Newbury Hall

THE VISCOUNTS HARBERTON OWNED 453 ACRES IN COUNTY KILDARE

JOHN PRINCE, Vicar of Berry Pomeroy, in his famous work, The Worthies of Devon (1701), says of the family of POMEROY that "this great progeny had their "dwelling" at the Castle of Berry Pomeroy, near Totnes, Devon, "from the Norman Conquest unto the days of KING EDWARD VI, which is upward of 500 years.

The name in several ages was severally written, as de Pomerio, de Pomeri, de la Pomerai and then Pomeroy. The first so called in England was RALPH DE LA POMERAI, who came in with WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, and was greatly assistant to him in obtaining this kingdom; for which reason he conferred upon him a noble estate, no less than fifty-eight lordships in Devonshire, as Sir William Dugdale tells us in his Baronage of England."

In the House of De La Pomerai, by Edward B Powley (1943), the descent is traced of the Pomeroy family from the above-mentioned RALPH, through a succession of the Baronial Lords of Berry Pomeroy, to SIR THOMAS POMEROY, who sold Berry Pomeroy to the Duke of Somerset in 1548.

ROBERT POMEROY, of Ingsdon Manor (now Ilsington), Devon, married Elizabeth, only daughter and heir of John Beaumont, of Ingsdon, and died in 1517, leaving issue,

ST CLEER POMEROY, of Ingsdon, who wedded Joanna Young, who was living in 1533, and had issue,

JOHN POMEROY, of Ingsdon, who died 1532-3, leaving by his wife Elizabeth a son,

HUGH POMEROY, who was under age in 1533, when his wardship and marriage were committed to Sir Philip Champernon.

He married twice, and had issue by his first wife,

JOHN POMEROY, who espoused Mary, daughter of Arthur Secombe, and had issue,

THE VERY REV ARTHUR POMEROY DD, who went to Ireland, 1672, as Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and obtained the Deanery of Cork.

He married Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Richard Osborne, of Ballintaylor, County Waterford, and died in 1710, having had surviving issue a daughter, Mary, m to Sir Richard Cox Bt, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and a son,

THE VEN. JOHN POMEROY, Archdeacon of Cork, 1717, who wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Donellan, of Cloghan, County Roscommon, and died having had,

ARTHUR;

John.

The elder son,

ARTHUR POMEROY (1723-98) was elevated to the Peerage, 1783, by the title (derived from the town of Harberton, Devon, the land barony having come into the family of Pomeroy by marriage with the heiress of the De Valletorts in 1207), of Baron Harberton, of Carbery, and advanced to the dignity of a viscountcy, 1791, as VISCOUNT HARBERTON. 

His lordship, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1752, MP for Kildare, 1761-83, wedded, in 1747, Mary, daughter and heir of Henry Colley, of Castle Carbery, County Kildare, and niece of Richard, 1st Lord Mornington, by whom he had, with other issue,

HENRY, his successor;

ARTHUR JAMES, 3rd Viscount;

JOHN, 4th Viscount.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY, 2nd Viscount (1749-1829), MP for Strabane, 1776-97, who espoused, in 1778, Mary, daughter of Nicholas Grady, of Grange, County Limerick, by whom he had one son, Henry (1778-1804).

His lordship was succeeded by his brother,

ARTHUR JAMES, 3rd Viscount (1753-1832), who married, in 1800, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Kinsley, of Dublin.

His lordship dsp 1832, and was succeeded by his brother,

JOHN, 4th Viscount (1758-1833), in holy orders, Prebendary of St Patrick's, Dublin, who wedded, in 1785, Esther, eldest daughter and co-heir of James Spencer, and had issue,

JOHN JAMES, his successor;

Arthur William (Rev);

George Francis;

Spencer Stewart;

Henry;

William Knox;

Elizabeth Esther.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN JAMES, 5th Viscount (1790-1862), who espoused, in 1822, Caroline, sixth daughter of the Rev Sir John Robinson Bt, and had issue,

John (1828-30);

Arthur James (1831-40);

JAMES SPENCER, his successor;

Mary Ann; Esther Caroline.

His lordship was succeeded by his only surviving son,

JAMES SPENCER, 6th Viscount (1836-1912), who married, in 1861, Florence Wallace, only daughter of WILLIAM WALLACE LEGGE, of Malone House, Belfast, and had issue,

ERNEST ARTHUR GEORGE, his successor;

RALPH LEGGE, 8th Viscount.

His lordship was succeeded by his elder son,

ERNEST ARTHUR GEORGE, 7th Viscount (1867-1944), who wedded, in 1932, Fairlie, daughter of Colonel Charles D'Oyly Harmar, of Ramridge, Andover.

His lordship dsp 1944, and was succeeded by his brother,

RALPH LEGGE, 8th Viscount (1874-1956), OBE, who espoused, in 1907, Mary Katherine, only daughter of Arthur William Leatham, of Smallfield Place, Smallfield, Surrey, and had issue,

HENRY RALPH MARTYN, his successor;

THOMAS DE VAUTORT, 10th Viscount;

Robert William (twin), father of 11th Viscount;

Rosamund Mary.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

HENRY RALPH MARTYN, 9th Viscount (1908-80), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother,

THOMAS DE VAUTORT, 10th Viscount (1910-2004), who married firstly, in 1939, Nancy Ellen, daughter of C A Penoyer; secondly, in 1950, Paula Stafford, daughter of Wilfred Sydney Baker; and thirdly, in 1978, Wilhelmine, daughter of Heinrich Wahl.

