Friday, 26 February 2021

County Down Beef

In Northern Ireland, supermarket meat origin labels can be confusing; where precisely the meat is slaughtered, and where it is packed.

I saw this yesterday in a very large supermarket at Knocknagoney, County Down.

With this in mind I think it's best to purchase red meat at one's local butcher.

Recently I visited my butcher, saw a fillet of beef behind the counter, and a good, thick slice was cut for me.

That evening I fried the steak, roasted a few potatoes, fried an onion, and had it with béarnaise sauce.

Needless to say, the steak was really tender and juicy, as you can see in the image.

Mount Stewart Memories

On the White Stag at Mount Stewart

WILLIAM PATTERSON RECOUNTS HIS MEMORIES OF MOUNT STEWART, ANCESTRAL SEAT OF THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY

I was a young man living in County Down near Greyabbey.

It was 1964 if I remember correctly, and on occasion I would meet a dark haired lady of middle years dressed as a ‘nanny’ - blue uniform and darker overcoat - and pushing a very smart ‘pram’ which contained a cherubic small boy of about 18 months with fair hair.

We got chatting on one occasion and we walked the long winding footpath together towards Mount Stewart where she explained that her charge was Lady Mairi Bury’s grandson, Charles Villiers.

Nanny Ellis holding Master Charles

Her name was Elizabeth Ellis - a Scottish lady - but I was asked to call her ‘Nanny’ like everyone else.

I was invited to her apartment in Mount Stewart to take tea and biscuits on several occasions, and it was during these visits that I met Charles’ mother, Elizabeth Villiers, and his very well known grandmother, Lady Mairi.

Lady Mairi had a rather disconcerting cool appraising stare, but she must have decided that I was suitable company as I was a welcome visitor, and got to attend a couple of her famous parties.

Billy in the Nursery

I cannot remember now at this remove most of their names, but they were the great and good of society and the arts.

The ladies were very glamorous and dripping with diamonds and the men suitably attired to match their companions.

I thought I might be very out of my depth, but I was very pleased to find them, with a few exceptions, easy to speak to and interesting to listen to.

Michael O’Duffy was a very well known Irish tenor at the time and he entertained the guests accompanied by the wonderful Duncan Morrison from Stornoway on the piano.

Duncan used to play for Rev Sydney MacEwan on many of his recordings.

I met Duncan on several different occasions at Mount Stewart and we exchanged Christmas Cards for several years after.

One character I remember from one of her parties was a gentleman of whom it was whispered had psychic powers, by name Clifford Frost.

I was in deep conversation with someone, I can’t remember who, when he weaved his way over and asked to see my hand.

He took my proffered palm and stared at it, weaving slightly all the while as a result of the bountiful liquid refreshment on offer by our hostess, then dropped it and walked off saying “You’ll get all you want out of life”.

You know, despite the odd knock-back, he wasn’t far wrong.

When Jessie Matthews - dancer, actress, star of stage and screen and latterly on radio as Mrs Dale in Mrs Dale’s Diary, came to open a garden fête for Lady Mairi, I had the pleasure of meeting her, and on giving her a donation for her charity, I was rewarded with a hug and a kiss, and told I was a darling.

I admit to blushing, but walked around on air for the rest of the afternoon.

Billy at the Swimming-pool

There was a well concealed private swimming-pool belonging to the family on the Strangford Lough side of the road which I was kindly offered the use of, and spent many a happy day there in the company of Nanny, Charles the baby and my dog Kim and sometimes just on my own.


On one of these solitary visits I daringly removed my swimming togs and for the first time swam in the nude.

Billy & Charles at the Swimming-pool in 1965

I found it to be a wonderful experience - no clinging togs and a great feeling of being at one with nature.

On many warm summer days we walked around the beautiful gardens enjoying the flowers and shrubs, the statues, and little concealed nooks and crannies - little worlds within the larger one.


The well known composer and pianist from Stornoway, Duncan Morrison (above), in green velvet Scottish evening attire, with his sister Bella Morrison in a black dress (with a rather curious third figure present, seemingly in fancy dress with a black fur hat and a blacked face - maybe having been cast as "the Black Man" who had brought in a New Year?).

Wonderful days with lasting memories for me, and I bless the day I struck up a conversation with Nanny Ellis, who continued to be a friend for many years after she had left the employ of the family.

The memories all come back when I occasionally return to Mount Stewart as one of the many visitors, and one of the few who remember this historic house as a wonderful family home.

