This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(July 2013) |
Ennistymon House | |
---|---|
Alternative names | Ennistymon House |
General information | |
Type | country house |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Location | Castlequarter townland, parish of Kilmanaheen |
Town or city | Ennistymon, County Clare |
Country | Ireland |
Ennistymon House (sometimes also Ennistimon House) was a former country house in the village of Ennistymon, County Clare in Ireland. Built on the elevated site of a medieval castle it has now been incorporated into the Falls Hotel.
In 1564 the O'Briens of Thomond acquired a castle in a wooded estate by the Cullenagh river, on the western outskirts of what is now the town of Ennistymon. This castle was known as the "middle house", being situated between the other O'Brien castles at nearby Dough and Glann. It is uncertain who had originally built the castle, possibly Sir Domhnall (Donald) O'Brien or Donough MacDonall O'Conor of Corcomroe. Sir Domhnall was made Governor of Clare in 1576 and his son, Sir Turlough O'Brien, High Sheriff of Clare in 1578.
Next to Dromoland Castle, this was the most important seat of the family. [1] : 56
In 1619 Sir Turlough was said to own the castle, the town and some 360 acres of land in the district. In 1656 he let the castle to Neptune Blood, the uncle of Thomas Blood, and in 1659 to Edward Fitzgerald.
In 1703 the site was described as having a castle with a two-storey house attached. In early 1712 the property was leased to Christopher O'Brien, whose son Edward (or Edmund) demolished much of the old castle in 1754. The new Georgian house was described in Weir's Houses of Clare as "A gable-ended, eighteenth century, two-storey, seven bay house over a basement, on a mound facing east towards the Ennistymon falls, with a central one-bay pedimented breakfront, containing a side and fan-lit front door, and a lunette above the second storey window… A yard and stabling stood some distance to the north-west."
In 1786, the house was referred to as Innistymond, the seat of Edward O'Brien. [2]
In 1792 the house passed down to Edward's daughter Ann O’Brien and her husband, the High Court judge Matthias Finucane. Mathias retained it after their divorce in 1793. On the death of their only son Andrew Finucane in 1843, [3] the house was inherited by his brother-in-law William Nugent Macnamara of Doolin, who died in 1856 at the age of eighty-one. His son Francis, an army captain and a lieutenant-colonel in the Clare Militia, moved into the house with his wife in 1863 and added a west wing.
The house passed in turn to his son Major Henry Valentine Macnamara, who suffered a period of rural unrest. In 1919, during the War of Independence, he was ambushed near Leamaneh Castle for actively supporting the old order, [1] : 56 and received gunshot wounds to his face and arms. In 1922, the IRA notified him that they were confiscating Ennistymon House as a barracks and had burnt down his historic family home in Doolin. Henry Valentine left Ennistymon for London and never returned (he died in 1924).
The building then became the local station of the newly established Garda Síochána. [1] : 56
Henry Valentine's son Francis and his third wife Iris O'Callaghan-Westropp regained possession of Ennistymon House in the 1930s and converted it into the Falls Hotel. A poor businessman and in failing health, he eventually sold the property to Gerard Henry Williams-Owen.
In the 1940s, the hotel was run by Brendan O'Regan, who later was instrumental in the development of Shannon Airport. [2]
In 1955 John F. Wood and his wife Bridget bought the hotel and (in 1959) added a 30-kWh hydroelectric plant to provide power to the building. [1] : 56 Their son Tony and his wife Meg then ran the hotel for some years. Since 1986 the current owners have been Dan and Eileen McCarthy, who have further extended and improved the hotel.
County Clare is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 at the 2016 census. The county town and largest settlement is Ennis.
The Battle of Dysert O'Dea took place on 10 May 1318 at Dysert O'Dea near Corofin, Ireland. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland. The Norman Richard de Clare attacked the Gaelic Irish chieftain Conchobhar Ó Deághaidh, chief of the Cineal Fearmaic and ally of Muircheartach Ó Briain, but he was defeated.
Ennistymon or Ennistimon is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. The River Inagh, with its small rapids known as the Cascades, runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to nearby Lahinch, on the N67 national secondary road. The town is connected to Ennis by the N85, continuing the settlement's main street.
Lahinch or Lehinch is a small town on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road, between Milltown Malbay and Ennistymon, roughly 75 kilometres (47 mi) by road southwest of Galway and 68 kilometres (42 mi) northwest of Limerick. The town is a seaside resort and is home to the Lahinch Golf Club. It has become a popular surfing location.
Doonagore Castle is a round 16th-century tower house with a small walled enclosure located about 1 km south of the coastal village of Doolin in County Clare, Ireland. Its name may be derived from Dún na Gabhair, meaning "the fort of the rounded hills" or the "fort of the goats". Doonagore Castle is at present a private holiday home, inaccessible to the public.
Kilshanny is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland.
Ballinalacken Castle is a two-stage tower house located in Killilagh parish of County Clare, Ireland. It is of uncertain date but most likely was built in the 15th or early 16th century.
Clare was a constituency representing County Clare in the Irish House of Commons, the lower house in the Irish Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland. It returned two members to the Parliament of Ireland from 1613 to 1800.
The High Sheriff of Clare was a High Sheriff title. Records show that the title was in existence from at least the late 16th century, though it is not used today in the modern Republic of Ireland. The title existed within County Clare in the west of Ireland during the time of the Kingdom of Ireland and then as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond also spelt Conor and called Groibleach, or the "long-nailed", fought his uncle Donnell over his father's succession during thirty years from 1535 to 1565. He was confirmed as 3rd Earl of Thomond in 1558 by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex. O'Brien intrigued with fitz Maurice in 1569 during the 1st Desmond Rebellion and fled to France. He returned and was pardoned in 1571, being restored to his lands at the end of the rebellion in 1573.
Sir Daniel O'Brien, 1st Viscount Clare was an Irish politician and soldier. He was a younger son of Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond. He fought against the insurgents at Tyrone's Rebellion, but for the insurgents in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the Irish Confederate Wars. He resisted the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. He joined Charles II of England in exile and was made a viscount at the Restoration.
Sir Donough O'Brien, 1st Baronet of Leameneh was an Irish politician and baronet.
Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond was an Anglo-Norman peer and soldier. He was the second son of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester and his wife Maud de Lacy, Countess of Gloucester. In 1272 he served a term as Lieutenant of the Duchy of Aquitaine. On 26 January 1276 he was granted the Lordship of Thomond by Edward I of England; he spent the next eight years attempting to conquer it from the O'Brien dynasty, kings of Thomond.
Captain Edward Dominic O'Brien was an Irish law enforcement official and British Army officer.
The MacMahon Baronetcy, of Clondirrala [Clonderalaw] in the County of Clare, was a title in the Baronetage of Ireland. It was created on 15 August 1628 for Tiege MacMahon. The title is presumed to have become extinct on the death of the second Baronet sometime after 1683.
Ballyhannon Castle is a medieval Irish castle dating back to the 15th century, located near the village of Quin in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. It is fully intact and in the Irish Governmental records it is registered as a National Monument and "Listed/Protected" structure, intended to protect its historic, architectural and aesthetic significance.
William Nugent Macnamara or M'Namara was an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament.
Dough Castle is a ruined tower house at Lahinch in County Clare, western Ireland. It was established by the O'Conors in the early 14th century, but nothing remains of the original structures.
Killilagh or Killeilagh is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It contains the village of Doolin.
Matthias Finucane (1737–1814) was an Irish barrister and judge of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He is notable chiefly for divorcing his wife, which was an unusual move for the time.