His lordship dsp, and was succeeded by his nephew,

HENRY ROBERT, 11th Viscount (1958-), who wedded, in 1990, Caroline Mary, daughter of Jeremy Grindle, and has issue,

PATRICK CHRISTOPHER, born in 1995;

Hugh William, Born 1997.

Image credit: Raymond Potterton, Auctioneers

NEWBURY HALL, or Newberry Hall, Carbury, County Kildare, is, Mark Bence-Jones in his Burke's Guide to Country Houses, remarks,

A Palladian house of red brick with stone facings.

It was built in the 1760s for Arthur Pomeroy, afterwards 1st Viscount Harberton, probably to the design of the amateur architect, Nathaniel Clements.

The centre block comprises two storeys over a basement with an attic storey above the cornice which has windows in the garden front, but not in the entrance front. 

Entrance front (Image: NLI)

The entrance front comprises three bays; a pedimented breakfront with Diocletian window above tripartite fan-lighted doorway with baseless pediment.

The roof parapet has urns.

The centre block is linked to two-storey wings or pavilions, each with one bay on either side of a three-sided bow, by curved sweeps with roundheaded rusticated doors and windows. 

Garden front (Image: NLI)

The garden front of the centre block is of one bay on either side of a curved central bow.

The house was purchased ca 1840 by Edward Woolstenholme and then by William Pilkington, a prominent Dublin publisher.

The Robinson family bought Newbury Hall and estate in 1911.

Image credit: Raymond Potterton, Auctioneers

The house and estate are currently for sale (June, 2026).

Coolcarrigan House

THE WILSON-WRIGHTS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 5,432 ACRES

The first member of the Wright family to settle in Ireland was

CAPTAIN JAMES WRIGHT (1615-1700), of Royston, Yorkshire, son of John Wright and Margaret, daughter of Richard Ratcliffe.

Captain Wright, an officer in Cromwell's army, landed at Dublin, 1649.

In 1661, he was granted lands at Golagh in County Monaghan.

Captain Wright was, however, attainted by JAMES II's parliament, 1688.

His son,

JOSEPH WRIGHT (1652-1731), of Golagh, married, in 1708, Mary, daughter of Edward Own of Kilmore, County Monaghan, and was father of

JOSEPH WRIGHT, of Golagh, who married, in 1744, Eleanor Martyn, of Clogher and Dumbartagh, County Cavan.

The second son,

JOSEPH WRIGHT JP, of Carrachor Hall, Rector of Killencoole, Lurgan Green and Harristown, County Louth, married Mary Montgomery and had four sons.

His second son,

RICHARD WRIGHT, of Fortfield, Belfast, and Craigavad House, County Down, married Catherine, daughter of George Dowdall.

He died in 1788, leaving issue five sons and two daughters.

The third son,

EDWARD THOMAS WRIGHT (1810-81), of Donnybrook, County Dublin, Barrister, married, in 1832, his cousin Charlotte, daughter of Joseph Wright, of Beech Hill, Donnybrook, County Dublin.

The eldest son,

EDWARD PERCIVAL WRIGHT (1834-1910), Professor of Botany, Dublin University, married Emily, daughter of Colonel Ponsonby Shaw of the Indian Army.

His second son,

THE REV CHARLES HENRY HAMILTON WRIGHT (1836-1909), married, in 1859, Ebba Johanna, daughter of Nils Wilhelm Almroth (Director of the Royal Mint in Stockholm and a Knight of the Northern Star of Sweden).

His second son,

SIR ALMROTH EDWARD WRIGHT KBE CB (1861-1947), married, in 1889, Jane Georgina, daughter of Robert Mackay Wilson, of Coolcarrigan, County Kildare.

His second son,

LEONARD ALMROTH WILSON-WRIGHT JP, of Coolcarrigan, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1921, who married, in 1925, Florence, eldest daughter of James Ivory JP, of Brewlands, Glenisla, Forfarshire, and had issue, an only son,

JOCK WILSON-WRIGHT (1928-), who married, in 1953, Sheila Gwendolyn Yate, only daughter of Colonel Henry Patrick Blosse-Lynch, of Partry, Claremorris, County Mayo, and had issue,

Robert (b 1956);
Jane Sheila (b 1958);
Janet, (b 1951) who married Sir Richard La Touche Colthurst, 9th Baronet, of Ardrum, County Cork, and had issue two sons, Charles (b 1955) and James (b 1957).

***** 

THE WILSONS descend from John Wilson, of Rahee, County Antrim, said to have landed in Carrickfergus in the suite of WILLIAM III.

Robert Mackay Wilson's great-grandfather Hugh Wilson (d 1822) also lived at Rashee.

Robert Mackay Wilson's grandfather William Wilson, of Daramona House, County Westmeath, and Larkhill, County Dublin, was born in 1787 and married, in 1815, Rebecca Dupre (d 1846), daughter of John Mackay of Elagh, County Tyrone, and Prospect, County Londonderry.

Robert's elder brother John (1826-1906) succeeded to Daramona House and was sometime High Sheriff for counties Westmeath and Longford.

Robert Mackay Wilson JP (b1829), High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1887, married, in 1858, Elizabeth, daughter of Murray Suffern, of Belfast.

Mr Wilson purchased Coolcarrigan.

Coolcarrigan passed to his only surviving child,

Jane Georgina Wilson (1860-1926) who married Sir Almroth Wright.

COOLCARRIGAN HOUSE, near Naas, County Kildare, is a mansion of three bays and two storeys in the Georgian style, built in the 1830s by Robert Mackay Wilson to the designs of an unknown architect.