First published in February, 2019.

Tuesday, 16 February 2021

Castletown Cox

THE VILLIERS-STUARTS OWNED 2,790 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILKENNY

LORD HENRY STUART (1777-1809), fifth son of John, 4th Earl and 1st Marquess of Bute, married, in 1802, the Lady Gertrude Amelia Mason-Villiers, only daughter and heir of George, 2nd and last Earl Grandison, and had issue,
HENRY, cr BARON STUART DE DECIES;
WILLIAM, of whom presently;
Charles;
Gertrude Amelia.
The second son,

WILLIAM VILLIERS-STUART JP DL (1804-73), High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1848, MP for County Waterford, 1835-47, wedded, in 1833, Catherine (d 1879), only daughter of MICHAEL COX, of Castletown, County Kilkenny (by the Hon Mary Prittie his wife, daughter of Henry, 1st Baron Dunalley, and sister and heir of Sir Richard Cox, 8th Baronet, of Dunmanway, County Cork, and had issue,
HENRY JOHN RICHARD, his heir;
Dudley;
Gertrude Mary; Geraldine; Evelyn.
Mr Villiers-Stuart and his siblings assumed, in 1822, the additional surname and arms of VILLIERS.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY JOHN RICHARD VILLIERS-STUART JP DL (1837-1914), of Castletown and Castlane, County Kilkenny, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1887, who espoused, in 1870, Jane Rigby, eldest daughter of Benjamin Rigby Murray, of Parton Place, Kirkudbright, and had issue,
WILLIAM DESMOND (1872-1961), Brigadier, CBE, DSO;
Charles Herbert;
John Patrick;
Kathleen Jane; Gertrude Elsie; Marie Violet.
FAMILY OF COX

MICHAEL COX, the youngest son of a respectable Wiltshire family (amongst whose progenitors was the learned Dr Richard Cox, one of the compilers of the Liturgy, tutor to EDWARD VI, and in the reign of ELIZABETH I, Lord Bishop of Ely), seated at Kilworth, County Cork, some time within the first quarter of the 17th century, and left, with other children, at his decease,

RICHARD COX, a man of great bodily strength and courage, who became a captain in Major-General John Jephson's regiment of dragoons, and fought successively under the royal banner of CHARLES I, and the republican one of Cromwell.

He married Catherine, daughter of Walter Bird, of Clonakilty, and died in 1651 (in consequence of a treacherous wound received from a brother officer of his own regiment, a Captain Narton) when his orphan son,

RICHARD COX (1650-1733), then not quite three years of age, was taken under the care of his maternal grandfather, Walter Bird; but that relation dying a few years later, he was placed by his uncle, John Bird, at an ordinary Latin school in the town of Clonakilty, where he soon evinced a strong disposition to learning.

In 1671, he entered himself at Lincoln's Inn, and was, in regular time, called to the bar.

Upon his return to Ireland, Mr Cox married; but in consequence of some disappointment regarding the fate of his wife, retired, in a fit of despondency, very uncharacteristic of his active mind, to a farm near Clonakilty, and there remained in obscurity for almost seven years.

The patronage of Sir Robert Southwell at length, however, recalled him into active life; and in 1680 he was Recorder of Kinsale, County Cork, when he settled at Cork and practiced as a barrister with considerable success.

In 1687, he withdrew, in consequence of the religious dissensions prevalent at that period in his native country, to Bristol, and there, at his leisure hours, compiled a "History of Ireland."

At the period of the Revolution he returned to Ireland, as secretary to Sir Robert Southwell, who accompanied William, Prince of Orange, in the capacity of principal secretary of state.

Upon his royal master's march to Dublin, after the battle of the Boyne, that prince published his manifesto, called "The King's Declaration at Finglass," which emanated from the pen of Mr Cox, and which so pleased His Majesty that he was heard to say that "Mr Cox has exactly hit my own mind."

After the surrender of Waterford, Mr Cox was made Recorder of that city, and thence, in 1690, removed to the second seat upon the bench of the Court of Common Pleas.

In 1692, he received the honour of knighthood; in 1701, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas; and in 1703 was appointed LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND.

In the absence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he was twice nominated one of the Lords-Justices; and created a baronet in 1706, designated of Dunmanway, County Cork.

Upon the termination of the Duke of Ormonde's government, however, in 1707, Sir Richard Cox was removed from the chancellorship, but he subsequently accepted the office of Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, from which he was removed, with the other judges, upon the accession of GEORGE I, and his conduct was subsequently censured by a vote of the House of Commons.

