“Built by [Richard Bourke 1572-1635] the fourth earl of Clanricarde, Portumna Castle was the de Burgo family power base for centuries.
“The castle is a unique example of the transitional Irish architecture of the early 1600s. Its bold design combines elements of medieval and Renaissance style that complement each other perfectly.
“A major fire in 1826 left the castle a roofless shell, but the state began to bring it back from ruin in the 1960s. Restoration work continues to this day.
“The dramatic walk up to the building includes charming formal gardens, which create an enchanting sense of the original seventeenth-century setting. The walled kitchen garden is particularly memorable.
“The castle enjoys a sensational view of Lough Derg. The ground floor is open to the public and houses an exhibition that brings the story of the castle and the de Burgo family to life. It is right beside the River Shannon and Portumna Forest Park, which makes it a great choice for a delightful day out.“
Richard Bourke 4th Earl of Clanricarde was brought up and educated in England. He fought on the side of the English against Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and was knighted on the field at the battle of Kinsale. He was a protege of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and married Frances Walsingham, who was the widow of the poet Philip Sydney (1554-1586) and of Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex (1566-1601), favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.
Portrait of Frances Walsingham, along with her husband Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and in the small picture, Sir Philip Sydney.
The castle was built around 1616 and is a mixture of defensive Elizabethan/Jacobean building and a manor house, marking the transition in building styles. In this is it similar to Rathfarnham Castle in Dublin, which was built around 1583. It retains defensive structures such as machicolations (floor openings in the battlements, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers), shot holes, and strong corner towers, and surrounding walls with gunloops and crenellated towers.
The back is similar to the front, except for the addition in around 1797 of a curved porch of Jacobean style in the middle of the garden front (probably in the time of the 12th Earl of Clanricarde who died in December 1797 and was elevated to be a Marquess). I loved the curving steps up to this round door entrance.
Before building Portumna Castle, the principal seat of the Earls of Clanricarde was a castle in Loughrea. As well as building Portumna, the 4th Earl refurbished the castles at Aughnanure and Athenry, amongst others. The Clanricarde earls also owned Clarecastle, Oranmore and Kilcolgan castles.
Aughnanure Castle County Galway, photograph courtesy of OPW website.This was also refurbished by the 4th Earl of Clanricarde.Athenry Castle, County Galway, photograph courtesy of OPW website. This was also refurbished by the 4th Earl of Clanricarde.
The descendants of William de Burgo adopted Irish customs and clothing. Ulick Burke of Clanricarde (d. 1544) became Earl of Clanricarde and Baron of Dunkellin, and was one of the earliest Irish Chiefs to accept Henry VIII’s policy of “surrender and regrant,” accepting Henry VIII as his sovereign.
Ulick’s son Richard, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde, fought the Irish for the British crown.
The castle passed to the 4th Earl’s son Ulick who succeeded as 5th Earl of Clanricarde (d. 1657) and who was created 1st Marquess of Clanricarde. and then to a cousin, Richard (d. 1666), who became 6th Earl of Clanricarde.
Portrait of Ulick, 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.
The 6th Earl married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Walter Butler, 11th Earl of Ormond and had daughters so the title passed to his brother William (d. 1687), 7th Earl of Clanricarde.
The 7th Earl’s son Richard the 8th Earl (died 1708) succeeded his father and despite marrying several times had no male heirs, so was succeeded by his brother John, 9th Earl (d. 1722). John was created Baron Burke of Bophin, County Galway, by King James II. He fought on the Jacobite side and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. He was declared an outlaw and the Clanricarde estates were forfeited to the King, but the outlawry was reversed twelve years later on the payment of a whopping £25,000. His son Michael the 10th Earl succeeded him (d. 1726) and fortunately he married well, to Anne Smith daughter of John Smith, Chancellor of the Exchequer, widow of Hugh Parker of Meldford Hall, Sussex, whose income helped to restore the family fortunes.
The 11th Earl, John Smith de Burgh (1720-1782) changed his surname from Bourke to De Burgh.
The 13th Earl, John Thomas De Burgh (1744-1808), brother of the 12th Earl, was created again 1st Earl of Clanricarde, an Irish Peer, on 29 December 1800, with special remainder to his daughters, if he had no male heir. One daughter, Hester, married Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, and the other, Emily, married Thomas St Lawrence, 3rd Earl of Howth.
John Thomas De Burgh (1744-1808) 13th Earl of Clanricarde was created 1st Earl of Clanricarde, Co. Galway.
His son, Ulick (1802-1874), became the 1st Marquess Clanricarde (of the 3rd creation), and also Baron of Somerhill, Kent. It was during his tenure that the fire occurred. He married Harriet Canning, daughter of Prime Minister George Canning. Ulick was described as being immensely rich.
Ulick John De Burgh, 14th Earl and 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (1802-1874).Harriet Canning, Countess of Clanricarde (1804-1876), married to Ulick John De Burgh, 14th Earl and 1st Marquess of Clanricarde (1802-1874).
Amazing work has been done to reconstruct the castle after the fire. The Commissioners of Public Works acquired the castle in 1968 for preservation as a national monument.
Portumna Castle 1946, photograph from Dublin City Archives and Library. [3]Portumna Castle, County Galway, July 2021.The sign board tells us that the Commissioners of Public Works acquired the castle in 1968 for preservation as a National Monument.Portumna Castle, County Galway, July 2021.Portumna Castle, County Galway, July 2021.The information board tells us that the collapsed spine wall and oak floor beams were reinstated to the original design, based on detailed survey work of surviving features and documentary evidence, including early floor layout plans. The limestone handrail in front of the building was reinstated based on one surviving fragment.Portumna Castle, County Galway, July 2021.The board tells us that the roof trusses are Irish oak. Studies were made of surviving roof timbers of buildings that would have been built around the same time, such as Carrick-on-Suir castle and Rathfarnham Castle.Portumna Castle, County Galway, July 2021.Window mullions were repaired with resin.There was a carriageway road built in either the late 19th or early 19th century, and a well in what was the kitchen.
