore, who succeeded by family arrangement to the possession of Kilmore, married Rose, daughter of George Savage, of County Down, and dying in 1803, was succeeded by his son,

RANDAL McDONNELL, of Kilmore and Brackney, who wedded Mary, daughter of Archibald MacElheran, of Glassmullan, County Antrim, granddaughter of Alexander McDonnell, of Glassmullan, and had, with four daughters,

ALEXANDER, his heir;
JOHN, succeeded his brother.

Mr McDonnell was succeeded by his son,

ALEXANDER McDONNELL, of Kilmore and Dublin, who espoused, in 1851, Margaret, daughter of Alexander McMullin, of Cabra House, County Down.

He died in 1862, leaving a daughter,

RACHEL MARY JOSEPHINE McDONNELL (c1855-1908), heir of her mother's estate in County Down, who married, in 1882, Henry Thomas Silvertop, of Minster Acres, Northumberland, and had issue,

FRANCIS SOMERLED JOSEPH (1883-1917), killed in action;
WILLIAM ALEXANDER SILVERTOP;
Charles Ransall;
Margaret.

Mr Alexander McDonnell was succeeded in his own estate by his brother,

COLONEL JOHN McDONNELL JP DL (1823-1905), of Kilmore, Glenariff, County Antrim, Knight of St Gregory, who wedded, in 1870, Madeleine, daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron O'Hagan, KP.

She dsp 1875.

Colonel McDonnell was succeeded by his nephew,

WILLIAM ALEXANDER SILVERTOP MC (1884-1917), of Kilmore, second son of Henry Thomas Silvertop, of Minster Acres, Northumberland, by Rachel Mary Josephine, only child of Alexander McDonnell, of Kilmore.

Captain Silvertop, 20th Hussars, was killed in action at France.

KILMORE HOUSE, Glenariff, County Antrim, comprises a large two-and-a-half-storey Edwardian block with earlier Georgian wings to its southern elevation.

The house was constructed in stages, and parts of the building may date from as early as the 18th century.

The current façade of the house, however, was built in 1907-8.

The first recorded occupant of the site was Coll McDonnell, a gentleman who leased 10 acres of land in Kilmore from his kinsman, Lord Antrim, and established a dwelling there in 1706.

The site passed to Coll’s son Alexander in 1742; and then to his grandson, John, in 1803 before being occupied by his great-grandson Randal in 1815.

The McDonnells initially resided in an early-Georgian house which had been constructed in the townland ca 1706.

The two-storey, four-bay farmhouse (at the south side of the two-and-a-half-storey Edwardian block) had been constructed by 1832.

A thatched building (which predated the rest of the farmhouse) was presumably the McDonnell family’s previous dwelling on the site, however it cannot be confirmed with certainty whether any trace of this structure survives at the site.

The farmhouse at Kilmore was originally known as Ballinlig.

By the mid-19th century Ballinlig had passed to Randal McDonnell’s eldest son Alexander; following whose decease, in 1862, Ballinlig was occupied by his younger brother, Colonel John McDonnell, who remained at the site until his own death in 1905.

McDonnell’s residence became known as "Kilmore House" by at least the turn of the 20th century.

Following the death of Colonel McDonnell in 1905, Kilmore House passed to his nephew, Captain William Alexander Silvertop.

The Silvertop family extended the house in 1907-8.

The Edwardian extension was designed by Nicholas Fitzsimmons (1869-c1940), a Belfast-based architect who entered into partnership with Robert Graeme Watt and Frederick Tulloch in 1909.

Fitzsimons’s original plans show that the extension consisted of the two-and-a-half-storey Edwardian block to the north side of the Georgian farmhouse.

The plans of Kilmore House record that the interior floor-plan of the original farmhouse was altered to incorporate the kitchen, dining-room, a study and private chapel; whilst the new block consisted of a drawing-room and billiards-room (at ground floor), bedrooms and bathrooms (at first floor) and servants quarters (in the attic storey).

