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. 213. “(O’Conor/LGI1912) A Georgian house consisting of a three storey three bay centre with two storey one bay wings extending back, one of them having two small curved bows in its side elevation. C19 enclosed porch with thin pilasters.”
Castellated former stable yard, built c.1820, with projecting entrance bay incorporating segmental-headed entrance and bellcote. Corner towers to front elevation. Random coursed walls with crenellated parapet supported by corbels. Square-headed door openings with limestone lintel interrupted by keystone. Two-storey outbuildings in yard with half-hipped slate roof and roughcast-rendered walls. Square-headed window and door openings and bull’s eye windows to upper floor.
Appraisal
The stable yard at Mount Druid House is a curious structure hidden away up a rural lane near Ballygare. Mount Druid survives to the west of the stable yard as a modest two-storey farm house while the crenellated yard is a reminder of the more affluent past of the house and estate. Similar to the yard at Loughglynn Convent, the nineteenth-century crenellation to the walls convey a fortress like atmosphere.
Denis O’Conor’s house at Mount Druid, barony of Castlereagh, was valued at £35 at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. In 1814 and 1837 the house was the seat of Matthew O’Conor. Slater refers to it as the seat of Charles M. O’Conor in 1894. A modest house survives at the site of Mount Druid but the stable yard remains are more elaborate. Fine trees still exist in the former demesne land.
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. 193. “(Dillon/V/PB) Originally a C18 house of two storeys over basement with a dormered attic in a high-pitched roof. Entrance front with centre and end bays breaking forward, and two bays in between on either side; round-headed window above fanlighted doorway, each flaked by two narrow windows. Garden front, facing the lough from which the estate takes its name, with 23 sided bows; centre windows flanked by two narrow windows above pedimented tripartite doorcase; one bay on the outside of each bow. Six bay side elevation wiht two bay pedimented breakfront; unusual Venetian window with round-headed sidelights in centre of lower storey. A third storey was added ca. 1830, to the design of James Bolger; it was treated as an attic, above the original cornice. The house was gutted by fire in 1904 and rebuilt without the top storey and the end bays of the garden front; the end bays of the entrance front being reduced to one storey only. At the same time, the entrance front was given a pediment and a segmental-pedimented Doric doorcase. The entrance front is flanked by a free-standing wing or pavilion of two storeys with rusticated window surrounds. The house is now a convent, noted for its cheeses.”
Loughglinn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Mark Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
Detached five-bay two-storey former country house over basement, built c.1715, extended c.1820 with top floor removed after fire in 1904. M-profile slate roof with rendered chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. Ashlar limestone walls with quoins, and roughly tooled limestone walls to basement. Replacement aluminium windows with tooled limestone sills and architraves. Venetian window to west-facing side elevation. Canted bay windows to garden elevation. Central pedimented breakfront with segmental-headed door surround with engaged Doric columns and timber panelled door flanked by narrow lights. Sweeping limestone steps with carved tread ends, access garden elevation doorway. Single-storey flanking bays. Plaque to side elevation with date ‘July 1715’. Chapel of c.1970, to east of main house. Two-storey block to east of house with cut limestone walls and Gibbsian window surrounds. Castellated yard to east of house contains single-storey outbuildings and stables. Burial ground to west of house accessed through wrought-iron gates and ashlar piers. Building located on shores of Lough Glinn.
Appraisal
Located on the shores of Lough Glinn, this is a suitably elegant and fine setting for a country residence for Viscount Dillon and his family. Built originally as a three-storey house over a basement, the classical proportions and understated external decoration enhance the form and scale of this imposing structure. The fine stonework is a notable feature, in particular the carved limestone tread ends to the steps to the rear doorway and the carved limestone window and door surrounds. While the stately scale of Loughglynn Convent, the use of limestone, and the castellated yard impart an austere atmosphere, the 1970s chapel is an appealing addition to the otherwise forbidding complex.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
It was auctioned by BidX1 in October 2024. AMV €425,000
Property Summary Online Auction Date: 24th October 2024. 18th Century Georgian country estate on approximately 7.94 hectares (19.63 acres) of land. Comprising 2 x period houses together with church buildings, courtyard buildings and caretaker cottage.
Dillon House extending to approximately 1,728 sq m (18,600 sq ft). Contained within folio RN40756F. Vacant possession.
