Bellair, Ballycumber, Offaly  

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 37. “Homan-Mulock/LGI1912; Wingfield, Powerscourt, V?PB] A 2 storey early C19 villa by Richard Morrison, with three bay entrance front identical to those of two other Morrison villas in Offaly, Ballylin and Cangort Park; dominated by a remarkable deep arched recess with concave surround, beneath which the entrance door is set. Side elevation has curved bow. Single storey pilastered addition. Passed to the writer, Mrs. Claude Beddington, daughter of F.B. Homan-Mulock; then to Mrs. Beddington’s daughter, Sheila, Viscountess Powerscourt.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/14907005/bellair-house-bellair-or-ballyard-co-offaly

[no image] 

Detached three-bay two-storey over raised basement country house, built c.1807, based on the villa plan. Hipped slate roof with overhanging paired bracketed eaves. Central entrance with deep recessed concave surround and square-headed entrance doorcase having fluted pilasters and pulvinated frieze set within. Square-headed window openings to ground and upper floors with three-over-three timber sash windows on the upper floor and six-over-six on the ground floor. Limestone surrounds with keystone to window openings and segmental headed limestone surrounds to basement openings. String couse at first floor sill course level. Bowed side elevation. Single-storey pilastered addition. 

Appraisal 

Bellair House is almost identical in plan and external and internal detailing to Cangort Park House. It has thus been attributed to Richard Morrison with some certainty. It was built for Thomas Horman Mulock (1765-1843). 

https://propertypriceregisterireland.com/details/bellair_house_ballycumber_co_offaly_ireland-153566/

Bellair House, Ballycumber, Co. Offaly, Ireland R35X2V8

Sold for € 530,000 on 2015-03-27. First appeared on 2015-05-06 

https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/bellair-estate-ballycumber-co-offaly-r35-x2v8/4549435?utm_source=myhomeie&utm_medium=email&utm_content=propertyalerts&utm_campaign=residentialforsalepropertyalert

€5,000,000 on 25/11/21 

Beautifully situated residential and agricultural estate with amenity Bellair Estate is a superb agricultural and residential estate with amenity extending to about 345 acres (140 hectares) in total. Situated in the heart of Ireland and occupying a private, rural location, the estate is extremely accessible, with the M6 situated 10 kilometres to the north. Bellair Estate comprises a rare combination of assets, including a charming country house at its core. The house is set within historic parkland and includes well-balanced and beautifully proportioned accommodation. A key feature of the estate is the dairy farm which carries a highly productive herd of dairy cows. There is a modern dairy complex with a 32-unit rotary parlour and a single shed providing winter accommodation for the entire milking herd, including 350 cow cubicles. A 5-bedroom modern house provides secondary residential accommodation and is presently occupied by the Farm Manager, while an uninhabited gate lodge offers the potential to provide further accommodation.