After the fire the family built a Ruskinian Gothic mansion by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane at the opposite end of the park. Mark Bence-Jones tells us that the new house was not much lived in by the family, for 2nd and last Marquess of Clanricarde, who succeeded 1874, was “the notorious miser and eccentric who spent his life in squalid rooms in London and dressed like a tramp.”
The 2nd Marquess, Hubert George De Burgh-Canning, “the notorious miser and eccentric who spent his life in squalid rooms in London and dressed like a tramp.”
The 2nd Marquess, Hubert George De Burgh-Canning, who died 1916, left Portumna to his great-nephew, Viscount Henry George Charles Lascelles, afterwards 6th Earl of Harewood and husband of Princess Mary (daughter of King George V), because it was said that he was the only member of his family who ever went to see him. The 1862 house was burnt 1922; after which Lord Harewood, when he came here, occupied a small house on the place. Portumna was sold when he died in 1947. [4]
Elizabeth de Burgh, who married Henry Thynne Lascelles, 4th Earl of Harewood. She was the sister ofthe 2nd Marquess, Hubert George De Burgh-Canning.Pictured, the marriage of Princess Mary to Viscount Lascelles.
The castle had a long gallery on the second storey, similar to that in the Ormond Castle in Carrick-on-Suir. Long galleries originated in Italy and France and became fashionable in England after 1550. They were often sparsely furnished and were used for indoor exercise.
The exhibition tells us about various positions of servants in a castle. I was amused by the description of the job of a footman. We are told that they were kept largely for “ornamental” purposes and had to be fairly tall and good-looking, and their wages even rose with their height! Some padded their silk stockings to make their calves look more shapely!
General information: 052 744 1011, cahircastle@opw.ie
Stephen and I visited Cahir Castle in June 2022, and I was very impressed. I had no idea that we have such an old castle in Ireland with so much intact.
“Cahir Castle is one of Ireland’s largest and best-preserved castles. It stands proudly on a rocky island on the River Suir.
“The castle was was built in the thirteenth century and served as the stronghold of the powerful Butler family. [The Archiseek website tells us it was built in 1142 by Conor O’Brien, Prince of Thomond] So effective was its design that it was believed to be impregnable, but it finally fell to the earl of Essex in 1599 when heavy artillery was used against it for the first time. During the Irish Confederate Wars it was besieged twice more.
“At the time of building, Cahir Castle was at the cutting edge of defensive castle design and much of the original structure remains.“
Our tour guide took us through the castle as if we were invaders and showed us all of the protective methods used. We were free then to roam the castle ourselves.
The name derives from the Irish ‘an ChathairDhun Iascaigh’ meaning stone fort of the earthen fort of the fish.
The information leaflet tells us that the area was owned by the O’Briens of Thomond in 1169 at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. The area around Cahir was granted to Phillip of Worcester in 1192 by John, Lord of Ireland, who later became King John. His nephew William was his heir – I’m not sure of his surname! But then his great-granddaughter, Basilia, married Milo (or Meiler) de Bermingham (he died in 1263). They lived in Athenry and their son was the 1st Lord Athenry, Piers Bermingham (died 1307).
Edward III (1312-1377) granted the castle to the James Butler 3rd Earl of Ormond in 1357 and also awarded him the title of Baron of Cahir in recognition of his loyalty. The 3rd Earl of Ormond purchased Kilkenny Castle in c. 1392. Cahir Castle passed to his illegitimate son James Gallda Butler. James Gallda was loyal to his mother’s family, the Desmonds, who were rivals to his father’s family, the Butlers.
In their book The Tipperary Gentry, William Hayes and Art Kavanagh tell us that the rivalry between the Butlers of Ormond and the Fitzgeralds of Desmond turned to enmity when the War of the Roses broke out in England, with the Ormonds supporting the House of Lancaster and the Desmonds the House of York. The enmity found expression in the battle at Pilltown in 1462. The enmity continued for over a century, and the last private battle between the Ormonds and the Desmonds was the Battle of Affane, County Waterford, in 1565. [2]
A descendant of James Gallda Butler, Thomas Butler (d. 1558) was elevated to the peerage of Ireland, on 10 November 1543, by the title of Baron of Caher (of the second creation). He married Eleanor, a daughter of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (d. 1539) and Margaret Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (d. 1513). His son Edmund became the 2nd Baron (d. 1560) but as there were no legitimate male heirs the title died out.
It was Piers Rua Butler, the 8th Earl of Ormond (c. 1467–1539), who brought peace between the warring factions of Fitzgeralds of Desmond and the Butlers of Ormond. He married Margaret Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald (or Garret) Fitzgerald (1455-1513) 8th Earl of Kildare. His efforts culminated in a treaty called the Composition of Clonmel. It stated that Edmund Butler of Cahir should receive the manor of Cahir on condition that he and all his heirs “shall be in all things faithful to the Earl [of Ormond] and his heirs.” The Barons of Cahir were not allowed to keep their own private army nor to exact forced labour for the building or repair of their castle or houses. (see [2]).
The brother of Thomas 1st Baron Caher, Piers Butler (d. after February 1567/68) had a son Theobald (d. 1596) who was then created 1st Baron Caher (Ireland, of the 3rd creation) in 1583. [3]
There’s an excellent history of Cahir on the Cahir Social and Historical Website:
“Throughout the reigns of Elizabeth I and Charles I, Cahir Castle appears as a frequent and important scene in the melancholy drama of which Ireland was a stage. The Castle was taken and re-taken, but rarely damaged and through it all remained in the hands of the Roman Catholic Butlers of Cahir. By this time Cahir had become a great centre of learning for poets and musicians. Theobald, Lord Cahir [I assume this was 1st Baron Cahir of second creation who died in 1596] was said by the Four Masters “to be a man of great benevolence and bounty, with the greatest collection of poems of any of the Normans in Ireland”. [4]
Cahir Castle, June 2022.