Location Loughglynn Demesne is situated approximately 2km north of Loughglynn village, 10km north of Castlerea and 9km south of Ballaghaderreen. The area is serviced by the R325, N5 & N60 with Knock Airport located approximately 25km north west of the estate.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
Property Description The property is arranged to provide a substantial 18th century Georgian residence together with numerous external buildings. The property is situated on a site area extending to approximately 7.94 hectares (19.63acres).
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
The main building is arranged to provide numerous receptions rooms and bedrooms arranged over ground and two upper floors.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
The property also comprises church buildings, courtyard buildings including old dairy and stores and farm buildings including old stables, cow byre, chicken shed and piggery.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
Additional caretaker’s cottage extending to approximately 73 sq. m. (785 sq. ft). Restored in 2015 the property comprises two bedrooms, kitchen/living room, office/ 3rd bedroom, shower/toilet and solid fuel central heating.
All intending purchasers are advised to satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the measurements provided.
Accommodation The accommodation on site comprises: Dillon House extending to approximately 1,728 sq. m (18,600 sq. ft). Church Building extending to approximately 1,423 sq. m (15,317 sq. ft). Strickland House extending to approximately 443 sq. m (4,768 sq. ft). Caretaker cottage restored 2015, three bedrooms extending to approximately 73 sq. m (785 sq. ft). Courtyard buildings extending to approximately 342 sq. m (3,681 sq. ft).
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
Loughglynn was the main residence of the Dillon family, built circa 1715, extended in the 1820s and altered again in the early 20th century. It is recorded in 1814, 1837 and in Griffith’s Valuation as the seat of Viscount Dillon. The Dillons were absentee landlords for much of the nineteenth century and their agents, the Stricklands, lived in the house. During the twentiethcentury the house served as a convent. Loughglinn House is still extant.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
THE VISCOUNTS DILLON WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MAYO, WITH 83,749 ACRES
This family is said to derive from LOGAN, or the Valiant (third son of O’Neal, monarch of Ireland, of the blood royal of Heremon), who fled his country in consequence of slaying, in single combat, about AD 595, his father’s nephew, Coleman, King of Timoria, in Hibernia; and subsequently passing over into France, and marrying the daughter and heir of the Duke of Aquitaine, himself and his descendants became, for several generations, sovereign princes of that dukedom.
From these princes descended
SIR HENRY DE LEON (son of Thomas, Duke of Aquitaine), who was brought into England with his brother Thomas, when an infant, by HENRY II, the deposer of his father; and accompanying the Earl of Moreton (afterwards King JOHN) into Ireland, in 1185, obtained those extensive territorial grants in the counties of Longford and Westmeath then denominated Dillon’s Country, but altered by statute, in the reign of HENRY VIII, to the Barony of Kilkenny West.
Sir Henry married a daughter of John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, and was afterwards styled “Premier Dillon, Lord Drumraney“.
From this feudal lord lineally sprang
GERALD DILLON, of Drumraney, County Westmeath, chief of the family of Dillon towards the end of the 14th century, left two sons, the elder of whom, SIR MAURICE, was ancestor of the Viscounts Dillon; and the younger, SIR JAMES, of the Earls of Roscommon.
Sixth in descent from Sir Maurice was
SIR THEOBALD DILLON, Knight, of Costello-Gallen, County Mayo, who was created VISCOUNT DILLON in 1622.
His lordship married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Edward Tuite, of Tuitestown, County Westmeath, and sister of William Tuite, of Tuitestown, County Westmeath.
He died at an advanced period of life, in 1624, leaving so numerous a progeny that he assembled, at one time, in his house at Killenfaghny, more than one hundred of his descendants.
He was succeeded by his grandson,
LUCAS, 2nd Viscount (1610-29), who wedded, in 1625, but when fifteen years of age, the Lady Mary MacDonnell, second daughter of Randal, 1st Earl of Antrim; by whom he left at his decease an only son, his successor,
THEOBALD, 3rd Viscount (1629-30); who died in infancy, when the title reverted to his uncle,
THOMAS, 4th Viscount (1615-72), who espoused Frances, daughter of Nicholas White, of Leixlip; and was succeeded at his decease by his by his eldest surviving son,
THOMAS, 5th Viscount, who married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir John Burke, Knight, of County Galway; but left no issue.
His lordship died in 1674, when the title reverted to his kinsman,
LUCAS, 6th Viscount, great-grandson of the 1st Viscount, being the eldest son of Theobald Dillon, third son of his lordship’s eldest son, Sir Christopher Dillon, Knight.
