Landed Estates
University of Galway

Moore/O'Moore (Cloonbigny)

In 1629 John Moore of Brees, county Mayo, settled his Cloonbigney estate in the parish of Taghmaconnell, barony of Athlone, county Roscommon, on his third son, William. In 1725 Michael Moore of Cloonbigney married Frances Moore, co heiress, with her sister Mary, to their brother Garrett Moore of Brees. Mary was married to Sir Henry Lynch, 5th baronet of Castlecarra. It was not until 1744 that the division of the Moore estate was eventually settled by a decision of the House of Lords in favour of Sir Henry Lynch, who obtained possession of all the Moore estate in county Mayo. The Moores of Cloonbigny got Cloghan Castle in county Offaly. In 1852 the Moores of Cloonbigny advertised for sale in the Encumbered Estates' Court their lands in counties Roscommon (4,000 acres on border with county Galway), Offaly, Mayo (parishes of Balla and Kilcolman) and Clare (723 acres in unions of Ennistymon and Killadysert) amounting to 9456 acres. Their county Roscommon estate was in the parish of Taghmaconnell, barony of Athlone, and by the time of Griffith's Valuation it was in the possession of Fitzstephen French. The townland of Ballygill, in the parish of Ahascragh, county Galway, is recorded in the Ordnance Survey Name books as having been the property of Garret O'Moore. The house, Ballygill Lodge, that it formerly contained, was then in ruins.

Associated Families

Houses

Name Townland Civil Parish PLU DED Barony County Map Ref  
Bellgrove House Attiknockan Tisrara Roscommon Lismaha 78 Athlone Roscommon OSI Ref: M862 544
OS Sheet: 44
Discovery map: 40

Archival sources

  • Pedigree of O'Moore of Cloonbigny, Co Roscommon and Annaghbeg, barony of Tiaquin, Co Galway, c 1650-c 1750. GO MS 164: 67; National Library of Ireland
  • Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), O’Moore, 8 Oct 1852, Vol 18 (33), MRGS 39/008, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
  • Coobigny Castle photos. 076/088; Irish Architectural Archive
  • Encumbered Estates’ Court Rentals (Dunboyne), O’Moore, 8 Oct 1852, Vol 17; James Hardiman Library, University of Galway

Contemporary printed sources

Modern printed sources