Fota House and Gardens, County Cork, a Heritage Trust property with OPW gardens

I published this entry as part of my “Places to visit and stay in County Cork” page, but as that page is so long, I am publishing it as a separate entry. Also, Stephen and I are still busy looking for a small place in the country to buy, so I can grow our own fruit and vegetables – and maybe keep chickens! – so we have not had time to visit more historic houses. I am still working on my write-up about our visit to Grenane House in County Tipperary during Heritage Week last year, and I still have to write up about Clonskeagh Castle in Dublin and Gravelmount.

Fota House is maintained by the Irish Heritage Trust, and the gardens by the Office of Public Works.

Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

General enquiries: (021) 481 5543 https://fotahouse.com/

fota.arboretum@opw.ie

From the OPW website: https://heritageireland.ie/visit/places-to-visit/fota-arboretum-and-gardens/

Fota House was designed by 19th century architects Richard and William Morrison. From the beautifully proportioned rooms with exquisite plasterwork, to the preserved service wing and kitchens, Fota House offers visitors an intimate look at how life was lived in the past, for the cooks, butlers, footmen and maids who supported the lavish lifestyle of the gentry. Our painting collection is considered to be one of the finest collections of landscape painting outside the National Gallery of Ireland and includes works by William Ashford PRHA, Robert Carver, Jonathan Fisher and Thomas Roberts.” [1]

Front porch of Fota House. Fluted baseless Green Doric columns support a weighty entablature in which wreaths alternate with the Barry crest in the metopes. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Information board and map of Fota House and Gardens.

Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses:

(Smith-Barry (now Villiers)/IFR) After Barry’s Court had been abandoned by the Barrymores, a hunting box was built on the nearby Fota Island, in Cork Harbour, by Hon John Smith-Barry [1725-1784], a younger son of 4th Earl of Barrymore, to whom Fota and some of the other Barrymore estates were given 1714.” [2]

John Smith-Barry, born John Barry (1725-1784) of Fota, County Cork.

John Barry (1725-1784), who added the name Smith to his surname after his marriage to a wealthy heiress, was the son of James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, of Castlelyons, County Cork, and Barry’s third wife, Anne Chichester, daughter of Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (it was spelled with two ‘l’s in the title, unlike the county).

James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore (1667-1748) (Lieutenant-General), Studio of Sir Godfrey Knellercourtesy of Sothebys 2013 collection l13304 lot 95.
James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, (1667-1747), portrait in Fota House.

James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore had first married Elizabeth Boyle, daughter of Charles Boyle 2nd Baron Clifford of Lanesborough, son of Richard, 1st Earl Burlington, 2nd Earl of Cork.

Second, after the death of his first wife, James Barry 4th Earl married Elizabeth Savage, daughter of Richard, 4th Earl Rivers.

Elizabeth Barry née Savage (d. 1714) wife of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore, daughter and heir of Richard Savage 4th Earl Rivers and Penelope Downes, seated with her daughter Penelope. This painting is attributed by Sotheby’s to Thomas Worldige.
Elizabeth Barry née Savage (d. 1714), 2nd wife of James 4th Earl of Barrymore. She and the 4th Earl had three daughters, and a son who died in his first year.

Thirdly, he married Anne Chichester.

Anne née Chichester, (1697-1753) Countess of Barrymore, 3rd wife of the 4th Earl of Barrymore, mother of John Smith-Barry (1725-1784) of Fota. This portrait is in Fota House.
Lady Anne Chichester, Countess of Barrymore (d. 1753) Attributed to Philip Hussey, she was daughter of Major-General Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666-1706) and his wife Lady Catherine Forbes (d. 1743), and she married James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore, and was the mother of James Smith-Barry.

John Barry was a younger son so inherited no land. His brother James became the 5th Earl of Barrymore. However, he married Dorothy Smith, daughter of Hugh Smith of Weald Hall, Essex, and John added Smith to his surname. He and his wife lived at Marbury Hall in Cheshire, England, and he built Fota as a hunting lodge.

Dorothy née Smith (1727-1756) wife of John Hugh Smith Barry (1725-1784).
Hugh Smith of Weald Hall, father of Dorothy who married John Hugh Smith Barry (1725-1784).
Dorothy Smith née Barrett, Mrs. Smith of Weald Hall, mother of Dorothy.

John and Dorothy’s oldest son and heir was James Hugh Smith-Barry (1746-1801). He never married, but had several children. He inherited from two uncles, his father’s brothers, as well as from his father.

James Hugh Smith-Barry (1746-1801), who never married but had several children.
James Hugh Smith-Barry by William Orpen 1904, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction 2022.

The Landed Families website tells us:

Through the deaths without surviving issue of Arthur Barry in 1770 and Capt. Richard Barry in 1787, and the death of his father in 1784, James Hugh Smith-Barry inherited almost all the extensive property held by the three brothers, but if it made him rich it does not seem to have made him happy. As a young man he had racketed around Europe and the Near East with a group of friends on an extended Grand Tour, and amassed a large collection of art and antiques. On his return, however, he did not marry and settle down to raise a family, but became increasingly reclusive, perhaps as a result of depression. In about 1790 he bought Swerford Park in Oxfordshire and established a mistress called Ann Tanner there, by whom he eventually had five children. They appear not to have lived together since Ann stayed at Swerford and James lived increasingly at Fota; the children were brought up at Swerford. The children were all acknowledged and the elder son, John Smith-Barry (1793-1837) became James’ principal heir, but they were all quite young when James died in 1801. He left Ann the Swerford estate for life, and an annuity of £500 a year, and clearly envisaged that she would remain there and bring up the children to adulthood, even if she subsequently married. However, when she did marry in 1802, James’ trustees saw fit to take the children away from their mother and place them in the guardianship of relatives in Ireland (probably the Courtenays at Ballyedmond, as Robert Courtenay was one of the trustees). Ann remained at Swerford until about 1805 but then moved away, and Swerford was eventually sold in about 1820.” [3]

Frank Keohane tells us that John Smith-Barry (1783-1837), son of James Hugh Smith-Barry (1746-1801) settled here after his marriage to Eliza Courtenay of Ballyedmond, Midleton, County Cork. He was illegitimate, so perhaps he built the home to establish his reputation. [4] He wanted to claim the title of Earl of Barrymore when the last Earl, Henry Barry, 8th Earl of Barrymore died in 1823, but the crown would not allow it.

John Smith-Barry (1783-1837), who hired the Morrisons to enlarge the house.
Eliza Mary née Courtenay (1797-1828) who married John Smith-Barry. She was the daughter of Robert Courteney of Ballyedmond in County Cork.

Other children of James Hugh Smith-Barry (1746-1801) were Narcissa, who married George William Massy, son of Hugh, 3rd Baron of Duntrileague, County Limerick; James, who lived at Lota Lodge in County Cork (it is now the Vienna Woods Hotel); Caroline who married George Courtenay; and Louisa, who married Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith, son of William, 2nd Baronet Smith, of Newton, King’s County.

John Smith-Barry (1783-1837), who hired the Morrisons to enlarge the house.
I think this is probably also Eliza Mary née Courtenay (1797-1828) who married John Smith-Barry.
Portrait Of A Lady traditionally identified as Caroline Courtenay Née Smith-Barry, courtesy of Whyte’s Sept 2007, daughter of James Smith-Barry (1746-1801) of Fota House, County Cork, she married George Courtenay of Ballyedmond House, County Cork (no longer exists).

John Smith-Barry (1783-1837) hired Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison to enlarge the hunting lodge which had been built by his grandfather. He also built sea walls around the island and re-routed the public road to form a deer park and carriage drives around the shore.

Fota House, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Bence-Jones continues: “This house, of three storeys and seven bays, was greatly enlarged ca. 1820 by John Smith-Barry [1783-1837, grandson of his earlier namesake] to the design of Sir Richard Morrison, so that it became a wide-spreading Regency mansion of stucco with stone dressings. The original house, given a single-storey Doric portico with fluted columns and acroteria beneath a pedimented Wyatt window, remained the centre of the composition; flanked by two storey projecting wings with pedimented ends on the entrance front and curved bows on the garden front. A long two storey service range was added at one side. In 1856, a billiard room wing, in the same style as the Morrison wings but of one storey only, was added on the entrance front, projecting from the end of the service range. The space between this and the main building was filled in ca 1900 by Arthur Smith-Barry, 1st (and last) Lord Barrymore of a new creation [(1843-1925), grandson of John Smith-Barry], with a single-storey range containing a long gallery.” (see [2]) The long gallery was designed by William H. Hill.

Fota House facing onto the Pleasure Garden, photo by George Munday, 2014, Ireland’s Content Pool. [5]
Billiard room with its lantern ceiling, added in 1856, Fota House Cork. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The entrance area of the house is the most recent part of the house: the space between the 1856 bililard room and the main building was filled in ca. 1900 by Arthur Smith-Barry, 1st (and last) Lord Barrymore of a new creation [(1843-1925), grandson of John Smith-Barry], with a single-storey range containing a long gallery. It has a magnificent plasterwork crest over a large wood-carved fireplace. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Bence-Jones continues:“The exterior simplicity of Fota is a foil to the splendours within; for the interior has that richness which Sir Richard Morrison and his son, William Vitruvius, were so well able to create. The hall, which runs the entire length of the front of the original house, is divided by screens of paired Ionic columns with yellow scagliola.

The hall, which runs the entire length of the front of the original house, is divided by screens of paired Ionic columns with yellow scagliola. The floor is paved with Portland stone with inset iron grilles that served the old central-heating system. The entablatures of plasterwork have the repeating pattern of wreaths and Smith-Barry crests the same as on the porch. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The central compartment of ceiling plasterwork has heavy swagged laurel garlands and lyres. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The central compartment of ceiling plasterwork has heavy swagged laurel garlands and lyres. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Hall, designed by the Morrisons. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Hall, designed by the Morrisons. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Hall, designed by the Morrisons. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
One of the Carrera marble busts is of Henry Grattan, by Peter Turnerelli. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The ceiling rose in the long hall, with oak leaf wreath entwined with snakes. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The ceiling rose in the long hall, with oak leaf wreath entwined with snakes. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

To the right of the long hall are the Drawing Room and Library. The Drawing Room is entered via a small ante-room.