This nobleman dying without issue, in 1682, the title devolved upon
THEOBALD DILLON, of Kilmore, as 7th Viscount (refer to Sir Lucas Dillon, 2nd son of 1st Viscount).
This nobleman, an officer in the army, attached himself to the falling fortunes of JAMES II, and was outlawed in 1690.
His lordship wedded Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Talbot, of Templeoge, County Dublin, and had, with other issue,
HENRY, his successor; Arthur, father of 10th and 11th Viscounts.
After the decease of his lordship, in 1691, the outlawry was reversed in favour of his son and successor,
HENRY, 8th Viscount, who espoused Frances, second daughter of George, Count Hamilton, and was succeeded at his decease, in 1713, by his son,
RICHARD, 9th Viscount (1688-1737), who married the Lady Bridget Burke, second daughter of John, 9th Earl of Clanricarde, by whom he left at his decease an only daughter, Frances, who wedded her first cousin, and his lordship’s successor,
CHARLES, 10th Viscount (1701-41), who died without issue and was succeeded by his brother,
HENRY, 11th Viscount (1705-87), a colonel in the French service, who espoused, in 1744, the Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest daughter of George Henry, 2nd Earl of Lichfield, of Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, and had issue,
CHARLES, his successor; Arthur, a general in the French service; Henry; Frances; Catherine; Laura; Charlotte.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,
CHARLES, 12th Viscount (1745-1813), who conformed to the established church in 1767, and claimed, and was allowed, the viscountcy, as 12th Viscount, by the Irish House of Lords in 1778.
His lordship married firstly, in 1776, Henrietta Maria Phipps, only daughter of Constantine, 1st Lord Mulgrave, and had issue,
HENRY AUGUSTUS, his successor; Frances Charlotte.
His lordship wedded secondly, a French lady, and by her, who died in 1833, he had a daughter, Charlotte, married in 1813 to Lord Frederick Beauclerk.
He was succeeded by his son,
HENRY AUGUSTUS, 13th Viscount (1777-1832), who espoused, in 1807, Henrietta, eldest daughter of Dominick Geoffrey Browne MP, and had issue,
CHARLES HENRY, his successor; Theobald Dominick Geoffrey; Arthur Edmund Denis; Constantine Augustus; Gerald Normanby; Henrietta Maria; Margaret Frances Florence; Louisa Anne Rose; Helena Matilda.
This nobleman, assuming the additional surname and arms of LEE, was succeeded by his eldest son,
Charles Henry Robert Dillon, 21st Viscount (1945–82);
Henry Benedict Charles Dillon, 22nd Viscount (b 1973);
The heir is his cousin, Thomas Arthur Lee Dillon (b 1983), the son of his uncle, the Hon Richard Arthur Louis Dillon (1948–2014).
LOUGHGLYNN HOUSE, County Roscommon, is a five-bay, two-storey mansion house, built ca 1715.
Although Loughglynn is in County Roscommon, the vast majority of the Dillon estate straddled the border with County Mayo.
A third attic storey was built in the 1820s, though suffered a disastrous fire in 1904, when the top storey was not replaced, nor the end bays on the garden front which were reduced to a single storey.
There are ashlar limestone walls with quoins and a with roughly tooled limestone basement.
The entrance front has a pediment and a pedimented Doric doorcase.
In 1903, Loughglynn was sold to the Catholic Bishop of Elphin, who invited the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary to establish a convent.
The sisters established a dairy, and Loughglynn butter and cheese was famous all over the world until they ceased this activity in the 1960s.
They subsequently opened a nursing home.
In 2003, the property developer Gerry Gannon bought the convent for under €2m, intending to turn it into a hotel.
In 2009, it was transferred to his wife’s name.
Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.Loughglynn House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy BidX1, 2024.
