Open in 2024: Jan 1-7, Feb 3-Dec 21, 28-31, Jan-Mar, Nov-Dec 9.30am-5pm, Apr-Oct 9.30am-6pm
Fee: adult €8.75, purchase in the gardens €9.50, child €6.75, purchase in the garden €7.50, family €28, purchase in the gardens €30, OAP/student free, any other concessions see website.
We visited Kells Bay Garden when we were in Kerry in March 2023. Like Derreen Garden, it has an abundance of tree-ferns, and avails of the microclimate created by the Gulf Stream.
You can stay at Kells Bay also, see the website. We just visited the gardens.
The website has a history of the property, written by Helen Haugh. The property was owned by the Blennerhassett family for four generations, whom we came across while staying in Ballyseede Castle (see my entry). The website tells us that in 1584 Ballyseede Castle and 3000 acres of confiscated land at Tralee were granted on perpetual lease to Robert Blennerhassett (1564-1654) and that the token rent for the estate was set at one red rose to be presented each year on Midsummer’s day.
Before the Blennerhassetts, the land was owned by William Petty (1737-1805) 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. He invested in planting forests and building roads in the area. Between 1805 and 1816 Lord Lansdowne planted more than one and half million trees. The trees were predominantly ash, elm, larch, beech and chestnut (Everett, 2001).
In 1819 Rowland Blennerhassett (1780-1854) is recorded as owning land at Cappamore on the Ivergah peninsula, purchased from the Marquess of Lansdowne, on which he built a ‘small hunting lodge.’ (Tithe Applotment Books, 1828). The plot at Cappamore is identified as Hollymount Cottage, probably named after indigenous holly trees near the house.
Rowland Blennerhassett was a descendant of Robert (1564-1654) of Ballycarty Castle and Ballyseede. Robert’s son who was also named Robert (d. 1702) married Avice Conway from Castle Conway, County Kerry. Generations of later Blennerhassetts lived in Castle Conway.
Robert and Avice’s son Henry (1663-abt. 1730) lived at Castle Conway. His son Robert married Frances Yeilding, daughter of Richard of Belview, County Limerick, and Rowland was their son. In 1809 Rowland was created 1st Baronet of Blennerville, County Kerry. He married a cousin, Millicent Agnes Yeilding.
Oral history interviews relate how the Blennerhassetts provided soup to tenants throughout the famine. The large famine bowl on the terrace in front of the house corroborates this story.
The website tells us that Richard Francis Blennerhassett (1819–1883) lived at Hollymount Cottage in Kells Bay. He was the grandson of Rowland, 1st Baronet, son of Rowland’s son, another Rowland (1780-1854). This Rowland married Letitia Hurly of County Kerry.
Richard Francis married Honoria Ponsonby in 1849, daughter of William Carrique Ponsonby of Crotto. Richard and Honoria occupied Hollymount Cottage and they had one son, Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett (1850-1913).
A Victorian craze for ferns from 1830, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1890 (Whittingham, 2012), influenced the garden at Kells. Collecting ferns at home and abroad was a hugely popular pursuit and it is likely that the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica was introduced to Kells Garden at the turn of the century. The tree fern colony is now well established, naturalised and self-seeding. The website tells us that Tree ferns were originally attributed to the French plant hunter de Labillardière (1755–1834) and then renamed in honour of James Dickson (1738-1822) a prominent Scottish nurseryman.
The Wild Garden by Irishman William Robinson, 1870, challenged the prevailing Victorian preference for formal landscaping and expansive carpet bedding by advocating for natural gardens in which hardy perennials and self-seeding annual plants would provide a sustainable and self-perpetuating display of plants and flowers.
Helen Haugh tells us that the county of Kerry accommodates several estates with notable gardens, which provide a backdrop to the establishment of Kells Bay and the prominence of naturalised trees from the southern hemisphere.
Glanleam lies 10 miles to the west of Kells Bay and is a large coastal estate established by Peter Fitzgerald (1808-1880) 19th Knight of Kerry. Glanleam is reported to be Ireland’s first subtropical garden and private letters kept at the estate document plant exchanges between Glanleam and other garden owners. The estate also hosts a large area of naturalised tree ferns.
On the southern peninsula of Iveragh, the Rossdohan estate was established by Samuel Heard (1835-1921). In 1862 Heard married the daughter of William Bradley from New South Wales and when he established the garden at Rossdohan he became famous for importing Australasian trees and shrubs, Helen Haugh tells us, and was visited by William Robinson.
The Garinish estate was established by Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin (1841-1926) 4th Earl of Dunraven and was another subtropical garden, also visited by William Robinson. It hosts a long avenue of Dicksonia antarctica that were acquired from Rossdohan in 1923. Finally, there’s also Derreen Gardens, see my entry.
Photograph courtesy of Glin castle website: A portrait of Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin the 4th Earl of Dunraven hangs above the marble mantelpiece in the library. His daughter Rachel Charlotte married the 27th Knight of Glin.
The website tells us that oral history interviews refer to how the exposed coastal location necessitated planting of a shelter belt prior to creating the garden. The shelter belt trees, Abies grandis, date from about 1870. The map from 1895 indicates Hollymount Cottage, woodland planting, and pathways through the garden. In addition to owning Hollymount Cottage estate, Richard Blennerhassett is recorded as landlord for a large number of plots, houses and farms in the area.
Young Rowland was only four years old when his father died in 1854. Rowland married Mary Beatrice Armstrong, daughter of Walter of London, in 1876. He was M.P. for Kerry between 1872 and 1885, and a Justice of the Peace.
The website tells us that Rowland extended the original Hollymount Cottage and renamed it Kells. He and his wife also kept a house at Hans Place, Chelsea, near to the Chelsea Physic Garden. Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett is responsible for making additions to the garden which still stand today. He established the Ladies Walled Garden adjacent to the front of the house for his wife Lady Mary and planted the Primeval Forest (O Cuirc, 2014), a collection of tree-ferns brought from Australia. He laid out the pathways through the gardens (O’Brien, 2014). The map from 1897 shows the cottage and layout of the estate, and photographs from the turn of the century capture the garden and tree ferns.
Rowland and Mary Beatrice had a son, Richard Francis Ponsonby Blennerhassett (1879-1938). He married Sylvia Myers and had a daughter Diana Mary, who married Richard John Moreton Goold-Adams. During this time, Haugh tells us, the Bowler family lived at Kells House as gardener, caretaker and labourers. The estate traded as Kerry Estates and sold fruit, vegetables, and dairy produce to local hotels and retailers. The estate also had a saw mill for processing wood from Kells and neighbouring estates.
The estate was sold to Roland and Nora Preece in 1953, then to Iain McCowan in 1973, then to Friedrich and Marianne Vogel from Germany in 1979. Haugh tells us that the Vogels already owned a house nearby and knew the area. The family purchased Kells and established a nursery trading as Kells Garden Centre Ltd which was managed by Mary O’Sullivan. The estate was maintained privately until family circumstances and the early death of their son Friedhelm led to the disposal of the estate. The head gardener was John Bowler and his son, Michael Bowler, succeeded him. In 2006 the estate was purchased by William Alexander, a fern enthusiast.