Sir Richard married, in 1673, Mary, daughter of John Bourne, and had issue,
Richard (1677-1725), father of RICHARD, 2nd Baronet;
Walter;
John;
William;
MICHAEL, of whom hereafter.
The youngest son,

THE MOST REV DR MICHAEL COX (1689-1779), Lord Archbishop of Cashel and Primate of Munster, Chaplain to James, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who espoused, in 1712, Anne, daughter of the Hon James O'Brien MP,  and granddaughter of William, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin, by whom he left at his decease, in 1779, an only son,

RICHARD COX (1745-), of Castletown, County Kilkenny, who married, in 1776, Mary, daughter of Francis Burton, brother of Sir Charles Burton, 1st Baronet, and had (with two daughters), five sons,
MICHAEL, of whom hereafter;
Francis (Sir), 9th Baronet;
Richard (Rev), Rector of Caherconlish;
William;
Benjamin.
The eldest son,

MICHAEL COX (1768-), of Castletown, High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, 1819, wedded Mary, daughter of Henry, 1st Baron Dunalley, and had issue,
Richard (Sir), 8th Baronet, of Castletown, dsp 1846;
Henry, died unmarried;
CATHERINE, of whom we treat.
The only daughter,

CATHERINE COX (c1808-1879), of Castletown, heir to her brother, wedded, in 1833, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WILLIAM VILLIERS-STUART (see above).

Entrance Front

CASTLETOWN, Piltown, County Kilkenny (popularly known as Castletown Cox to distinguish it from the celebrated Castletown in County Kildare), was the creation of the renowned architect, Davis Ducart, who was commissioned, in 1767, by the Most Rev Michael Cox, Lord Archbishop of Cashel (whose father, Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet, had leased the land from the Duke of Ormonde).

The Archbishop's armorial bearings adorn the garden front.

His Grace acquired the property following his first marriage to Anne Cooke, who had inherited it from her brother.

The Archbishop's second wife, Anne O'Brien, was granddaughter of the Earl of Inchiquin.

Castletown Cox has a principal centre block comprising three storeys over a basement, and seven bays.

At each side, in the Palladian style, there are stable and kitchen wings which lengthen two fronts of the mansion and then run outwards at right angles, thus forming a partly-enclosed forecourt.

The central block is said to be a variant of William Wynde's Buckingham House in London.

The roof is balustraded.

Castletown Cox is made of dressed sandstone and unpolished Kilkenny marble.

The main block is very finely cut, and the wings have rougher stonework with ashlar dressings.

Garden Front

The wings on the garden front are arcaded and terminate in pavilions with cupolas and octagonal domes.

The garden front is adorned with large, fluted Corinthian pilasters and exceptionally beautiful arcades.

Castletown was sold by the family in 1909 to Colonel William Henry Wyndham-Quin, later 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl.

Arcade, Pavilion and Knot-Garden

The Colonel laid out the very attractive, formal knot-gardens.

There is exquisite rococo plasterwork in the main reception rooms by the celebrated Waterford stuccodore, Patrick Osborne.

Dining-Room

The hall, staircase hall, and dining-room have decorative plaster panelling on their walls, and plasterwork ceilings.

The Hall

The hall boasts a screen of monolithic, fluted Corinthian columns of unpolished Kilkenny marble, similar to that used on the exterior.

Drawing-Room Ceiling

When Colonel Wyndham-Quin succeeded to the title in 1926, he sold Castletown to Major-General E R Blaque, son-in-law of Admiral Lord Beresford.

General Blaque's son, Charles, sold the estate in 1976 to Nicholas Walsh, who never moved into the mansion.

The self-styled Baron Brian de Breffny and his wife purchased the house from Mr Walsh in 1979.

Castletown Cox estate was purchased by Mr George Morgan Magan (created a life peer in 2011, as BARON MAGAN OF CASTLETOWN) in 1999.

The property was purchased in 2020 by Mr Kelcy Warren.

First published in April, 2018.  With gratitude to Richard Corrigan, without whom this article might not have been written.

Friday, 12 February 2021

New DLs

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY LIEUTENANTS


Mrs Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, has been pleased to appoint:-

Mrs Ann Theresa McGregor-Sistern MBE
Belfast

Professor Ian Andrew Greer
Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge
Belfast

to be Deputy Lieutenants of the County Borough, their Commissions bearing date the 11th day of February, 2021.