Lisadorn House, near Elphin. Owned by the Crofton’s from the mid 17th century, then the Lloyd’s (following the marriage of Catherine Crofton and John Yeadon Lloyd in 1786). Joseph Healy was living there in the early 19th c. subsequently inhabited by the Balfe’s. Demolished in the mid 20th century. The entrance gates are still extant and are the exact same as the entrance gates to Mount Talbot House.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
A fine Georgian house on private mature grounds with an extensive range of outbuildings
History
Bought by the current owner in 1993, the house previously served as a Glebe House associated with the former Church of Ireland in Knockcroghery. The outbuildings formerly served as a Sunday School for the local Church of Ireland community during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Following Sunday service, attendees flocked to the Glebe House for tea, bread, and jam in the gardens. During the burning of Knockcroghery village in 1921, the house was a place of refuge for families who fled from their burning homes. The locals ran through the fields and sought refuge on Hangman’s Hill, the ominously named stony ridge which protects the village from the easterly winds sweeping in from Lough Ree. The incumbent rector, Canon Humphries provided food, clothing, and shelter to those whose homes were razed to the ground. Among those sheltered here was Canon Kelly, the local Catholic priest, who had escaped through the fields from his burning house was accommodated in the rectory and hidden in a back room for fear of further attack. Everyone felt safe in the knowledge that the rectory could not be seen from the village. Irish revolutionary republican, George Plant, a protestant activist, is also said to have found refuge here during the civil war, before fleeing the country in 1924. Description Killinvoy House is an impressive Georgian period house in a mature woodland setting outside the village of Knockcroghery and offers an outstanding outlook over the surrounding rural countryside. A gated entrance leads up a long winding avenue which approaches the private gated entrance and forecourt area to the front of the house.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
Killinvoy House is a two-storey over basement building dating from about 1825 and is listed as a protected structure. While the house would require some refurbishment to bring it back to its former glory, works have been carried out over the years including repair works to the roof around 2013. The accommodation extends to about 256 sq m / 2,755 sq ft in total.
Limestone steps lead up to the front of the house with double doors which open into the entrance hall with a high ceiling and original timber staircase.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
The main reception rooms are accessed off the hallway, including the living room and drawing room which are generously sized, with both offering fireplaces, sash and cash windows and coving. There is a print room located off the drawing room.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
The kitchen / breakfast room is toward the back of the house and is an inviting space featuring an island and a Rayburn cooker.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
On the first floor there is the master bedroom and three further bedrooms. There is also a bathroom on this level.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
A basement level is accessed from a back service stairs and comprises four large storerooms. Between 1994 and 2002, the basement area was the home of award-winning artisan food products with jams, jellies and chutneys being produced by a small team of local people. Internal features include original fireplaces, flooring, ceiling roses and cornicing.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
Gardens & Grounds A key feature of Killinvoy House is the beautiful gardens and grounds. They are mainly laid out in lawns and enclosed by mature trees adding privacy and a buffer. There is a fruit and vegetable garden set to the rear of the house which can produce an abundance of fresh food for the house. In total the grounds extend to about 2.40 acres / 0.97 hectare in total.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
Outbuildings The outbuildings at Killinvoy House comprise a range of traditional stone-cut outbuildings which are currently used for storage. These buildings could suit a range of uses and could be converted subject to the appropriate planning permission. A log cabin offers flexible accommodation.
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
Viewings Strictly by private appointment with Savills Country Agency. Given the hazards of a working farm, we ask you to be as vigilant as possible when making your inspection, especially around the farmyard. Directions The Eircode is F42 CF79 BER Exempt Fixtures & Fittings All fixtures and fittings are excluded from the sale including garden statuary, light fittings, and other removable fittings, although some items may be available by separate negotiation. Services Oil-fired central heating, mains electricity, private well and septic tank. Fibre broadband is also expected to be connected shortly in 2023. Please note that the selling agents have not checked the services and any purchaser should satisfy themselves with the availability and adequacy of all services. Historic Building Listing Killinvoy House is listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as a protected structure (Reference number: 31818004) Killinvoy House is located beside the village of Knockcroghery which offers amenities including a primary school and great pubs. A local amenity is the clay pipe visitor centre which is located on the original site of the last pipe factory in Ireland. The N61 road connects Knockcroghery to both Roscommon (10 km) and Athlone (21 km) which provide a full range of amenities and services. Athlone Town is located on the southern shore of Lough Ree in the centre of Ireland adjoining the Westmeath-Roscommon border. The town is home to a wide variety of national attractions, festivals, food, craft and music with a rich heritage in the surrounding area including the ruins at Clonmacnoise and Athlone Castle. The Hodson Bay Hotel (17 km) is nearby and is a luxury lakeside hotel nestled on the shores of Lough Ree with the adjoining Baysports providing a wide range of water sports and the largest floating water park in Ireland. Roscommon Town (10 km) offers a range of shopping, services, hotels, cafes restaurants and other amenities while further shopping options are available Athlone including Golden Island shopping centre and Athlone Towncentre. Galway City (102 km) comprises an abundance of restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, professional services and a variety of boutiques and retail stores. Galway is famous for being the festival capital of Ireland and was named as one of the world’s top cities for travellers in 2020 by Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet describes Galway as “arguably Ireland’s most engaging city, where brightly painted pubs heave with live music and cafes offer front-row seats to watch buskers perform”. Portrunny Harbour (5.5 km) is nearby with a marina, floating jetty and mooring facilities for boats. Lough Ree is renowned for boating, fishing, and water sports. For golfers, there is the nearby Roscommon Golf Club (10 km) while there are championship courses at Glasson Golf Club (34 km) and Mount Temple Golf Club (35 km) within a short drive. Educational options include the local primary school in Knockcroghery while there is a choice of secondary schools in both Roscommon and Athlone. Technological University of the Shannon (26 km) is located in Athlone. Transportation links are excellent with the N61 road connecting to the N6 motorway (Junction 12) which is 20 km distant and connects Galway (100 km) and Dublin (150 km).
Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.Killinvoy house, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon, for sale April 2023, photograph courtesy of Savills.
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. 115. “(O’Conor Don/IFR; Kelly/LGI1958) A three storey C18 double gable-ended house of three bays with two storey two bay wings almost as high as the centre. Regency ironwork porch’ ironwork balconies in front of ground floor windows of wings. Tall and massive chimneystacks on gable ends of centre block. The seat of a branch of the O’Conor Don family; afterwards the Blake Kelly family.”
Detached three-bay three-storey country house, built c.1750, with central block flanked by two-bay two-storey wings almost as high as main block. Single-storey extension to rear. M-profiled slate roof with rendered chimneystacks. Pebble-dashed walls. Square-headed window openings with replacement uPVC frames and stone sills. Tooled limestone door surround and replacement timber panelled door. L-plan outbuildings to rear yard built 1861. Hipped and pitched slate roofs with limestone chimneystacks. Cut limestone walls with ‘1861’ date plaque to keystone over doorway. Segmental-headed carriage arch openings with tooled limestone surrounds. Square-headed window and door openings with tooled limestone surrounds. Walled garden to northeast of house with one wall removed. Two-stage corner tower to walled garden. Ashlar gate piers to main entrance with acorn finials flanked by sweeping walls and terminating in ashlar piers. Three-bay single-storey former gate lodge to roadside opposite entrance gate, no longer in use.
Dundermot House is a well-proportioned and symmetrical country building. Its situation on a slightly elevated site, with its front site sweeping down to a wide expanse of the River Suck, enhances the form of the house. The river at this point forms a border between counties Roscommon and Galway. The form and scale of this early to mid-eighteenth-century house are striking and are underlined by the absence of lavish external decoration or embellishment. The ancillary structures to the site add to the setting of the main house. The outbuildings to the rear yard dating to 1861 and the walled garden with its two-stage tower are both architecturally significant in their own right. The elegant entrance gates with the finely-carved acorn finials are an expression of wealth and allude to the grandeur of the house enclosed within.
A branch of the O’Conor Don family who resided at Dundermot for 2 generations in the 19th century. In 1683 Hugh O’Connor was granted over 1,800 acres in county Roscommon, including the castle of Ballyntobber and lands at Laraha and Ross. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation, Patrick O’Conor held land in the parishes of Kilcroan and Kilbegnet, barony of Ballymoe, county Galway, and in the parishes of Oran and Drumatemple, barony of Ballymoe, Lissonuffy, barony of Roscommon, county Roscommon. Some of this land was held from the Blakeneys and some of the land in the parish of Oran was offered for sale by the Brownes of Castlemagarrett, county Mayo in May 1852. His brother Roderic also held land in the parishes of Oran and Drumatemple. In 1851 some of Roderick O’Connor’s land in the parish of Drumatemple was advertised for sale in the Encumbered Estates’ Court by his assignee Christopher Hume Lawder. From 1853 Patrick O’Conor held Laragh and Ross, which adjoined the demesne of Dundermot, from Arthur Irwin Mahon. Mahon advertised these lands for sale in May 1856. Patrick O’Connor and Charles O’Connor also held extensive lands at Rathconor and Tonlegee, parish of Kilbride, barony of Ballintober South at the time of Griffith’s Valuation, previously part of the Croghan estate. In the 1870s Hussey records that the late Patrick Hugh O’Conor of Dundermot owned 2,435 acres in county Roscommon and his brother Nicholas O’Conor owned 810 acres. Nicholas O’Conor, a prominent British diplomat, sold Dundermot. The estate of his daughter Fearga O’Conor was vested in the Congested Districts’ Board in March 1915.