Fee: adult/OAP/student €9, child €4, family ticket (2 adults and all children under 18 and 2 maps) €25.
2024 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2024 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
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Help me to fund my creation and update of this website. It is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated! For this entry, I paid for petrol and the entrance fee for myself and Stephen.
We visited County Kerry at the end of March 2023, when few other Revenue Section 482 properties are open. I didn’t stop to think, however, that it might not be the best time to see the gardens of Kerry in their best state! However, some trees were in bloom, while others had dropped their blossoms.
Derreen is famous for its collection of rhododendrons and some of the Arboretum rhododendrons planted in the 1870s by the 5th Marquess of Lansdowne have grown to a size rarely seen elsewhere.
The house at Derreen is not on the Section 482 scheme, just the surrounding gardens. Derreen takes its name from the woods around it, as it means “little oak wood” in Gaelic. The gardens cover an area of 60 acres and include nearly eight miles of paths, which wind through mature and varied woodland, a garden laid out 150 years ago with subtropical plants from around the world and views of the sea and mountains.
In 1657 the area was granted to William Petty (1623-1687), physician of Oliver Cromwell. In 1664, Petty undertook the survey of Ireland and by 1666 he had completed the measurement of 2,008,000 acres of forfeited land, for which, by contract, he was to receive one penny per acre. He also acquired an estate of £6,000 a year. [1] He received the baronies of Iveragh, Glanarought and Dunkerron in County Kerry as well as land in Counties Meath, Cork, Limerick and Offaly. These Kerry lands contained resources such as pearls in the river, silver in the mountains, and forest. He experimented, unsuccessfully, with iron making. There was already an iron-work in nearby Kenmare.
William Petty (1623-1687) by Isaac Fuller circa 1651, National Portrait Gallery of London ref. 2924.Down Survey of Ireland information board in Ardgillan Castle, Dublin.Down Survey of Ireland information board in Ardgillan Castle, Dublin.
He married Elizabeth Waller (1636-1708), who had been previously married to Michael Fenton of Mitchellstown in County Cork.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that from 1659 Petty divided his time between London and Dublin and that, despite some London properties, Ireland supplied the bulk of his wealth.
In 1684 the Dublin Philosophical Society was founded and Petty was elected as its first president.
William Petty died of gangrene in his foot in 1687. He had refused a peerage, but after he died, Elizabeth née Waller was created Baroness Shelburne in her own right by King James II, in 1688. On the same day her eldest son by William Petty, Charles Petty (1672-1696), became Baron Shelburne.
Charles Baron Shelburne married Mary Williams (d.1710) but they had no children. After he died, she married Lt.-Gen. Henry Conyngham (d. 1705/6) of Mountcharles County Donegal and of Slane Castle in County Meath (another Section 482 property and the first one we visited when I undertook this project! See my entry).
William Petty and Elizabeth née Waller’s second son, Henry (1675-1751) was created Viscount Dunkerrin and Earl of Shelburne in the Irish Peerage. He married Arabella Boyle (d. 1740) daughter of Charles Boyle, 2nd Baron Clifford of Lanesborough, County York in England and 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, County Waterford. They had no sons but a daughter, Anne Fitzmaurice Petty. She married Francis Bernard (1698-1793) of Castle Bernard, County Cork (now an impressive ruin).
Castle Bernard ruins in County Cork, photograph courtesy of National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Since Henry Petty 1st Earl of Shelburne had a daughter but no sons his estates passed to his nephew John Fitzmaurice who changed his surname to Petty. The earldom of Shelburne was revived for John in 1753.
A sketch of Henry Petty (1675-1751) Earl of Shelburne by George Townshend, 4th Viscount and 1st Marquess Townshend National Portrait Gallery of London ref. 4855(15)
William Petty and Elizabeth née Waller’s daughter Anne (1671-1737) married Thomas Fitzmaurice (1668-1741), 21st Baron of Kerry, who became 1st Earl of Kerry. He was MP for County Kerry and a Privy Counsellor in Ireland. At the same time as being created Earl of Kerry in January 1722/23, he was created 1st Viscount Clanmaurice.
His grandson, the Marquess of Lansdowne, wrote of him, “my grandfather did not want the manners of the country nor the habits of his family to make him a tyrant. He was so by nature. He was the most severe character which can be imagined, obstinate and inflexible; he had not much understanding, but strong nerves and great perseverance, and no education, except what he had in the army, where he served in his youth, with a good degree of reputation for personal bravery and activity. He was a handsome man and, luckily for me and mine, married a very ugly woman, who brought into his family whatever degree of sense may have appeared in it, or whatever wealth is likely to remain in it, the daughter of Sir William Petty… With all this he had high principles of honour and a strict love of justice, which made him govern the country better than he did his own family… His children did not love him, but dreaded him; his servants the same.” [2]
The Landed Estates Database tells us the 1st Earl of Kerry had two younger brothers, William of Gallane, County Kerry, ancestor of the Fitzmaurices of Springfield Castle, County Limerick and John who had an only child Anne who married her cousin of Springfield Castle (you can rent the castle, see my Places to Visit and Stay in County Limerick entry. [3]
The property passed through the family of the Marquesses of Lansdowne. Timothy William Ferres tells us that the Marquesses of Lansdowne owned the greatest amount of land in Kerry, more than any other landowners in Kerry, with 94,983 acres. [see 1]
The 1st Earl’s daughter Elizabeth Anne (d. 1757) married Maurice Crosbie, 1st Baron Branden (circa 1689-1762). His daughter Arabella married Colonel Arthur Denny (d. 1742), MP and High Sheriff of County Kerry. Another daughter, Charlotte (d. 1774), married John Conway Colthurst (1722-1775) 1st Bt. of Ardrum, County Cork.
The 1st Earl’s eldest son, William Fitzmaurice (1694-1747) held the offices of Lord-Lieutenant of County Kerry and Custos Rotulorum of County Kerry, Governor for the county and Privy Counsellor. He married Elizabeth Moss but they had no children and she died and he subsequently married Gertrude Lambart in 1738, daughter of Richard Lambart (d. 1741) 4th Earl of County Cavan and 4th Viscount Kilcoursie, in the King’s County.
Their daughter Anna Maria FitzMaurice (d. 1808) married Maurice Fitzgerald (d. 1780) 16th Knight of Kerry.
William and Gertrude’s son Francis Thomas FitzMaurice became 3rd Earl of Kerry after his father died in 1747. Horace Walpole described him as “a simple young Irish Peer, who had married an elderly Irishwoman that had been divorced on his account, and had wasted a vast estate in the idlest ostentation.” [see 2] This elderly Irishwoman was Anastasia Daly (d. 1799 and buried in Westminster Abbey!), she was daughter of Peter Daly and had been married to Charles Daly of County Galway and she obtained a divorce from him in 1768 by an Act of Parliament.