Signed: Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle CBE
Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough

Monday, 8 February 2021

Muckross House

THE HERBERTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KERRY, WITH 47,238 ACRES

Since the merging of the elder branch of the family of CLIVE, by the marriage of the heiress of the last Herbert, Earl of Powis, with the son of the celebrated General Lord Clive, the chieftainship of the name seems indubitably to rest with HERBERT of Muckross, in County Kerry.
Descended from Thomas Herbert, of Kilcow, he went to Ireland under the care and patronage of his relative Lord Herbert of Chirbury and Castleisland, in 1656; which Thomas was the son of Matthew, the son of Sir John, the son of Sir William, the son of Sir Matthew, of Colebrook, only brother of the Earl of Pembroke of the 1st Creation.
These brothers suffered as Yorkists in the wars of the Roses.

The heir-general of the Earl of Pembroke married into the family of Somerset, Earl of Marquess of Worcester, and Duke of Beaufort.
From Richard Herbert descended in the younger branches the Lords Herbert of Cherbury, afterwards Earls of Powis, and Herbert, Earl of Torrington, both extinct in the male line; while from a senior, but never ennobled branch, the family of Muckross and Kilcow now remains the existing and legitimate representative of the famous name of HERBERT.
The Herberts were granted land in County Kerry during the reign of ELIZABETH I.

THOMAS HERBERT, of Kilcow, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1659, married Mary, daughter of Edward Kenny, of Cullen, County Cork, and had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
John, dsp;
ARTHUR.
The eldest son,

EDWARD HERBERT MP (1660-1737), of Muckross, High Sheriff of Kerry, 1693, married, in 1684, Agnes, daughter of Patrick Crosbie, of Tubrid, County Kilkenny, and had issue,
EDWARD, his successor;
John, dsp;
Arthur, dsp;
Elizabeth; Margaret.
The eldest son,

EDWARD HERBERT (1693-1770), of Muckross, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1708, MP for Ludlow in Shropshire, 1756, married Frances, daughter of Nicholas, 2nd Viscount Kenmare, and had issue,
THOMAS, his successor;
Nicholas (Rev);
Edward, MP.
The eldest son,

THOMAS HERBERT, of Muckross, MP for Ludlow, married firstly, Anne, daughter of John Martin, of Overbury, Worcestershire, and had issue,
HENRY ARTHUR, his heir;
Edward (Rev);
Frances; Catherine; Mary; Emily.
He wedded secondly, Agnes, daughter of the Rev Francis Bland, Vicar of Killarney, and had issue,
Thomas, dsp 1798, buried at Worcester Cathedral;
Francis, killed in a duel at Gibraltar, 1797;
Cherry; Elizabeth.
Mr Herbert died in 1779, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY ARTHUR HERBERT (1756-1821), who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Lord George Sackville, and sister to the last Duke of Dorset, and had issue (with a daughter), a son and successor,

CHARLES JOHN HERBERT, of Muckross, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1818, who married, in 1814, Louisa, daughter of Hugh Middleton, and had issue,
HENRY ARTHUR, his heir;
Charles, dsp;
Louisa; Jane; Maria.
Mr Herbert died in 1836, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THE RT HON HENRY ARTHUR HERBERT (1815-66), of Muckross, Lord-Lieutenant and MP for County Kerry, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1836, Colonel, the Kerry Militia, Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1857-8, who married, in 1837, Mary, daughter of James Balfour, by Lady Eleanor his wife, and had issue,
HENRY ARTHUR, his heir;
Charles;
Eleanor; Blanche.
He was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY ARTHUR HERBERT DL MP (1840-1901), of Muckross, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1881, MP for Kerry, 1866-80, Major, London Irish Rifles, Captain, Coldstream Guards, who espoused, in 1866, Emily Julia Charlotte, only child of Edward, 2nd Lord Keane, and had issue,
HENRY ARTHUR EDWARD KEANE, his heir;
Kathleen Mary Eleanor.
The only son,

HENRY ARTHUR EDWARD KEANE HERBERT JP (1867-1931), married, in 1893, Charlotte Alice Dorothy Montagu, daughter of Arthur Charles Montagu Gifford, though the marriage was without issue.
Smith indicates that two members of the family received lands in Kerry after the Desmond rebellion, Sir William Herbert receiving over 13,000 acres; while Charles Herbert received over 3,000 acres. 

Over the next three centuries they were to remain amongst the foremost families in County Kerry.