There is a further range of historic outbuildings which are of traditional construction and are centred upon a former cheesemaking plant. A particular advantage of the estate is the extent and quality of the farmland which lies in a contiguous block. A notable feature of the farmland is the excellent infrastructure, including good access via the public roads and a network of internal tracks, fencing and water supply. There is an abundance of amenity at Bellair, which is surrounded by a diverse rural landscape. The estate is for sale as a whole by private treaty, with a preference for a sale on a lock, stock and barrel basis. Bellair Estate has an excellent situation on the Offaly/Westmeath county border in the heart of the Irish Midlands. County Offaly is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uì Failghe and was formerly known as King’s County while Westmeath originally formed part of the historic Kingdom of Meath. It was named Mide because the Kingdom was located in the geographical centre of Ireland but was split into two counties, Meath and Westmeath in 1541. The market town of Clara is just 9 kilometres distant from Bellair Estate. Set on the River Brosna it has an array of amenities including restaurants, pubs, schools, churches, shops and boutique stores. Tullamore (20 km) and Athlone (24 km) are two larger, vibrant neighbouring towns with an abundance of good restaurants, hotels, pubs, supermarkets and a variety of boutiques and retail stores. Tullamore is the capital town of the county of Offaly and arguably the most central town in Ireland, located halfway between Dublin and Galway. Tullamore is famous for its Tullamore Dew whiskey which is based on the banks of the Grand Canal and is a popular tourist attraction. Athlone is located on the banks of the River Shannon and is the second most populous town in the Midlands region with numerous boating and fishing opportunities. There are a number of retail stores here including Athlone Towncentre shopping centre which contains a large number of high street brands and stylish boutiques. Dublin city centre is about 114 kilometres to the east of the estate and offers the full range of amenities, services and culture expected of a capital city. Bellair Estate is surrounded by an excellent transportation system with bus and rail services available in Clara. Dublin’s International Airport is 120 kilometres to the east and can be conveniently accessed via the M6 (10 km) and M50. Dublin Port, situated to the northeast of Dublin city centre, is about 117 kilometres distant from Bellair Estate with regular ferry crossings to the UK. The area surrounding Bellair Estate is renowned for its productive dairy and stock-rearing farms and as such, has a well-developed agricultural infrastructure including a good selection of merchants, milk processors, livestock markets and abattoirs. The landscape in the county is diverse, ranging from fertile, level land to bog areas producing turf in the summer months. The nearby area offers a wide range of quality sporting and recreational activities including, rugby, GAA, soccer, swimming, horse riding and tennis. The keen huntsman has a choice of packs, notably the Brosna Foxhounds, Westmeath Foxhounds and The East Galway Foxhounds. Golfers are well catered for in the surrounding area. Mote Golf Course is a challenging 18-hole parkland course just 10 kilometres distant. Other courses include Tullmore Golf Club (21 km) which was rated as 21st in the Top 100 golf courses in Ireland in the 2019 Irish Golfer Magazine and Athlone Golf Club (30 km) situated on the banks of Lough Ree. There are a number of exciting driven pheasant shoots in the area, some of which offer let days. Local schooling is available in the area including Scoil Bhride (10 km) and St Francis Boys Nation School (10 km) in Clara. There are a number of secondary schools available in both Tullamore and Athlone, with Athlone also providing third level education at Technological University of the Shannon. Private schooling is available at Cistercian College, Roscrea (53 km), Wilson’s Hospital College (48 km) and Clongowes Wood College (86 km) to name a few. 

Features 

• Superb early 19th Century house 

• Modern 350-cow dairy complex 

• Farm manager’s house 

• Land in a contiguous block 

• Swimming pool complex  

• Walled garden 

• Former gate lodge 

• Historic range of outbuildings 

BER Details 

BER: Exempt BER No: Performance Indicator: 

Negotiator Details 

James Butler 

Viewing Information 

Strictly by appointment with Savills Dublin – Country on + 353 (0) 1 663 4350 

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/new-to-market/georgian-manor-house-and-agricultural-estate-on-340-acres-in-co-offaly-for-5m-1.4735492

Built in 1807, Bellair has capacity for a range of leisure activities – and to generate income 

about 7 hours ago  

      

Elizabeth Birdthistle 

• Address: Bellair Estate, Ballycumber, Co Offaly  

• Price: € 5,000,000  

• Agent: Savills 

 It is difficult to describe the Bellair estate, about 4km from the village of Ballycumber in Co Offaly, as there is so much on offer that will appeal to a multitude. Horses for courses, as the saying goes, though in the case of Bellair it would currently be more suited to those with a preference for beasts of the bovine kind. 

As it stands, the estate is run as a successful dairy farm with a 1,576sq m (16,968sq ft) barn with a rotary parlour, a former cheese-making plant and estate offices – which have to be some of the nicest in the country as they are in a now restored old castle that predates the house itself. Add to that a farm manager’s house (185sq m/1,992sq ft) and a gate lodge to the main residence, which has four marvellous reception rooms and seven bedrooms and extends to a whopping 940sq m (10,117sq ft). And that is before you add in the basement, which the current owners do not use. 

Then there are the sporting and leisure facilities. The property has a large indoor pool and a tennis court, plus lots of park and woodland should you prefer to view the lands on horseback. For hunting there are a number of driven pheasant shoots locally, and there are three golf courses within a 20km drive. 

The history of the estate dates from 1757, when the Mulock family acquired the lands, which are today noted for productive dairy and stock rearing farms with a good agricultural infrastructure including merchants, milk processors, abattoirs and livestock markets. 

Richard Morrison, a former pupil of the great architect James Gandon, is credited with the design of the house, which is believed to date from 1807. The most famous resident was Sheila Beddington-Wingfield, the poet who later became Viscountess Powerscourt. Although she had spent many summers in the grounds as a child, in the end her aunt Enid Mulock left the entire estate to her. The current owners of this remarkable Georgian pile are the Baars family, who purchased Bellair in 1976. “It was my late husband Cees’s dream to be a farmer since he was a boy,” recalls chatelaine Jeanne Baars. “He had come to Ireland from Holland as a child and travelled extensively here. He just fell in love with Ireland and he also knew that the climate and soil were just perfect for a dairy farm.” 