The Marquess of Lansdowne wrote that “the present Lord Kerry, after being educated under the direction of the Chancellor of Ireland, and being left a good deal to himself, fell in love with a married lady twenty years older than himself, the daughter of an eminent Roman Catholic lawyer, and, obtaining a divorce, married her—an extraordinary vain woman. Having their way to fight up to get into good company, and having no posterity, they sold every acre of land which had been in our family since Henry the Second’s time.” [see 1]
The Landed Estates Database tells us:
“Francis, the 3rd Earl of Kerry was mostly an absentee landlord, his estates being administered by agents including Christopher Julian. Dickson writes that he sold much of his Kerry estates to Richard Hare in the 1780s. With his death in 1818 the connection between the Earls of Kerry and Lixnaw came to an end. The title was inherited by the Marquis of Lansdowne of Derreen, county Kerry who owned 1,526 acres in county Limerick in the 1870s.”
The 3rd Earl of Kerry and his wife had no son. The 1st Earl of Kerry and his wife Anne née Petty had a second son, John (1706-1761). It was this son who is mentioned above, who became the heir of his uncle Henry Petty 1st Earl of Shelburne, and he changed his surname to Petty in 1751. That year, he was created 1st Baron Dunkeron and 1st Viscount FitzMaurice.He held the office of Sheriff of County Kerry in 1732 and was a Whig MP for County Kerry from 1743-1751. He was created 1st Earl of Shelburne, County Wexford in 1753. He was Governor of County Kerry and a Privy Counsellor. Between 1754 and 1760 he was MP in England for Chipping Wycombe, County Buckinghamshire and in 1760 he was created was created 1st Lord Wycombe, Baron of Chipping Wycombe [Great Britain].
In 1734 he married his first cousin Mary Fitzmaurice, granddaughter of William Fitzmaurice, 18th Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw, daughter of William of Gullane, a brother of the 1st Earl of Kerry.
John Petty and his wife Mary née Fitzmaurice had two sons. The eldest, William (1737-1805), was born under his father’s original surname of Fitzmaurice but changed his name to Petty when his father changed his name. He rose to the position of Prime Minister of England.
William Petty (1737-1805) 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, Lord Shelburne, Prime Minister, after Sir Joshua Reynolds based on a work of 1766, National Portrait Gallery of London ref. 43.
William was called Viscount FitzMaurice between 1753 and 1761. He served in the British army and then had an illustrious political career. He held the office of First Lord of Trade April-December 1763 and like his forebears, served as a Privy Counsellor. He held the office of “Secretary of State for the South” between July 1766 and October 1768, and was Foreign Secretary March-July 1782 and was made Knight, Order of the Garter.
He held the office of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury between 13 July 1782 and 5 April 1783. He was nominated Prime Minister in 1782 after the death of the Marquess of Rockingham, under whom he had been Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He was created 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, County Somerset [Great Britain] on 6 December 1784.
The Shelbourne hotel in Dubiln is named after him.
First William Petty married Sophia Carteret, daughter of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville of England. Their son John Henry Petty (1765-1809), succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne. He married but had no children.
John Henry Petty (1765-1809) 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne National Portrait Gallery of London ref. D37171.
After his wife Sophia died in 1771, William married Louisa Fitzpatrick (1755-1789) in 1779, daughter of John Fitzpatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory. Their son Henry (1778-1863) succeeded his brother as 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne in 1809.
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780-1863) 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, by Henry Walton circa 1805 courtesy of National Portrait Gallery of London, NPG 178
In 1808 Henry (afterwards 3rd Marquess Lansdowne) married Louisa Emma Fox-Strangways (1785-1851), daughter of Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester. She held the office of Lady of the Bedchamber for Queen Victoria between August 1837 and September 1838.
In 1818 Henry changed his surname from Petty to Petty-Fitzmaurice, when he succeeded as 4th Earl of Kerry, after the death of Francis Thomas Fitzmaurice, 3rd Earl of Kerry (the one who had married “elderly” Anastasia). Henry followed in the footsteps of his forebears as MP and Privy Counsellor, and he also served as a Cabinet Minister and was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter in 1836.
Henry and Louisa had several children. Their daughter Louisa (d. 1906) married James Kenneth Howard, son of the 16th Earl of Suffolk. Henry 3rd Marquess’s oldest son, William Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice, who was called Earl of Kerry from 1818, predeceased him. William Thomas had married Augusta Lavinia Priscilla Ponsonby, daughter of John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough, and they had a daughter Mary Caroline Louisa Thomas Petty-FitzMaurice who married the son of the 2nd Earl of Powis. After the young Earl of Kerry died in 1836 at the age of just 25, his widow remarried, this time to Charles Alexander Gore (1811-1897).
It was therefore the next son of Henry and Louisa, Henry (1816-1866) who became the 4th Marquess of Lansdowne. The youngest son, Bentinck Yelverton Petty-FitzMaurice, died in 1892.
Henry (1816-1866) was styled as Earl of Shelburne from August 1836 until January 1863 when his father died. He was a Liberal MP for Calne in England between 1837 and 1856, and held the office of Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs between 1856 and 1858. He was appointed Knight, Order of the Garter in 1864.
The Landed Estates database tells us that before the Petty-Fitzmaurices built the house, at the time of Griffith’s Valuation the property was leased from the Lansdowne estate by Peter McSweeney. Griffith’s Valuation was the first full-scale valuation of property in Ireland and details of property with valuations were published between 1847 and 1864.
The Landed Estates database adds that Derreen House was originally built by a branch of the O’Sullivans, from whom the lease passed to Peter McSweeney, who was married to a member of the O’Sullivan family.
Mark Bence-Jones tells us in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988) that Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice 4th Marquess enlarged the house at Derreen between 1863 and 1866. [4] The National Inventory tells us that the version of the house built c. 1865 was designed by James Franklin Fuller. [5]
Henry the 4th Marquess married Georgina Herbert (1817-1841), daughter of General George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke in 1840, but she died the following year. He then married the grandly named Emily Jane Mercer-Elphinstone-de Flahault (1819-1895), daughter of French army genearl Auguste Charles Joseph de Flahault, Comte de Flahault de la Billardrie and of Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, 2nd Baroness Keith and 7th Lady Nairne (a Scottish barony). They married in 1843 at the British Embassy in Vienna. Emily Jane succeeded her mother as 8th Lady Nairne in 1874.
Henry and Emily Jane had several children. Their daughter Emily Louisa Anne married Everard Charles Digby (1852-1915), son of 9th Baron Digby of Dorset.
Henry’s son Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (1845-1927) succeeded as the 5th Marquess when his father died in 1866. A younger son, Edmond George Petty Petty-FitzMaurice, was created 1st (and last) Baron FitzMaurice ofLeigh, Co. Wiltshire, England in 1906 and also played a role in Foreign Affairs of state.
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (1845-1927) married Maud Evelyn Hamilton (1850-1932), daughter of James Hamilton (1811-1885), 1st Duke of Abercorn and Louisa Jane née Russell. Henry Charles Keither was styled as Earl Clanmaurice between 1845 and 1863 and Earl of Kerry between 1863 and 1866, and in 1866 he succeeded to the many other titles passed down through his family.
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice.
The 5th Marquess held the office of Lord of the Treasury between 1868 and 1872 and Under-Secretary for War between 1872 and 1874. He was Under-Secretary for India between April and July 1880, Governor-General of Canada between 1883 and 1888, and Viceroy of India between 1888 and 1893. He held the office of Secretary of State for War between 1895 and 1900. He succeeded as the 9th Lord Nairne in 1895 when his mother died. He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire between 1896 and 1920, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1900 and 1905.