The façade has hooded moldings over the upper windows, a simple parapet and a typical late-Georgian door with fanlight and sidelights, while the central bay is treated as a breakfront by the addition of a pair of pilasters.

Two later curved screen walls, ending in tall piers, project outwards to either side of the entrance front and disguise the fact that the house has been considerably enlarged at the rear.

These additions make Coolcarrigan a very comfortable family home.

There is a beautiful family chapel in the grounds:

Consecrated in 1885 by the Most Rev William Plunket, Lord Archbishop of Dublin and later 4th Baron Plunket, the chapel was built in the Hiberno-Romanesque Revival style, with a Round Tower and a High Cross.

It derives from the 12th century Temple Finghin at Clonmacnoise on the River Shannon.

This tiny complex, surrounded by trees and a dry moat, is the most complete example of the Celtic Revival style in Ireland and makes an attractive view from the house.

The church interior has frescoes in Gaelic script, specially chosen by Douglas Hyde, the first Irish President and a close family friend; while the very good stained glass windows, dedicated to various members of the family, are also in the Celtic Revival style.

The main avenue has a splendid display of spring bulbs while the superb twenty-acre garden has a wonderful collection of rare and unusual trees and shrubs inspired by Sir Harold Hillier, the great 20th century plants-man and collector.

An elaborate 1900s greenhouse in the walled garden has just been authentically restored.

Robert Wilson's daughter Georgina married Sir Almroth Wright, and inherited Coolcarrigan.

Her husband was an eminent physician and a colleague of Alexander Fleming, who worked on the development of vaccination and discovered the cure for typhoid.

Among his friends was the playwright George Bernard Shaw, whose play The Doctor’s Dilemma is based upon Sir Almroth.

Their descendants, the Wilson-Wright family, still live at Coolcarrigan, the sixth generation to live in the house.

First published in March, 2013.

Straffan House

STRAFFAN HOUSE IS NOW BETTER KNOWN AS THE K CLUB HOTEL AND LEISURE COMPLEX

THE BARTONS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 5,044 ACRES

This family was established in Ireland by THOMAS BARTON (1553-1626), of Norwich, who is said to have accompanied the Earl of Essex's army, in 1599, to that kingdom.

Mr Barton, one of the first burgesses of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, obtained a grant of land, in 1610, comprising a district called Druminshin and Necarne, in the same county. Some of these lands were exchanged by him for others in the neighbourhood still in the possession of the elder branch of the family.

This Thomas Barton married Margaret Lloyd, and had a son,

ANTHONY BARTON, who left issue a son,

WILLIAM BARTON (c1630-93), of Boa Island and Curraghmore, County Fermanagh, who married Jane Hannah Forster, and had two sons,

Edward, of Boa Island;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

WILLIAM BARTON, of Boa Island and Curraghmore, wedded Elizabeth, daughter of John Dickson, of Ballyshannon, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
George;
James;
Elizabeth (Anna); Everina.

The eldest son,

THOMAS BARTON (1695-1780), established the house of business at Bordeaux, France, 1725, and acquired a considerable fortune.

He purchased the estate of Grove, County Tipperary, in 1752.

This gentleman established the famous vintners Barton & Guestier.

He and his wife, Margaret Delap, of Ballyshannon, and had issue, an only child,

WILLIAM BARTON (1723-92), of Grove, who married, in 1754, Grace, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Charles Massy, Dean of Limerick, and sister of Sir Hugh Dillon Massy, 1st Baronet, and had issue,

Thomas, his heir;
William, of Clonelly;
Charles, of Waterfoot;
HUGH, of whom hereafter;
Robert (Sir), KCH, Lieutenant-General;
Dunbar, of Rochestown;
Grace; Elizabeth; Margaret Everina.

The fourth son,

HUGH BARTON (1766-1854),

Who, by his own energy, industry, and activity, acquired at Bordeaux a very large fortune, which he invested in the purchase of the Straffan estate and other lands in Ireland in 1831, and also in the purchase of the Château Langoa, and a portion of the adjacent property of Leoville, both in the parish of St Julien Medoc, near Bordeaux. 

During the reign of terror, in 1793-4, he was imprisoned as an alien, but by the connivance of his wife, daughter of a naturalised Frenchman of Scottish origin, he effected his escape to Ireland. During his absence the business in Bordeaux was managed by Daniel Guestier, with whom he entered into partnership in 1802.

Mr Barton, High Sheriff of Kildare, 1840, married, in 1791, Anne, daughter of Nathaniel Weld Johnston, of Bordeaux, and had issue,

Hugh, died young;
NATHANIEL, his heir;
THOMAS JOHNSTON, of Glendalough;
Daniel;
Hugh;
Susan; Anna; Grace; Isabella; Susan Elizabeth; Charlotte.

His eldest surviving son,

NATHANIEL BARTON JP DL (1799-1867), of Straffan House, County Kildare, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1851, married, in 1823, Mary Susanna, daughter of Harry Harmood Scott, consul at Bordeaux, and had issue,

HUGH LYNEDOCH, his heir;
Harry Fitzgerald (1826-48);
BERTRAM FRANCIS, succeeded his brother;
Charles Thomas Hugh;
Francis Savile;
Mary Esther Isabella; Anna Susan Frederica; Isabel Charlotte; Alice Catherine Harriet.