Captain Silvertop served in France during the 1st World War, but following his death, in 1917, the house was sold and passed out of the McDonnell family.

Kilmore House had lain vacant from 1910 until 1919, when it was purchased by Joseph Maguire, a senator in the Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont.

The De La Salle Order purchased Kilmore in 1958, when it was occupied by the Most Rev Dr  D Mageean, RC Bishop of Down and Connor (1882-1962).

The Bishop resided at Kilmore House until ca 1960, when the building was converted into a holiday home for visitors to the North Coast, administered by the Trustees of Kilmore Holiday House.

Kilmore House was listed in 1980 and is now a country house venue most suitable for weddings and functions.

Today the house is set in thirteen acres.

It has fourteen bedrooms.

A stained-glass window at the landing still has the McDonnell and Silvertop armorial bearings.

First published in April, 2016. Select bibliography: Northern Ireland Department for Communities Historic Buildings survey.

The Alexander Vault

The Alexander Vault (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

On Sunday, April 7th, 2024, I paid my first visit to Pomeroy forest park, County Tyrone, the former estate or demesne of the Lowry family.

The forest park, which is on the edge of the village, is currently in the process of an impressive new development, including a large visitor centre on the site of Pomeroy House and the former Forest School; adventure playgrounds, magical miniature wooden forts and castles, carved figures and fairytale characters.

Pomeroy Demesne, including the fine mansion house on top of the hill, was acquired in 1959-60 from Mrs Alexander, the widow of Major Charles Alexander MC JP DL.

The big house must have been in a reasonably fair condition, because it was used by the forestry service for a few years as a training centre or school:-

"The location was central and two-thirds of the estate had been planted over the years with various tree species. Some of the arable land was found to be ideal for conversion into a Nursery where tree seeds could be sown and young trees transplanted. The House was sufficiently large and had the facilities to accommodate a resident course of fifteen members. The School was opened in October, 1961, and since then has been fully used."

A new, purpose-built forest school was built beside Pomeroy House in 1963; and it is thought that the Georgian mansion house was demolished ca 1970.

I parked my car in a former farmyard - currently the main car-park -  beside the remaining outbuildings.

Having enjoyed about four hours wandering around the former demesne, discovering the crumbling walls of the old walled garden at the bottom of the hill, I returned to my car and drove to the main entrance of the park.

This is no grand entrance today; instead we have pebble-dashed or white-washed walls, perhaps three feet in height; whereas there was once a gate lodge within these walls.

Memorial to R W Lowry (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

Across the main road, standing desolate in a bare grassy field, is the vault of Robert William Lowry, JP, DL (1787-1869), whose grandfather had built Pomeroy House.

Vault of R W Lowry (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

I name only Robert W Lowry because there is only one memorial plaque on the north side of the vault to his memory.

Vault with main entrance to the park in distance (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

The vault is today known as the Alexander Vault because the Alexanders were the last owners and inhabitants of Pomeroy Demesne, Major Charles Alexander's mother being Mary Lowry, sister of Robert Thomas Graves Lowry.

Lowry coat-of-arms on the west side (Timothy Ferres, 2024)

Historic OS map of ca 1900.  Click to enlarge

The Stone Database describes the vault thus:-

Classical style single storey rectangular vault. North side has central metal door with slim attached fluted columns and lintel plus cornice. Flanked by rounded arch and pointed arch window, both blind with slate inserts. Face rendered. West side has coat of arms and regular coursed ashlar contrasting with rubble walls of other two walls.

The Historic Buildings Register remarks:-

"The precise date of building is not recorded but it appears on the OS map of 1906 and stylistically may be supposed to date from the mid-Victorian era, probably around 1870, which would accord with the date of death of the only person commemorated by an inscription, Robert Lowry who died in 1869."

