The house is located in the southern suburbs of Dublin, on the Murphystown Road in the Leopardstown area, adjacent to exit 14 of the M50 motorway.
History
At the beginning of the 20th century, the house was owned by Richard Croker, a leading figure from New York's Tammany Hall.
The house and its surrounding estate were sold by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April 1999 for GBP£24 million, without having purchased an alternative residence. In 2000, an alternative site was purchased at nearby Marlay Grange, close to Marlay Park.[1]
The Ambassador continued to live at Glencairn while the Marlay Grange site was refurbished. A subsequent cost appraisal showed that it would in fact be more cost-effective to repurchase Glencairn than to continue with plans to refurbish Marlay Grange, and in 2007 the British Government sold Marlay Grange, without ever having occupied it.[2][3]
Prior to Richard Croker's ownership, Glencairn was in the Gresson family. It was the home of George Gresson a wealthy Dublin lawyer, son of the Reverend George Leslie Gresson, (1767-1842) Rector of Ardnurcher, County Westmeath, and his first wife Clarissa, daughter of Robert Reynell and his wife Elizabeth Knox, Killynen, County Westmeath. Rev. Gresson was the eldest son of William Gresson (1744-1802) of Hawkswood, Swanlinbar, County Cavan and his wife Margaret Leslie, (marriage articles 29 Dec. 1766) daughter of Henry Leslie (1710-1786) of Nutfield, Aghavea, County Fermanagh, and his first wife Amelia Creichton (married 5 Jan. 1740, Parish of St. Peter and Kevin, Dublin) daughter of John Creichton of Aghalane, Kinawley, County Fermanagh and his wife Henrietta Townley. The Gressons were landowners in County Cavan and County Tyrone. George Gresson built Glencairn House in 1860, died unmarried, 3 Nov. 1876, age 76, buried in the Gresson Family Vault, Tyrellspass, County Westmeath. Rev. George Leslie Gresson and his wife Clarissa Reynell, married in 1798, had ten children: William Reynell 1799, (Rev. William Reynell Gresson (1799-1873) of Larch Vale, near Moneygall, Rector of Burrisnefarney, County Tipperary, married in 1823 Frances Holmes, 5th daughter of Richard Holmes of Prospect and Garryduff, County Westmeath). George 1800 (of Glencairn House), Chapman 1801 (died young), Harriette 1804, Henry Barnes Gresson 1809, Clarissa 1811, Richard 1813 (died unmarried, 7 May 1838, age 25), Robert Christmas 1817, Eleanor 1819, and finally Skelton. (Skelton Robert Gresson, of Castle Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, beneficiary to his brother's will, George of Glencairn House). In 1826, George Leslie Gresson married Mary Anne Turpin and they had five children: Charles, John, (John George Gresson, Cleric, Schoolmaster, married Eleanor Sophia Haygarth 12 January 1865 at Reading, Berkshire, Eng; entrusted their son Arthur George, to John Langdon Down, who pioneered research for those persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities at his home called Normansfield, near Teddington, an affluent riverside area of southwest London. Arthur George Gresson made his home here for many years with Dr. Down and his family. The syndrome became known worldwide as Downs Syndrome). Henrietta Elizabeth, Mary Ann, and Alicia in 1835.[citation needed]
From the Gressons ownership of Glencairn passed to James Murphy, judge of the High Court.
The judge was noted for his "warm-hearted hospitality", and in his time Glencairn was one of the centres of Dublin social life. On his death in 1901 his heirs sold it to Croker.[4]
Luas halt
The sale of the land facilitated the acquisition of a railway corridor for an extension of the Luas Sandyford (Green) line to Cherrywood. It runs in front of the gate (see the image above) and gatehouse of the Ambassador's residence. It began operating in 2010, and a stop/station on the line is built near the gate. The stop is called Glencairn.[5]
Belvedere House and Gardens is a country house located approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Mullingar, County Westmeath in Ireland on the north-east shore of Lough Ennell. It was built in 1740 as a hunting lodge for Robert Rochfort, 1st Earl of Belvedere by architect Richard Cassels, one of Ireland's foremost Palladian architects.
Richard Welstead Croker, known as "Boss Croker", was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of Robert A. Van Wyck as the first mayor of all five boroughs. During his tenure as Grand Sachem, Boss Croker garnered a reputation for corruption and ruthlessness and was frequently the subject of investigations. As his power waned following the 1900 and 1901 elections, Croker resigned his position and returned to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his life.
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A regional road in the Republic of Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route, but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three-digit route numbers, prefixed by "R". The equivalent road category in Northern Ireland are B roads.
Leopardstown, also historically called Ballinlore, is a small suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is divided by the M50 motorway, and adjoins Sandyford, Stepaside, Ballyogan, Foxrock and Stillorgan.
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A registration district in the United Kingdom is a type of administrative region which exists for the purpose of civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths and civil partnerships. It has also been used as the basis for the collation of census information.
Marlay Park is an 86 hectares suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres from Dublin city centre, the parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks. Recreational spaces include a nine-hole, par-three golf course, tennis courts, six soccer pitches, five GAA pitches, a cricket pitch,a dog park, two children's playgrounds and a miniature railway run by the Dublin Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. There is also a craft courtyard with home craft shops and a coffee shop.
Sir John Leslie, 2nd Baronet was an Anglo-Irish soldier and baronet.
Brinsley Butler, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, PC (Ire), styled The Honourable until 1756 and Lord Newtown-Butler from 1756 to 1768, was an Irish politician and peer.
Henry de La Poer Beresford, 2nd Marquess of Waterford KP, PC (Ire) styled Lord Le Poer from 1783 until 1789 and Earl of Tyrone from 1789 to 1800, was an Irish peer.
Colonel Alexander Montgomery was an Irish soldier and politician.
The High Sheriff of Westmeath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Westmeath, Ireland from its creation under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Westmeath County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. The following is an incomplete list: all addresses are in County Westmeath unless stated otherwise.
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Snugborough is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland.
Annagh is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland.
The High Sheriff of Cavan was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Cavan, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Cavan County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed one of the nominees as his choice of High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Cavan unless stated otherwise.
Henry Barnes Gresson was a New Zealand judge.
George Marlay was an Irish Anglican priest in the eighteenth century: he was Bishop of Dromore from 1745 until 1763. He gave his name to Marlay Park, which is now a popular amenity in south Dublin.
James Murphy (1823-1901) was an Irish barrister and judge of the late nineteenth century.
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