The eldest son,

HUGH LYNEDOCH BARTON JP DL (1824-99), of Straffan House, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1861, Major, Kildare Rifles, former Lieutenant, 6th Inniskillings, wedded, in 1855, Anna Emily, eldest daughter of Eyre, 3rd Lord Clarina, though died without issue, when the estate devolved upon his brother,

BERTRAM FRANCIS BARTON (1830-1904), of Straffan House, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1903, who married, in 1855, Fannie Annie, eldest daughter of Commander Frank Cutler RN, of Upton Lodge, Brixham, Devon, and had issue,

BERTRAM HUGH, his heir;
Harry Scott;
Mary Fannie; Isabel Eleanor.

Mr Barton was succeeded by his eldest son,

BERTRAM HUGH BARTON JP DL (1858-1927), of Straffan House, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1908, who wedded, in 1899, Lilian Edith Laura, only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Frederick Walter Carden Bt, and had issue,

FREDERICK BERTRAM, his heir;
Hugh Ronald, b 1902;
Storeen Lily, b 1906.

Mr Barton was succeeded by his eldest son,

FREDERICK BERTRAM (DERICK) BARTON (1900-93), of Straffan House, who espoused, in 1927, Joan Aileen, daughter of Major-General Robert St Clair Lecky, and had issue,

Christopher Bertram Ronald, b 1927;
Anthony Frederick, b 1930.

Captain Barton sold Straffan House in 1949.

Thereafter he lived at The Glebe, Straffan.

He was President, Royal Dublin Society, 1966-68.

In 1976, Captain Barton lived at 18 Waltham Terrace, Blackrock, County Dublin.

Derick Barton sold Straffan House to the motorcycle manufacturer, John Ellis, for £15,000. Other owners in the interim periods between the Barton family and the current owner included: Car importer Steven O’Flaherty (1960); the film producer responsible for the James Bond film Thunderball, Kevin McClory (1973); Iranian Air Force founder, Nader Jahanbani (1977) who was executed around the time of the downfall of the Shah Reza Pahlavi government; Patrick Gallagher (1979); and the property magnate Alan Ferguson (1981).

STRAFFAN HOUSE, near Straffan, County Kildare, is a stately 19th century mansion with the appearance of a French-Italianate château.

The main block is of two storeys with an attic of pedimented dormers in a mansard roof.

There is a seven-bay entrance front, the centre bay breaking forward, with a tripartite window above a single-storey, balustraded, Corinthian portico.

Straffan has tall chimney-stacks.

The main block is prolonged at one side by a lower, two-storey wing, from which rises a lofty, slender campanile tower, with two tiers of open belvederes.

The garden was formal, with an elaborate Victorian fountain.

The mansion house was reduced in size about 1937 by Captain Barton, the four bays of the main block furthest from the wing being demolished.

IN 2005, Sir Michael Smurfit KBE (with Gerry Gannon) purchased Straffan estate.

It was transformed into a luxury hotel and leisure complex, the Kildare Hotel & Golf Club, known simply as The K Club.

Sir Michael is now the sole owner.

Under Sir Michael's ownership, Straffan House has in effect been doubled in size, using a granite porch from Ballynegall in County Westmeath, to fuse the two sides together.

Not only has a de luxe hotel been created, but it has also been furnished with important works of art.

First published in December, 2012.

Barretstown Castle

THE BORROWES BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 4,818 ACRES

This family derives (as proved by the patent from Sir William Roberts, Ulster King-of-Arms, granting an augmentation to the arms of Sir Erasmus, 1st Baronet) from a scion of the ancient house of DE BURGH, for centuries so eminent, both in England and Ireland, under the names of Burgh, Bourke, Burke, and Borough. 

HENRY BORROWES, who settled in Ireland during the reign of ELIZABETH I, married firstly, Jane, daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Arthur Savage MP, of Rheban, County Kildare; and secondly, in 1585, Catherine Eustace, of Gilltown.

Henry Borrowes was succeeded by his son, 

ERASMUS BORROWES, of Gilltown, MP. 

This gentleman, High Sheriff of County Kildare at the breaking out of the rebellion in 1641, testified, upon oath, that he was unable to resist the Irish by the Posse Comitatus; and that he had lost in goods, corn, and cattle, at his several houses of Grangemellon, Gilltown, and Carbally, £9,396; in debts, £11,932; 

Besides a yearly income of £1,200, or thereabouts; in consideration whereof, and of his goods and rightful services, CHARLES I, in 1646, created him a baronet, designated of Grange Mellon, County Kildare.

Sir Erasmus married Sarah, daughter of Walter Weldon MP, of Woodstock Castle, and granddaughter maternally of the Rt Rev John Ryder, Lord Bishop of Killaloe, by whom he had, with a daughter, two sons, by the survivor of whom he was succeeded, viz.

SIR WALTER BORROWES, 2nd Baronet (c1620-85), who wedded firstly, in 1656 (the ceremony being performed with great pomp, before the Rt Hon Ridgeway Hatfield, Lord Mayor of Dublin), the Lady Eleanor FitzGerald, third daughter of George, 16th Earl of Kildare.

He married secondly, Margaret, fifth daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Adam Loftus MP, of Rathfarnham.

By the former he had, with a daughter, an only son, his successor,

SIR KILDARE BORROWES, 3rd Baronet (c1660-1709), MP for Kildare County, 1703-9, who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Dixon, and sister of Robert Dixon, by whom he had two sons and three daughters.

Sir Kildare was succeeded by his elder son,

SIR WALTER DIXON BORROWES, 4th Baronet (1691-1741), MP for Harristown, 1721-7, Athy, 1741, who inherited the estates of his maternal uncle, Robert Dixon, already mentioned, in 1725.