Henry Arthur Herbert was one of the principal lessors of property in the baronies of Dunkerron North and Magunihy, as well as holding some property in the barony of Trughanacmy, at the time of Griffith’s Valuation.

The family fortunes declined systematically in the late 19th century and most of the estate was sold in the 1890s.

MUCKROSS HOUSE, County Kerry, is an irregular-plan, six-bay, two-storey over basement, quadruple-gable-fronted, Elizabethan-Revival style country house with dormer attic, built between 1839-43, designed by William Burn.

It is situated close to the shores of Muckross Lake, amidst the beautiful scenery of Killarney National Park.

The house is a focal point within the park.


It was built for Henry Arthur Herbert and his wife, the watercolour painter Mary Balfour Herbert.

This was the fourth house that successive generations of the Herbert family had occupied at Muckross over a period of almost two centuries. 

Originally it was intended to build a more ornate house than that which exists today.

The plans for a larger servants' wing, stable block, orangery and summer-house are believed to have been altered at Mary Herbert's request. 


Today the principal rooms are furnished in period style and portray the elegant lifestyle of the 19th century gentry; while, in the basement, one can imagine the busy bustle of the servants as they went about their daily chores.

During the 1850s, the Herberts undertook extensive garden works in preparation for Queen Victoria's visit in 1861. 

Later, the Bourn Vincent family continued this gardening tradition.

They purchased the estate from Lord and Lady Ardilaun early in the 20th century.

It was at this time that the Sunken Garden, Rock Garden and Stream Garden were developed.

First published in December, 2011.  BIBLIOGRAPHY: MUCKROSS HOUSE WEBSITE

Friday, 5 February 2021

Portumna Castle

THE MARQUESSES OF CLANRICARDE WERE THE SECOND LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY GALWAY, WITH 56,826 ACRES


The family of DE BURGH, DE BURGO, BOURKE OR BURKE (as at different times written), Earls and Marquesses of Clanricarde, ranked among the most distinguished peers in the British Isles, and deduced an uninterrupted line of powerful nobles from the Conquest.

HUBERT DE BURGH (c1160-1243), 1st Earl of Kent, was one of the greatest subjects in Europe, in the reigns of KING JOHN and HENRY III.

His uncle,

ADELM DE BURGH, settled in Ireland, and was ancestor of

RICHARD DE BURGH (c1194-1242), surnamed Great Lord of Connaught, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1227.

This Richard rebuilt Galway Castle in 1232, and that of Loughrea in 1236.

He was a man of high authority and power, and died on his passage to France, in proceeding to meet the King of England at Bordeaux, attended "by his barons and knights".

Mr de Burgh espoused, before 1225, Egidia, daughter of Walter de Lacy, and had issue,
Richard, Lord of Connaught;
Waltercr EARL OF ULSTER;
WILLIAM;
Margery; Alice;
two unnamed daughters.
His third son,

WILLIAM DE BURGH, known by the surname of Athankip, from being put to death at that place by the King of Connaught, was succeeded by his son,

SIR WILLIAM DE BURGH, who, having married a daughter of the family of MacJordan, left, with other issue, at his decease in 1324,
ULICK;
Edmond;
John (1350-98);
Walter;
Richard;
Redmond;
Thomas, Lord Treasurer of Ireland, 1331;
John, father of John, Archbishop of Tuam;
Henry.
The eldest son,

SIR ULICK DE BURGH, feudal Lord of Clanricarde, was a person of great power, and distinguished, like his progenitors, in arms.

He wedded Agnes, daughter of the Earl of Warwick; and dying in 1429, was succeeded by his son,

ULICK DE BURGH, of Clanricarde, who espoused Egeline, daughter of Hugh de Courtenay; and dying in 1451, was succeeded by his eldest son,

ULICK DE BURGH, who was succeeded by his son,

ULICK DE BURGH,
Who was created, by HENRY VIII, at Greenwich, in 1543, Baron of Dunkellin and EARL OF CLANRICARDE; and obtained, at the same time from the His Majesty a grant of the monastery of Abbeygormican, alias de Via Nova, in the diocese of Clonfert, with the patronages and donations of all the rectories etc in Clanricarde and Dunkellin belonging to the Crown.

His lordship did not, however, long enjoy his honours; and dying in the following year, 1544, was succeeded by his only son,

RICHARD, 2nd Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; who overthrew, in conjunction with Sir Richard Bingham, the Scots army, at the river Moye, in 1553.