This storyboard tells us that Ireland was dramatically different from Renaissance England in its language, customs, religion, costume and law. It was divided into 90 or so individual “lordships” of which about 60 were ruled by independent Gaelic chieftains. The rest were ruled by Anglo-Irish lords. Queen Elizabeth saw Ireland as a source of much-needed revenue. She did not have sufficient resources nor a strong enough army to conquer Ireland so she encouraged her authorities in Dublin to form alliances between the crown and any local chieftains who would submit to her authority. Many chieftains who submitted did so in order to assist them in their own power struggles against their neighbours. Elizabeth especially needed this support in order to ensure that if Spain invaded Ireland she would be able to quell rebellion.
Walter Devereux (1541-1576) 1st Earl of Essex, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London.
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, travelled to Ireland to subjugate Ulster and Shane O’Neill (“The O’Neill) in 1573. He failed, and had to sell of much of his land in England to pay debts accrued from raising an army. He died in Dublin of typhoid in 1576.
His son, the 2nd Earl of Essex came to Ireland to quell a rebellion which included the rise of Hugh O’Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone (1550-1616), cousin of Shane O’Neill.
Cahir Castle, June 2022.Cahir Castle, June 2022.
The storyboard tells us that Hugh O’Neill fought alongside the 1st Earl of Essex in Ulster between 1573 and 1575. He also fought for Queen Elizabeth in 1580 against the rebel Gerald Fitzgerald, 14th Earl of Desmond (circa 1533, d. 11 November 1583), and as thanks he was made Earl of Tyrone. However, he turned against the crown in 1594 and formed an alliance with Red Hugh O’Donnell to fight against the Queen’s troops, in the Nine Years War.
The ties between the Earls of Essex and Queen Elizabeth I are complicated. When Walter Devereux the 1st Earl died in Ireland, his wife, Lettice Knollys, remarried. She and Queen Elizabeth’s favourite, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, married secretly, a fact which enraged the disappointed Queen. It was Robert Dudley who introduced his stepson Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex to Elizabeth and he subsequently became her favourite, alongside Walter Raleigh. However, Elizabeth was to be angered again when this next favourite, Devereux, also secretly married, this time to Frances Walsingham, who was the widow of Sir Philip Sidney. We came across her before when we visited Portumna Castle as she later married Richard Bourke 4th Earl of Clanricarde. Philip Sidney was the son of Henry Sidney (or Sydney) who had been Lord Deputy of Ireland.
Lord Deputy Henry Sidney is shown crossing a moat leaving Dublin Castle, setting out on a campaign. Above the gate are a number of severed heads!The submission of Turlough Luineach O’Neill to Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney in 1575.Sir Henry Sidney (1529-1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, after painter Arnold Van Brounkhorst, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Portrait of Frances Walsingham, along with her husband Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and in the small picture, Sir Philip Sydney, from information board in Portumna Castle.
Robert Devereux the 2nd Earl of Essex sought to re-win courtly favour by going to fight in Ireland, following the footsteps of his father, and persuaded Elizabeth to name him Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
In May 1599, Essex and his troops besieged Cahir Castle. He arrived with around two to three thousand men, a cannon and a culverin, a smaller and more accurate piece of heavy artillery.
Thomas Butler the 10th Earl of Ormond, who owned the castle in Carrick-on-Suir and was another favourite of the Queen, as he had grown up with her in the English court. However, the storyboards tell us that he at first rebelled, alongside Thomas Butler 2nd Baron Cahir (or Caher – they seem to be spelled interchangeably in historical records) and Edmond Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret (1540-1602), another titled branch of the Butler family.
Thomas Butler 10th Earl of Ormond by Steven Van der Meulen. He is holding a wheelcock pistol with his coat of arms in the upper left corner.
By the time of the 1599 siege, the Earl of Ormond was fighting alongside Essex, and Cahir Castle was held by rebels, including Thomas Butler’s brother James Gallada Butler (not to be confused with the earlier James Galda Butler who died in 1434). Thomas Butler 2nd Baron Cahir travelled with Essex toward the castle. Baron Cahir sent messengers to ask his brother to surrender the castle but the rebels refused. Thomas Butler 2nd Baron Cahir was suspected of being involved with the rebels. Thomas was convicted of treason but received a full pardon in 1601 and occupied Cahir Castle until his death in 1627. James Gallada Butler claimed that he had been forced by the rebels to fight against Essex. Essex and his men managed to capture the castle.
During the three days of the siege, the castle incurred little damage, mostly because the larger cannon broke down on the first day! Eighty of the defenders of the castle were killed, but James Gallada Butler and a few others escaped by swimming under the water mill. This siege was to be the only time that castle was taken by force. James Gallada recaptured the castle the following year and held it for some months. The Butlers regained possession of the castle in 1601.
Cahir Castle taken by the 2nd Earl of Essex in 1599.Cahir Castle, June 2022.
Inside the castle in one room was a wonderful diorama of this siege of Cahir Castle, with terrifically informative information boards.
The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.The siege map and diorama show the wall of the barbican extending further than it does now, to the bridge across to the island. The plan also shows a number of buildings in the inner ward that no longer exist.The shape of the islands and riverbanks changed following construction of a weir.The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.Someone must have had great fun setting up the little toy soldiers in their fight formations in the diorama.The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.The Diorama of the 1599 Siege.
Failing to win in his battles in Ireland, however, Essex made an unauthorised truce with Hugh O’Neill. This made him a traitor. The Queen did not accept the truce and forbid Essex from returning from Ireland. He summoned the Irish Council in September 1599, put the Earl of Ormond in command of the army, and went to England. He tried to raise followers to oust his enemies at Elizabeth’s court but in doing so, he brought a small army to court and was found guilty of treason and executed.
The Cahir Social and Historical Website continues:
“A study of the Butler Family in Cahir in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries reveals the rise and fall of one of the minor branches of the House of Ormond. At the end of the fifteenth century, they possessed extensive powers, good territorial possessions and a tenuous link with the main branch of the Butler family. During the sixteenth century, their possession was strengthened by the grant of the title of Baron of Cahir with subsequent further acquisition of land, but they came under closer central government control.”