He married, in 1720, Mary, daughter and co-heir of Captain Edward Pottinger, by whom he had three sons; the second and third died unmarried, and the eldest succeeded to the baronetcy, and became, 

SIR KILDARE DIXON BORROWES, 5th Baronet (1722-90), High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1751, for which county he had been some years before (1745) returned to parliament.

He married firstly, in 1759, Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of John Short, of Grange, Queen's County, by whom he had three sons and one daughter; and secondly, in 1769,  Jane, daughter of Joseph Higginson, of Mount Ophaley, County Kildare, by whom he had four sons and two daughters.

Sir Kildare was succeeded by his eldest son, 

SIR ERASMUS DIXON BORROWES, 6th Baronet (1759-1814), who wedded, in 1783, Harriet, youngest daughter of the Very Rev Arthur Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise, and great-granddaughter (maternally) of Arthur, 2nd Earl of Granard, and had issue,

WALTER DIXON, his successor;
Arthur;
Kildare;
ERASMUS, 8th Baronet;
Marianne; Harriet; Elizabeth.

Sir Erasmus was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR WALTER DIXON BORROWES, 7th Baronet (1789-1834), who died unmarried, and was succeeded by his only surviving brother, 

THE REV SIR ERASMUS DIXON BORROWES, 8th Baronet (1799-1866), Rector of Ballyroan, Queen's County, who married, in 1825, Harriet, daughter of Henry Hamilton, and niece of Hans Hamilton, MP for County Dublin, and had issue,

Kildare (1828-37);
ERASMUS;
Walter Joseph;
Henrietta Mary; Adelaide Charlotte Marianne; Eleanor Caroline.

Sir Erasmus was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, 

SIR ERASMUS DIXON BORROWES, 9th Baronet (1831-98), of Barretstown Castle, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1873, Queen's County, 1880, who espoused firstly, in 1851, Frederica Eaten, daughter of Brigadier-General George Hutcheson, and had issue, a son,

KILDARE, his successor.

He married secondly, in 1887, Florence Elizabeth, daughter of William Ruxton, and had further issue,

Walter (1892-1915);
Mary Adelaide Vernon.

Sir Erasmus was succeeded by his son,

SIR KILDARE BORROWES, 10th Baronet (1852-1924), who married, in 1886, Julia, daughter of William Holden, by whom he had no issue.

Sir Kildare was Captain in the 11th Hussars and aide-de-camp to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

The baronetcy expired on the death of Sir Eustace Dixon Borrowes, 11th baronet, in 1939.

BARRETSTOWN CASTLE, Ballymore Eustace, Naas, County Kildare, is an old tower-house with a two-storey, Gothic-Victorian addition.

The latter has rectangular, pointed and segmental-pointed plate glass windows.

One side of the front has a four-storey tower with a stepped gable.

The first historical mention of the place is in a 1547 inquisition held after the dissolution of the monasteries, when Barretstown Castle was listed as the property of the Lord Archbishop of Dublin, from whom it was promptly confiscated by the Crown.

Thereafter the Castle was held by the Eustace family on a series of "permanent leases."

In the 17th century, Sir Walter Borrowes married a daughter of the Earl of Kildare and acquired the estate, and the family retained possession for over two centuries.

Members of the family, such as Sir Kildare Borrowes, 5th Baronet, represented Kildare County and Harristown in the former Irish Parliament.

Unlike the Eustace Baronets of the 16th and 17th centuries, the five Borrowes Baronets, who spanned the 19th century, played no part in public life.

Sir Kildare, 10th Baronet (1852–1924), whose father, the Rev Sir Erasmus, 8th Baronet, had significantly modified the residence in a medieval, romantic, asymmetrical style, was the last of the family to live at Barretstown.

In 1918, the Borrowes family left Ireland and Barretstown was purchased by Sir George Sheppard Murray, a Scotsman who converted the estate into a fine stud farm, and planted many of the exotic trees that dominate the landscape.

In 1962, Elizabeth Arden acquired the castle from the Murray family. Over five years, Arden extensively reconstructed, redecorated, and refurnished the castle.

Her influence dominates the look of the house to this day.

The door of the castle is reputed to have been painted red after her famous brand of perfume Red Door, and remains so to this day.

After Arden's death in 1967, the billionaire Garfield Weston took up residence.

Under his ownership the grounds were significantly improved, particularly through the addition of a magnificent lake in front of the castle.

The Weston family, which owns Dublin's famous Brown Thomas department store, presented the estate to the Irish government in 1977, during which time it was used for national and international conferences and seminars, as well as being used as a part of the Irish National Stud.

The Irish government has leased the castle and its grounds to the Barretstown Gang Camp Fund for the next 90 years.

First published in September, 2012.

Lyons Demesne

THE BARONS CLONCURRY WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 6,121 ACRES

The family of LAWLESS was of English extraction, but were settled for many years in Ireland, and became first enriched by commerce, and then ennobled on account of their wealth.

SIR HUGH DE LAWLESS, of Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, settled in Ireland during the reign of HENRY II and obtained a grant from the crown of the manor of Shanganagh, County Dublin, where he erected a castle, the ruins of which are still visible.

RICHARD LAWLESS was Provost of Dublin, 1311, and held the office of Chief Magistrate for three successive years. STEPHEN LAWLESS was consecrated Bishop of Limerick in 1354, and died on Innocents' Day, 1359.

WALTER LAWLESS, of Talbot's Inch, County Kilkenny, had a grant from JAMES I, in 1608, of seven manors, situated in counties Tipperary, Waterford, and Kilkenny, with rights of patronage, to be held for ever, in capite, by knight's service.