The 5th Marquess’s wife held the office of Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Alexandria between 1905 and 1909 and “Extra” Lady of the Bedchamber between 1910 and 1925.
The Marquesses of Lansdowne made Derreen their summer residence. The garden was originally planted by the 5th Marquess. The website tells us that in 1870 Lord Lansdowne began an ambitious project to transform the countryside around the house from bare rock and scrub oak into a luxurious woodland garden. He planted 400 acres of woodland to shelter a collection of shrubs and specimen trees which were then being brought back from plant hunting expeditions in the Himalayas and elsewhere.
Robert O’Byrne quotes from Extracts from Glanerought and the Petty-FitzMaurices by the sixth Marquis of Lansdowne (1937):
‘The year 1903 was made memorable at Derreen by a visit from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Their Majesties made in that summer a tour of Ireland, partly in the Royal Yacht and partly overland. The original intention had been that they should come to Derreen by water from County Clare, but weather conditions made this inadvisable, and the journey was eventually made by motor-car. They arrived on the afternoon of July 31. A Union Jack had been floated on the top of Knockatee and a triumphal arch was erected outside the Derryconnery Gate, where an address of welcome was presented by the assembled tenantry. On the lawn in front of the house the children of Lauragh school had been marshalled and they presented a bouquet to the Queen. Then there was a walk around the gardens where two commemorative bamboos were duly planted in the glade now called “the King’s Oozy”. After tea in the new dining room, which had been added to the house that year, the party went down to the pier, where Queen Alexandra was initiated into the mysteries of prawn fishing. The ground had been lavishly baited in advance and the fishing was such a success, that in spite of the obvious impatience of His Majesty, she could scarcely be persuaded to relinquish her net when the hour came for departure.’
Robert O’Byrne tells us that during the 5th Marquess’s absence in India (1888-1893), Derreen was let to the Duke of Leeds. [6]
The house at Derreen was burnt and plundered in 1922 and rebuilt by 5th Marquess in a similar style 1924; it underwent further reconstruction, having been attacked by dry-rot, 1925-26.
The 5th Marquess and his wife Maud Evelyn had several children. Their daughter Evelyn Emily Mary Petty-FitzMaurice (1870-1960) married Victor Christian William Cavendish (1868-1938) 9th Duke of Devonshire.
Their younger daughter Beatrix Frances Petty-FitzMaurice (1877-1953) married first Henry de la Poer Beresford (1875-1911) 6th Marquess of Waterford of Curraghmore (see my entry about Curraghmore). He died at the young age of 36, and after having six children with her first husband, Beatrix married Osbourne de Vere Beauclerk, 12th Duke of Saint Albans.
Beatrix Frances Duchess of St Albans [(1877-1953), Daughter of 5th Marquess of Lansdowne; former wife of 6th Marquess of Waterford, and later wife of 12th Duke of St Albans], Maud Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne [mother of Beatrix, née Hamilton], Theresa Susey Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry and Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire [(1870-1960), sister of Beatrix] by Frederick & Richard Speaight, National Portrait Gallery of London ref. x76669
Their younger son, Charles George Francis (1874-1914) added Mercer Nairne to his surname in 1914 to become the mouthful “Mercer Nairne Petty-FitzMaurice.” His wife’s surname was equally impressive, as he married Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, daughter of the Earl of Minto, County Roxborough in England.
The elder son, Henry William Edmund Petty-Fitzmaurice (1872-1936), became 6th Marquess of Lansdowne. He married Elizabeth Caroline Hope, whose mother was Constance Christina Leslie, daughter of John Leslie, 1st Baronet of Glaslough, County Monaghan, of Castle Leslie, another Section 482 property (see my entry).
Mark Bence-Jones describes the property in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
“Derreen is famous for its garden, which extends over the greater part of the peninsula on which the house is built. It was originally planted by 5th Marquess; but the collection of trees and shrubs has been constantly added to by his successors. In the moist and mild climate, tender and exotic species flourish; while the older trees have grown to an incredible height and girth. The garden is particularly noted for its rhododendrons and tree ferns. As a foil to the luxuriant plantings, there are great natural outcrops of rock. After WWII, Derreen passed to Lady Nairne, now Viscountess Mersey, sister of 7th Marquess, who was killed in action 1944. It is now the property of her son, Honourable David Bigham; the garden is open to the public.” [see 4]
The 6th Marquess’s sons all died young, tragically, so the estate passed to their sister, Katherine Evelyn Constance Petty-FitzMaurice (1912-1995), who succeeded as the 12th Lady Nairne in 1944. She married Edward Clive Bigham, later 3rd Viscount Mersey, in 1933. They have several children.
There is a chapter about the family in Jane O’Hea O’Keeffe’s Voices from the Great Houses: Cork and Kerry (Mercier Press, Cork, 2013).
[2] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume VII, page 213.
[4] Bence-Jones, Mark. 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.
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!
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James Lenox Naper (1712-1776), who later changed his surname to Dutton.William Newcome (1729–1800), Archbishop of Armagh.I think this is a portrait of Henrietta Townsend née Newenham (1764-1848). She married Richard Boyle Townsend and was daughter of John Newenham (1738-1785) of Maryborough, County Corkand Harriet Vereker of Roxborough, County Limerick.William Nicolson (1655-1727) Bishop of Derry.Isaac Nicholson, b. 1840.General William Nugent (d. 1690) Date. c.1685 by Gaspar Smitz, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Christopher Nugent (1642-1680) Lord Delvin portrait (c1660-5) by Gaspar Smitz at National Gallery of Ireland. Dublin, Ireland.Smitz was a Dutch artist who is said to have come to England shortly after the Restoration and who became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Dublin.This Guild was also known as the Guild of Dublin Cutlers, Painter-Steyners and Stationers, and was founded in 1670.Mary Ann Cavendish Bradshaw also known as the Countess of Westmeath. Portrait painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1806. She was born Marianne Jeffreys, and married George Frederick Nugent, the 7th Earl of Westmeath and she became the Countess of Westmeath. In 1796 in a sensational court case she divorced Nugent and soon after married Augustus Cavendish Bradshaw.
Murrough O’Brien (d. 1551) King of Thomond, submitted to King Henry VIII in 1543 and was created 1st Earl of Thomond [Ireland] on 1 July 1543, for life with a special remainder to his nephew, Donogh. He was also created 1st Baron of Inchiquin [Ireland].
Donough O’Brien (died 1582) of Leameneagh and Dromoland, younger son of Murrough O’Brien last King of Thomond, 1st Earl of Thomond, painted 1577 on panel, courtesy History of the O’Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945, by Donough O’Brien, page 200.Slaney O’Brien nee McNamara, daughter of John of Cratelagh, wife of Donough O’Brien of Leameneagh (d. 1582), 1577 on panel in her 28th year. History of the O’Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945, by Donough O’Brien, p 200.
His son Donogh McMurrough O’Brien (d. 1582) lived at Leamanagh and at Dromoland, County Clare. He in turn had a son Connor McDonogh O’Brien (d. 1603/4), who had a son, Donogh O’Brien (1595-1634/35) who married Honora Wingfield.