A Blakeney property, built circa 1750.Taylor and Skinner note is as occupied by Owens esquire in 1778. In 1786, Wilson refers to it as the seat of Samuel Owens Lee. It was the residence of Richard Kelly in 1814 and held by Patrick O’Connor at the time of Griffith’s Valuation when the house was valued at £36. In the 1890s it became the home of the Blake-Kellys, although Nicholas O’Conor is recorded as the occupier in the valuation lists for 1906. Still extant and restored in the early 21st century.
Donamon Castle, County Roscommon, photograph by dougf, CC BY-SA 2.0
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. 104. “(Caulfeild, sub Charlemont, V/PB) A c15 castle with a tall arch between its towers, like that at Bunratty Castle, given regular sash windows and Georgian-Gothic battlements towards end of C18 and further altered and enlarged mid c19. Staircase gallery with plaster fan vaulting. Now owned by the Divine Word Missions.”
Detached multiple-bay three-storey castellated country house having basement and attic storey, commenced c.1400, extended c.1670, improved and castellated in 1700s and further extended to west in 1855. Now in use by Divine Word Missionaries. Gabled pitched slate roofs behind castellated parapet, castellated towers and parapet to 1855 block. Random rubble limestone walls, and snecked limestone walls to 1855 block. Square-headed window openings to castle with label-mouldings and chamfered limestone surrounds. Tooled chamfered surrounds to windows in 1855 block. Double-height deeply recessed entrance bay containing decorative carved limestone door surround to front elevation, accessed by perron steps. Tudor-arch doorway to basement. Double-height deeply recessed entrance bay to rear elevation with carved sandstone door surround. Eighteenth-century cut limestone L-plan outbuildings to west of building. Ruin of church with graveyard to east. Walled gardens survive to southeast, with pigeon nesting boxes to south-facing wall. Disused icehouse to east, constructed of limestone blocks and comprising long tunnel accessing domed ice pit. Chapel and extensions, built c.1963, now in use as retreat and respite centre.
Appraisal
Dunamon Castle is an exceptional example of a building that has evolved over the six centuries. It incorporates the remains of a tower house, eighteenth-century additions and a substantial nineteenth-century extension. The continuity of occupation of this imposing site, and the importance of those occupants to the history of the area and county, add further historic importance to the site. The setting is enhanced by the outbuildings, walled garden and ruined church, while the 1960s chapel and respite centre provide a contrast in form and architectural detailing to the site.
Donamon Castle a.k.a. Dunamon, Restored Castle – one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland overlooking the River Suck. There was a fort here from early times, the first recorded reference to “Dún Iomghain” being in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. It was the seat of the Ó Fionnachta chief of Clann Chonnmhaigh, one of the two main branches of this Connacht family. In 1232, Adam de Staunton fortified the site further as part of the Norman conquest, but this was retaken and demolished by the native O’Connors the following year. The rebuilt castle was occupied in 1294 by [William de Oddingseles, IIWilliam de Oddingseles II, who died in 1295. The de Birminghams then took over but it was again destroyed by the O’Connors and in 1307 replaced by a branch of the Burkes, the head of which was known as MacDavid. The MacDavid Burkes occupied it for the next 300 years. During the seventeenth century wars of conquest and dispossession a junior branch of the Caulfeild family came to own the castle and surrounding territory. They continued to own it throughout the Protestant Ascendancy. In 1939 the Divine Word Missionaries came to Ireland and purchased the castle from the Irish Land Commission. It is still their home in Ireland and the site of the Holiday Centre, a leisure and conference resort as well as being the Irish Wheelchair Association’s National Holiday Centre. In late 1932, an IRA unit, under the command of Seán McCool and Mick Price, took over Donamon Castle to set up an IRA training camp.Donamon Castle a.k.a. Dunamon, Restored Castle – one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland overlooking the River Suck. There was a fort here from early times, the first recorded reference to “Dún Iomghain” being in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. It was the seat of the Ó Fionnachta chief of Clann Chonnmhaigh, one of the two main branches of this Connacht family. In 1232, Adam de Staunton fortified the site further as part of the Norman conquest, but this was retaken and demolished by the native O’Connors the following year. The rebuilt castle was occupied in 1294 by [William de Oddingseles, IIWilliam de Oddingseles II, who died in 1295. The de Birminghams then took over but it was again destroyed by the O’Connors and in 1307 replaced by a branch of the Burkes, the head of which was known as MacDavid. The MacDavid Burkes occupied it for the next 300 years. During the seventeenth century wars of conquest and dispossession a junior branch of the Caulfeild family came to own the castle and surrounding territory. They continued to own it throughout the Protestant Ascendancy. In 1939 the Divine Word Missionaries came to Ireland and purchased the castle from the Irish Land Commission. It is still their home in Ireland and the site of the Holiday Centre, a leisure and conference resort as well as being the Irish Wheelchair Association’s National Holiday Centre. In late 1932, an IRA unit, under the command of Seán McCool and Mick Price, took over Donamon Castle to set up an IRA training camp.