The Cahir website continues: “A complete reversal in their relations with the Earls of Ormond occurred, strengthened by various marriage alliances. They also participated in political action, both in the Liberty of Tipperary and at National Level. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries their position was affected by their adherence to Roman Catholicism, which resulted in their revolt during the Nine Years War, and subsequent exclusion from power by the Central Administration. They formed part of the Old English Group and as such, suffered from the discriminatory politics practiced by the Government. From 1641 they became minor landowners keeping their lands by virtue of the favour of their relative, the Duke of Ormond. In 1647 the Castle was surrendered to Lord Inchiquin for Parliament but re-taken in 1650 by Cromwell himself, whose letter describing acceptable terms of surrender still survives.
Murrough O’Brien (1614-1674) 1st Earl of Inchiquin by John Michael Wright courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery.
Murrough O’Brien fought on the side of the Crown – his ancestor Murrough O’Brien was created 1st Baron Inchiquin in 1543 by the Crown in return for converting to Protestantism and pledging allegiance to the King (Henry VIII). Since he took the castle for the crown, it implies that at this time Lord Caher fought against the crown again – and since the information boards tell us that the 1599 siege was the only time it was taken by force, force must not have been used at this later time.
Once invaders get through the portcullis they are trapped in a small area, where defenders can fire arrows and stones at them. The walls of this area slope outwards towards the bottom, known as a base batter, so falling rocks bounce off them to hit the invaders.
Oliver Cromwell took the castle in 1650 and the occupants, under the 4th Baron Caher Piers Butler (d. 1676), surrendered peacefully.
The Butlers of Ormond also had to forfeit their land in the time of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate. Both branches of the Butlers had their lands restored with the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II in 1662.
The Cahir website continues: “At the restoration of Charles II, in 1660, George Matthews, (as Warden of Cahir Castle and half-brother to the Duke of Ormond), retained the Cahir lands for the Lord Cahir, then a minor.” [4] George Matthew (or “Mathew,” 1645-1735) was married to Eleanor Butler, daughter of Edmond Butler, 3rd/13th Baron Dunboyne. She seems to have married twice: first to Edmond Butler son of 3rd Baron Cahir, then to to George Matthew. Her son was Piers Butler, 4th Baron Cahir, who was just seven when his father died.
Piers Butler 4th Baron Cahir (1641-1676) married George Mathew’s niece, Elizabeth Mathew (1647-1704). They had no male issue, but two daughters. His daughter Margaret married Theobald Butler, 5th Baron Cahir (d. 1700), great-grandson of the 1st Baron Cahir.
Margaret Butler daughter of the 4th Baron Cahir was the 5th Baron Cahir’s second wife. His first wife, Mary Everard, gave birth to his heir, Thomas (1680-1744), 6th Baron Cahir. Thomas had several sons, who became 7th (d. 1786) and 8th Barons Cahir (d. 1788), but they did not have children, so that title went to a cousin, James Butler (d. 1788), who became 9th Baron Cahir.
The Cahir website tells us: “Despite embracing the Jacobite Cause in the Williamite Wars, the Cahir estate remained relatively intact. However, the Butlers never again lived at Cahir Castle but rather at their country manor, Rehill House, where they lived in peace and seclusion from the mid-seventeenth century, when not living abroad in England and France.
“…By 1700 a sizeable town had grown around the Castle, although hardly any other buildings survive from this period. Agriculture, milling and a wide range of trades would have brought quite a bustle to the muddy precursors of our present streets. At this time, the Castle was quite dilapidated and was let to the Quaker William Fennell, who resided and kept a number of wool combers at work there.” [4]
The castle layout was changed considerably and enlarged during work to repair some of the damage caused by the battles, but was then left abandoned until 1840 when the partial rebuilding of the Great Hall took place. [4]
Female member of Butler family, Cahir Castle, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction.
The Cahir website tells us: “On the completion of Cahir House [in the town, now Cahir House Hotel] in the later 1770’s, Fennell rented Rehill House from Lord Cahir and lived there over half a century. [The Barons moved to Cahir House.] A strong Roman Catholic middle class emerged. James [d. 1788], 9th Lord Cahir [d. 1788], practiced his religion openly. He maintained strong links with Jacobite France, and paid regular visits to England. While not a permanent resident, he kept his Cahir Estates in impeccable order and was largely responsible for the general layout of the Town of Cahir. Under his patronage, some of the more prominent buildings such as Cahir House, the Market House and the Inn were built during the late 1770s and early 1780s. In addition, the Quakers built the Manor Mills on the Bridge of Cahir, the Suir Mills (Cahir Bakery), and the Cahir Abbey Mills in the period 1775-90.” [4]
The son of the 9th Baron Cahir, Richard (1775-1819), became 10th Baron and 1st Earl of Glengall. It was he and his wife who had the Swiss Cottage built outside Cahir.
“… The young Lord Cahir married Miss Emily Jeffereys of Blarney Castle and together they led Cahir through the most colourful period of its development…Richard, Lord Cahir, sat in The House of Lords as one of the Irish Representative Peers, and in 1816 was created Earl of Glengall, a title he enjoyed for just 3 years. He died at Cahir House of typhus in January 1819, at the age of 43 years. Richard, Viscount Caher, (now 2nd Earl of Glengall), had already taken his place in political circles while his mother, Emily, ran the Estate with an iron fist.” [4]
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, wife of the 2nd Earl of Glengall by Richard James Lane courtesy of National Portrait Gallery London NPG D22383.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.Cahir Castle 1943, photograph from Dublin City Library archives. [5]
“During the Great Famine (1846-51), Lord and Lady Glengall did much for the relief of the poor and the starving. Lord Glengall’s town improvement plan was shelved in 1847 due to a resulting lack of funds and his wife’s fortune being tied up in a Trust Fund. The Cahir Estates were sold in 1853, the largest portion being purchased by the Trustees of Lady Glengall. This sale came about due to Lord Glengall being declared bankrupt. The Grubbs had by now become the most important Quaker family in the district and bought parts of the Cahir Estate during the 1853 sale...