Slaney O’Brien, wife of Conor, Daughter of Turlough O’Brien of the Dough and Ennistymon courtesy Max Gheeraerts, Historical memoir of the O’Briens, The Origin and History of the O’Brien Clan by John O’Donoghue, Publ.1860, Martin Breen 2002.Donough O’Brien of Lemeneagh (1595-1637) Scan from Historical Memoir of the O’Briens, The Origin and History of the O’Brien Clan John O’Donoghue published by Martin Breen (Collection of Lord Inchiquin).
Donogh and Honoria Wingfield had a son Colonel Connor McDonogh O’Brien (1617-1651) who married Mary ‘Rua’ MacMahon.
Máire Rua O’Brien née McMahon (1615/1616 – 1686) daughter of Turlough Roe McMahon Baronet, wearing Felemish bobbin lace with O’Brien coat of arms.She married first Colonel Neylan, then in 1639, Colonel Conor O’Brien (1617-1651) of Lemeneagh, ancestor of Barons Inchiquin, but he was slain in battle in 1651. She then married, to keep the family property, Captain John Cooper of Ireton’s army, whom she is said to have murdered! It’s a rare example of a portrait almost certainly painted in Ireland in the first half of the seventeenth century – see Irish Portraits 1660-1860 by Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, published by the Paul Mellon Foundation for British Art 1969.Donough O’Brien (1642-1717), 1st Baronet of Lemeneagh and Dromoland, Co. Clare by Mary Beale, 1690. He lived in Dromoland Castle.He was the son of Máire Rua O’Brien née McMahon (1615/1616 – 1686) and Conor McDonogh O’Brien (1617-1651).Lucia Hamilton, 1674, daughter of George Hamilton. Wife of Donough O’Brien, 1st Baronet, married in 1674. She died two years later, not long after the birth of his son and heir, Lucius.Lucius O’Brien (1675-1717) son of Donough O’Brien 1st Baronet of Leameneh, History of the O’Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945, by Donough O’Brien, p 212.jpgCatherine Keightley, daughter of Thomas Keightley and Frances Hyde, aunt of Queens Anne and Mary, wife of Lucius O’Brien, History of the O’Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945, by Donough O’Brien, p 232.Edward O’Brien (1705-1765) 2nd Baronet of Dromoland, County Clare from Historical memoir of the O’Briens : The Origin and History of the O’Brien Clan, by John O’Donoghue A.M, Barrister-at-Law, First Published in 1860 (Martin Breen 2002) Illustrations section (Collection of O’Brien of Dromoland), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109837449He was the son of Lucius O’Brien.Mary Hickman, wife of Edward O’Brien, 2nd Baronet, from Historical memoir of the O’Briens : The Origin and History of the O’Brien Clan, by John O’Donoghue A.M, Barrister-at-Law, First Published in 1860 (Martin Breen 2002) Illustrations section, Public Domain,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109837783Lucius O’Brien (1731-1795) 3rd Baronet, courtesy of Harnet – The Other Clare Vol. 9 page 14,15.Ann Ffrench wife of Sir Lucius O’Brien, 3rd Baronet courtesy Unknown author – These My Friends and Forebears: The O’Briens of Dromoland. She was daughter of Robert Ffrench of Monivea Castle, County Galway, MP for County Galway, and of Nichola Acheson, daughter of Arthur, 5th Baronet of Market Hill, County Armagh.Capt. Edward O’Brien, holding a musket in the uniform of 52nd Regiment of Foot, standing against landscape, line of infantry firing a volley against an advisory, by Robert Hunter (1715 – 1780), courtesy of Adam’s auction 16 Oct 2018. Edward O’Brien (c.1735 1787) was the third son of Sir Edward O’Brien 2nd Baronet of Dromoland and Mary Hickman. A portrait of him and titled Master Edward O’Brien by Philip Hussey was exhibited with the Irish Portraits 1660 1860 Dublin, London and Belfast 1970, Cat no. 31. His ambition was to be a solider but there was no money to buy a Cornecy of Dragoons until 1759. A riding accident prevented his joining Corps being raised to go to America. He became a Captain in the 122nd Regiment and then exchanged (costing £379 3 4) into the 52nd Regiment. He married his cousin Charlotte Hickman of Brickhall, Co. Clare. With his easy-going spendthrift nature and love of horses, it is easy to see why he was his fathers favourite son. Although his father had left him Jockey Hall on the Curragh, he was not able to provide for his family and appealed to his more serious brother, Lucius, for help who assigned him a life interest in lands at Leamanagh and organised his return to military service. However, he forbade him from leaving the kingdom, thereby again preventing him going to America where he thought he could distinguish himself. He died in 1787 with the rank of colonel.
Another son of Murrough O’Brien (d. 1551) 1st Earl of Thomond was Dermod O’Brien (d. 1552) 2nd Baron of Inchiquin. He married Margaret (d. 1568), daughter of Donough O’Brien (d. 1553) 1st Earl of Thomond. She gave birth to their heir, Murrough Macdermot O’Brien (1550-1573) 3rd Baron of Inchiquin. After her husband died, Margaret married Richard Bourke (d. 1582) 2nd Earl of Clanricarde. Murrough O’Brien (1614-1674) 6th Baron of Inchiquin was created 1st Earl of Inchiquin.
Murrough O’Brien (1614-1674) 1st Earl of Inchiquin by John Michael Wright courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery.He married Elizabeth St. Leger (d. 1685).
Murrough O’Brien (1614-1674) 1st Earl of Inchiquin married Elizabeth St. Leger (d. 1685). His daughter Honoria married Lt.-Col. Theobald Bourke, 3rd Lord Bourke, Baron of Brittas. His daughter Elizabeth (d. 1688) married Richard Southwell, MP for Askeaton, County Limerick. His daughter Mary married Henry Boyle (1648-1693) son of the 1st Earl of Orrery. His son was William O’Brien (d. 1691) 2nd Earl of Inchiquin.
Lady Mary Boyle nursing her son Charles, by Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) Adams auction 18 Oct 2022. She was daughter of Murrough O’Brien (1614-1674) 1st Earl of Inchiquin. She married married Henry Boyle (1648-1693) son of the 1st Earl of Orrery.William O’Brien (1638-1952) 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, 7th Baron Inchiquinhttps//:commons.wikimedia.org
William O’Brien (1638-1952) 2nd Earl of Inchiquin, 7th Baron Inchiquin married Margaret Boyle, daughter of Roger Boyle 1st Earl of Orrery. Their son was William O’Brien (d. 1719) 3rd Earl of Inchiquin.
William O’Brien (d. 1719) 3rd Earl of Inchiquin married Mary Villiers and their daughter Mary married Robert FitzGerald, 19th Earl of Kildare.
James O’Brien (d. 1771) was a son of William O’Brien (d. 1719) 3rd Earl of Inchiquin and Mary Villiers. He married Mary Jephson. They had a son Murrough O’Brien (1726-1808) 1st Marquess of Thomond.