The Baars family ran the dairy farm, while Cees also established a cheese-making plant on the lands in the late 1970s and produced a Dutch-style cheese, which was sold under the Monte Bellair brand. Sadly, Cees died at the age of 59 in 2005. “Though I knew nothing about farming I really wanted to continue his work as it was his dream and we have a great manager here so we kept the whole thing going,” says Jeanne, who was 49 and had young children when her husband died. 

As her now-grown-up children have moved on with their lives and their own families, she is taking the “very emotional and difficult decision” to put her home and the business her husband established on the market through Savills, which is seeking €5 million. What she loves about her home is “its very open character, its quietness and all the old trees” studded about the estate. She planted lots of apple and pear trees imported from the Netherlands in the walled garden, so now the property has a lovely orchard that will produce enough apple pies to feed any amount of farm workers and visitors. 

“What is rare about Bellair is that it not only has a superb dairy farm, you also have an incredible house. But it is also the opportunities to diversify that are important here – and not just the outbuildings but also the lands, which could be used for conservation,” according to James Butler of Savills, who is handling the sale. 

Whatever new owners decide to do with Bellair, which is BER-exempt, they will most certainly be spoiled for choice. 

*********** 

Bellair House, Tullamore, Ballycumber, Co. Offaly  

from €8,000 / month 

R35 X2V8 7 beds 940 m2 

Egan?s are delighted to present Bellair House to the open market to rent. This magnificent country house was built in c.1807. Set amid the rolling green countryside of County Offaly, this grand Georgian residence reflects the architectural ideals of symmetry, proportion, and understated elegance characteristic of the 18th and early 19th centuries throughout England & Ireland. This fine country house is two-storey over a raised basement, with a three-bay façade and a recessed central entrance doorcase. Constructed between 1805 and 1810, Bellair House was designed by the renowned architect Richard Morrison for Thomas Homan Mulock. Its design is reminiscent of Cangort Park House, c.1807, reflecting the villa style popular in the early 19th century. The house is noted for its architectural, artistic, and historical significance. Inside, you will find spacious, high-ceilinged rooms with ornate cornices, original fireplaces, and large sash windows that flood the interiors with natural light. The central hallway features a sweeping cantilever staircase, with the rooms arranged symmetrically around it. Many of the original period features of Bellair House, have been maintained to the highest order, including recent paint works, works to the sash-windows, newly fitted kitchen appliances & so on. Accommodation consists of a morning room, drawing room, dining room, kitchen & ancillary rooms. On the first floor there are seven bedrooms & five WCs, which make for ideal family living. Outbuildings to include, the large front and rear garden, stables, sheds and the avenue to the road are available with this letting. Bellair House is steeped in history, with its most notable residence being, Anglo-Jewish heiress & poet, Sheila Wingfield. Sheila married the 9th Viscount of Powerscourt, Richard Wingfield, however, on the breakdown of their marriage, Powerscourt was sold to the sporting Slazenger family in 1961. Thus, making Sheila the last Viscountess Powerscourt. If you are interested in finding out more about this fine Georgian country house, please contact Egan Auctioneers. Viewing of this property is strictly by appointment only. 

FOR SALE COURTESY SAVILLS

Beautifully situated residential and agricultural estate with amenity Bellair Estate is a superb agricultural and residential estate with amenity extending to about 345 acres (140 hectares) in total. Situated in the heart of Ireland and occupying a private, rural location, the estate is extremely accessible, with the M6 situated 10 kilometres to the north. Bellair Estate comprises a rare combination of assets, including a charming country house at its core. The house is set within historic parkland and includes well-balanced and beautifully proportioned accommodation. A key feature of the estate is the dairy farm which carries a highly productive herd of dairy cows. There is a modern dairy complex with a 32-unit rotary parlour and a single shed providing winter accommodation for the entire milking herd, including 350 cow cubicles. A 5-bedroom modern house provides secondary residential accommodation and is presently occupied by the Farm Manager, while an uninhabited gate lodge offers the potential to provide further accommodation. There is a further range of historic outbuildings which are of traditional construction and are centred upon a former cheesemaking plant. A particular advantage of the estate is the extent and quality of the farmland which lies in a contiguous block. A notable feature of the farmland is the excellent infrastructure, including good access via the public roads and a network of internal tracks, fencing and water supply. There is an abundance of amenity at Bellair, which is surrounded by a diverse rural landscape. The estate is for sale as a whole by private treaty, with a preference for a sale on a lock, stock and barrel basis.