He married Margaret, daughter of Robert Wrothe, and died in 1627, leaving an only son,

RICHARD LAWLESS, who succeeding at Talbot's Inch, wedded Margaret, daughter of Patrick Den, of Grennan, County Kilkenny; and dying in 1670, left issue, two sons,

Walter, an adherent of JAMES II;
THOMAS, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

THOMAS LAWLESS, of Talbot's Inch, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of James Butler, of Kilkenny; and dying in 1704, was father of

JOHN LAWLESS, of Shankill, County Dublin, who married Frances, daughter of John Usher, of Crumlin, and had issue, Peter, ancestor of the family seated at Shankill, and

JOHN LAWLESS, who wedded Elizabeth, daughter of Richard MacDonnell.

He died in 1730, and was succeeded by his only son,

ROBERT LAWLESS, a woollen draper, of Abington, County Limerick, by Mary, daughter of Dominick Hadsor, of Dublin. and had issue,

NICHOLAS, his heir;
Mary (1736-67).

Mr Lawless died in 1775, and was succeeded by his only son and heir,

NICHOLAS LAWLESS (1735-99), of Abington, County Limerick, who, having returned to Ireland from Normandy subsequently to his father's decease and conformed to the established church, obtained a seat in parliament as MP for Lifford, 1776-89.

Mr Lawless was created a baronet in 1776, designated of Abington, County Limerick; and elevated to the peerage, in 1789, in the dignity of BARON CLONCURRY, of Cloncurry, County Kildare.

He married, in 1761, Margaret, only daughter of Valentine Browne, of Dublin, and had issue, 

VALENTINE BROWNE, his successor;
Mary Catherine; Valentina Alicia; Charlotte Louisa.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

VALENTINE BROWNE, 2nd Baron (1773-1853),  who wedded firstly, in 1803, Elizabeth Georgiana, daughter of Lieutenant-General Charles Morgan, and had issue,

Mary Margaret; Margaret; Valentine Anne.

He espoused secondly, in 1811, Emily, daughter of Archibald Douglas, and had further issue,

Cecil John (died 1853);

EDWARD, of whom hereafter.

The younger son,

EDWARD, 3rd Baron (1816-69), of Lyons, County Kildare, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1838, County Dublin, 1846, married, in 1839, Elizabeth, daughter of Major John Kirwan, and had issue,

Edward, Colonel, died 1921;

VALENTINE, his successor;

FREDERICK, 5th Baron;

Emily.

His lordship took his own life by throwing himself from the third floor of Lyons.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

VALENTINE, 4th Baron (1840-1928), of Lyons, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1867, who wedded, in 1883, Laura Sophia Priscilla, daughter of Rowland, 1st Baron St Oswald, and had issue, two daughters,

Mary; Kathleen Emily Marie (1888-1957), of Lyons.

His lordship died without male issue, when the title devolved upon his brother,

FREDERICK, 5th Baron (1847-1929), who served on the staff of two Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, was unmarried; and the titles expired on his death in 1929.

LYONS, near Hazlehatch, County Kildare, was originally the seat of the Aylmer family, though they sold it to the 1st Baron Cloncurry, who had a new house built in 1797.

The present mansion house is a three storey block with a curved bow on either side of its entrance front, joined to two-storey wings by curved sweeps.

About 1801, shortly after his release from the Tower of London, the 2nd Baron hired Richard Morrison to undertake improvements and alterations to his father's house, work continuing till 1805.

During this period, Lord Cloncurry was in Italy, collecting antiques and objets d'art for the house.

The seven-bay garden front was left fairly plain, though an immense formal garden was laid out, with abundant statuary and urns.

Beyond the lake, reputedly the largest artificial lake in Ireland, lies the Hill of Lyons.

The Grand Canal passes along one side of the demesne, with a very fine range of Georgian buildings, comprising the Cloncurry private canal station.

The Hon Kathleen Lawless bequeathed the Lyons estate to a cousin, Mr G M V Winn, who sold it about 1962 to University College, Dublin.

Sir Michael Smurfit KBE owned Lyons from 1990-96.

Lyons was later purchased by Dr Tony Ryan, who reputedly spent €100 million on its restoration.

The house stands in nearly 600 acres, including some fine formal gardens.

The orangery and hall contain a large swimming-pool.

There are seven suites in the main house, a self-contained guest wing with four bedrooms, and staff quarters in the north wing.

A further five lodges are located around the estate which include a 22-acre spring-fed lake which is stocked with trout and, for equestrian enthusiasts, there are stables, stud farm facilities and outstanding natural gallops.

Dublin is a 45-minute drive, but private jet access is available on request at nearby Baldonnel's Casement Aerodrome which is three miles from the estate.

It has undergone a total refurbishment which was recognized as outstanding when it received the Europa Nostra and Institut International des Châteaux Historiques joint award for refurbishment.

Cloncurry arms courtesy of European Heraldry.   First published in June, 2012.

Harristown House

THE LA TOUCHES WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY KILDARE, WITH 11,282 ACRES

The family of LA TOUCHE was established in Ireland by DAVID DIGUES LA TOUCHE (1671-1745), a Huguenot, who settled in that kingdom after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, having served first as volunteer, and afterwards as lieutenant and captain in Princess Anne's infantry regiment. 

Mr La Touche was the fourth son of a noble Protestant family of the Blésois, which possessed considerable estates between Blois and Orléans, and in other parts of France.

He first fled to Holland, where a branch of his family had for some time been established, and shortly afterwards embarking with the Prince of Orange, served the Irish campaign under him.

At the conclusion of the war, Mr La Touche, like many of his countrymen, settled in Dublin.