“In the interim, Lady Margaret Butler (elder daughter and heir of Lord Glengall) had married Lieut. Col. Hon. Richard Charteris, 2nd son of the 9th Earl of Wemyss & March. Using a combination of her mother’s Trust and Charteris funds, Cahir Town and Kilcommon Demesne were repurchased.
“Lady Margaret, although an absentee landlord, resident in London, kept a close watch on her Cahir Estates through two excellent managers, Major Hutchinson and his successor William Rochfort… Her son, Richard Butler Charteris took over her role in 1915 and remained resident in Cahir from 1916 until his death in 1961. In 1962, the House, and circa 750 acre estate core (within the walls of Cahir Park and Kilcommon Demesne) were auctioned…And so ended the direct line of Butler ownership in Cahir, almost 600 years.“ [4]
The castle became the property of the state after the death of Lord Cahir in 1961; it was classified as a national monument and taken into the care of the Office of Public Works. [6]
The dining hall has a magnificent ceiling. The building would have originally been of two storeys, and taller. The appearance today owes much to restoratation work carried out by William Tinsley in 1840, when the building was converted into a private chapel for the Butler family. The hammer-beam roof and the south and east wall belong to this period. The external wall dates from the 13th century.
[2] p. 58. Hayes, William and Art Kavanagh, The Tipperary Gentry volume 1 published by Irish Family Names, c/o Eneclann, Unit 1, The Trinity Enterprise Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, 2003.
[3] http://www.thepeerage.com/index.htm and 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 IX, page 440.
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. She was the daughter of Philip Yorke, 3rd Duke of Hardwicke, and wife of Charles Stuart 1st and last Baron Stuart de Rothesay.Charlotte married Charles John Canning 1st Viceroy of India, 2nd Viscount, 1st Earl Canning; Louisa married Henry de la Poer Beresford 3rd Marquis of Waterford.Philip Yorke (1757-1834), 3rd Duke of Hardwicke, former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1836 by engraver William Giller after Thomas Lawrence, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegall (1695–1757)
Lady Lucy Ridgeway was the eldest daughter and co-heir of Robert Ridgeway, 4th Earl of Londonderry (d. 1713/14), she married Arthur Chichester, 4th Earl of Donegal (1695-1757), by Jonathan Richardson courtesy of Sothebys L11304.
Arthur Chichester, 5th Earl of Donegall (1739–1799; created Baron Fisherwick in 1790 and Earl of Belfast and Marquess of Donegall in 1791). He married Anne née Hamilton (1731-1780) who was the daughter of James Brandon Douglas Hamilton 5th Duke of Hamilton, Scotland. Arthur the 5th Earl of Donegall was the son of John Chichester (1700-1746), who was the son of Arthur 3rd Earl of Donegall.
Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall (1739–1799)
Arthur Chichester (1739-1799) 1st Marquess of Donegall, by Thomas Gainsborough, courtesy of Ulster Museum.He was the grandson of the 3rd Earl of Donegall.
George Augustus Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall (1769–1844)
George Augustus Chichester (1769-1844) 2nd Marquess of Donegall, courtesy of Belfast Castle.
George Hamilton Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall, Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus (1797–1883). He married Harriet Anne née Butler (1799-1860), daughter of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall.
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.Frederick Richard Chichester (1827-1853), Earl of Belfast, Courtesy of Ulster Museum.He was the son of the 3rd Marquess of Donegall.Frederick Richard Chichester (1827-1853) Earl of Belfast courtesy of Ulster Museum.
Edward Chichester, 4th Marquess of Donegall (1799–1889)
George Augustus Hamilton Chichester, 5th Marquess of Donegall (1822–1904)
Edward Arthur Donald St George Hamilton Chichester, 6th Marquess of Donegall (1903–1975)
Dermot Richard Claud Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall (5th Baron Templemore) (1916–2007)
Arthur Patrick Chichester, 8th Marquess of Donegall (b. 1952) [1]
I refer to Timothy William Ferres’s terrific blog to look at the Cole family of Florence Court in County Fermanagh, a National Trust property.
William Cole married Susannah, daughter and heir of John Croft, of Lancashire, and widow of Stephen Segar, Lieutenant of Dublin Castle, by whom he left at his decease in 1653,
MICHAEL, his heir; John, of Newland, father of Arthur, 1st BARON RANELAGH; Mary; Margaret.
Called Elizabeth Cole Lady Ranelagh, probably really Catherine Cole née Byron (1667-1746) Lady Ranelagh attributed to John Closterman courtesy of National Trust Florence Court. She married Arthur Cole, 1st Baron Ranelagh.
The elder son,
MICHAEL COLE, wedded, in 1640, Catherine, daughter of Sir Laurence Parsons, of Birr, 2nd Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and dvp, administration being granted 1663 to his only surviving child,
SIR MICHAEL COLE, Knight (1644-1710), of Enniskillen Castle, MP for Enniskillen, 1692-3, 95-9, 1703-11, who espoused firstly, Alice (dsp 1671), daughter of Chidley Coote, of Killester; and secondly, 1672, his cousin, Elizabeth (d 1733), daughter of Sir J Cole Bt.
Sir Michael was succeeded by his only surviving child,
JOHN COLE (1680-1726), of Florence Court, MP for Enniskillen, 1703-26, who espoused, in 1707, Florence, only daughter of Sir Bourchier Wrey Bt, of Trebitch, in Cornwall.
Florence Bourchier Wrey (d. 1718), courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.She married John Cole (1680-1726) who built Florence Court, and named it after her.
John and Florence had the following children:
Henry (Rev); JOHN (1709-67) his heir; Letitia; Florence.
Mr Cole was succeeded by his younger son, John Cole (1709-67) MP for Enniskillen, 1730-60. John married in 1728 Elizabeth, daughter of Hugh Willoughby Montgomery, of Carrow, County Fermanagh. Mr Cole was elevated to the peerage, in 1760, in the dignity of Baron Mountflorence, of Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
John Cole (1709-1767) 1st Baron Mountflorence of Florence Court, County Fermanagh, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
John and Elizabeth had the following children:
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY (1736-1803) his heir; Arthur, m in 1780 Caroline Hamilton; Flora Caroline; Catherine.