The ante-room at Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The ante-room at Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The ante-room at Fota, with stencilwork by Sibthorpe & Son of Dublin. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

The Drawing Room Ceiling has deep borders with floral wreaths containing doves, alternating with lozenges of bay leaf containing Apollonian trophies of musical and hunting instruments. The drawing room and ante-room ceilings were added to in the 1890s with stencilwork and gilding by Sibthorpe & Son of Dublin.

The Drawing Room, Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

There are also magnificent pelmets over the curtains.

The Drawing Room, Fota. The ceiling of the drawing room, which entends into one of the bows on the garden front, has a surrounding of foliage, birds and trophies in high relief, similar to that in the library, and late C19 stencilled decoration and panels of pictorial paper in the centre. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Ceiling detail in Drawing room of Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota. The fireplaces throughout Fota are of Neoclassical statuary marble, with Ionic columns and friezes enriched with wreaths and garlands. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The fireplaces throughout Fota are of Neoclassical statuary marble, with Ionic columns and friezes enriched with wreaths and garlands. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota: the Mirrors are slightly titled to reflect the ceiling. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The ceiling of the drawing room, which entends into one of the bows on the garden front, has a surrounding of foliage, birds and trophies in high relief, similar to that in the library, and late C19 stencilled decoration and panels of pictorial paper in the centre. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Drawing Room, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The library, Fota, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The library August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A photograph of how the library looked previously. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A photograph of how the library looked previously, prior to discovery of hidden windows. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The library August 2023: the previously hidden windows. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A photograph of how the library looked previously, in 1950. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Arthur Barry (1723-1770) by Francis Cotes courtesy of Sotheby’s L11304. This portrait belonged to the Smith-Barry family and was sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in 2013. Arthur was another son of James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, he died unmarried and his property went to the Smith-Barry family.
Captain the Hon. Richard Barry R.N. (1721-1787), with his spaniel by John Lewis, second son of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore. This portrait is also courtesy of Sotheby’s L11304. This portrait belonged to the Smith-Barry family and was sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in 2013. We can see it in the old photograph of the library.
The library August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The magnificent ceiling of the library, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Detail of the library ceiling. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

To the left of the hall is the Dining Room. It has a screen of grey scagliola Corinthian columns at the sideboard end, and rich plasterwork with a ceiling border of vines on a trellis ground and a frieze of bucrania draped with garlands.

Dining Room, August 2020. There are elaborate plasterwork ceilings in the library and dining room, which are in the Morrison wings, at either end of the hall; the dining room has a screen of grey marble Corinthian columns. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Dining room, August 2023, with portrait of Anne née Chichester, (1697-1753) Countess of Barrymore, 3rd wife of the 4th Earl of Barrymore, mother of John Smith-Barry (1725-1784) of Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Dining room, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Detail of dining room ceiling and columns. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Dining room Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The chimneypiece in the dining room is garlanded with vines and flowers. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
David Barry (1605-1642) 6th Viscount Buttevant and 1st Earl of Barrymore, ancestor of the Smith-Barrys, portrait in Fota House. He married Lady Alice Boyle (1607-1667) in 1631, the second child of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (1566-1643) and his second wife Catherine Fenton.
Dining Room, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Dorothy née Barry (1670-1748), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Barrymore, who married John Jacob 3rd Bt of Bromley, Essex. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
John Jacob 3rd Bt of Bromley, Essex.
Dining Room, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

The Fota website tells us: “Also on display in the main reception rooms is a fine collection of art work described as the most significant of its type outside the National Gallery of Ireland.  Masterpieces of the eighteenth-century Irish Landscape School include works by William Ashford (1746-1824); George Barret (1730-84); Robert Carver (c.1730-91); and Thomas Roberts (1748-78). Nineteenth-century art is represented by Daniel Maclise (1806-70); Erskine Nicol (1825-1904); and James Arthur O’Connor (1792-1841).  An entire room is dedicated to Irish watercolours and features the work of Mildred Anne Butler (1858-1941); Hugh Douglas Hamilton (c.1740-1808); and George Petrie (1790-1866).” [6]

At the back of the house is the study, which extends into one of the bows. It has a simple frieze of wreaths.

The Study, Fota, August 2020. Over the fireplace is a portrait of John Smith-Barry (1783-1837), who hired the Morrisons to enlarge the house. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

John and his wife Eliza née Courtenay had several children. A younger son, Captain Richard Hugh Smith-Barry, inherited Ballyedmond, County Cork, from his mother’s brother John Courtenay.

Captain Richard Hugh Smith-Barry (1823-1894).

The oldest son, James Hugh Smith-Barry (1816-1856), inherited Fota and also Marbury Hall in Cheshire. He served as Deputy Lieutenant, Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of County Cork. He married Elizabeth Jacson of Cheshire. After her husband died, she married George Fleming Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley of Tabley House, County Chester.

Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925), the oldest son of James and Elizabeth, inherited Fota and also Marbury Hall. He too served as Deputy Lieutenant, Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of County Cork as well as Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for County Cork between 1867 and 1874. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Conservative) for South Huntingdonshire in England between 1886 and 1900. In 1902 he was created 1st (and last) Baron Barrymore of County Cork.

Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925), 1st Baron Barrymore. He added the long hallway conntecting the billiard room to the rest of the house in 1900.
Irish Deputy Lieutenant uniform belonging to Arthur Smith-Barry. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Arthur’s younger brother James Hugh Smith-Barry (1845-1927) married Charlotte June Cole, daughter of William Willoughby Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, of Florence Court, County Fermanagh (see my entry for places to see in County Fermanagh). A daughter, Geraldine, married Colonel Henry Verney, 18th Lord Willoughby de Broke, and Maude married Richard Alexander Oswald.

The Study, Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Arthur married twice. First he married Mary Frances Wyndham-Quin in 1868, daughter of Edwin Richard Wyndham-Quin, 3rd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, of Adare Manor in County Limerick. She died in 1884 and their only son died when less than one year old. Arthur married secondly Elizabeth Wadsworth, widow of Arthur Post, daughter of an American General James Samuel Wadsworth.

They had a daughter, Dorothy (1894-1975), who purchased Fota. The Landed Families website tells us:

As the elder son, Arthur inherited the Marbury and Fota estates, and also had a town house in London. As a largely absentee landlord and politician in the forefront of resistance to land reform, his estates became a particular focus for agitation by the National League, and his agents were threatened with physical violence. He had two daughters but no surviving son, so the peerage died with him and the Fota and Marbury estates passed under an entail to his younger brother’s son, Col. Robert Raymond Smith-Barry (1886-1949). Col. Smith-Barry, who made a notable contribution to air warfare during the First World War by establish a system for the rigorous training of pilots, also inherited property in Wiltshire from his father. He sold Marbury Hall in 1932 for conversion into a country club, and in 1939 he sold Fota and the family’s Huntingdonshire estate to Lord Barrymore’s younger daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Bell (1894-1975). After the Second World War he moved to South Africa, where he died in 1949. Mrs Bell remained the enthusiastic custodian of Fota until her death in 1975, when her heirs sold the estate to University College, Cork.

A painting at Fota.

Bence-Jones continues: “A doorway opposite the entrance door leads into the staircase hall, which is of modest size, being the staircase hall of the original house; but it has been greatly enriched with plasterwork. The ceiling is domed, with wreaths on the pendentives and eagles in the lunettes; there is a frieze of wreaths and at the head of the stairs two fluted Tower of Winds columns frame an enchanting vista to a second and smaller staircase, leading up to the top storey.” The stairs are of cantilevered Portland stone, with brass balusters and a mahogany handrail.

The staircase hall in August 2020, which is of modest size, being the staircase hall of the original house; but it has been greatly enriched with plasterwork. The ceiling is domed, with wreaths on the pendentives and eagles in the lunettes; there is a frieze of wreaths and at the head of the stairs two fluted Tower of Winds columns frame an enchanting vista to a second and smaller staircase, leading up to the top storey.  Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Stair Hall ceiling, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Stair Hall ceiling, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Stair Hall ceiling, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

At the top of the stairs is a small recess, leading up to the secondary stair, with a pair of shell-headed niches, a Greek-key border and a pair of Tower of the Winds columns.

The Stair Hall, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Stair Hall, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The stair hall, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
I’m not sure who these are.

A cross-corridor gives access to the bedrooms, the differing levels resulting in various little lobbies and landings.

The differing levels resulting in various little lobbies and landings. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The differing levels resulting in various little lobbies and landings. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The differing levels resulting in various little lobbies and landings. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

The principal bedroom suite is placed over the Dining Room and communicates directly with nurseries in the service wing. The suite contains a boudoir with barrel-vaulted ceiling and a half-dome decorated with doves trailing garlands. Plaster drapery fills the lunette to the vault with a little top-lit skylight at the apex of the dome with amber and blue coloured glazing.

The Boudoir. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The boudoir. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Boudoir. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Boudoir ceiling detail. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Boudoir. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Wallpaper information.
The Boudoir, Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Boudoir, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Boudoir, August 2023, ceiling detail. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Boudoir, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
I’m not sure which Lady Barrymore this is. She would be a wife of Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry, who was created 1st Baron Barrymore, of Barrymore, Co. Cork [U.K.] in 1902. He married twice, first he wed Mary Frances Wyndham Quin from Adare Manor, and second, Elizabeth Wadsworth.
The marriage of Dorothy and William Bertram Bell.
I’m not sure who these are: probably Elizabeth née Wadsworth and her daughter Dorothy.
Fota, County Cork. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Next we went to the man of the house’s bedroom.

The man of the house’s bedroom, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The man of the house’s bedroom, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A daughter of the family, Geraldine Smith-Barry (1869-1957), painted in 1895 by George Elgar Hicks. I think the tour guide said she was born deaf. She was the daughter of Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry and Mary Frances Wyndham-Quin.

Dorothy (1894-1975), the last of the clan to live on the Barry estates, was the daughter of Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry, 1st and last Baron Barrymore. She married Major William Bertram Bell. They had three daughters.

Major William Bertram Bell (1881-1971).

Their daughter Rosemary Elizabeth (1924-2011) married Captain Anthony Henry Heber Villiers (1821-2004).

Captain A.H.H. Villiers.
Rosemarie Villiers and Children, Fota House, County Cork.