He married twice: By his second wife he had no sons; by the first, who he wedded in 1690, Judith, daughter of Noél Biard, and Judith Chevalier his wife, he had issue,

DAVID, his heir;
James Digges;
Jane; Judith.

Mr La Touche was succeeded in the bank which he had established in Dublin by his eldest son,

DAVID LA TOUCHE (1703-85), who had been educated in Holland with his relation, Digues de la Motte, at Rotterdam.

He espoused, in 1724-5, Mary Anne, daughter of Gabriel Canasille, and had issue,

Gabriel David, dsp;
DAVID (Rt Hon), of Marlay;
James;
JOHN, of whom hereafter;
Peter, of Bellevue;
Gabriel;
Matthew;
Mary Anne; Martha; Elizabeth; Judith.

Mr La Touche's second surviving son,

JOHN LA TOUCHE (1732-1810), of Harristown, MP for Newcastle, 1783-90, Newtownards, 1790-6, Harristown, 1797-1800, married, in 1765, Gertrude FitzGerald, daughter of Robert Uniacke, of County Cork, who took the name and arms of FITZGERALD, and had issue,

ROBERT, his heir;
John, MP for County Leitrim;
Gertrude; Marianne.

The elder son,

ROBERT LA TOUCHE (1773-1844), of Harristown, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1797, MP for Harristown, 1794-1800, wedded, in 1810, the Lady Emily Le Poer Trench, youngest daughter of William, 1st Earl of Clancarty, and had issue,

JOHN, his heir;
Robert;
William;
Anne; Gertrude; Emily.

Mr La Touche was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN LA TOUCHE JP DL (1814-1904), of Harristown, High Sheriff of County Kildare, 1846, Leitrim, 1859, who married, in 1843, Maria, only child of Ross Lambart Price, of Cornwall, by his wife, Catherine, Dowager Countess of Desart, and had issue,

ROBERT PERCY O'CONNOR;
Emily Maria; Rose Lucy.

His eldest son,

ROBERT PERCY O'CONNOR LA TOUCHE JP (1846-1921), wedded, in 1870, the Lady Annette Louise, second daughter of John, 3rd Earl of Clonmell, though the marriage was without issue, and he was succeeded by his sister,

EMILY MARIA LA TOUCHE (1846-68), who espoused, in 1865, Lieutenant-General the Hon Bernard Matthew Ward, son of 3rd Viscount Bangor, and had issue,

ERNEST OTWAY WARD;Rose Florence.

HARRISTOWN HOUSE, near Brannockstown, County Kildare, was purchased by the La Touche family in 1768 and a spacious Georgian mansion was erected by Whitmore Davis in a dominant position overlooking the River Liffey.

The old house of three stories was destroyed in 1891 and a smaller two storey house sits well in its place.

The diocesan architect, James Franklin Fuller, oversaw the restoration of the house at the same time that he rebuilt the small parish church at the entrance to the estate.

The omission of the third storey allows for an unusual amount of light into the house through a cleverly constructed lantern light; thus the move from the airy and bright downstairs rooms is complemented by a rush of light from the upstairs hallway.

Another interesting feature is the tunnel that runs underground for some eighty yards from the stable yard into the basement.

Carnalway church is adjacent to the front entrance of the estate and Fuller rebuilt it in the Hiberno- Romanesque style similar to that of his masterpiece at Millicent.

The church also has stained-glass windows by Harry Clarke and Sir Ninian Comper.

The La Touches were bankers, weavers and politicians.

The partners of La Touche Bank were the original stockholders of the Bank of Ireland, which opened for business in 1783.

The second generation of the La Touches in Ireland included John, who built Harristown House.

His descendants occupied the house until 1921.

The last John La Touche, of Harristown, died in 1904.

The estate was bought in 1946 by Major Michael Beaumont (father of the Lord Beaumont of Whitley), who set about restoring Harristown to its former glory.

They completely renovated the house and installed furniture and pictures from their former home, Wootton, in Buckinghamshire, the interior of which had been designed by Sir John Soane.

On the ground floor the ceilings stand eighteen feet high and the front hall is a magnificent double room off which open the three main reception rooms the library, drawing room and dining room.

However, the best kept secret of this house is the 16th Century Chinese Wallpaper in a sitting room leading off the drawing room which depicts birds in strong vibrant colours.

Among the other curiosities are an upstairs room finished in oak panelling taken from a Tudor house in England; and a set of French Empire pelmets.

First published in February, 2012.

Castletown House

THE CONOLLYS OWNED 2,605 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY KILDARE

THE RT HON WILLIAM CONOLLY (1662-1729), of Castletown, Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland during the reign of QUEEN ANNE, First Lord of the Treasury until his decease during the reign of GEORGE II, and ten times sworn one of the Lords Justices of Ireland, espoused, in 1694, Katherine, sister of HENRY, 1ST EARL CONYNGHAM, by whom he acquired large estates in Ulster.

Speaker Conolly was born in 1662 at Ballyshannon, County Donegal. 

His father, Patrick Conolly, was attainted by JAMES II's Irish Parliament of 1689: otherwise little is known of Patrick Conolly and his wife, Jane, except that they owned an inn or alehouse and must have conformed to the established church at some stage before Conolly's birth. 

Old Irish Christian names like Terence, Phelim and Thady, predominate among his relatives. Conolly appears to have been the oldest of the family, and was early apprenticed to the law in Dublin. 

In 1685, when his sister Jane was only one year old, he was already qualified as an attorney and attached to the Court of Common Pleas.