His lordship married Margaret, daughter of Murrough, Earl of Thomond, and had issue, ULICK, Lord Dunkellin.

He died in 1582, and was succeeded by his son,

ULICK, 3rd Earl, who wedded Honora, daughter of John Burke, and had issue,
RICHARD;
Thomas;
William;
Edmond;
John, 1st Viscount Burke, of Clanmories;
Mary.
His lordship died in 1601, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

RICHARD, 4th Earl (1572-1635), surnamed of Kinsale, from the valour he had displayed against the rebels there.

His lordship was created an English peer, in 1624, in the dignities of Baron Somerhill and Viscount Tunbridge, Kent.

He was advanced to an earldom, in 1628, as Earl of St Albans.

His lordship married Frances, daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham and widow of Sir Philip Sydney, and of ELIZABETH I's unfortunate favourite, the Earl of Essex, by whom he had one son, ULICK, his successor, and two daughters, Mary, wife of Edmund, son of James, Earl of Ormonde; and Honora, married to John Paulet, Marquess of Winchester.

He was succeeded by his only son,

ULICK (1604-57), 5th Earl of Clanricarde and 2nd Earl of St Albans.

His lordship was advanced to a marquessate, in 1644, in the dignity of MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDE.

He espoused the Lady Anne Compton, only daughter of William, Earl of Northampton, and had an only daughter,
MARGARET, m Charles, Viscount Muskerry.
His lordship dying thus without male issue, the marquessate and his English honours expired; while the Irish earldom of Clanricarde and the barony of Dunkellin reverted to his first cousin,

RICHARD, 6th Earl; at whose decease, 1666, without issue, the honours devolved upon his brother,

WILLIAM, 7th Earl, who married firstly, Lettice, only daughter of Sir Henry Shirley, and had issue,
RICHARD, his successor;
JOHN, succeeded his brother;
Thomas.
His lordship wedded secondly, Helen, daughter of Donough, 1st Earl of Clancarty, and had further issue,
Ulick, 1st Viscount Galway;
William;
Margaret; Honora.
His lordship was succeeded at his decease, in 1687, by his eldest son,

RICHARD, 8th Earl, who wedded Elizabeth Bagnell, and had an only daughter, Lady Dorothy Bourke.

He died in 1704, and was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN, 9th Earl (1642-1722), who espoused Bridget, daughter of James Talbot; and was succeeded by his son,

MICHAEL. 10th Earl, who wedded Anne, daughter and co-heiress of John Smith, of Tudworth, Hampshire, Speaker of the House of Commons, and subsequently Chancellor of the Exchequer, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. 

His lordship died in 1726, and was succeeded by his only surviving son,

JOHN SMITH, 11th Earl (1720-82), who was father of

HENRY,12th Earl (1743-97), Privy Counsellor, Knight of St Patrick, Governor of County Galway, who was created, in 1785, MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDE (second creation).

His lordship died without issue, when the marquessate expired, and his lordship's other titles devolved upon his only brother,

JOHN, 13th and 1st Earl of Clanricarde (1744-1808), a General in the army, Colonel, 66th Foot, who wedded, in 1799, Eliza, daughter of the late Sir Thomas Burke Bt, of Marble Hill.
In 1800, Lord Clanricarde obtained a grant, conferring the dignity of countess upon his daughters in succession, and that of Earl of Clanricarde upon their male issue, according to priority of birth, in case of the failure of his own male descendants.
His lordship's eldest son,

ULICK JOHN, 14th and 2nd Earl (1802-74), KP, married, in 1825, Harriet, only daughter of the Rt Hon George Canning, HM Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

His lordship was advanced to a marquessate, in 1825, as MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDE (third creation).

Earls of Clanricarde; Second creation (1800; Reverted)



PORTUMNA CASTLE, built near the shore of the northern extremity of Lough Derg on the river Shannon in the reign of JAMES I, was stated to be without equal in Ireland at the time in style, grandeur and distinction.

The elegance of Portumna can be attributed to the taste, experience and wealth of its builder, Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde.

It was built between 1610 and 1618 at a cost of £10,000, and Lord Clanricarde also built a mansion at Somerhill, Tonbridge Wells, in Kent.



Portumna was one of the first, if not the first, building in Ireland to admit some of the Renaissance refinements already common in Italy and France for over a century, but which took so long to filter through to Ireland.

The shell of this great mansion conveys an impression of alien splendour, and the overall effect is unique and has a curiously continental air.