Accommodation 

Features 

• Superb early 19th Century house
• Modern 350-cow dairy complex
• Farm manager’s house
• Land in a contiguous block
• Swimming pool complex
• Walled garden
• Former gate lodge
• Historic range of outbuildings

BER Details 

Exempt

Negotiator 

James Butler

https://offalyhistoryblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/02/the-mulock-family-of-bellair-baile-ard-ballycumber-county-offaly-by-eamonn-larkin/#more-12593

The Mulock family of Bellair/Baile Ard, Ballycumber, County Offaly. By Eamonn Larkin 

November 2, 2022 ~ Offaly History 

Specially contributed to mark the Decade of Centenaries in Offaly #DecadeofCentenaries @DeptCultureIRL @DepartmentofCultureIRL Tourism-Culture-Gaeltacht @offalyheritage @offalylibraries 

Bellair or Ballyard is in the Parish of Lemanaghan, in the Barony of Garrycastle and has an area of 1,198 acres and borders Hall, Westmeath in the north, Cappanalosset in the west, Moorock to the east and Springpark to the south. The dominant feature is the Hill of Bellair, which is visible from adjoining counties. The most striking feature of the Hill is the wonderful plantation of Beech and Fir trees which were planted on the instructions of Rev. Doctor Mulock. The Mulock or Mullock family were not planters, but were Irish landowners, who originated in the North of Ireland in the lands of Dal Araide. 

The branch of the Mulock family that lived in Bellair and Kilnagarna originated near Ballynakill,  Meelick [Miloc] in East Galway. During Cromwell’s time in Ireland the Mulock family were encouraged to convert from Catholicism to the English Church to secure large farms in Westmeath. As a result the Chapel in Bellair House was removed and the Altar Rails were donated to the Catholic Church in Millane. They were lost in the fire in the Church but, fortunately, St Manchan’s Shrine was saved. 

Thomas Mulock from Ballynakill, Galway married Elizabeth Mulock from Cheshire in 1650 approximately and their son Thomas [1655 – ] married first Frances Meares and had one son Jeremiah, secondly Margaret Conran. Their son Robert Mulock practised as a doctor in Moate before moving to Banagher. He married Katherine Homan and their son Rev. John Mulock inherited Bellair Estate from his uncle John Mulock [John of Liss]. 

Rev. John was born in 1729 and obtained a B.A. Degree from Trinity College. He married Frances Wetherall and had four children Hurd Augustus, John, Sarah and Frances Amilia. He later married his first cousin Anne Homan from Surrock, Westmeath and had three children, Thomas Homan, Mary and Elizabeth. He acquired lands in Surrock, Westmeath with this marriage. He is credited with improving large tracts of land and with planting the trees on Bellair Hill.  He also sponsored a dispensary and a school in Bellair to cater for the children of the families who were engaged in the Flax growing and linen weaving industry.         

Rev. John Mulock died in 1803 after leaving his estates to his son Thomas Homan Mulock. 

Thomas Homan Mulock (1765–1843) was educated in Ballitore School. He married Catherine Frances daughter of Thomas Berry, Eglish Castle and Elizabeth Bury, Charleville Castle and a direct descendent of King Edward. They had no children. He demolished the old Bellair House which stood close to the present house. The new Bellair House was designed by Richard Morrison, with a three-bay entrance front, dominated by a deep arched recess with a concave surround beneath which the entrance door is set. It includes a single storey extension.  The design is said to be similar to Cangort House, Shinrone.     

Thomas was given permission by his father Rev. John Mulock to build 50 slated houses in Bellair to accommodate the workers who were engaged in the Flax and Linen industry. The Agriculture and Manufactures Survey of the Kings County in 1801 by Sir Charles Coote described the plan for the village of slated houses to be very correct and not inferior to small manufacturing English Villages. More than 30 of the houses, including a Public House were built in Bellair Village and were known as “ Slate Row “.   

Flax was grown extensively and land was acquired on “con acre” for this purpose. Thomas Lowe, an experienced flax grower was brought to Bellair by the Mulock family to teach the locals about flax growing and the processes involved in creating linen. He was initially accommodated in the Gate Lodge, but apparently impressed his masters to the extent that he was given the tenancy to a farm of adjoining land. Here he experimented in the production of flax. 