Murrough O’Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond, (1726-1808) Engraver Samuel William Reynolds, English, 1773-1835 After John Hoppner, English, 1758-1810,courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Murrough O’Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond KP, PC (1726–1808), 5th Earl of Inchiquin (1777–1800) by Henry Bone courtesy of Bonhams.Mary Palmer, Countess of Inchiquin, Marchioness of Thomond (1750-1820), wife of Murrough O’Brien, 1st Marquess (after Sir Joshua Reynolds) by Thomas Phillips courtesy of National Trust Petworth.
James O’Brien (d. 1771) and Mary Jephson had a daughter Anne (1720-1745) who married Most Rev. Michael Cox (1691-1779). James O’Brien (d. 1771) and Mary Jephson had another daughter, Henrietta (d. 1797), who married William Vigors Burdett, 2nd Bt of Dunmore, County Carlow. Murrough O’Brien 1st Marquess had no sons so the title passed to the sons of his brother, Edward O’Brien (d. 1801).
Miss Henrietta O’Brien by Stephen Slaughter 1746. She married first Terence O’Loughlen and second William Vigors Burdett 2nd Baronet, and was sister of Anne who married Archbishop Cox of Cashel.William Smith O’Brien (1803-1864) by George Francis Mulvaney, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland P1934.Louisa O’Callaghan (1780-1863) as Hebe, daughter of Cornelius O’Callaghan (1741/41-1797) 1st Baron Lismore by Hugh Douglas Hamilton courtesy of Country House Collections at Townley Hall 16th October 2018 Adams.She married William George Spencer Cavendish, son of 1st Earl of Burlington.Daniel O’Connell.Phelim O’Connor, d. 1315, King of Connaught, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Denis O’Conor of Ballinagare (Donnchadh Liath) (b. 1674), picture from Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare, ed. Luke Gibbons and Kieran O’Conor.Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare (1710–1791), courtesy of Royal Irish Academy.He was a son of Denis O’Conor of Ballinagare (Donnchadh Liath) (b. 1674)Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare (1710–1791), in middle age, from Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare, ed. Luke Gibbons and Kieran O’Conor.He was a son of Denis O’Conor of Ballinagare (Donnchadh Liath) (b. 1674)Charles O’Conor of Mount Allen (1736–1808) as a young man from Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare, ed. Luke Gibbons and Kieran O’Conor. He was a son of Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare (1710–1791).Denis O’Conor of Ballinagare (1732–1804), in middle age, from Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare, ed. Luke Gibbons and Kieran O’Conor.He was the eldest son of Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare (1710–1791)Owen O’Conor (1763-1831) of Ballinagare, son of Denis O’Conor of Ballinagare (1732–1804). He purchased Clonalis estate in 1805 and inherited the O’Conor Don title in 1820. Owen moved his family and household to Clonalis in that year and left Ballinagare Castle. Photograph courtesy of Charles O’Conor of Ballinagare, ed. Luke Gibbons and Kieran O’Conor.Portraits of Charles William Cooper (1817-1898), who took the name O’Hara when he inherited his uncle’s estate, and his wife Anne Streatfield (1836-1882).Grace O’Malley (1530-1603) 18th century Irish school, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.Hugh O’Neill (c. 1540-1616) 2nd Earl of Tyrone, courtesy of National Museums Northern Ireland, Ulster Museum. Phelim O’Neill (1604-1653), Leader of 1641 Rebellion, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.John O’Neill, 1st Viscount O’Neill, M.P., (1740-1798) Engraver: Samuel William Reynolds, English, 1773-1835 Copyist: James Dowling Herbert, Irish, c.1762-1837 After Matthew William Peters, English, 1742-1814, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.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.Neil O’Neil (1658-1690) 2nd Baronet of Killyleagh, County Antrim by John Michael Wright, courtesy of Tate Britain.It is the only surviving contemporary presentation of the traditional costume of an Irish chieftain. At his feet is the armour of a Japanese samurai as a symbol of victory over the oppression of Catholics; next to him is an Irish wolfhound as a symbol of Ireland.Lady Neill O’Neill, Frances née Molyneux (1655-1732) daughter of 3rd Viscount who married Neil O’Neill of Killelagh in 1677, by Garrett Morphy. The painting was probably painted soon after her husband died from wounds obtained in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, due to the funerary urn carved with a memento moi of skull and crossbones.Rose O’Neill, later Mrs Nicholas Wogan (c.1695) by Garrett Morphy. She was daughter of Neil O’Neil (1658-1690) 2nd Baronet of Killyleagh, County Antrim, and married Col Nicholas Wogan of Rathcoffey, Co Meath. Her daughter married John Talbot of Malahide.Maria Susanna Ormbsy by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, she was daughter of William Ormsby (1718-1781) and Hannah Wynne of Hazelwood, County Sligo courtesy of Adams auction 27 March 2018. This excellent portrait, painted after Hamiltons return to Dublin from Rome is not listed by Fintan Cullen. [Oil Paintings of Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Walpole Society Vol. 50 1984] and is a welcome addition to the inventory of Hamiltons extant portraits (1796). It re-emerged from the recent disposal of the Harlech Collection in Wales. The Ormsby-Gores, in spite of a Welsh title and seat, represent two families from the West of Ireland who flourished in the 18th century. The subject of the present lot, Maria Susannah Ormsby was the daughter of William Ormsby M.P for Sligo and Hannah Wynne of Haselwood, County Sligo, the lovely Palladian villa designed by Richard Castle. Her brother, Owen Ormsby married (1777) Margaret Owen who came into a great Welsh estate that had been swollen by the Godolphin inheritance. Their only child and heiress Mary Jane Ormsby married (1815)William Gore, M.P. for Leitrim from a family long influential in Counties Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim. Thereafter the family became Ormsby-Gore and were subsumed into English high society with a title from the Barony of Harlech. Our subject, Maria Susannah Ormsby, died unmarried so this portrait of a charming and artistic woman remained with the Ormsby-Gores. As an observation of mature character it confirms Hugh Douglas Hamiltons place in the top rank of European portraiture.