The Renaissance features of the exterior of Portumna are - strictly speaking - limited to the fine doorcase of the front entrance and the Tuscan gateway of the innermost courtyard, but the very layout is an expression of Renaissance ideas.



The castle is symmetrical in shape and consists of three stories over a basement with square corner projecting towers.

A central corridor runs longitudinally from top to bottom, supported by stone walls, which contain numerous recesses and fireplaces.

The approach is elaborate from the north with gardens, avenues and three gates.

The formal gardens of Portumna Castle were laid out in the 17th century and were the first Italian or Renaissance gardens to be introduced to Ireland.

It is reputed that the 4th Earl copied the style of Sir John’s garden for his castle at Portumna.



The stately gardens of the 17th century contained formal walks, arbours, parterres, and hedges, as well as jets d’eau, or fountains, artificial cascades, columns, statues, grottoes and similar puerilities.

The inner courtyard, known as the Grianan, was the ladies' pleasure ground.

It contained shrubs, seats, pathways and lawns, where the ladies of the castle congregated, did their embroidery, and discussed womanly affairs.

Fifteen Earls and Marquesses of Clanricarde owned Portumna from 1543-1916.

In the latter years, Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess, 15th and 3rd Earl of Clanricarde (1832–1916) died. 
He was said to have been a notorious miser and eccentric who dressed like a tramp and spent his life in London; and on his death the estate at Portumna passed to his nephew, Henry Viscount Lascelles, afterwards 6th Earl of Harewood. 
In 1928, Princess Mary and her husband, the same Lord Lascelles, visited Portumna, and by all accounts received a cordial welcome.

They mixed with all the people and visited all the formal schools and institutions in town as well as attending various meetings.

The Portumna estate was acquired by the Irish Government in 1948, with the castle being allocated to the then Office of Public Works, the 1,500 acre demesne to the Forestry Commission and land being given for a Golf Course and sports pitch.

Lord Clanricarde was a friend of Sir John Danvers and shared his great love of gardens.
The castle was accidentally burned in 1826; it was very grand and highly interesting; its staircase, its great hall and its state drawing-room were very handsome; its library was a long apartment in the highest storey.  
Several of its rooms acquired an impressive and venerable air from the presence of old family portraits and a large quantity of ancient furniture; opulent plasterwork friezes; carved armorial bearings; and it commanded a brilliant and very extensive prospect of Lough Derg, the River Shannon and the surrounding countryside.
The Castle remained ruinous until work commenced on its restoration by the Irish State in 1968.

To date, the shell and the internal walls have been faithfully restored, and the roof and chimneys which are in place protect the castle from the elements.

The windows, fireplaces and flooring joists and basement have been restored and elaborate archaeological work has been carried out on the outside.

Once the main staircase and internal floors have been installed, the most difficult of the restoration work will have been achieved. 

First published in August, 2011. 

Tuesday, 2 February 2021

Santry Court

THE DOMVILE BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY DUBLIN, WITH 6,262 ACRES

Of the family of DOMVILLE were two branches in Cheshire; the elder seated at Oxton, from the period of the conquest to its termination in females, who carried the estate through the families of Troutbeck and Hulse, into that of the Earls of Shrewsbury.

The younger at Lymm Hall, Cheshire, of which 

GILBERT DOMVILLE (1583-1637), second son and heir of William Domville, of Lymm Hall, removed into Ireland in the beginning of the reign of JAMES I, and was clerk of the Crown and Hanaper there, having for his colleague the ancestor of the Wellesley family.

Mr Domville, MP for Donegal Borough, 1634, married Margaret, daughter of the Most Rev Thomas Jones, Lord Archbishop of Dublin, LORD CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND, father of the 1st Viscount Ranelagh.

He was buried in the choir of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

His son,

THE RT HON SIR WILLIAM DOMVILLE (1609-89), Attorney-General for Ireland, 1660, MP for County Dublin, Privy Counsellor, Speaker of the General Convention of Ireland at the Restoration, wedded Miss Lake, daughter of Sir Thomas Lake, of Cannons, Middlesex, Secretary of State to JAMES I, and had issue,
William (Sir), MP for Co Dublin;
THOMAS, of whom we treat.
The younger son,

THOMAS DOMVILE (c1650-1721), of Templeogue, MP for Mullingar, 1692-3, Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, was created a baronet in 1686, designated of Templeogue, County Dublin.