Fota was sold to University College Cork and in 1983, Richard Wood took a lease of the house and restored it with John O’Connell as architect, to display his collection of Irish art to the public. It was then sold and the pictures removed, and in 1991 the house and arboretum passed to the Fota Trust and in 1999 extensive conservation work was carried out under the direction of John Cahill of the Office of Public Works. [7]

Fota, County Cork, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Unfortunately I don’t know who this is yet.
Unfortunately I don’t know who this is yet.
Fota, County Cork. This study has lots of portraits and I haven’t identified the sitters yet.
I think this is somebody Boyle – I can’t make out the writing on the portrait, though it might say “son of Earl of Shannon.” I think it is Robert Boyle, 2nd son of Henry the 1st Earl of Shannon. Robert (1736-1780) was in the Navy. His great-grandfather Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery had married Lady Margaret, daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk; another daughter Lady Anne married Thomas Walsingham. Robert Boyle eventually succeeded to the estate of the Walsinghams’ daughter Elizabeth, Lady Osborne (died 1733), and adopted the name Walsingham, to become Robert Boyle-Walsingham. He served as MP of Dungarvan, County Waterford, from 1758-1768 and in the British House of Commons for Knaresborough and Fowey. There’s another portrait of him by Nathanial Hone the Elder, painted in 1760.
Unidentified sitter – I hope I can find out who it is.
Fota, County Cork. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Unfortunately I don’t know who this is yet.
The study August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The study August 2023. The large portrait could be of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The large portrait could be of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore.
James Barry (1667-1747) Lieutenant Colonel and 4th Earl of Barrymore, National Trust, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Richard Boyle, 4th Earl of Shannon painted by a relatively little-known mid-19th century artist, the Hon Henry Richard Graves. (see https://theirishaesthete.com/tag/earl-of-shannon/ )
Unfortunately I don’t know who this is yet.
Unfortunately I don’t know who this is yet.
Our guide identified this as Robert Boyle (1627-1691).

The nursery has lovely wallpaper, reconstructed by David Skinner.

The Nursery, August 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Nursery, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
This was instructive for the servants and children. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork, 2020. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Nursery, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Nursery, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

To pass from the family’s quarters to the servants’ quarters, one passes through a tradition “green baize door,” baize being the material used on billiards tables, probably used on doors to suppress the sound from travelling.

This doorway was the “green baize door” between family and servants’ quarters. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The servant’s bedroom.
Corridors upstairs in Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork.
The servants’ area. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Corridors upstairs in Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Another servant bedroom. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A servant bedroom. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Next we headed to kitchen and basement. There’s a wet “larder” and a dry pantry.

Part of the basement is vaulted. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The Kitchen. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The kitchen. Notice the air vent in the top corner. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Although it is in the basement, windows in the kitchen let in plenty of light. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
A half door to the kitchen keeps the other servants out, and the cook liked to hear the serving boys whistling on their way up the hall so she knew they weren’t sampling the dinners they carried. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The game store larder. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
There’s an air vent on top to the game larder. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Fota, County Cork, bells outside the Butler’s pantry. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The back stairs in Fota. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Bence-Jones writes: “In mid-C19, James Hugh Smith-Barry laid out formal gardens behind the house, with lawns and hedges, wrought-iron gates and rusticated piers, a temple and an orangery. He also began to plant the arboretum, which has since become world-famous. The planting was continued for more than a century after his death by his son, [Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (1843-1925)] Lord Barrymore [1st Baron Barrymore], and by Lord Barrymore’s son-in-law and daughter, Major [William Bertram] and Hon Mrs [Dorothy] Bell; in the mild climate of Fota many rare and tender species flourish. The demesne of Fota extends over the entire island, which is skirted by the road and railway from Cork to Cobh; there are impressive Classical entrance gates by Morrison similar to those at Ballyfin, Co Laois and Killruddery, Co Wicklow. On the point of the island is an early C19 castellated turret, by John Hargrave of Cork. Fota was sold 1975 to University College Cork.” 

The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

The OPW website tells us:

The arboretum and gardens on Fota Island, just 16 kilometres from Cork city centre, are an essential destination for any one of a horticultural bent.

The arboretum extends over 11 hectares and contains one of the finest collections of rare, tender trees and shrubs grown outdoors in Europe. The unique conditions at Fota – its warm soil and sheltered location – enable many excellent examples of exotics from the southern hemisphere to flourish.

The gardens include such stunning features as the ornamental pond, formal pleasure gardens, orangery and sun temple. James Hugh Smith-Barry laid them out in the first half of the nineteenth century. Fota House, the Smith-Barrys’ ancestral home, still stands. The house, arboretum and gardens share the island with a hotel and golf resort and a wildlife park. [8]

The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
The gardens at Fota, August 2023. Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Photograph © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

[1] fotahouse.com

[2] p. 127. 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.

[3] https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/2020/06/421-smith-barry-of-marbury-hall-belmont.html

[4] p. 412. Keohane, Frank. Buildings of Ireland: Cork City and County, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2020.

[5] https://www.irelandscontentpool.com/en/media-assets/media/44873

[6] http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/PlacesToSee/Cork/

[7] p. 412. Keohane, Frank. Buildings of Ireland: Cork City and County, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2020.

[8] https://heritageireland.ie/visit/places-to-visit/fota-arboretum-and-gardens/

Text © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com

Portraits B

I am going to start collating a portrait gallery, as I love to put a name to the faces. I will add to these pages as I go.

I’ll be collecting them from my house entries and put them in alphabetical order by surname. I’ve also been going through the National Gallery collection and will also look at the National Portrait Gallery in London’s collection! It will be an ongoing project and a resource. I do think Ireland should have a National Portrait gallery! It would be a place where home owners could loan portraits for safekeeping also.

I have an editorial decision to make regarding women. Do I put them under their married name or under their maiden name? I think for now I’ll put them under both, as it’s nice to see them in relation to their fathers as well as in relation to their husband!

B

Captain William Baillie (1723-1810), engraver William Baillie, after Nathaniel Hone the Elder, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland. He was from Kildrought, County Kildare.
Charlotte Marion Baird (1851/2-1937) Countess of Enniskillen, by Henry Richard Graves, courtesy os National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh. She married Lowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen.
William Barker, 3rd Bt. (1704–1770), of Bocking Hall, Essex, and Kilcooley Abbey, Tipperary attributed to John Lewis, courtesy of Sothebys L11304.
Sir Jonah Barrington, (1760-1834), Judge and Author. Date: 1811, Engraver James Heath, English, 1757-1834 After Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808 Copyist: John Comerford, Irish, 1770-1832 Publisher: G. Robinson, photograph courtesy of National Gallery. of Ireland.
David Barry (1605-1642) 6th Viscount Buttevant and 1st Earl of Barrymore.

Barons Barry (c. 1261)

  • David de Barry, 1st Baron Barry (died 1278). In 1267, King Henry III of England appointed Lord David de Barry as Chief Justice of Ireland.
  • John Barry, 2nd Baron Barry (died 1285)
  • David FitzDavid Barry, 3rd Baron Barry (died 1290)
  • John Barry, 4th Baron Barry (died 1330)
  • David Barry, 5th Baron Barry (died 1347)
  • David Barry, 6th Baron Barry (died 1392)
  • John Barry, 7th Baron Barry (died 1420)
  • William Barry, 8th Baron Barry (died 1480)
  • John Barry, 9th Baron Barry (died 1486)
  • Thomas de Barry, 10th Baron Barry (died 1488)
  • William Barry, 11th Baron Barry (died 1500)
  • John Barry, 12th Baron Barry (died 1530)
  • John Barry, 13th Baron Barry (died 1534)
  • John FitzJohn Barry, 14th Baron Barry (1517–1553) (created Viscount Buttevant in 1541)

Viscounts Buttevant (1541)

  • John FitzJohn Barry, 1st Viscount Buttevant (1517–1553)
  • Edmund FitzJohn Barry, 2nd Viscount Buttevant (died 1556)
  • James FitzJohn Barry, 3rd Viscount Buttevant (died 1557)
  • James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant (c. 1520–1581) 1st wife: Elizabeth Boyle, daughter of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan; 2nd wife: Elizabeth née Savage (d. 1714), daughter and heir of Richard Savage 4th Earl Rivers; 3rd wife: Anne Chichester, daughter of Major-General Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666-1706), she was the mother of James Smith-Barry of Fota, County Cork.
  • David de Barry, 5th Viscount Buttevant (died 1617)
  • David Barry, 6th Viscount Buttevant (1604–1642) (created Earl of Barrymore in 1627/28)

Earls of Barrymore (1627/28)

  • David Barry, 1st Earl of Barrymore (1604–1642)
  • Richard Barry, 2nd Earl of Barrymore (1630–1694)
  • Laurence Barry, 3rd Earl of Barrymore (1664–1699)
  • James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore (1667–1747)
  • James Barry, 5th Earl of Barrymore (1717–1751)
  • Richard Barry, 6th Earl of Barrymore (1745–1773)
  • Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore (1769–1793)
  • Henry Barry, 8th Earl of Barrymore (1770–1823) [1]
James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore (1667-1748) (Lieutenant-General), Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller courtesy of Sothebys 2013 collection l13304 lot 95.
James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, (1667-1747), Soldier and Politician Date c. 1753 by Engraver Michael Ford, Irish, d. 1765 After Thomas Ottway, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, (1667-1747).
James Barry (1667-1747) Lieutenant Colonel and 4th Earl of Barrymore, National Trust, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Lt. Gen. James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, (1667-1747) attributed to John Riley, courtesy of Christie’s The Sunday Sale, property of Smith-Barry estates removed from Old Priory Gloucestershire.
Elizabeth Barry née Savage (d. 1714) wife of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore, daughter and heir of Richard Savage 4th Earl Rivers and Penelope Downes, seated with her daughter Penelope. This painting is attributed by Sotheby’s to Thomas Worldige.
Elizabeth Barry née Savage (d. 1714), 2nd wife of James 4th Earl of Barrymore. She and the 4th Earl had three daughters, and a son who died in his first year. She was the daughter of Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers.
Anne Barry née Chichester (1697-1753) Countess of Barrymore, 3rd wife of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore.
Lady Anne Chichester, Countess of Barrymore (d. 1753) Attributed to Philip Hussey, she was daughter of Major-General Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall (1666-1706) and his wife Lady Catherine Forbes (d. 1743), and she married James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore, and was the mother of James Smith-Barry.
Dorothy née Barry (1670-1748), married John Jacob 2nd Bt. She was the daughter of Richard Barry 2nd Earl of Barrymore.
Captain the Hon. Richard Barry R.N. (1721-1787), with his spaniel by John Lewis, second son of James Barry 4th Earl of Barrymore. This portrait is also courtesy of Sotheby’s L11304. This portrait belonged to the Smith-Barry family and was sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in 2013. We can see it in the old photograph of the library of Fota House.
Arthur Barry (1723-1770) by Francis Cotes courtesy of Sotheby’s L11304. This portrait belonged to the Smith-Barry family and was sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in 2013. Arthur was another son of James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore, he died unmarried and his property went to the Smith-Barry family.
Daniel Augustus Beaufort (1739-1821), Geographer, by unknown artist circa 1800-1805, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 5255.
Alfred Beit (1903-1994), 2nd Baronet and his wife Clementine née Freeman-Mitford (b. 1915), of Russborough House, County Wicklow.
Major William Bertram Bell (1881-1971).
John Bellew 1st Baron (d. 1691) by Garrett Morphy, courtesy of http://www.galleryofthemasters.com . He commanded a regiment of infantry in Ireland and was a Roman Catholic peer who sat in James II’s Parliament of 1689. He died of wounds received in the Battle of Aughrim.
Edward Joseph Bellew (1830-1895) 2nd Baron Bellew by unknown photographer 1860s courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG Ax196758.
Henry Grattan Bellew, 3rd Baronet, b.1860, married Sophia Forbes, daughter of the Earl of Granard, by Dermod O’Brien, courtesy of Adam’s auction 10 Oct 2017.
Dorothy Bentinck née Cavendish, Duchess of Portland (1750-1794) by George Romney, c. 1772, daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. She married William Henry Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland, who added Cavendish to his name to become Cavendish-Bentinck.