Donamon Castle, County Roscommon is said to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings in Ireland. It is believed that originally there was a fort here (whence the name Dún Iomáin, fort of Iomán), but the first recorded reference to the place occurs in the Annals of the Four Masters for the year 1154. In 1232, the Anglo-Norman Adam de Staunton further fortified the site but his works were captured and demolished by the O’Connors a year later. After passing back and forth between different hands, the castle was occupied from the early 14th century onwards by a branch of the Burkes who remained here until in 1688 it passed to the Caulfeilds (the main branch of which became Earls of Charlemont). In the last century, like many other estates Donamon was broken up by the Irish Land Commission, the castle being acquired in 1939 by the Divine Word Missionaries, members of which community remain there to the present time. Although much altered and extended in the 18th and 19th century, the core of the old castle resembles that at Bunratty, County Clare, both front and rear featuring a tall arched recess between square towers.
THE CAULFEILDS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY ROSCOMMON, WITH 6,632 ACRES THE REV AND HON CHARLES CAULFEILD (1686-1768), Rector of Donaghenry, County Tyrone, second son of William, 2nd Viscount Charlemont, married Alice, daughter of John Houston, and had issue,
Charles; JOHN, of whom we treat; James.
The younger son,
COLONEL JOHN CAULFEILD, of Donamon Castle, County Roscommon, wedded Mary, daughter of Henry Irvine, and had issue,
ST GEORGE, his heir; Harriet.
Colonel Caulfeild succeeded, in 1778, to the estates of his kinsman, ST GEORGE CAULFEILD, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, grandson of the Hon Thomas Caulfeild, of Donamon, youngest son of William, 2nd Baron Charlemont.
His only son and heir,
ST GEORGE CAULFEILD (1780-1810), of Donamon Castle, espoused, in 1802, Frances, daughter of Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet, and had issue,
FRANCIS ST GEORGE, his heir; Harriet; Frances Henrietta.
The only son and heir,
FRANCIS ST GEORGE CAULFEILD JP (1806-96), married, in 1830, Susannah Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Crofton, 3rd Baronet, and had issue,
ST GEORGE FRANCIS ROBERT, his heir; Alfred Henry; Emily Susan; Fanny Florence.
Mr Caulfeild was succeeded by his eldest son,
ST GEORGE FRANCIS ROBERT CAULFEILD, who wedded Louisa Ann, daughter of Thomas Russell Crampton, and had issue, an only child,
ALGERNON THOMAS ST GEORGE CAULFEILD JP (1869-1933), of Donamon Castle, County Roscommon, High Sheriff of County Roscommon, 1899.
DONAMON CASTLE, Roscommon, County Roscommon, is a 15th century castle with a lofty arch between its towers, similar to that at Bunratty Castle.
It was enhanced towards the end of the 18th century with sash windows and Gothic-Georgian battlements.
The Castle was enlarged and altered again the in middle of the 19th century.
In 1939 the Divine Word Missionaries came to Ireland and purchased the castle from the Irish Land Commission.
The Missionary Society constructed several new buildings to create a campus for training people before they went into the field.
The Castle itself is still their home in Ireland.
The training campus is now managed by the Irish Wheelchair Association as a holiday centre.
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. 81. “(King, Bt, of Charlestown/PB) A two storey late-Georgian house. Entrance front of three bays…”
Charlestown House, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of The Landed Estates of County Roscommon facebook page, from Kilronan Album at NLI, colourised.
In 1786 Wilson refers to Charlestown as the “the fine seat of Mr. King, most delightfully situated on the Shannon”. The first Ordnance Survey map marks both Charlestown House and Charlestown Old House closeby at M984 976. Valued at £46 at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. In 1894 Charlestown was the residence of Sir Gilbert King. The house is no longer extant but extensive estate architecture survives.