He wedded firstly, the daughter of his cousin, Sir Launcelot Lake, by whom he had a daughter (married to Barry, 3rd Lord Santry); and secondly, the Hon _____ Cole, daughter of Arthur, Lord Ranelagh, but had no issue.

Sir Thomas married thirdly, Anne, daughter of the Hon Sir Charles Compton (second son of Spencer, 2nd Earl of Northampton), and had issue,
COMPTON, his heir;
Elizabeth, mother of
CHARLES DOMVILE.
Sir Thomas was succeeded by his son,

THE RT HON SIR COMPTON DOMVILE, 2nd Baronet (1696-1768), Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, privy counsellor, MP for Dublin, 1727-68.

At the decease of this gentleman, in 1768, the baronetcy expired, and his estates reverted to his nephew,

CHARLES POCKLINGTON (1740-1810), MP for County Dublin, 1768, who assumed, pursuant to the will of his uncle, the surname and arms of DOMVILE only.

He wedded Margaret, daughter of ______ Sheppard, and had issue,
COMPTON, his heir;
Henry Barry, in holy orders;
William, in holy orders;
Christopher;
Elizabeth; Margaret; Anna Maria; Caroline; Louisa; Mary; Bridget.
The eldest son,

COMPTON POCKLINGTON DOMVILE (1775-1857), was created a baronet in 1815, designated of Templeogue and Santry House, both in County Dublin.

He married firstly, Elizabeth Frances, daughter of the Hon and Rt Rev Charles Lindsay, Lord Bishop of Kildare, and cousin of Lord Balcarres; by whom he had a son,

SIR CHALES COMPTON WILLIAM DOMVILE, 2nd Baronet (1822-84).
  • Sir Charles Compton William Domvile, 2nd Baronet (1822-84) son of 1st baronet; married Lady Margaret St. Lawrence; no issue;
  • Sir William Compton Domvile, 3rd Baronet (1825-84) son of 1st baronet; married Caroline Meade; one son and three daughters, including Mary Adelaide, later wife of Sir Hutcheson Poë, 1st Baronet
  • Sir Compton Meade Domvile, 4th Baronet (1857-1935) son of 3rd Baronet; never married.
The baronetcy expired on the death of the 4th Baronet.


SANTRY COURT, Santry, County Dublin, was a very important, early 18th century mansion of red brick with stone facings, built in 1703 by the 3rd Lord Barry of Santry, commonly called Lord Santry.

It was of two storeys over a singularly high basement, with a dormer attic behind the roof parapet.

It had a nine-bay entrance front with a pedimented breakfront.

There were Corinthian columns at the head of a great flight of steps.

Curved wings and sweeps were added later, ca 1740-50, by the 4th and last Lord Barry (Lord Santry).


The Court had a fine interior with a large hall; good plasterwork.

Following the death of Henry, 4th Baron Barry of Santry, the Domvile family inherited the Santry estate, including Ballymun.

Santry Court and nearly 5,000 acres of land remained in the Domvile family’s hands for almost 200 years (1751-1935).


Much of the historical records for the Santry Estate date from Sir (Thomas) Compton Domvile's inheritance of Santry Estate in 1751.

There is some evidence that the Santry estate was experiencing financial difficulties, partly due to the expenses incurred building Santry Court, but also because of the lavish habits of the 4th Baron.

When Sir Charles, 2nd Baronet, inherited Santry Court, demesne and estate from his father in 1857, he began the largest renovation and building programme (gardens and house) that the Santry estate had seen since its construction in the early 18th century.
A vast number of maps, diagrams and plans have survived from this period. Sir Charles was the last member  of the Domvile family to reside permanently at Santry. He married Lady Margaret Frances St Lawrence, a daughter of the 3rd and last Earl of Howth.
After the death of Sir Charles, Santry Court passed briefly to his brother, Sir William, 3rd Baronet, and then to the Pöe family who were relatives of the Domviles by marriage.

Shortly after 1935, Santry Court became a residential care home.

The house fell into disrepair, initially at the turn of the 20th century as the estate proved not to be economically viable; but ultimately after the Domvile family left Ireland in 1921.

It came into the possession of the Irish state, which intended to repair it and use it as a mental asylum.

This plan was shelved by the start of the 2nd World War; the need to increase security around Dublin Airport meant it was used as an army depot, and part of the gardens as a firing range.

There are many theories locally about what happened next, but it appears that soldiers of the Irish army caused a fire and the house was severely damaged in 1947; followed by demolition shortly afterwards.

First published in November, 2011.