Timothy William Ferres tells us of the Beresfords of Curraghmore: http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/search/label/County%20Waterford%20Landowners

SIR TRISTRAM BERESFORD (1595-1673), who was created a baronet in 1665, designated of Coleraine, County Londonderry. He married firstly, Anne, eldest daughter of John Rowley, of Castleroe, County Londonderry, by whom he had one son, RANDAL, his heir, and two daughters; and secondly, Sarah Sackville, and had three sons and three daughters: Tristram; Michael; Sackville; Susanna; Sarah; Anne.

Sir Tristram was succeeded by his eldest son, SIR RANDAL BERESFORD, 2nd Baronet (c. 1636-81), MP for Coleraine, 1661-68, who married Catherine Annesley, younger daughter of Francis, 1st Viscount Valentia, and dying in 1681, left issue, TRISTRAM, his heir; Jane; Catherine.

Sir Randal was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, SIR TRISTRAM BERESFORD, 3rd Baronet (1669-1701), MP for Londonderry County, 1692-99, who commanded a foot regiment against JAMES II, and was attainted by the parliament of that monarch. Sir Tristram wedded, in 1687, Nichola Sophia, youngest daughter and co-heiress of  Hugh Hamilton, 1st Viscount Glenawly.

He was succeeded by his son, SIR MARCUS BERESFORD, 4th Baronet (1694-1763), MP for Coleraine, 1715-20, who espoused, in 1717, Catherine, BARONESS LE POER, daughter and heiress of James, 3rd Earl of Tyrone, and in consequence of that alliance, was elevated to the peerage, in 1720, in the dignity of Baron Beresford and Viscount Tyrone. His lordship was further advanced to an earldom, in 1746, as EARL OF TYRONE.

Rt. Hon. Marcus Beresford (1694-1763) 4th Baronet and 1st Earl of Tyrone, photograph courtesy of the Beresford family and creative commons and wikipedia.

Marcus Beresford (1694-1763) 1st Earl of Tyrone had surviving issue: GEORGE DE LA POER (1735-1800) his successor who became 2nd Earl of Tyrone;
John (1737/38-1805);
William (1743-1819) (Most Rev), created BARON DECIES;
Anne; Jane; Catherine; Aramintha; Frances Maria; Elizabeth.

George de la Poer Beresford (1735-1800) 2nd Earl of Tyrone, later 1st Marquess of Waterford, by Johann Zoffany, courtesy of National Trust Hatchlands.
John Beresford, M.P. (1738-1805), son of of Marcus Beresford 1st Earl of Tyrone, miniature by Richard Crosse, British, 1742-1810.
John Beresford (1738-1805), first commissioner of the Revenue in Ireland, engraver Charles Howard Hodges, after Gilbert Smith, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
John Beresford (1738-1805), MP by Gilbert Stuart c. 1790, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland NGI 1133.
Barbara Montgomery (?1757-1788), second wife of John Beresford (1738-1805) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland P5547. His first wife was Anne Constantia Ligondes.
Marcus Gervais Beresford (1801-1885), Archbishop of Armagh, painting as Prelate of Order of St. Patrick, by engraver John Richardson Jackson, after painting by Stephen Catterson Smith, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland. He was grandson of John Beresford (1738-1805). His father was Rt. Rev. George de la Poer Beresford (1765-1841).
George John Beresford (1807-1864) of Woodhouse, County Waterford. He was also a grandson of John Beresford (1738-1805). His father was Reverend Charles Cobbe Beresford (b. 1770).
John Claudius Beresford, Lord Mayor of Dublin courtesy Adam’s 8 March 2006 in style of William Cuming PRHA. He was the son of John Beresford (1738-1805).
Elizabeth de la Poer Beresford (1736-1806), daughter of Marcus Beresford 1st Earl of Tyrone, wife of Thomas Cobbe of Newbridge House, in a costume evocative of Mary Queen of Scots, miniature, Cobbe Collection.

George de la Poer Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone (1735-1800) inherited the ancient Barony of de la Poer at the decease of his mother in 1769. His lordship was enrolled amongst the peers of Great Britain, in 1786, as Baron Tyrone; and created, in 1789, MARQUESS OF WATERFORD.

George de la Poer Beresford (1735-1800) First Marquess of Waterford by Gilbert Stuart, courtesy of Bonhams and commons.

He married, in 1769, Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Henry Monck, of Charleville. They had issue:

Marcus, died at 8 years old; Henry de la Poer Beresford (1772-1826) his successor who became 2nd Marquess of Waterford; John George (1773-1862) (Most Rev), Lord Archbishop of Armagh;
George Thomas (1781-1839) (Rt Hon), Lt-Gen, GCH; Isabella Anne; Catherine; Anne; Elizabeth Louisa (1783-1856).

Henry de la Poer Beresford (1772-1826) 2nd Marquess of Waterford by William Beechy courtesy of Eton College.
John George Beresford (1773-1862), Archbishop of Armagh, after Thomas Lawrence, by Charles Turner, courtesy of Armagh County Museum. He was son of George de la Poer Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone.
Thought to be Elizabeth Louisa Reynell (1783-1856) née De La Poer and formerly wife of Sir Denis Pack, courtesy of Whyte’s Nov 2011. She was the daughter of the 1st Marquess of Waterford, and she married Denis Pack of County Kilkenny and later, Thomas Reynell, 6th Baronet.

He had an illegitimate son Admiral Sir John de la Poer Beresford (1766-1844) 1st Bt Beresford, of Bagnall, Co. Waterford, and also Lt.-Gen. William Carr Beresford (1768-1854) 1st and last Viscount Beresford of Beresford.

William Carr Beresford (1768-1854) Viscount Beresford, by William Beechey, Photograph courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London.
Harriet Elizabeth Peirse (1790-1825) Lady Beresford, wife of Admiral Sir John de la Poer Beresford (1766-1844) 1st Bt Beresford, of Bagnall, Co. Waterford, by Thomas Lawrence, courtesy of National Trust Hatchlands.

Henry de la Poer Beresford 2nd Marquess (1772-1826) wedded, in 1805, Susanna Carpenter, only daughter and heiress of George Carpenter 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell, and had issue,

HENRY de la Poer Beresford (1811-1859) his successor who became 3rd Marquess of Waterford;
William;
John (1814-1866) who became 4th Marquess of Waterford;
James;
Sarah Elizabeth (1807-1854) who married Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury.

James Beresford (1816-1841) by Joseph Clover, courtesy of Ingestre Hall Residential Arts Centre.

Henry de la Poer Beresford 3rd Marquess married Louisa Anne Stuart (1818-1891), daughter of Charles Stuart, 1st and last Baron Stuart de Rothesay. They did not have children.

Elizabeth Stuart née Yorke (1789-1867). Lady Stuart de Rothesay, with her daughters Charlotte (1817-1861) and Louisa (1818-1891) by George Hayter, photograph courtesy of UK Government Art Collection. Elizabeth was the daughter of Philip Yorke 3rd Earl of Hardwicke; Louisa married Henry de la Poer Beresford 3rd Marquis of Waterford; Charlotte married Charles John Canning 1st Viceroy of India, 2nd Viscount Canning, 1st Earl Canning.
Louisa Anne Beresford née Stuart (1818-1891), wife of Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford, daughter of Charles Stuart, 1st and last Baron Stuart de Rothesay, by Sir Francis Grant 1859-1860, NPG 3176. The National Portrait Gallery tells us: “Louisa Stuart was brought up mostly in Paris, where her father was British Ambassador to the French court. She was taught to draw from an early age and art, along with religion and philanthropy, was one of her main interests throughout her life. A gifted amateur watercolourist, she did not exhibit at professional galleries until the 1870s. With a strong interest in the welfare of the tenants on her Northumberland estate, she rebuilt the village of Ford. She provided a school and started a temperance society in the village. Her greatest artistic achievement was the decoration of the new school with life sized scenes from the Old and New testaments that used children and adults from the village as models.”

When the 3rd Marquess died, his brother John became the 4th Marquess. The 4th Marquess married Christiana, daughter of Charles Powell Leslie of Castle Leslie in County Monaghan.