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Thought to be Elizabeth Louisa née Beresford (1783-1856) who married Sir Denis Pack (1774-1823), then Thomas Reynell, 6th Baronet, courtesy of Whyte’s Nov 2011.She was the daughter of George de la Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford.Captain Denis William Pack-Beresford (1818-1881) of Fennagh House in the parish of Lorum, County Carlow by Stephen Pearse (1819-1904) courtesy of Whyte’s Nov 2011. He was the son of Denis Pack and Elizabeth Louisa née Beresford. He married Annette Caroline Browne of Browne’s Hill, County Carlow.Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (1768-1854).Frances Jane Paget (1817-1903) Marchioness of Ormonde with her son James Earl of Ossory, by Richard Bruckner.She married John Butler 2nd Marquess of Ormonde. Funnily enough, all of her sons were named James! The Earl of Ossory was her eldest son James Edward William Theobald Butler(1844-1919), who became 15th Earl of Ossory in 1854 when he was ten years old. The painting thus anachronistically refers to him as the Earl of Ossory, as he was not yet ten years old when it was painted.A younger son, James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler (1849-1943) also became Earl of Ossory, in 1919, the same year he became 4th Marquess of Ormonde, when his older brother James the 3rd Marquess died.Frances Jane’s father was General Hon. Sir Edward Paget, and she was the daughter of his second wife, Harriet Legge. His first wife was Frances, daughter of William Bagot 1st Baron Bagot of Bagot’s Bromley, Staffordshire, England.William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of Longford.Thomas Pakenham (1713-1766), 1st Baron Longford, Date c.1756 Credit Line: Presented, Mrs R. Montagu, 1956.Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron of Longford (1713-1766), who married Elizabeth Cuffe.Elizabeth Cuffe (1719-1794) who married Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford. She became Countess of Longford in her own right, through her father Michael Cuffe (1694-1744), who was heir to Ambrose Aungier, 2nd and last Earl of Longford (1st creation).Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford (1743-1792). His daughter married the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley.Thomas Pakenham the 2nd Earl of Longford (1774-1835).Georgiana Pakenham née Lygon (1774-1880).She married Thomas Pakenham 2nd Earl of Longford.Louisa Anne Pakenham née Staples (1770-1833) and her sister Henrietta Margaret Trench née Staples (1770-1847) Countess of Clancarty (c.1770-1847) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton. Louisa was married to Thomas Pakenham (1757-1836) and Henrietta was married to Richard Power Keating Le Poer Trench (1767-1837) 2nd Earl of Clancarty.Their father was John Staples (1736-1820) of County Tyrone, and their mother was Harriet Conolly (1739-1771)of Castletown House, County Kildare.Major General Edward Pakenham (1778-1815), another uncle of Henry Sandford Pakenham Mahon, also hangs in the front hall of Strokestown House. A portrait of Lt. Gen. Hercules Pakenham (1781-1850), an uncle of Henry Sandford Pakenham Mahon, hangs in the front hall of Strokestown House.Elizabeth Sandford, mother of Henry Sandford Pakenham, wife of Reverend Henry Pakenham, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Henry Sandford Pakenham married the heiress Grace Catherine Mahon and changed his surname to Pakenham Mahon.Olive Hales Pakenham Mahon dressed for a visit to Buckingham Palace in the 1930s.Olive Hales Pakenham Mahon (1894-1981). She was from Strokestown House, and married first Edward Charles Stafford King-Harman, and then Wilfred Stuart Atherstone Hales who added the surname Pakenham Mahon to his name.Mary, Countess of Inchiquin (née Palmer), (1750-1820), 2nd wife of Murrough O’Brien (1726-1808) 4th Earl of Inchiquin, later 1st Marquess of Thomond; After Thomas Lawrence, English, 1769-1830, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Charles Stewart Parnell(1846-1891).John Parnell, brother of Charles Stewart Parnell.John Parnell (1744-1801) 2nd Baronet of Rathleague by Batoni, 1770, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.He was the great-grandfather of Charles Stewart Parnell. His son William (1870-1821) added the name Hayes to his surname after inheriting Avondale, County Wicklow, from Samuel Hayes.Sir William Parsons (?1570-1650), 1st Baronet Parsons, Surveyor-General and Lord Justice of Ireland Date: 1777 Engraver Samuel De Wilde, English, 1748-1832 After Unknown Artist, England, 17th century, British. He emigrated to Ireland around 1590. He was the brother of Laurence Parsons (d. 1628), grandfather of Laurence Parsons (d. 1698), 1st Baronet Parsons, of Birr Castle.William Parsons married Elizabeth Lany, daughter of John, an alderman of Dublin.National Portrait Gallery of London D3829.Frances née Parsons Harman (1775-1841) who married Robert Edward King (1773-1854), 1st Viscount Lorton. She was the daughter of Lawrence Harman Parsons (1749-1807) 1st Earl of Rosse who assumed the surname Parsons-Harman.William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (1800-1867) by Stephen Catterson Smith 1860.William Parsons (1800-1867) 3rd Earl of Rosse, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Henrietta Paulet née Crofts, Duchess of Bolton (1682-1730) daughter of James Crofts (Scott), 1st and last Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II. She married Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton.Thomas Ryder Pepper (1760-1828) with The Old Castle, Loughton in the background from Loughton house auction, 2016, Shepphards.He married Anne Bloomfield, the sister of Benjamin Bloomfield 1st Baron Bloomfield, of Loughton, County Offaly.John Perceval, 1st Baronet (1629–1665) engraving by J Faber (1743).Catherine (1637 – 1679) the only daughter of Sir Robert Southwell of Kinsale, wife of Sir John Perceval, 1st Baronet. Engraved by J. Faber (1743).Sir Philip Perceval, 2nd Bt (1656-1680) by Thomas Pooley c. 1670-74, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland NGI 4626.John Perceval, 3rd Bt (1660-1686) by Thomas Pooley, c. 1670-74, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland NGI 4627.John Perceval 3rd Bt, by John Faber Jr, National Portrait Gallery of London D29835.John Perceval (1683-1748) 1st Earl of Egmont, County Cork, by and published by John Smith, after Sir Godfrey Kneller 1704, National Portrait Gallery of England D11553.John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont (1683-1748) by Hans Hysing.John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont, (1711-1700) Date 1764 by Engraver James McArdell, Irish, c.1729-1765 After Thomas Hudson, English, 1701-1779.John Perceval (1711-1770) 2nd Earl of Egmont by Thomas Hudson.John Percival, later 2nd Earl of Egmont (1711-1770) by Francis Hayman c. 1740, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland NGI 4489John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont with Catherine Perceval (née Cecil), Countess of Egmont by Richard Josey, after Sir Joshua Reynolds mezzotint, 1876 (1756) National Portrait Gallery of London D1855.Catherine Perceval (née Compton), Countess of Egmont; Charles George Perceval, 2nd Baron Arden by James Macardell, after Thomas Hudson mezzotint, published 1765, National Portrait Gallery of London D1829.Spencer Perceval (d. 1812) by George Francis Joseph (died 1846), given to the National Portrait Gallery, London in 1857.He was the son of the 2nd Earl of Egmont, and served for a short time as Prime Minister of England.Sir John Perrot 1527-1592, said to be a son of King Henry VIII; soldier and Lord Deputy of Ireland, date 1776, engraver Valentine Green, English 1739-1813 copyist George Powle. His daughter Lettice (d. 1620) married Arthur Chichester 1st and last Baron Chichester of Belfast (b. 1563).Edmond Sexton Pery, later 1st Viscount Pery (1719-1806) Date: c.1790 by Gilbert Stuart, American, 1755-1828.William Petty (1623-1687) by Isaac Fuller circa 1651, National Portrait Gallery of London 2924.William Petty (1623-1687) by Godfrey Kneller courtesy of Romsey Town Hall.William Petty, (1623-1687), Physician in the Army in Ireland, Surveyor General and Political Economist Date: 1696, Engraver John Smith, English, 1652-1743 After John Baptist Closterman, German, c.1690-1713.A sketch of Henry Petty (1675-1751) Earl of Shelburne by George Townshend, 4th Viscount and 1st Marquess Townshend National Portrait Gallery of London ref. 4855(15). He was the son of William Petty (1623-1687) and he married Arabella, daughter of Charles Boyle 2nd Baron Clifford of Lanesborough.