His lordship was succeeded by his elder son, WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, 2nd Baron (1736-1803), MP for Enniskillen, 1761-7, who was created Viscount Enniskillen in 1776; and advanced to the dignity of an earldom, in 1789, as EARL OF ENNISKILLEN.
William Willoughby Cole (1736-1803) 1st Earl of Enniskillen, by Nathaniel Hone, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.He was the son of John Cole 1st Baron Mountflorence.Anne Lowry-Corry, Countess of Enniskillen (1742-1802) by Horace Hone c.1785, watercolour painting on ivory, courtesy National Trust Florence Court. Sister of Armar Lowry-Corry (1740-1802) 1st Earl Belmore and wife of William Willoughby Cole 1st Earl of Enniskillen.
William Willoughby Cole married, in 1763, Anne, daughter of Galbraith Lowry Corry, of Ahenis, County Tyrone, and sister of Armar Corry, Earl of Belmore, and had issue,
JOHN WILLOUGHBY (1768-1840) his successor, who became 2nd Earl; Galbraith Lowry (Sir), GCB, a general in the army; William Montgomery (Very Rev), Dean of Waterford; Arthur Henry, MP for Enniskillen; Henry, died young; Sarah; Elizabeth Anne; Anne; Florence; Henrietta Frances.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY Cole 2nd Earl (1768-1840) married, in 1805, the Lady Charlotte Paget, daughter of Henry, 1st Earl of Uxbridge. The 2nd Earl of Charlotte had the following children:
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY (1807-86) his successor, who became the 3rd Earl of Enniskillen.
Henry Arthur; John Lowry; Lowry Balfour; Jane Anne Louisa Florence.
William Willoughby Cole (1807-1886) 3rd Earl of Enniskillen, by William Robinson, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh.
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, 3rd Earl (1807-86), Honorary Colonel, 3rd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, married firstly, in 1844, Jane, daughter of James Casamaijor, and had issue,
John Willoughby Michael, styled Viscount Cole (1844-50);
LOWRY EGERTON, 4th Earl;
Arthur Edward Casamaijor;
Florence Mary; Alice Elizabeth; Charlotte June; Jane Evelyn.
He wedded secondly, in 1865, Mary Emma, daughter of Charles, 6th Viscount Midleton.
His lordship was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,
LOWRY EGERTON, 4th Earl (1845-1924), KP JP DL MP, who wedded, in 1869, Charlotte Marion, daughter of Douglas Baird.
Charlotte Marion Baird (1851/2-1937) Countess of Enniskillen, by Henry Richard Graves, courtesy of National Trust, Florence Court, County Fermanagh. She married Lowry Egerton Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen.
Nicholas Conway Colthurst (1789-1829) 4th Baronet of Ardrum, County Cork, by Martin Arthur Shee, courtesy of Eton College.He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for the City of Cork between 1812 and 1829. His son the 5th Earl married Louisa Jane Jefferyes, through whom he acquired Blarney Castle.Ambrose Congreve reading a newspaper at Clonbrock House, Ahascragh, Co. Galway, National Library of Ireland Ref. CLON422.
Timothy William Ferres tells us of the line of the Conolly family who owned Castletown House in County Kildare. [2] It was built by William Conolly (1662-1729), Speaker of the House of Commons in Ireland during the reign of Queen Anne, First Lord of the Treasury until his decease during the reign of GEORGE II, and ten times sworn one of the Lords Justices of Ireland.
THOMAS (1734-1803) his heir; Katherine, m. Ralph, Earl of Ross; Anne, m. G. Byng; mother of Earl of Strafford; Harriet, m. Rt Hon John Staples, of Lissan; Frances, m. 5th Viscount Howe; Caroline, m. 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire;
Ferres continues, telling us that Thomas Conolly, MP for County Londonderry, 1761-1800, wedded, in 1758, Louisa Augusta Lennox, daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox.
Thomas and Louisa had no children so the estate passed to a grand-nephew, Edward Michael Pakenham (1786-1849) who assumed the surname Conolly in 1821. Now Edward Michael Conolly of Castletown, County Kildare, and Cliff, County Donegal, Lieutenant-Colonel, Donegal Militia, MP for County Donegal, 1831-49, he married in 1819, Catherine Jane, daughter of Chambré Brabazon Ponsonby-Barker, by the Lady Henrietta Taylour his wife, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Bective. They had issue,
THOMAS (1823-1876) his heir; Chambré Brabazon, d 1835; Frederick William Edward, d 1826; Arthur Wellesley, 1828-54; John Augustus, VC; Richard, d 1870; Louisa Augusta; Henrietta; Mary Margaret; Frances Catherine.
Thomas (1870-1900), killed in action at S Africa; William, 1872-95; EDWARD MICHAEL, of whom hereafter; CATHERINE, Baroness Carew, mother of 6th BARON CAREW.
Mr Conolly was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,
EDWARD MICHAEL CONOLLY CMG (1874-1956), of Castletown, Major, Royal Artillery, who died unmarried, when Castletown passed to his nephew,
William Francis (Conolly-Carew), 6th Baron Carew. [2]
On his terrific website, Timothy William Ferres tells us about the Conyngham family of Springhill, County Derry in Northern Ireland: [3]
Colonel William Cunningham, of Ayrshire settled in the townland of Ballydrum, in which Springhill is situated, in 1609.
Colonel Cunningham’s son, William Conyngham, known as “Good Will” (d. 1721) married Ann, daughter of Arthur Upton, of Castle Norton (later Castle Upton), County Antrim, by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Colonel Michael Beresford, of Coleraine. William “Good Will” Conyngham died in 1721, and was succeeded by his nephew,
William Conyngham (d. 1721), “Good Will”, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.Ann Upton (1664-1753) wife of William “Goodwill” Conyngham (1660-1721), daughter of Arthur Upton (1623-1706) of Castle Upton, County Antrim, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
William “Goodwill” Conyngham was succeeded by his nephew George Butle Conyngham (d. 1765). He married , in 1721, Anne, daughter of Dr Upton Peacocke, of Cultra.