George Berkeley (1685-1753) Protestant Bishop of Cloyne and Philosopher by John Smibert, American, 1688-1751, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
George Berkeley (1685-1753), Philosopher; Bishop of Cloyne, by John Smibert 1730 courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 653.
The painting is a portrait by William Hogarth of the 1st Earl of Charlemont, James Caulfeild (1728-1799) aged 13, with his mother, Elizabeth Caulfeild née Bernard (1703-1743)(portrait painted in 1741). She was the daughter of Judge Francis Bernard of Castle Mahon County Cork and Alice Ludlow of Dublin.
Thomas Bernard (1816-1882), son of Catherine née Hely Hutchinson and Thomas Bernard (d. 1834).
Richard Wellesly Bernard (1822-1877) of Castle Bernard, County Offaly, in early 1860s, National Portrait Gallery of London Ax196557
Charles Bingham, 1st Baron of Lucan (1735-1799), later 1st Earl of Lucan, Engraver John Jones, After Joshua Reynolds, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Mary Tighe née Blachford (1772-1810) as sculpted by Lorenzo Bartolini ca. 1820, photograph courtesy of National Library of Ireland.
Mary Tighe née Blachford (1747-1791), courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Theodosia Blachford née Tighe (c.1780) A self portrait, seated three-quarter length, with her children, Mary (1772-1810, she married Henry Tighe 1771-1836 of Woodstock) and John (1771-1817) courtesy of Adam’s 2 April 2008. Theodosia was married to William Acton Blachford (1729-1773) of Altidore, County Wicklow, and she was the daughter of William Tighe (1710-1766) of Rosanna, County Wicklow.
Francis Blackburne (1782-1867), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1852 by engraver George Sanders, after Stephen Catterson Smith, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Helena Selina Blackwood née Sheridan (1807-1867), Writer, Wife of 4th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye, later Countess of Gifford Date 1849 Engraver John Henry Robinson, English, 1796 – 1871 After Frank Stone, English, 1800-1859.
Nathaniel Bland (1695-1760), Vicar General of Diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe, Picture from The Story of Dorothy Jordan by Clare Jerrold, 1914, courtesy of Teresa Stokes, flickr
Blayney R.J. Townley- Balfour and Madeline née Kells-Ingram, his Wife, of Townley Hall, Drogheda by Sarah Cecilia Harrison, courtesy of Adam’s auction 31 May 2017.
Lady Blennerhassett, Ballyseedy Castle, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Irish school 18 century Adams auction 19 Oct 2021
Colonel Thomas Blood (1618-1680), Adventurer Engraver Emmery Walker After Gerard Soest, Dutch, c.1600-1681, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846) 1st Baron Bloomfield as Keeper of His Majestys Privy Purse at the Coronation of George IV, by Henry Meyer, after Philip Francis Stephanoff 1826, NPG D31893. He lived in Loughton House, County Offaly.
Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846) 1st Baron Bloomfield, by John Lilley, from Loughton house auction catalogue, 2016, Shepphards.
Benjamin Bloomfield (1768-1846) 1st Baron Bloomfield), Irish school, 19th c, from Loughton house sale, 2016, Shepphards.
John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield (1802-1879), 2nd Baron Bloomfield of Oakhampton and Redwood, 1st Baron Bloomfield of Ciamhaltha, County Tipperary, wearing a burgundy red jacket and fur collar, Painting After Sir Thomas Lawrence, from Loughton house auction catalogue, 2016, Shepphards
Georgiana Bloomfield née Liddell, Lady Bloomfield from Loughton house auction catalogue, 2016, Shepphards. She was the wife of John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield 1st Baron Bloomfield of Ciamhaltha, County Tipperary.
Portrait of Lady Bloomfield, from Loughton house sale, 2016, Shepphards. I’m not sure which Lady Bloomfield she is. I suspect she is Georgiana née Liddell (1822-1905)
Charles Blount (1563-1606), 8th Baron Mountjoy, Lord Deputy of Ireland, 1775, engraver Valentine Green after Paulus Van Somer; photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Richard Bolton (circa 1570-1648) Lord Chancellor of Ireland, courtesy of Whyte’s Oct 2018. Bolton Street in Dublin was named after him.
Hugh Boulter, Protestant Archbishop of Armagh and then Primate of Ireland 1724-1742. He was also Chaplain to King George I. The Dictionary of National Biography tells us that by a statute enacted through Boulter’s influence, Catholics were excluded from the legal profession and disqualified from holding offices connected with the administration of law. Under another act passed through Boulter’s exertions, they were deprived of the right of voting at elections for members of parliament or magistrates—the sole constitutional right which they had been allowed to exercise. He helped to set up the Charter School system and sought to convert Catholics to Protestantism, but did good work trying to alleviate hunger during the Famine – though perhaps he only advocated feeding those who converted to Protestantism! I’m not sure of that though. Provost’s House, Trinity College Dublin.
Portrait of Frances Walsingham, along with her husband Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and in the small picture, Sir Philip Sydney, her first husband. Her third husband was Richard Bourke 4th Earl of Clanricarde.
John Bourke, 1st Baron Naas, (1705-1790), later 1st Earl of Mayo, Engraver William Dickinson, English, 1746-1823 After Robert Hunter, Irish, 1715/1720-c.1803, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Bellingham Boyle (1709-1772), of Rathfarnham Castle, County Dublin.
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (1566-1643) Date c.1630, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.

Timothy William Ferres tells us of the family of the Boyles, Earls of Cork:

Richard Boyle (1566-1643) 1st Earl of Cork married firstly, in 1595, Joan, daughter and co-heiress of William Apsley, of Limerick, without surviving issue; and secondly, Catherine, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Knight, principal secretary of state for Ireland, and had issue (with eight daughters):

Roger (1606-15);

RICHARD (1612-98) his successor; Geoffrey d. 1 year old; Lewis (1619-1642) created Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky;

ROGER (1621-1679) created 1st Earl of Orrery; ancestor of John, 5th Earl of Cork;

Francis (1623-1699) created Viscount Shannon;

Robert (1626/1627-1691), the philosopher.

Robert Boyle (1626/1627-1691) the philosopher.
Robert Boyle F. R. S. (1627-1691) by Johann Kerseboom, 1689, courtesy of Science History Institute. He was the brother of the 2nd Earl of Cork.

The 1st Earl of Cork’s daughter Alice (1607-1666) married David Barry 1st Earl of Barrymore. His other daughters were Sarah (1609-1633) who married first Thomas Moore son of Garret Moore 1st Viscount of Drogheda, and then second, Rober Digby 1st Baron Digby; Lettice who married Lord Goring; Joan who married George Fitzgerald 16th Earl of Kildare; Catherine (1615-1691) who married Arthur Jones 2nd Viscount Ranelagh; Dorothy (1617-1668) who married Arthur Loftus and second, Gilbert Talbot son of William Talbot 1st Baronet; Mary (1625-1678) who married Charles Rich 4th Earl of Warwick;

The 1st Earl of Cork was succeeded by his eldest son, RICHARD, 2nd Earl (1612-98); who, having wedded, in 1635, the Lady Elizabeth Clifford, daughter and heiress of Henry, 5th Earl of Cumberland, was created a Peer of England, 1644, in the dignity of Baron Clifford of Londesborough, Yorkshire; and, in 1664, EARL OF BURLINGTON.

Richard Boyle (1612-1698) 1st Earl of Burlington and 2nd Earl of Cork, possibly after Sir Anthony van Dyck c.1640, NPG 893.
Oil painting on canvas, Lady Elizabeth Clifford, Countess of Burlington (1621 – 1698) by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Antwerp 1599 – London 1641). Three-quarter length portrait, profile to left, head facing, wearing wbite satin dress and blue scarf, pointing with her left hand in a landscape. She married Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork and 1st Earl of Burlington.

The 2nd Earl of Cork had issue:

Charles, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan (1639-94); father of the 3rd Earl of Cork; Richard, who died in 1665 at the battle of Lowestoft; and daughters Frances who married Colonel Francis Courtenay, 3rd Bt. then second, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon; Anne who married Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Sandwich; Elizabeth who married Nicholas Tufton, 3rd Earl of Thanet; Mary; Henrietta who married Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester.

His lordship’s eldest son Charles, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan (1639-94) having predeceased him, was succeeded by his grandson, CHARLES (c. 1662-1704), 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington.

Charles Boyle (c. 1662-1704) 3rd Earl of Cork and 2nd Earl of Burlington, by Godfrey Kneller, courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall.

Charles, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan (1639-94) had a daughter Elizabeth (1662-1703) who married Lt.-Gen. James Barry, 4th Earl of Barrymore.

The 3rd Earl of Cork, 2nd Earl of Burlington espoused Juliana, daughter and heiress of the Hon Henry Noel, of Luffenham, Rutland, by whom he had surviving issue, RICHARD (1694-1753) his successor, 3rd Earl of Burlington.

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694-1753) by Jonathan Richardson, courtesy of London’s National Portrait Gallery NPG 4818.

The 3rd Earl of Cork, 2nd Earl of Burlington had daughters Elizabeth; Juliana; Jane; Henrietta (1700-1746) who married Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon.

The 3rd Earl of Cork, 2nd Earl of Burlington was succeeded by his only son, RICHARD (1694-1753), 4th Earl of Cork and 3rd Earl of Burlington, KG, who married, in 1720, the Lady Dorothy Savile, elder daughter and co-heiress of William, 2nd Marquess of Halifax, by which lady he had three daughters, Dorothy; Juliana; Charlotte Elizabeth, m William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington.

His lordship claimed, in 1727, the barony of Clifford, as great-grandson of the Lady Elizabeth Clifford, daughter and heiress of Henry, Lord Clifford, and the house of peers acknowledged and confirmed his lordship’s right thereto.

This nobleman was eminent as a munificent encourager of literature and the fine arts, and as a friend of Alexander Pope he will always be remembered.

His lordship died in 1753, and leaving an only surviving daughter, Lady Charlotte, who had wedded William, 4th Duke of Devonshire, and inherited the barony of Clifford; all his lordship’s other English honours ceased, while those of Ireland devolved upon his kinsman, JOHN BOYLE (1707-62), 5th Earl of Orrery, in Ireland; Baron Boyle of Marston, in Great Britain; succeeded as 5th EARL OF CORK (refer to Roger, third son of the first Earl of Cork).

Charlotte Boyle (1731-1754) daughter of Richard Boyle (1694-1753) 3rd Earl of Burlington 4th Earl of Cork. She married William Cavendish (1720-1764) 4th Duke of Devonshire and brought Lismore Castle, County Waterford, into the Cavendish family. Painting after style of George Knapton, courtesy of Chiswick House collection.
Richard Boyle 4th Earl of Cork and 3rd Earl of Burlington and Dorothy Savile attributed to Aikman, William Aikman (1682-1731).
Oil painting on canvas, Possibly Lady Dorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork (1699-1758) by Michael Dahl, circa 1720. Inscribed top right in gold: Lady Dorothy Saville / Daughter to the Marquis of Halifax / married to the Earl of Burlington. A half-length portrait of a young woman, facing, wearing white decollete dress with blue ribbon. Courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall
Lady Dorothy Savile, Countess of Burlington (1699-1758) with her Daughter Lady Dorothy Boyle, later Countess of Euston (1724-1742) by Michael Dahl courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall. She married Richard Boyle 4th Earl of Cork and 3rd Earl of Burlington.