People who planted an acre of Flax were awarded four Spinning Wheels and those who planted five acres were awarded a Loom. The industry provided full employment for the residents of Bellair and met its first recession in the 1770s and was recovering when the 1798 Rebellion broke out. The arrival of steam driven mechanical machinery finished the hand loom industry and the Famine left many families with no option but to emigrate to America. The population of Bellair dropped from 414 in 1841 to 266 in 1851.                                                                                                                                                                       

Thomas Homan Mulock died in 1843 and is buried in Liss. He left his estate to his nephew Thomas Homan Mulock Molloy [1798 – 1889], a son of his sister Elizabeth and Laurence Bomford Molloy from Clonbela near Kilcormac. 

Thomas Homan Mulock Molloy, later known as Thomas Homan Mulock [1798–1889] B.A., M.A., M.B., M.D., J.P., He was educated in Trinity College and he assumed, by Royal Licence, dated 14^th February 1843 the name and arms of Homan Mulock. He married on 5^th February 1828 in Liss Church, Frances Sophia Berry, daughter of John Berry, Cloneen, Kings County, a granddaughter of the Earl of Charleville and a lineal descendent of Oliver Cromwell.  They had fifteen children. Thomas Homan Mulock was J.P. for King’s County and he served as High Sheriff for the County in 1849. Following the Famine years, many of the tenants had emigrated to America or died, the estate was in poor condition. At this time also, the family started to move away from Bellair,  with many of the boys travelling to Australia. The remaining  family left Bellair in 1854 and went to live on he continent.         

Bellair House was rented to Robert Holmes, Captain Henry Ward, Rev. R.H. Dunne, Richard Goodbody for his honeymoon in the Summer of 1871 and to Robert Mooney. During this time Joseph Revington was Land Steward on Bellair Estate. 

Thomas Homan Mulock died aged 92 on 25^th June 1889 and is buried in Liss. His wife Frances Sophia died on 12^th August 1863 and is buried in Leghorn, Italy.                            

Their son, William Bury Homan Mulock J.P., D.L., I.C.S., 1841–1921. Educated in Trinity College and was appointed to the Indian Civil Service. He served in Bombay in various roles including Inspector of Education and Senior Collector and Magistrate. He retired in 1889 and succeeded to his father’s estates.                

The estates were in poor condition, and he carried out many improvements. According to his diaries, he had the farm buildings rebuilt, all the fields cleared of rocks, fern and brambles. He replaced the old hedges with stone walls and tilled the land. He employed 16 labourers at 7 shillings a week. He also had three farms in Westmeath, Knockdomney 100 acres, Killenboylegan 40 acres and Balnagarbary 30 acres which were the source of much agitation regarding the distribution of the land locally. A force of 30 to 40 Police Officers had to be stationed in Moate to protect the land and the elderly Herd. The movement of cattle and machinery between the three farms and Bellair had to be escorted by Police Officers.                              

William Bury Homan Mulock  made an agreement with the Land Commission in 1910 to dispose of the farms under the Land Acts of 1908/9. His Bellair tenants also acquired their holdings under the same Land Acts. In 1918, ten years after becoming a Landlord without tenants, he described himself as living like an English squire, without fear of malicious injuries, cattle drives and burnings. He also explains that the Corn Production Act 1917 compelled occupiers to cultivate 10% more of their land than they cultivated in 1916 and in 1918 they were compelled to till a further 5%. The Agricultural Wages Board raised the Farm Labourers wages to 22 shillings and 6 pence per week and the Government doubled the Valuation of the land and increased the Income Tax assessment, making it difficult to make a profit.                                                                                           

Mulock was High Sheriff for King’s County and he died in 1921. In his will he left Bellair House and remainder of the Estate to his niece, Lady Hester Nina Nutting, but she refused it and gave it to her niece Sheila Claude Beddington Wingfield, Viscountess Powerscourt. 

William’s brother, Francis Berry Homan Mulock was educated at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen and Trinity College. He entered the Indian Civil Service after passing an exam in 1869 and arrived in India in November 1871. He served in the North West Province and retired in 1898. He married Ethel Annie Braddon, daughter of Edward Nicholas Braddon, Premier of Tasmania, 1887 -1894, and author of the Australian Constitution in Bangalore, Bengal, India on 14^th August 1878 and they had three children, Frances Ethel, Edward and Nina  Hester.    