"Robert Lowry was a member of the family who lived in Pomeroy House and who had been responsible for the formalised layout of the village of Pomeroy begun in 1770. The grounds around this vault appear to have originally lain within their estate. In 1971 the setting, which is now completely open, was described as “a carefully planted avenue of monkey-puzzles and yews leading to a path planted with deciduous trees.” 

"There was no mention of the vault in this reference which suggests that at that time it was not visible or as easily visible from the public road as it is now."

I counted one solitary monkey-puzzle tree remaining. I gather that monkey-puzzle and yew trees have a very long life-span. What became of them?

Lisgoole Abbey

THE JONESES OWNED 743 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY FERMANAGH

MICHAEL JONES, of Lisgoole Abbey, County Fermanagh, was father of

MICHAEL OBINS SEELEY JONES (c1829-78), who wedded, in 1846, Kate Elizabeth Anne, daughter of Travers Homan, and had issue, an only child,

KATE MARY BARRETT JONES (1847-1929), who espoused, in 1871, Edward Willoughby Fowler, son of the Rev Luke Fowler, and had issue,

Willoughby Jones, Lieutenant-Colonel in the army;
Cecil Arthur;
Edward Gardiner, CBE, Lieutenant-Colonel in the army;
Charles Knox;
Mildred Eleanor. 

 

 AT THE TURN of the 19th century Lisgoole was acquired by the Johnston family:-

ANDREW JOHNSTON, of Derrylin, County Fermanagh, married M Johnston, and had issue,

Andrew, of Beech Hill, Derrylin;
HUGH, of whom presently;
Robert, of Lisgoole Abbey, d 1913.

The second son,

HUGH JOHNSTON (1825-1912), of Beech Hill, Derrylin, wedded, in 1877, Caroline Henrietta, daughter of Richard Arnold, of New York, and Babylon, Long Island, USA, and had issue,

ROBERT WILLIAM, of whom we treat;
Alfred Andrew, of St Angelo, County Fermanagh (1883-1918);
Teresa, b 1885.

The eldest son,

ROBERT WILLIAM JOHNSTON JP DL  (1882-1971), of Lisgoole Abbey, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1920, married, in 1911, Jane Thallon, daughter of William Teele JP, of Dunbar, Enniskillen.

LISGOOLE ABBEY, near Killyhevlin, County Fermanagh, has quite a lengthy, not to say interesting, history.

An entire chapter is devoted to it in W Copeland Trimble's History of Enniskillen, published in 1919.

During the late 18th century Lisgoole was inhabited by the Armstrongs.

John Armstrong, a junior officer in the Fermanagh Militia, sold Lisgoole to Michael Jones, of Cherrymount, County Donegal, in 1819 for £12,300 (about £1 million today).

Captain Michael Jones was an officer of the parliamentary army in Ireland.

The Armstrongs and Joneses might have been connected though intermarriage, because Mrs Isabella Diana Jones, who died in 1892 aged 72, declared in her will that Lisgoole be sold for the benefit of certain charities, including the Fermanagh Protestant Orphan Society.

It was subsequently purchased by Robert Johnston, of Stuttgart and New York, a descendant of the Johnstons of Derrylin.

Do the Johnstons still reside at Lisgoole?

The present house is an early 19th century Gothic villa comprising two-storeys and three-bays, with a battlemented tower at one end.

The tower, with perhaps some of the range of buildings extending behind it, is said to be all that remains of the abbey, all re-worked.

It contains one large square room lit by an enormous tripartite window on the main front.

There is a fan-lighted doorway, with a large window inserted later in the bay to the right of the doorway.

A substantial Wyatt window is in the base of the tower.

The interior is a surprise, for the house was decorated about 1910 by Waring & Gillow, who provided elaborate plasterwork, a curving main stair, and an Elizabethan-style fireplace.

at the same time battlements to match the tower were added across the front of the house, making it even prettier.

Lisgoole was once a monastic site.

There are references to a garden belonging to the first owner after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, but no evidence of this remains.

The present demesne plan is much as it appears on the 1830s OS map, together with early 19th century Gothic-style house at the lough shore.