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. 59. “(Goff/LGI1912) An early C19 Classical house of two storeys and three bays, pedimented breakfront with Wyatt window over Doric portico. The front prolonged by single-storey wings with pairs of pedimented pavilions, those on one side being wider apart; blind wall with pilasters on one side, windows on the other. Garden front with two arched loggias joined by colonnade.”
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. 291. Castlestrange: “Mitchell/LG1875) A square house, now ruined. Imposing U shaped stables; long medieval bridge over river Suck near gate. Ormamental ritual stone in demesne.”
Ruin of three-bay three-storey over basement former country house, built c.1830. L-plan range of two-storey outbuildings to east of house, U-plan coach house and stables and gate lodge to the estate. L-plan outbuildings now in use as a private dwelling with rear of house facing onto courtyard. Pitched slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and stone chimneystacks. Random coursed walls, rendered to north-facing elevation. All square-headed window openings with replacement aluminium windows. Adjacent outbuilding with half hipped slate roof and random coursed limestone walls now in use as farm building. Pedimented bellcote to yard and fuel store with pointed-arched openings. Derelict U-plan coach house and stables with squared limestone walls and tooled limestone cornice and quoins having family crest set into wall. Limestone surrounds to carriage arch and door openings and red brick surrounds to window openings. Additional coach house to east accessed through wrought-iron gate piers flanked by ashlar gate piers. Three-bay single-storey with attic storey former gate lodge to south of main house.
Appraisal
Although the main house is now in ruins, the Castlestrange estate, the outbuildings adjacent to the ruined house continue in use, as a private dwelling. While this outbuilding has been saved from dereliction by its change of use, the coach house and stables have succumbed to that fate. These remarkable buildings are a display of the opulence of the estate and the central arrangement of five carriage arch openings is a striking composition. Although greatly diminished, Castlestrange survives as a living estate where buildings of architectural and social importance remain. Castlestrange is also the home of a Celtic La Tène stone known locally as the Castlestrange Stone.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
The former Castle Strange in County Roscommon derived its name from a family who held this land in the late Middle Ages, called L’Estrange. There seems some confusion about whether they were of Norman origin, or whether this was an Anglicised version of an old Irish name. In Edward MacLysaght’s Surnames of Ireland (1969) the author proposes that the L’Estranges in County Westmeath had originally been called Mac Conchoigcriche, meaning border hound. Was this also true of the family of the same name in Roscommon? In any case, by the second half of the 17th century the L’Estranges, like so many other old families, had been driven out of their territory, the land in this instance passing into the hands of one Thomas Mitchell, a Scottish soldier sent to Ireland by General Monck in 1659 and seven years appointed by then-Lord Lieutenant James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, to serve as Cornet to a troop of horse under the command of Captain Nicholas Mahon. Mitchell subsequently settled in this part of the country and married, producing a large family, generations of which would live at Castle Strange. In the 19th century, successive members served in the British army, John Wray Mitchell rising to the rank of Major-General, while his son Edward became a Colonel. But further information about them, and their home, is not easy to find.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
The first two photographs shown here show what remains of Castle Strange today: little other than sections of the two gable ends with portions of their chimney stacks. Seemingly built in the 1830s (after the estate was inherited General Mitchell’s father, another Edward), there appears to be nothing on record about its appearance when still intact and occupied, nor how it came to be in its present state (should anyone have such material, do please share). Meanwhile, the nearby yard to the east is in much better condition, in that at least the outer walls and sections of the roof remain in place. This very large, U-shaped block is constructed of limestone ashlar and, older images indicate, features a carved coat of arms above the central carriage arch, now impossible to see due to the thickness of ivy covering the building. The scale of this development indicates the affluence of the Mitchell family at the time, as do further ranges of farm buildings to one side. The other building of architectural interest is the now-derelict east lodge, again thought to date from the early 1830s and an exercise in romantic Gothic, with arched windows on either side of a central two-bay canted projection with a door on one side. Like so much else on this site, information about the building is scarce, making it another instance where a place’s history has been almost entirely obliterated. All very strange.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Castle Strange, County Roscommon, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
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. 56. “(Drought/LGI1912) A two storey three bay Victorian house with a porch.”
The home of the Kelly family from the mid 18th century. Wilson refers to “Cargans, the seat of the late Daniel Kelly” in 1786. It was occupied by John D’Arcy when the estate was sold in 1852. A Victorian three bay house was the home of Daniel Kelly. Sold to Captain Drought in the mid 19th century, held by him in fee and valued at £15. The present house is not the same as Kelly’s Victorian one. Renovated in the early 21st century.
Irish Historic Houses 