 Francis and Ethel purchased Ballycumber House and Estate in 1898. Their son Edward was born in Tregarth, Tasmania on 20^th October 1881. He worked for the Diplomatic Service and married Elsie Mabel Hume Henderson on 5^th June 1910 in London. He died in Kensington, London in 1946. Their daughter Nina Hester Homan Mulock was born in Aligurth, North West Province, India on 27^th November 1882. She married Harold Stansmore Nutting in London on 6^th August 1913. They had three sons, John Victor, Edward Christin and Harold Anthony. John and Edward were killed on active service in World War 2 and Anthony, later Sir Anthony Nutting is credited with negotiating the withdrawal of British Soldiers from Suez with President Gamal Abdel Nassar of Egypt in 1954. Nina Hester died in 1961 and her husband Harold passed away in 1972.       

Her sister Frances Ethel  was born in 1878 and died in 1963, she married Claude Beddington on the 16th October 1900 and they had three children. Frances Ethel had two books published, Book of Reminiscences and All that I have met. On a visit to her parents in Ballycumber in 1905, Frances Ethel, or as she was known in London society, Mrs Claude Beddington, learned that a son of a foreman in the Athlone Woollen Mills, had a wonderful tenor voice. It was arranged that the young John McCormack would come to Ballycumber and sing for Mrs Beddington and her mother. So impressed was she with him that she arranged with others for him to travel to Milan to train with the great singing teacher, Sabatini. John McCormack quickly made his fortune, but he never forgot the help Mrs Beddington gave him.                                            

Claude Beddington, served with the Westmoreland and Cumbria Yeomanry in World War 1 and died aged 72 in World War 11 when his boat The Orca was machine gunned from the air off the coast of Wales. 

Their sons Guy Claude born in 1902 in Middlesex, London, died of Tuberculosis in Munich in 1925 and Niall born in 1912 in St Marylebone, London, died in Switzerland on 16^th January 1935. 

Their daughter Sheila Claude was born 23^rd May 1906 in Lymington, Hampshire and died in 1992. She married Mervyn Patrick Wingfield, 9^th Viscount Powerscourt, from Enniskerry, Wicklow. He was High Commissioner of the Boy Scouts and Sheila was High Commissioner of the Girl Guides. Sheila was a writer and poet and had many literary works published including Beat Drum, Beat Heart. Her books, Real People and Sun Too Fast won her literary acclaim. They had three children; Grania Sybil Wingfield was born in1934 and married Hercules Ralph Hume Langrishe and lives in Co Meath. 

Mervyn Niall Wingfield  was born in 1935 and married Wendy Ann Pauline Slazenger in 1962.  He succeeded to the titles, 10^th Viscount Powerscourt, 4^th Baron Powerscourt and 10^th Baron Wingfield. He later married Pauline Van from San Francisco in London in 1978. Mervyn died in Thailand on 25th July 2015. 

Guy Claude Patrick Wingfield was born in 1940 in Valdamere, Paget, Bermuda and died in Applegate, Placer County, California in 2017. 

Because of Sheila’s poor health, and the effects of being captured by the Germans during World War II on Patrick’s health, they sold their estates. Powerscourt in Wicklow was sold in 1963 to the Slazenger family and Bellair to Patrick and Elise Dunne- Cullinan. 

Patrick Dunne Cullinan had lived in Knockdrin Castle, near Mullingar from 1946 to 1961, when he sold the castle and land to a German couple. He was a noted horse man and owned a number of successful racehorses. The most successful was Royal Day, Galway Plate winner in 1967and 1969. He also served as President of the Royal Dublin Society from 1970 to 1972. In his younger days he acquired some fame as an actor and played the part of Denis O’Hara in the Irish produced film, Irish Destiny. He sold Bellair Estate in 1976 to Cornelius Barrs. The estate is currently for sale. 

https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/search/label/Offaly?updated-max=2015-09-13T14:49:00%2B01:00&max-results=20&start=3&by-date=false

Bellefield House and Gardens, Shinrone, Birr, Co Offaly https://aguidetoirishcountryhouses.com/2024/10/18/bellefield-county-offaly/

Belmont, Bellmount or Lisderg, Belmont, Co Offaly 

Belview, Co Offaly (border of Westmeath) – a ruin 

Birr Castle, Co Offaly – open to public https://aguidetoirishcountryhouses.com/2024/10/18/birr-castle-county-offaly/

Bloomville House, Sranure, Co Offaly 

Blundell Castle, Edenderry, Co Offaly – a ruin 

Boland’s Lock, Co Offaly – section 482