*****

THE PARKLAND undulates and the house is approached by a winding avenue.

There is mature planting in the shelter-belt and some parkland trees, including exotics, though the area is intensively farmed and many parkland trees had gone by the beginning of the 20th century.

A maintained ornamental garden at the house has a rose-garden, originally developed in 1905 and replanted with 400 new roses in 1982; and a pergola.

An area of specimen trees and shrubs set in grass lies to the north of the house.

These plantings date from the early 20th century, with later reinforcements.

The part-walled garden is maintained with box hedges, fruit, vegetables and flowers but not to the original layout.

The mid-19th century gate lodge has a modern extension.

The Farm Museum contains old farm machinery and gardening equipment used on the estate in the past.

Other demesne buildings are in good order.

First published in September, 2010.    Photograph courtesy of Udo Vogel.

The De Burgo Baronetcy

THE DE BURGO BARONETS OWNED 4,216 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY LIMERICK    

This is one of the families that settled in Ireland under the banner of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed Strongbow, and is supposed to have branched from the parent stock of the illustrious house of CLANRICARDE.

It may not be irrelevant to observe that all the French families of the name continued to write it De Bourg, and in Latin, De Burgo; and that after the De Burghs removed from Normandy into England, they also wrote De Burgo, and sometimes De Burgh, in order to accommodate the word to the English or Saxon accent.

However, in process of time, they wrote Bourk, Bourke, and Burke; but the King, by letters patent, in 1752, granted to the Earl of Clanricarde, to Ulick Bourke, of London, and to Thomas Bourke, of Ireland, and their descendants, full authority to resume the original surname of De Burgh.

RICHARD BOURKE, of Dromsally, County Limerick, died in 1764, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD BOURKE, of Dromsally, who was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD BOURKE, of Castle Connell, who assumed the original name of De Burgo, and was created a baronet in 1785, designated of Castle Conel [sic].

Sir Richard, High Sheriff of County Limerick, 1758, married firstly, in 1755, Frances, eldest daughter of David Webb, of Meadstown, County Limerick, and had issue, two daughters,

Frances; Maria Theresa.

He wedded secondly, in 1781, Elizabeth, daughter of Anthony Dwyer, of Singleton, County Limerick, by whom he left two sons; and dying in 1790, was succeeded by the elder,

SIR RICHARD DE BURGO, 2nd Baronet (c1783-c1808), at whose decease unmarried the title devolved upon his only brother,

SIR JOHN ALLEN DE BURGO, 3rd Baronet, of Castle Connell, who espoused firstly Miss Hall, sister of General Gage John Hall, but by her had no issue; and secondly, in 1820, Anna Matilda, daughter of Richard Waller, of Castle Waller, County Tipperary, and had issue,

RICHARD DONELLAN, his successor;

William Henry Frederick Waller, dsp.

Sir John died in 1839, and was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR RICHARD DONELLAN DE BURGO, 4th Baronet (1821-73), of Castle Connell, who married, in 1844, Catherine, youngest daughter of Brooke Brasier, of Rivers, County Limerick, and Mitchell's Fort, County Cork.

Sir Richard died without issue, when the baronetcy expired.

Castle Connell (Robert French/NLI)

Castle Connell, picturesquely situated on a rock overlooking the River Shannon, about six miles north of Limerick, became the principal castle of the Bourkes in West Clanwilliam.

The ruinous castle, erected on a rocky outcrop overlooking the bend on the River Shannon, was besieged and destroyed by General Ginkel’s army during the Jacobite and Williamite wars at the end of the 17th century.

Island House (Image: The Irish Times, 2022)

Island House, Cloon Island, near Castleconnell, was built ca 1840 by Sir John Allen De Burgo, 3rd Baronet.

Island House, Cloon Island (The Irish Times, 2022)

The Rev Patrick Comerford wrote an article about Island House in 2017.

De Burgo arms courtesy of European Heraldry.