The 1st Earl of Cork’s son ROGER (1621-1679) was created 1st Earl of Orrery.

Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles, by Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) Adams auction 18 Oct 2022. I think this could be Mary née Sackville (1637-1679) who married Roger Boyle 2nd Earl of Orrery. Her son Charles Boyle (1674-1731) became the 4th Earl of Orrery.
Charles Boyle 4th Earl of Orrery, possibly a copy, based on painting by Charles Jervas.

JOHN BOYLE (1707-62), 5th Earl of Orrery, in Ireland; Baron Boyle of Marston, in Great Britain; succeeded as 5th EARL OF CORK (refer to Roger, third son of the first Earl of Cork).

His lordship wedded firstly, in 1728, the Lady Henrietta Hamilton, youngest daughter of George, 1st Earl of Orkney KT, and had issue: Charles, Viscount Dungarvan (1729-1759); HAMILTON, his successor; Elizabeth.

Mrs John O’Neill (née Henrietta Boyle) (1756-1793), Poet and Patron of Mrs Siddons, Engraver John Raphael Smith, English, 1752-1812 After Matthew William Peters, English, 1742-1814, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland. She was the wife of John O’Neill (1740-1798), 1st Viscount, of Shane’s Castle, County Antrim, and the daughter of Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, who was the son of John Boyle 5th Earl of Orrery and 5th Earl of Cork.

He espoused secondly, Margaret, daughter and sole heiress of John Hamilton, by whom he had further issue: EDMUND, 7th Earl of Cork; Catherine Agnes; Lucy. He was a writer.

He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, HAMILTON (1729-64), 6th Earl of Cork and Orrery, who died unmarried, in little more than a year after his father, when the honours devolved upon his brother, EDMUND (1742-98), 7th Earl of Cork and Orrery, who married firstly, in 1764, Anne, daughter of Kelland Courtenay, and had issue: John Richard, Viscount Dungarvan (1765-8); EDMUND, of whom hereafter; Courtenay (the Hon Sir), Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy; Lucy Isabella.

His lordship espoused secondly, in 1786, Mary, youngest daughter of John, 1st Viscount Galway, without further issue.

He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, EDMUND (1767-1856), 8th Earl of Cork and Orrery, KP, a General in the Army, who married, in 1795, Isabella Henrietta, third daughter of William Poyntz, of Midgam house, Berkshire, and had issue: Edmund William, Viscount Dungarvan (1798-1826); George Richard (1799-1810); CHARLES, of whom presently; John, ancestor of the 12th and 13th Earls; Robert Edward; Richard Cavendish; Isabella Elizabeth; Lucy Georgina; Louisa.

His lordship’s eldest surviving son CHARLES (1800-34), styled Viscount Dungarvan, wedded, in 1828, the Lady Catherine St Lawrence, daughter of William, 2nd Earl of Howth, and had issue:

RICHARD EDMUND ST LAWRENCE, his successor;

William George;

Edmund John;

Louisa Caroline Elizabeth; Mary Emily.

His lordship predeceased his father, and the family honours devolved upon his eldest son,

RICHARD EDMUND ST LAWRENCE (1829-1904), as 9th Earl of Cork and Orrery, KP, who married, in 1853, the Lady Elizabeth Charlotte de Burgh, daughter of Ulick John, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde, and had issue: CHARLES SPENCER CANNING, his successor; ROBERT JOHN LASCELLES, 11th Earl; Emily Harriet Catherine; Grace Elizabeth; Isabel Lettice Theodosia; Honora Janet; Dorothy Blanche.

Anne Boyle née Courteney, Countess of Cork and Orrery (1742-1785) Engraver James Watson, Irish, c.1740-1790 After Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland. She married Edmund Boyle 7th Earl of Cork, 7th Earl of Orrery.

The 1st Earl of Cork’s son Francis (1623-1699) was created 1st Viscount Shannon.

Henry Boyle, M.P. (1682-1764), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, later 1st Earl of Shannon Date: 1742, Engraver John Brooks, Irish, fl.1730-1756 After Unknown Artist, England, 18th century, English, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Henry Boyle 1st Earl of Shannon by Stephen Slaughter, in Ballyfin Demesne, courtesy of Parliamentary Art Collection.
Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon by Arthur Devis, courtesy of National Museums of Northern Ireland.
Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon (1727–1807) (Joshua Reynolds, 1759 or later).
Anne Boyle (1700-1742) 2nd Lady Mountjoy, wife of William Stewart 2nd Viscount Mountjoy by Garrett Morphy courtesy of Adams auction 19 Oct 2021. She was the daughter of Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount of Blessington.
Edward Brabazon 7th Earl of Meath (1691-1772).
Anthony Brabazon 8th Earl of Meath (1721-1790).
John Chambé Brabazon 10th Earl of Meath (1772-1851).
Melosina Adelaide Brabazon née Meade (1780-1866), wife of 10th Earl of Meath.
Theodosia née Brabazon (1811-1876), daughter of John Chambre Brabazon 10th Earl of Meath, she married Archibald French Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford.
William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath (1803-1887).
Normand Brabazon 13th Earl of Meath (1869-1949).
Lambert Brabazon, 18th Century School, courtesy Adam’s 17th May 2005. This could be Lambert Brabazon b. 1742 d. 1811, of Rath House, Termonfeckin, County Louth. He had a brother Henry (1739-1811) who had a son Henry (1771-1815).
Henry Brabazon in a blue coat, 19th Century School, courtesy Adam’s 17 May 2005. I’m not sure which Henry Brabazon this is.
Henry Brabazon in a green coat courtesy, 18th Century School, Adam’s 17 May 2005 – again, I’m not sure which Henry Brabazon this is.
Hilary Brabazon in a mauve dress, Irish School, 18th Century, courtesy Adam’s 17 May 2005.
Sidney Brabazon in a blue dress, Irish School, 18th Century, courtesy Adam’s 17 May 2005.
Anna King née Brinkley, wife of James King (1800-1869) 5th Earl of Kingston, who lived in Mitchelstown. She was daughter of Matthew Brinkly of Parsonstown House, County Meath.
Esther née Brinkley (d. 1901), wife of John Alexander, High Sheriff of Carlow 1824, MP for Carlow 1853-1859, by Stephen Catterton Smith, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction. Daughter of Matthew Brinkly of Parsonstown House, County Meath. She married John Alexander on 18 Oct 1848 and he first brought electricity to Milford. He was high sheriff of County Carlow 1824 and MP for Carlow 1853-1859.
Rose Dorothy Brooke, cousin of the artist, 1913 by Eva Henrietta Hamilton, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
With inscription verso ‘Sir Henry Brooke Bart Son of Francis Brooke, Major of 18th… of Hannah, Sister of 1st Lord Dunally. He married Harriott Butler, granddaughter of Earl Lainsborough. He rebuilt the House of Colebrooke in 1822. Died at Colebrooke, 24th March 1834, aged 63 years.‘ Courtesy of Adam’s auction 10 Oct 2017. Henry Brooke (1770-1834) Bt.of Colebrooke, Co Fermanagh.
Charles Robert Hamilton (1846-1913), photograph courtesy of Hamwood house website. He is probably seated with his wife Louisa Caroline Elizabeth née Brooke (1850-1922).
“Capability” Launcelot Brown (1716-1783), Landscape gardener, painting by Nathaniel Dance (later Sir Nathaniel Holland, Bt), c. 1773, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 6049
John Browne (1709-1776), Baron Mount Eagle, 1st Earl of Altamont, of Westport, County Mayo, after Joshua Reynold, Adams auction 18 Oct 2022

Timothy William Ferres tells us of the Earls of Kenmare, County Kerry: http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2013/08/kenmare-house.html

THE RT HON SIR VALENTINE BROWNE (d 1589) in 1583, received instruction, jointly with Sir Henry Wallop, for the survey of several escheated lands in Ireland. He was subsequently sworn of the Privy Council, and represented County Sligo in parliament in 1585. In the same year, Sir Valentine purchased from Donald, Earl of Clancare, all the lands, manors, etc in counties Kerry and Cork, which had been in the possession of Teige Dermot MacCormac and Rorie Donoghoemore.

Sir Valentine married firstly, Alice or Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Alexander, of London, and had issue, a son. He wedded secondly, Thomasine, sister of the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, Sir Nicholas Bacon, and had further issue (with a daughter), two sons.

Sir Valentine’s eldest surviving son, SIR NICHOLAS BROWNE, Knight, of Ross, County Kerry, who wedded Sicheley Sheela, daughter of O’Sullivan Beare, and had issue: VALENTINE, his heir;
Anne.

Sir Nicholas died in 1616, and was succeeded by his son, VALENTINE BROWNE, High Sheriff of County Kerry, 1623, who was created a baronet in 1622, designated of Molahiffe, County Kerry.

Sir Valentine, after his father’s decease, presented a petition to JAMES I, praying an abatement of the yearly rent reserved on the estate which he held from the Crown, as an undertaker, at the annual sum of £113 6s 8d, in regard of the small profit he made of it, being set out in the most barren and remote part of County Kerry; which request was complied with, and he received a confirmation, by patent, of all his lands at a reduced rent.

He married Elizabeth, fifth daughter of Gerald, Earl of Kildare [I’m not sure if this – JWB], and was succeeded by his grandson, THE RT HON SIR VALENTINE BROWNE, 3rd Baronet (1638-94); who was sworn of the Privy Council of JAMES II, and created by that monarch, subsequently to his abdication, in 1689, Baron Castlerosse and Viscount Kenmare.

His lordship, who was Colonel of Infantry in the army of JAMES II, forfeited his estates by his inviolable fidelity to that unfortunate monarch. He wedded Jane, only daughter and heir of Sir Nicholas Plunket [of Balrath], and niece of Lucas, Earl of Fingall, and had five sons and four daughters.