George Butle Conyngham (d. 1765), courtesy of National Trust, Springhill, County Derry.Anne Peacocke (d. 1754), Mrs George Butle Conyngham, courtesy of National Trust, Springhill, County Derry.
George Butle Conyngham and Anne née Peacocke had children William (1723-84), the heir to Springhill, and David, successor to his brother, John who died unmarried in 1775 and a daughter Anne (1724-1777) who married in 1745 Clotworthy Lenox.
Called Anne Conyngham (1724-1777) Mrs Clotworthy Lenox, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry. She was the daughter of George Butle Conyngham.
David who succeeded his brother William died without issue so Springhill passed to his nephew George Lenox (1752-1816), son of his sister Anne, and George adopted the surname of Conyngham. George married, first, Jean née Hamilton (d. 1788), daughter of John Hamilton of Castlefin. They had a son, William Lenox-Conyngham (1792-1858).
Jean Hamilton (d. 1788), wife of William Conyngham (1723-1774) by Joshua Reynolds, courtesy of National Trust. Springhill, County Derry.
George married, second, in 1794, Olivia, fourth daughter of William Irvine, of Castle Irvine, County Fermanagh.
William Burton Conyngham (1733-1796), teller of the Irish Exchequer and treasurer of the Royal Irish Academy, 1780 engraver Valentine Green, after Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.William Burton Conyngham (1733–1796) by Anton Raphael Mengs c. 1754-58, courtesy of wikipedia.He was the son of Francis Burton and Mary Conyngham, and he inherited Slane Castle as well as Donegal estates from his uncle William Conyngham who died in 1781.William Burton Conyngham, engraving After GILBERT STUART courtesy of Adams Country House Collections auction Oct 2023.
Slane Castle passed to William Burton Conyngham’s nephew Henry Conyngham (1766-1832) 1st Marquess Conyngham. Henry married Elizabeth Denison.
Timothy William Ferres also tells us of the Coote family. Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois): “The Peerage” website tells us that in 1600 he went to Ireland as Captain of 100 Foot under 8th Lord Mountjoy, Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord Deputy of Ireland. He fought in the siege of Kingsale in 1602. He held the office of Provost Marshal of Connaught between 1605 and 1642, for life. He held the office of General Collector and Receiver of the King’s Composition Money for Connaught in 1613, for life. He held the office of Vice-President of Connaught in 1620. He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) in 1620. He was created 1st Baronet Coote, of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s Co. [Ireland] on 2 April 1621. He held the office of Custos Rotulorum of Queen’s County in 1634. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Queen’s County [Ireland] in 1639. Before 1641 he held Irish lands, mostly in Conaught, worth £4,000 a year. He held the office of Governor of Dublin in 1641. In 1642 he helped relieve Birr, King’s County (now County Offaly), during the Uprising by the Confederation of Kilkenny, his successful operations there and elsewhere in the area, which was called Mountrath, suggesting the title by which his son was ennobled.
He married Dorothea, youngest daughter and co-heir of Hugh Cuffe, of Cuffe’s Wood, County Cork, and had issue, Charles (c.1610 –1661)1st Earl of Mountrath; Chidley (d. 1688) of Killester, Co Dublin and Mount Coote, County Limerick; RICHARD (1620-83) 1st Baron Coote of Colloony, County Sligo, ancestor of the EARL OF BELLAMONT (1st Creation); Thomas, of Coote Hill; Letitia (married Francis Hamilton, 1st Bt of Killaugh, co. Cavan).
Charles Coote 1st Earl of Mountrath (c.1610 –1661), 2nd Baronet, ca. 1642, before he was ennobled, Circle of William Dobson. By Christina Keddie – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42002789
Charles Coote (c.1610 –1661), 1st Earl of Mountrath married first, Mary Ruish, who gave birth to his heir, Charles Coote (d. 1672) 2nd Earl of Mountrath, Queen’s County. The 1st Earl of Mountrath, Queen’s County, also had the titles 1st Baron Coote of Castle Cuffe, in Queen’s Co. [Ireland] and 1st Viscount Coote of Castle Coote, Co. Roscommon [Ireland].
Charles Coote (c.1610 –1661), 1st Earl of Mountrath married secondly Jane Hannay, and she had a son Richard (1643-1700), who married Penelope, daughter of Arthur Hill of Hillsborough, County Down. Their daughter Penelope Rose married Charles Boyle (d. 1732) 2nd Viscount Blesington. Another daughter, Jane (d. 1729) married William Evans, 1st and last Baronet of Kilcreene, County Kilkenny.
Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath married Alice, daughter of Robert Meredyth of Greenhills, County Kildare. His daughter Anne (d. 1725) married Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington (d. 1718). His son Charles (1656-1709) succeeded as 3rd Earl of Mountrath, and he was father to the 4th, 5th and 6th Earls.
The son of Algernon Coote (1689-1744) 6th Earl of Mountrath, Charles Henry Coote (d. 1802) 7th Earl of Mountrath had no legitimate male issue and the earldom and its associated titles created in 1660 died with him. The barony of Castle Coote passed according to the special remainder to his kinsman, Charles Coote. The baronetcy of Castle Cuffe also held by the Earl passed to another kinsman, Sir Charles Coote, 9th Baronet.
Let us return now to Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois) and trace the line of his younger son, RICHARD COOTE (1620-83), for his hearty concurrence with his brother, SIR CHARLES, 2nd Baronet, in promoting the restoration of CHARLES II, was rewarded with the dignity of a peerage of the realm; the same day that his brother was created Earl of Mountrath, Richard Coote was created, in 1660, Baron Coote, of Colloony.