Speaker Conolly, MP for Donegal, 1692-9, Londonderry, 1703-29, was succeeded by his nephew,

THE RT HON WILLIAM JAMES CONOLLY (1706-54), of Castletown, County Kildare, and Stratton Hall, Staffordshire, who married the Lady Anne Wentworth, eldest daughter of THOMAS, 1ST EARL OF STRAFFORD KG, son of Sir Peter Wentworth, and nephew of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford (who was beheaded in the reign of CHARLES I), and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Katherine, m Ralph, Earl of Ross;
Anne, m G Byng; mother of Earl of Strafford;
Harriet, m Rt Hon John Staples, of Lissan;
Frances, m 5th Viscount Howe;
Caroline, m 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire;
Lucy; Jane.

Mr Conolly, MP for Ballyshannon, 1727-54, was succeeded by his son,

THE RT HON THOMAS CONOLLY (1738-1803), of Castletown, a member, like his father, of the Privy Council in Ireland, one of the deputation appointed by the Irish Parliament to offer the Regency to the Prince of Wales, on the first indisposition of GEORGE III.

Mr Conolly, MP for County Londonderry, 1761-1800, wedded, in 1758, the Lady Louisa Augusta Lennox, daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox, KG etc, and dsp.

By his will he devised his estates to his widow for life, and at her death, which occurred in 1821, they devolved upon his grand-nephew,

EDWARD MICHAEL PAKENHAM, who, assuming his surname and arms of CONOLLY in 1821, became

EDWARD MICHAEL CONOLLY (1786-1849), of Castletown, County Kildare, and Cliff, County Donegal, Lieutenant-Colonel, Donegal Militia, MP for County Donegal, 1831-49, who espoused, in 1819, Catherine Jane, daughter of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker, by the Lady Henrietta Taylour his wife, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Bective, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
Chambré Brabazon, d 1835;
Frederick William Edward, d 1826;
Arthur Wellesley, 1828-54;
John Augustus, VC;
Richard, d 1870;
Louisa Augusta; Henrietta; Mary Margaret; Frances Catherine.

Mr Conolly was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS CONOLLY JP DL (1823-76), of Castletown and Cliff, High Sheriff of County Donegal, 1848, MP for County Donegal, 1849-76, who married, in 1868, Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Shaw, of Temple House, Celbridge, County Kildare, and had issue,

Thomas (1870-1900), killed in action at S Africa;
William, 1872-95;
EDWARD MICHAEL, of whom hereafter;
CATHERINE, Baroness Carew, mother of 6th BARON CAREW.

Mr Conolly was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,

EDWARD MICHAEL CONOLLY CMG (1874-1956), of Castletown, Major, Royal Artillery, who died unmarried, when Castletown passed to his nephew,

William Francis (Conolly-Carew), 6th Baron Carew.

The Conolly Papers are held at PRONI.

CASTLETOWN HOUSE, near Celbridge, County Kildare, is not only the largest, though also the earliest Palladian house in Ireland.

It was built in 1722 for the Rt Hon William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish house of commons, who rose from relatively humble origins to become a man of colossal wealth and power.

Speaker Conolly accumulated his massive fortune by dealing in forfeited estates.

He refused to accept a peerage, preferring instead to remain, like his descendants, as plain "Mr Conolly of Castletown".

He desired a residence within easy reach of Dublin, and purchased land near Celbridge, County Kildare, in order to build the grandest, finest Palladian house in Ireland.

Castletown was designed by the Italian architect, Alessandro Galilei and also partly by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce.

It is said that Castletown's design was an influence on that of The White House in Washington DC, USA (built between 1792 and 1800).

The main block comprises three storeys over a basement, with thirteen bays.

The centre block is joined by curved, Ionic colonnades to two-storey, seven-bay wings.

The entrance hall, designed by Pearce, rises to two storeys.

Lady Louisa Conolly (daughter of 2nd Duke of Richmond and sister of Emily, Duchess of Leinster) and her husband, Tom Conolly, employed the Francini brothers to embellish the walls of the staircase hall with rococo stucco-work.

The refurbishment of the house was mostly supervised by Lady Louisa (notably the Print Room, and the magnificent Long Gallery on the first floor).

The Long Gallery

Lady Louisa had the Long Gallery (eighty feet in length and one of the most beautiful rooms in Ireland) decorated with wall paintings in the Pompeian style by Thomas Riley in 1776.

The Long Gallery and other principal rooms face the garden front and a two-mile long vista to the Conolly Folly, an obelisk elevated on arches erected by Speaker Conolly's widow in 1740.

This obelisk stands on ground belonging to the Earls of Kildare (later Dukes of Leinster) at Carton House.

The Conolly Folly

The Print Room was conceived by Lady Louisa in the 1760s, likely with assistance from her close friends, probably as a diversion on rainy days.

The Print Room

The Conolly family continued to own Castletown until 1965.

In 1967, it was purchased by the Hon Desmond Guinness for £93,000 as the GHQ of the Irish Georgian Society.

Thereafter, Castletown was restored, and in 1994 it was transferred to the Irish government's Department of Public works.

The Conollys owned 22,736 acres of land in County Donegal, and 1,512 acres in County Dublin.

Former estates ~ The manors of Castletown and Leixlip, in County Kildare; of Rathfarnham, in County Dublin; of Ballyshannon and Parkhill, in County Donegal; besides estates in County Roscommon and the King's County, all purchased by His Excellency the Rt Hon William Conolly, Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland, and Lord Justice of Ireland.

Former London residence ~ 20 Grosvenor Square.

First published in March, 2016.