The 1st Viscount was succeeded by his eldest son, SIR NICHOLAS BROWNE, 4th Baronet (called 2nd Viscount); an officer of rank in the service of JAMES II, and attainted in consequence, who espoused, in 1664, Helen, eldest daughter and co-heir of Thomas Brown, by whom he obtained a very considerable fortune, but which, with his own estates, became forfeited for his life. The crown, however, allowed his lady a rent-charge of £400 per year for the maintenance of herself and her children. Sir Nicholas died in 1720, leaving four daughters and his son and successor,

SIR VALENTINE BROWNE, 5th Baronet (called 3rd Viscount) (1695-1736), who continued outlawed by the attainder of his father and grandfather. [The 4th Baronet’s daughter Frances married Edward Herbert (1693-1770 of Muckross, County Kerry]

Portrait of a Gentleman by Follower of Kneller, traditionally identified as Valentine Browne (1695-1736), 3rd Viscount Kenmare courtesy of https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19056/lot/278/.jpg

He married, in 1720, Honora, second daughter of Colonel Thomas Butler [of Kilcash (1671-1738)], and great-grandniece of James, Duke of Ormonde, by whom he had issue, Thomas, his successor, and two daughters.

Sir Valentine espoused secondly, in 1735, Mary, Dowager Countess of Fingall, by whom he left a posthumous daughter, Mary Frances. [Mary née Fitzgerald (1716-1741/2) was the daughter of Maurice Fitzgerald, 5th Baronet of Castle Ishen, County Cork; Mary was first married to Justin Plunkett, 5th Earl of Fingall. She married thirdly John Bellew, 4th Baron Bellew of Duleek]

He was succeeded by his only son, SIR THOMAS BROWNE, 6th Baronet (called 4th Viscount) (1726-95), who wedded, in 1750, Anne, only daughter of Thomas Cooke, of Painstown, County Carlow, by whom he had a son and a daughter, Catherine, married to Count de Durfort-Civrac.

“He was succeeded by his son, SIR VALENTINE BROWNE, 7th Baronet (called 5th Viscount) (1754-1812), who was created (the viscountcy of JAMES II never having been acknowledged in law), in 1798, Baron Castlerosse and Viscount Kenmare.

“His lordship was further advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1800, as EARL OF KENMARE.”

Valentine Browne (1754-1812), 1st Earl of Kenmare by Hugh Douglas Hamilton courtesy of Country House Collections at Slane Castle by Adam’s 2012.

He married firstly, in 1777, Charlotte, daughter of Henry, 11th Viscount Dillon [of Costello-Gallin], and had an only daughter, Charlotte. [She married George Goold, 2nd Bt of Old Court, Co. Cork.]

His lordship wedded secondly, in 1785, Mary, eldest daughter of Michael Aylmer, of Lyons, County Kildare, and had issue,

VALENTINE (1788-1853) his successor as 2nd Earl;
Thomas (1789-1871) who became 3rd Earl;
William;
Michael;
Marianne; Frances.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son, VALENTINE, 2nd Earl (1788-1853), PC, who espoused, in 1816, Augusta, daughter of Sir Robert Wilmot, 2nd Baronet, though the marriage was without issue, when the family honours devolved upon his brother,

THOMAS, 3rd Earl (1789-1871), who married, in 1822, Catherine, daughter of Edmond O’Callaghan [d. 1791. Another daughter of Edmond O’Callaghan, Ellen, married James John Bagot of Castle Bagot, Rathcoole. His daughter Elizabeth married Gerald Dease of Turbotstown, a Section 482 property].

John Denis Browne (1756-1809), 1st Marquess of Sligo, 1806 by engraver William Whiston Barney after John Opie, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Robert Brown, 1720 by Godfrey Kneller from Coolattin house sale, 2016, Shepphards.
The Reverend Jemmet Browne (of Riverstown, County Cork) at a meet of foxhounds, by Peter Tillemans, courtesy of Yale Centre for British Art.
A portrait of Alice Waterhouse (1700-1782), wife of Bishop Jemmett Browne. (1703-1782), Bishop of Cork and Archbishop of Tuam. They lived at Riverstown, County Cork.
John Brownlow (1690-1754) 1st Viscount Tyrconnell.
William Brownlow (1726-1794) (after Gilbert Stuart) by Charles Howard Hodges courtesy of Armagh County Museum.
Lucy Loftus née Brydges (1654-1681? or 1646-1689?) of Sudeley Manor, Gloucestershire, England, by Peter Lely, wife of Adam Loftus (1632-1691), 1st and last Viscount Lisburne.
Portrait of Ulick de Burgo or Bourke, 5th Earl of Clanricarde (d. 1657). He was created Marquess of Clanricarde. He was Lord Deputy and Commander in Chief of Royalist forces against Cromwell in 1649. His Irish estates were lost but then recovered by his widow after the restoration of Charles II to the throne.
Henry de Burgh, (1743-1797) 1st Marquess of Clanricarde 2nd creation, as Knight of St. Patrick, by engraver William Sedgewick, after Robert Hunter, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Henry de Burgh (1742/3-97) 2nd Marquess and 12th Earl of Clanricarde in robes of Knight of the Order of St. Patrick.
John Thomas De Burgh (1744-1808) 13th Earl of Clanricarde was created 1st Earl of Clanricarde, Co. Galway.
Ulick John De Burgh (1802-1874), 14th Earl and 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (3rd creation).
The 2nd Marquess, Hubert George De Burgh-Canning (1832-1916), “the notorious miser and eccentric who spent his life in squalid rooms in London and dressed like a tramp.”
Maria De Burgh, Lady Downes (1788-1842) of Bert House, County Kildare, attributed to Adam Buck, only child and heiress of Walter Bagenal of Duckleckney and Mount Leinster Lodge, Co Carlow, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.
Maria de Burgh, Lady Downes (1788-1842), only child and heiress of Walter Bagenal of Dunleckney Manor, and Mount Leinster Lodge, Killedmond, County Carlow, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.
Thomas Burgh, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.
Charles William Bury (1801-1851), 2nd Earl of Charleville by Alfred, Count D’Orsay 1844, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 4026(12).
Charles William Bury, 2nd Earl of Charleville, seated in red cloak before a curtain, portrait by Henry Pierce Bone, 1835.
Humphrey Butler, 4th Viscount and later 1st Earl of Lanesborough, (c.1700-1768) Engraver John Brooks, Irish, fl.1730-1756 After C. Brown, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Female member of Butler family, Cahir Castle, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction
Probably James Butler (c. 1305-1337), the 1st Earl of Ormond.
Probably Eleanor de Bohun (c. 1304-1363), the wife of James Butler the 1st Earl of Ormond, in St. Mary’s Church, Gowran, County Kilkenny.

The Butlers of Ormonde

Piers Butler (d. 1539) 8th Earl of Ormonde married Margaret Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald 8th Earl of Kildare.

They had daughters Ellen (d. 1597) who married Donough O’Brien (d. 1553) 1st Earl of Thomond; Margaret married Barnaby FitzPatrick, 1st Baron of Upper Ossory; Joan married James Butler, 10th Baron Dunboyne; Eleanor married Thomas Butler 1st Baron Caher; Katherine married Richard Power, 1st Baron le Power and Coroghmore first and secondly, James FitzJohn FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond; Ellice married Gerald FitzJohn FitzGerald (d. 1553, father of 1st Viscount Decies).

They had sons John Butler (d. 1570) who lived in Kilcash, County Tipperary and was father of Walter (1569-1632) 11th Earl of Ormond; Richard Butler (d. 1571) 1st Viscount Mountgarret; Thomas who died in 1532; and James Butler (d. 1546) 9th Earl of Ormonde.

James Butler (1504-1546), Soldier, 9th Earl of Ormond and Ossory by Francesco Bartolozzi, published by John Chamberlaine, after Hans Holbein the Younger publ. 1797, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG D39383.

James Butler (d. 1546) 9th Earl of Ormonde married Joan Fitzgerald, daughter of James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond. She gave birth to Thomas Butler (1531-1614) who became 10th Earl of Ormond.

Portrait of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond (1531-1614) in three-quarter armour holding a wheelock pistol, with his coat of arms at upper left, by Steven van der Meulen.

The 9th Earl also had a son Edmond (d. 1602) who lived in Cloughgrenan, County Carlow, who gave rise to the Baronets of Cloughgrenan.

The 10th Earl of Ormond, “Black Tom,” had no direct heir so the Earldom passed to his nephew, Walter, a son of Sir John Butler (d. 1570) of Kilcash. Unlike his uncle, who had been raised at Court and thus reared a Protestant, Walter the 11th Earl of Ormond was a Catholic. See my entry about the Ormond Castle at Carrick-on-Suir for more on “Black Tom.” https://irishhistorichouses.com/2022/06/26/opw-sites-in-munster-clare-limerick-and-tipperary/

Walter Butler’s claim to the family estates was blocked by James I. The latter orchestrated the marriage of Black Tom’s daughter and heiress Elizabeth to a Scottish favourite Richard Preston, Baron Dingwall. The King gave Preston the title Earl of Desmond (after the Fitzgeralds lost the title, due to their Desmond Rebellion), and awarded his wife most of the Ormond estate, thus depriving Walter of his inheritance. Walter refused to submit and was imprisoned for eight years in the Fleet, London. He was released 1625. Walter’s nine-year-old grandson, James, became the heir to the titles but not the estates.

James (1610-1688) 12th Earl of Ormond (later 1st Duke of Ormond) was the son of Thomas Butler (d. 1619) Viscount Thurles, and Elizabeth Poyntz. Following his father’s death in 1619, 9-year-old James became direct heir to the Ormond titles. He was made a royal ward and was educated at Lambeth Palace under the tutelage of George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury.

James Butler (1610-1688), 1st Duke of Ormond, Viceroy from 1643, on and off until he died in 1688, Dublin Castle, painting by Sir Peter Lely, circa 1665.

Another son of Thomas Butler (d. 1619) Viscount Thurles, and Elizabeth Poyntz was Richard Butler (d. 1701) of Kilcash, County Tipperary.

In order to reunite the Ormond title with the estates, plans were made for a marriage between James and the daughter of the Prestons, Elizabeth, to resolve the inheritance issue. In 1629 James married his cousin Elizabeth Preston and reunited the Ormond estates.