In 1660, Richard was appointed Major to the Duke of Albemarle’s Regiment of Horse; and the same year he was appointed one of the commissioners for executing His Majesty’s declaration for the settlement of Ireland. He was, in 1675, appointed one of the commissioners entrusted for the 49 Officers. In 1676, the 1st Baron resided at Moore Park, County Meath, and Piercetown, County Westmeath. He married Mary, second daughter of George, Lord St. George, and had issue: RICHARD (1636-1701) his successor; Thomas (d. 1741) Lætitia (married Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth of Swords); Mary (married William Stewart, 1st Viscount Mountjoy); Catherine (married Ferdinando Hastings); Elizabeth (married Lt.-Gen. Richard St. George).
Following his decease, in 1683, he was interred at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
RICHARD, 2nd Baron (1636-1701), Governor of County Leitrim, 1689, Treasurer to the Queen, 1689-93, MP for Droitwich, 1689-95, who was, in 1688, one of the first to join the Prince of Orange. In 1689, he was attainted in his absence by the Irish Parliament of JAMES II. His lordship was created, in 1689, EARL OF BELLAMONT, along with a grant of 77,000 acres of forfeited lands.
Richard Coote (1636-1700/01) 1st Earl Bellomont By Samuel Smith Kilburn (d. 1903) – New York Public Library digital libraryhttp//:digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?423861, Public Domain, https//:commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13014278
Richard 1st Earl of Bellomont was Governor of Massachusetts, 1695, and Governor of New York, 1697-1701. The King had sent Lord Bellomont to New York to suppress the “freebooting.” Unfortunately he was responsible for outfitting the veteran mariner William Kidd, who turned into “Captain Kidd,” who terrorised the merchants until his capture in 1698.
According to Cokayne “he was a man of eminently fair character, upright, courageous and independent. Though a decided Whig he had distinguished himself by bringing before the Parliament at Westminster some tyrannical acts done by Whigs at Dublin.”
The 1st Earl of Bellomont wedded, in 1680, Catharine, daughter and heir of Bridges Nanfan, of Worcestershire, and had issue, NANFAN (1681-1708) his successor as 2nd Earl of Bellomont, and RICHARD (1682-1766), who succeeded his brother.
NANFAN, 2nd Earl (1681-1708) married Lucia Anna van Nassau (1684-1744), daughter of Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk, in 1705/6 at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, London. Nanfan died at Bath, Somerset, from palsy, without male issue, when the family honours devolved upon his brother, RICHARD, 3rd Earl (1682-1766), who, in 1729, sold the family estate of Colloony, County Sligo, for nearly £17,000.
In 1737, he succeeded his mother to the estates of Birtsmorton, Worcestershire. Macaulay described him as “of eminently fair character, upright, courageous and independent.” On his death the earldom expired.
The last Earl was succeeded in the barony of Coote by his first cousin once removed, CHARLES, 5th Baron (1736-1800), KB PC, son of Charles Coote [1695-1750] High Sheriff of County Cavan, 1719, MP for Granard, 1723-27, Cavan County, 1727-50MP for County Cavan, 1761-6, who was son of the HON THOMAS COOTE (c. 1655-1741) a Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench of Ireland, younger son of the 1st Baron. This Thomas’s daughter Elizabeth married Mervyn Pratt (1687-1751) of Cabra Castle.
Sir Charles succeeded his cousin, Richard, in 1766, as 5th Baron Coote; and was created, in 1767, EARL OF BELLAMONT (3rd creation). His lordship was created a baronet, in 1774, designated of Donnybrooke, County Dublin, with remainder to his natural son, Charles Coote, of Dublin.
SIR CHARLES COOTE (1736-1800), KB PC, of Coote Hill (afterwards renamed Bellamont Forest) had an illegitimate son, Charles Coote (1765-1857) who despite his illegitimacy became 2nd Baronet of Bellamont). Charles 1st Earl married, in 1774, the Lady Emily Maria Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of James, 1st Duke of Leinster, and had issue, Charles, Viscount Coote (died age seven, 1778-86); Mary; Prudentia; Emily; Louisa. Following his death in 1800, the titles became extinct as he left no legitimate male issue, though he was succeeded in the baronetcy according to the special remainder by his illegitimate son Charles, 2nd Baronet.
Finally, let us return now to Charles Coote (1581-1642), 1st Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County (Laois) and trace the line of his son Chidley Coote (d. 1668). Chidley lived in Mount Coote, County Limerick (later called Ash Hill, a section 482 property, see my entry). He had a son, Chidley (d. 1702) who married Catherine Sandys. They had a daughter Catherine (d. 1725) who married Henry Boyle 1st Earl of Shannon. Another daughter, Anne, married Bartholomew Purdon, MP for Doneraile and later Castlemartyr of County Cork. They had a son Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick. He married Jane Evans (d. 1763) and it was their grandson Charles Henry Coote (1754-1823) who succeeded as 2nd Baron Castle Coote in 1802. He was the son of Reverend Charles Coote (1713-1796) and Grace Tilson (d. 1766). Another son was Lt.-Gen. Sir Eyre Coote (1762-1823).
Major General Eyre Coote (1762-1823), Governor of Jamaica, 1805 by engraver Antoine Cordon after J.P.J. Lodder, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.He was son of Reverend Charles Coote (1713-1796) and Grace Tilson (d. 1766).Eyre Coote (1726-1783) attributed to Henry Robert Morland, c. 1763, National Portrait Gallery of London NPG124. He was the son of Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick and Jane Evans (d. 1763).Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote (1726-1783) Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies (1777-1783) by John Thomas Seton, courtesy of the British Library.He was the son of Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill in County Limerick and Jane Evans (d. 1763).
Reverend Chidley Coote (1678-1730) who inherited Ash Hill and Jane Evans (d. 1763) had a daughter Elizabeth who married John Bowen. Reverend Childley Coote and Jane Evans’s son Robert (d. 1745) inherited Ash Hill and married his cousin Anne Purdon, daughter of Bartholomew Purdon and Anne Coote. Robert Coote and Anne Purdon’s grandson was Charles Henry Coote (1792-1864) who succeeded as 9th Baronet of Castle Cuffe, Queen’s County, who married Caroline Elizabeth Whaley (d. 1871), daughter of John Whaley (d. 1847) of Dublin.
Irish Historic Houses 