Thomas Fitzmaurice (1668-1741) 1st Earl of Kerry (21st Baron of Kerry), Viscount Clanmorris was the father of John Fitzmaurice Petty (1706-1761) 1st Earl of Shelburne, who added Petty to his name after his mother, Anne Petty (d. 1737). Another son of the 1st Earl of Kerry was his heir William FitzMaurice (1694-1747) who succeeded as 2nd Earl of Kerry.
William Petty (1737-1805) 1st Marquess of Lansdowne Lord Shelburne, Prime Minister, after Sir Joshua Reynolds based on a work of 1766, National Portrait Gallery of London 43.He was the son of John Fitzmaurice Petty (1706-1761) 1st Earl of Shelburne, who was the son of Thomas Fitzmaurice 1st Earl of Kerry (21st Baron of Kerry), Viscount ClanmorrisLouisa Lansdowne née Fitzpatrick, wife of William Petty 1st Marquess of Lansdowne by Joshua Reynolds from Catalogue of the pictures and drawings in the National loan exhibition, in aid of National gallery funds, Grafton Galleries, London. She was a daughter of John FitzPatrick 1st Earl of Upper Ossory.John Henry Petty (1765-1809) 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne National Portrait Gallery of London ref. D37171.Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780-1863) 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, by Henry Walton circa 1805 courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, NPG 178.Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice (1816-1866) 4th Marquess of Lansdowne, Politician and railway company chairman, photograph by by John & Charles Watkins circa early 1860s, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG Ax16422.Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice 5th Marquess of Lansdowne by Philip Alexius de László.Beatrix Frances Duchess of St Albans, Maud Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne (wife of 5th Marquess), Theresa Susey Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry and Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, by Frederick & Richard Speaight.Mrs Letitia Pilkington (née Van Lewen), (1712-1750), “Adventuress” and Author Date: c.1760 Engraver: Richard Purcell, Irish, c.1736-c.1766 After Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish, 1718-1784.Oliver Plunket, by Edward Luttrell courtesy of National Portrait Gallery London.Called Frances Hales, Countess of Fingall, possibly Margaret MacCarty later Countess of Fingall, wife of Luke Plunkett (1639-1685) 3rd Earl of Fingall, by Simon Pietersz Verelst courtesy of National Trust Hatchlands. Margaret was daughter of Donough MacCarty (or MacCarthy) 1st Earl of Clancarty; 2nd Viscount Muskerry. Frances Hales married Peter Plunkett (1678-1717) 4th Earl of Fingall.Arthur James Plunkett (1759-1836) 8th Earl of Fingall by Charles Turner after Joseph Del Vechio NPG D36923.Horace Plunkett by photographer Bassano Ltd, 1923, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery of London, reference NPGx12783.William Conyngham Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket, (1764-1854), Orator and former Lord Chancellor of Ireland Engraver David Lucas, British, 1802-1881 After Richard Rothwell, Irish, 1800-1868.Marble bust of William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket (1764-1854), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, by CHRISTOPHER MOORE RHA (1790 – 1863), courtesy of Adams auction 19 Oct 2021.William Pole of Ballyfin (d. 1781), English school of 18th century, pastel, courtesy of Christies auction, wikimedia commons. He married Sarah Moore, daughter of the 5th Earl of Drogheda.
Brabazon Ponsonby (1679-1758) 1st Earl of Bessborough, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon, Co. Wexford married Sarah Margetson. Their daughter Sarah (d. 1736/37) married Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda. Their daughter Anne married Benjamin Burton of Burton Hall, County Carlow. Their daughter Letitia (d. 1754) married Hervey Morres, 1st Viscount Mountmorres. Their son William Ponsonby (1704-1793) succeeded as 2nd Earl of Bessborough and a younger son, John (1713-1787) married Elizabeth, daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke of Devonshire.
John Ponsonby (1713 – 1787) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of The Library Collection auction 26 April 2023 at Adams. He was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons.He was the son of Brabazon Ponsonby (1679-1758) 1st Earl of Bessborough, 2nd Viscount Duncannon, of the fort of Duncannon, Co. Wexford.He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Duke of Devonshire.The Hon. Richard Ponsonby (1772-1853), Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, British (English) School, circa 1830. A half-length portrait of a man, known as “handsome Dick Ponsonby”, turned go the right, gazing at the spectator, wearing surplice and white bands. He was a son of William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly (1744-1806) who was a son of John Ponsonby (1713 – 1787). Courtesy of National Trust imagesWilliam Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough, (1705-1793), observing a copy of the Borghese Vase Date 1794 by Engraver Robert Dunkarton, English, 1744-1811 After John Singleton Copley, American, 1738-1815.Oil painting on canvas, William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough (1704-1793), attributed to Jeremiah Davison (Scotland c.1695 ? London after 1750) or George Knapton (London 1698 ? Kensington 1778), circa 1743/50. Oval, half-length portrait, turned slightly to the left, gazing at spectator, wearing oriental costume, composed of a red tunic, blue cloak edged with white fur and a red and white turban. Courtesy of National Trust Hardwick House. He married Caroline Cavendish, daughter of 3rd Duke of Devonshire.Frederick Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon, (1758-1844), later 3rd Earl of Bessborough Date 1786, Engraver Joseph Grozer, British, fl.1784-1797 After Joshua Reynolds, English, 1723-1792.Lady Caroline Lamb née Ponsonby (1785-1828) by Eliza H. Trotter, NPG 3312.She was the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough.John William Brabazon Ponsonby (1781-1847) 4th Earl of Bessborough, County Kilkenny.Marguerite née Power, Countess of Blessington. Marguerite (1789-1849) was daughter of Edmund Power, and she married first Maurice St. Leger Farmer, and secondly, Charles John Gardiner, 1st and last Earl of Blessington, son of Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy. She wrote the book Confessions of an Elderly Gentleman, published 1836, and The Idler in Italy, published between 1839 and 1840, in three volumes.Mervyn Pratt (1807-1890), husband of Madeline Jackson, of Enniscoe, County Mayo.Mary Preston youngest daughter of the Hon. Henry Hamilton, by Hugh Douglas Hamilton Adam’s auction 20 Sept 2015. Mary Hamilton married in 1764 (as his second wife) the second Nathaniel Preston (1724-1796), Reverend, of Swainstown, Co. Meath. Her father was a younger son of Gustavus Hamilton 1st Viscount Boyne of Stackallan, Co. Meath and her parents were intimate with Mrs Delaney who of them said – “I never saw a couple better suited than Mr Hamilton and his wife, their house like themselves looks cheerful and neat…., they have four children, whose behaviour shows the sense of their parents”. Mary’s brother, Sackville Hamilton became a competent and respected Civil Servant.Lucretia (1804-1891) Viscountess Gormanston, daughter of William Jerningham, wife of Edward Anthony John Preston 13th Viscount Gormanston courtesy of Adam’s auction 12 Oct 2014.Thomas Prior (1682-1751), Founding Member and Secretary to the Dublin Society, Engraver Charles Spooner, Irish, c.1720-1767 After John van Nost the Younger, Flemish, c.1710 – 1780.Henry Prittie, 3rd Baron Dunalley (1807-1885) by Stephen Catterson Smith courtesy of Christie’s 2013.Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) by James Henry Lynch, after John Rogers Herbert NPG D20474.
Irish Historic Houses 