Elizabeth Butler née Preston (1615-1684) Baroness Dingwall, Countess of Ormond later Duchess, with her son Thomas, Lord Ossory (1634-1680) attributed to David des Granges. She was the daughter of Black Tom’s daughter and heiress Elizabeth and Richard Preston, Baron Dingwall.
James Butler of Kilkenny Castle, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction. It was in a Florentine style gilt frame and is by the 18th century English school.
James Butler (1610-1688) 1st Duke of Ormonde by Willem Wissing circa 1680-1685, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 5559.
James Butler (1611–1688), 1st Duke of Ormonde, in Garter Robes, Peter Lely (1618-1680) (style of), 1171123 National Trust.

The 1st Duke of Ormond had three sons: Thomas (1634-1680), 6th Earl of Ossory; Richard (1639-1686), 1st and last Earl of Arran; and John (1634-1677), 1st and last Earl of Gowran. He had two daughters, Elizabeth (1640-1665) and Mary (1646-1710). Mary married William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire and Elizabeth, the 2nd Earl of Chesterfield.

Thomas Butler (1634-1680) 6th Earl of Ossory, Eldest son of James, Duke of Ormond, in armour standing near his charge, attributed to Van Dyck, courtesy of Adam’s auction 11 Oct 2016. Provenance: Formerly in the collection of the Earl of Fitzwilliam, 1948.

Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, (1634-1680) was born at Kilkenny Castle, the eldest son of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Lady Elizabeth Preston.
His early years were spent in Ireland and France. He was an accomplished athlete and a good scholar. In 1661 Butler became a member of both the English and Irish houses of Commons, representing Bristol in the former and Dublin University in the latter House. In 1665 he was appointed lieutenant-general of the army in Ireland and in 1666 was created an English peer as Lord Butler.

Having proven himself as an expert military strategist, and whilst visiting France in 1672, he rejected the liberal offers made by Louis XIV to induce him to enter the service of France, and returning to England he added to his high reputation by his conduct during the Battle of Texel in August 1673. From 1677 until 1679, he served alongside his father as a Lord of the Admiralty.

The earl was chosen to William, Prince of Orange, and in 1677 he joined the allied army in the Netherlands, commanding the British section and winning great fame at the siege of Mons in 1678. He acted as deputy for his father, who was lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and in parliament he defended Ormonde’s Irish administration with great vigour. In 1680 he was appointed governor of English Tangier, but his death prevented him from taking up his new duties.

Ossory had eleven children, including James Butler who became the 2nd Duke of Ormonde in 1688. A Portrait of Thomas Butler by Lely, painted in 1678 is in the National Portrait Gallery, London and a portrait by the same hand as his father, the 1st Duke is in the ownership of the National Trust at Kedleston Hall.
Thomas Butler (1634-1680) 6th Earl of Ossory, studio of Sir Peter Lely, circa 1678, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 371. Second son of the Duke and Duchess of Ormond and father of 2nd Duke of Ormonde.
Richard Butler (1639-1685) 1st Earl of Arran, son of the Duke of Ormonde, by Godfrey Kneller, courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall.
Mary Cavendish née Butler (1646-1710) Duchess of Devonshire in the style of Willem Wissing courtesy of National Trust Hardwick Hall. She was the daughter of James, 1st Duke of Ormond.
Elizabeth Stanhope née Butler (1640-1665), daughter of the 1st Duke of Ormonde and 2nd wife of Philip Stanhope 2nd Earl of Chesterfield Date: 1681/1688 Engraver: Isaac Beckett, English, c.1653-c.1715/19 After Peter Lely, Dutch, 1618-1680, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Elizabeth Stanhope née Butler Countess of Chesterfield By Peter Lely – http//:www.thepeerage.com/p951.htm#i9503, Public Domain, https//:commons.wikimedia.org

Thomas Butler (1634-1680) 6th Earl of Ossory and his wife Amelia of Nassau were the parents of James Butler (1665-1745) 2nd Duke of Ormonde. Another son was Lt.-Gen. Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran (1671-1758).

James Butler (1665-1745) 2nd Duke of Ormond, studio of Michael Dahl, oil on canvas, circa 1713 courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 78.
James Butler (1665-1745) 2nd Duke of Ormonde courtesy of National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
Oil painting on canvas, James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde (1665-1745) by Sir Godfrey Kneller (Lubeck 1646/9 – London 1723). A three-quarter length portrait, turned slightly to the right, facing, gazing at spectator, wearing armour, blue sash and white jabot, a baton in his right hand, his left on his hip, his helmet placed at the left; cavalry in the distance, right. Photograph courtesy of National Trust Images.

James Butler (1665-1745) 2nd Duke of Ormond married, first, Anne Hyde, and second, Mary Somerset.

Anne Hyde (1669-1685), Countess of Ossory, first wife of James Butler 2nd Duke of Ormonde. Painting by William Wissing
Mary Somerset (1665-1733), Duchess of Ormond, wife of James Butler 2nd Duke of Ormond (1665-1745), painted by Michael Dahl.

James the 2nd Duke had no son, so the title passed to his brother Charles Butler (1671-1758) 1st Earl of Arran. He was enabled by an Act of Parliament in 1721 to recover his brother’s forfeited estates, but the dukedom ended with him. He was, however, also the 14th Earl of Ormonde and this title continued. He had no children, however, so the title passed to a cousin.

Charles Butler (1671-1758) 1st Earl of Arran by James Thornhill, courtesy of Examination Schools, University of Oxford.

John Butler (d. 1766) of Kilcash and Garryricken became 15th Earl of Ormonde. He was a descendant of Walter Butler the 11th Earl.

Colonel Thomas Butler of Kilcash (c. 1738) by James Latham, father of John Butler (d. 1766) of Kilcash and Garryricken who became 15th Earl of Ormonde.

Richard Butler (d. 1701) of Kilcash, County Tipperary was a younger brother of James the 1st Duke of Ormond. There is a castle ruin still in Kilcash, under the protection of the Office of Public Works but not open to the public. His son was Walter Butler of Garryricken (1633-1700). Walter had sons Christopher (the Catholic Archbishop) and Thomas (d. 1738).

Christopher Butler (d. 1758?) Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, by James Latham. Christopher Butler was Catholic archbishop of Cashel and Emly, son of Walter Butler of Garryricken and brother of Colonel Thomas Butler of Kilcash.

The 15th Earl had no children so the title then passed to a cousin, Walter Butler (1703-1783), 16th Earl, another of the Garryricken branch, who also became the 9th Earl of Ossory. He took up residence at Kilkenny Castle. Walter, a Catholic, was unable to exercise a political role.

John Butler 17th Earl of Ormonde, nicknamed “Jack of the Castle,” was son of the 16th Earl. He in turn was father of Walter Butler (1770-1820) 18th Earl of Ormonde, 1st And Last Marquess of Ormonde (of the 2nd creation).

Susan Frances Elizabeth Wandesford (1754-1830) Duchess of Ormonde. She was the daughter of John Wandesford 1st and last Earl Wandesford and 5th Viscount Castlecomer, and wife of John Butler 17th Earl of Ormonde. Painting by Hugh Douglas Hamilton.
Walter Butler (1770-1820) became the 18th Earl and 1st Marquess of Ormonde.

His younger brother James Wandesford Butler (1777-1838) was later created 1st Marquess of Ormonde of the third creation, 19th Earl of Ormonde. He was the father of John Butler (1808-1854) 2nd Marquess (3rd creation) and 20th Earl of Ormonde, who was the father of James Edward William Theobald Butler (1844-1919) 3rd Marquess of Ormonde and also James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler (d. 1943) 4th Marquess of Ormonde, who was father of 5th and 6th Marquesses.

James Wandesford Butler (1777-1838) 1st Marquess of Ormonde
John Butler (1808-1854) 2nd Marquess (3rd creation) and 20th Earl of Ormonde, by Henry Weigall Jr.
Frances Jane Paget (1817-1903) Marchioness of Ormonde with her son James Earl of Ossory, by Richard Bruckner. She was the wife of the 2nd Marquess of Ormonde.
James Edward William Theobald Butler (1844-1919) 3rd Marquess of Ormonde by Walter Stoneman 1917, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG x43817.
Edmund Butler 11th Viscount Mountgarret (1745-1793) in the style of Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Adams auction 19 Oct 2021.
Henrietta Butler (1750-1785) Viscountess Mountgarret in the style of Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Adams auction 19 Oct 2021. She was the daughter of Somerset Hamilton Butler, 1st Earl of Carrick, 6th Viscount of Ikerrin and wife of Edmund Butler 11th Viscount Mountgarret (1745-1793).
Mildred Butler née Fowler (c. 1770-1830) Countess of Kilkenny, wife of Edmond 12th Viscount Mountgarret and 1st Earl of Kilkenny and daughter of Robert, Archbishop of Dublin (1724-1801) by Thomas Hickey, courtesy of Sheppards auction Nov 26 2013.
Elizabeth Butler (1674-1708), wife of Peter Aylward, daughter of Richard Butler, 2nd Baronet of Paulstown (or Poulstown), County Kilkenny.
Juliana Butler (1727/8-1804) Countess of Carrick (wife of Somerset Hamilton Butler 1st Earl of Carrick) with her younger daughters Lady Henrietta Butler (1750-1785), later Viscountess Mountgarret, wife of 11th Viscount, and Lady Margaret Butler/Lowry-Corry (1748-1775), by Richard Cosway, courtesy of National Trust, Castle Coole, County Fermanagh.
Margaret Lowry-Corry née Butler (1748-1775) by Robert Hunter, courtesy of National Trust, Castle Coole, County Fermanagh. She married Armar Lowry-Corry 1st Earl of Belmore. She was the daughter of Somerset Hamilton Butler, 8th Viscount Ikerrin, 1st Earl of Carrick, County Tipperary.
Harriet Anne née Butler (1799-1860) Countess of Belfast, wife of George Hamilton Chichester 3rd Marquess of Donegal and daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall.
Richard Butler (1794-1858) 2nd Earl of Glengall, by Richard James Lane, lithograph, 1854, National Portrait Gallery of London D22384.
Margaret Lauretta Butler (née Mellish), Countess of Glengall by Richard James Lane courtesy of National Portrait Gallery London NPG D22383.
Elizabeth, Countess of Lanesborough (née La Touche), (1764-1788), wife of Robert Henry Butler 3rd Earl of Lanesborough. Date 1791 Engraver Francesco Bartolozzi, Italian, 1725-1815 After Horace Hone, English, 1756-1825, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_of_Barrymore