Conolly (Castletown)
At the beginning of the 18th century William Conolly of Castletown, county Kildare, purchased over 2,000 acres in county Roscommon from the trustees for the sale of forfeited estates. In June 1867 the rental of the estate of Thomas Conolly, Member of Parliament, in the parish of Elphin, barony and county of Roscommon, was advertised for sale. The Irish Times mentions Messers Lyle and Ryan as among the purchasers. At the time of Griffith's Valuation the estate was mainly in the possession of Pierce Simpson. It was comprised of just over 1,000 acres. Some land in King's County (County Offaly) was included in the sale. Thomas Conolly was recorded as the proprietor of several townlands in the parishes of Drumhome, Inishmacsaint, Kilbarron, Killybegs and Lettermacaward in the baronies of Banagh, Boylagh and Tirhugh, County Donegal, at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. In the 1870s, Thomas Connolly of Castletown, [County Kildare], was the owner of over 22,700 acres in County Donegal. The Conolly association with Donegal originated with William Conolly in the 17th century who rose from humble beginnings in Ballyshannon to become an influential political figure as well as a wealthy landowner. In June 1867 Thomas Conolly, then then estate owner, advertised for sale the celebrated salmon and eel fisheries of Ballyshannon, in the Landed Estates Court. They were held by the Sheil family under lease from 1819. In November of that year he advertised what are described as his Glencollumkill and Killybegs estates, amounting to over 25,000 acres in the barony of Banagh, in the Landed Estates Court. In November 1867 Elizabeth Jones offered over 300 acres for sale in the Landed Estates Court, held on lease by Edward Jones from Thomas Conolly's estate in the barony of Tirhugh, County Donegal. In June 1868 over 500 acres of the Conolly estate in the parish of Lower Killybegs was advertised for sale in the court. November 1872 saw the advertising for sale in the Landed Estates Court of over 6000 acres of what was known as the Ballyshannon estate some of it held by conveyance from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In 1877 Joseph Lipsett offered the rental of properties in and around the town of Ballyshannon for sale in the Landed Estates Court. The Conolly estate is described as the original lessor. The Conolly estates devolved in the direct line on a number of occasions due to the lack of a male heir. The main family seat was at Castletown House, near Maynooth, in County Kildare.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair View, later Dane Ville | Magheracar | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G801589
OS Sheet: 106 Discovery map: |
|
| Mahgeracar | Magheracar | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G804587.
OS Sheet: 106 Discovery map: |
|
| Rose Lodge or Dingleicoush | Magheracar | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G811585
OS Sheet: 106 Discovery map: |
|
| Willybrook | Dunmuckrum | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G868611
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Higginstown House | Ballymunterhiggin | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G875592
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Stonewold | Ballyhanna | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Carrickboy | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G895609
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Laputa | Knader | Kilbarron | Ballyshanon | Ballyshannon Rural | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G903609
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Templenew House | Templenew | Kilbarron | Ballyshannon | Carrickboy | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G917598
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Rockfield House (Tirhugh) | Knocknashangan | Kilbarron | Ballyshannon | Carrickboy | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G921592
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
|
| Dunmuckrum | Dunmuckrum | Inishmacsaint | Ballyshannon | Bundoran | Tirhugh | Donegal |
OSI Ref: G868358
OS Sheet: 107 Discovery map: |
Archival sources
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Conolly, 7 June 1867, Vol 85, MRGS 39/041, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Castletown papers: 97/84/ Box 4, Deeds relating to lands in Co Roscommon, 1703-1780; Irish Architectural Archive
- Castletown papers: 97/84 Box 78, 1694-1840: leases, letters and legal documents relating to county Roscommon lands. ; Irish Architectural Archive
- 18th century estate papers (rentals, accounts, etc) for the Conolly estates in County Donegal. M.6917. ; National Archives of Ireland
- Rent rolls, major tenants only, 1724-1831. Ms.17302. ; National Library of Ireland
- Rent roll & survey of the manor of Ballyshannon. D2094/24A-C.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Castletown estate papers, T2825.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Rentals and rent accounts of the Ballyshannon estate, 1770s & 1780s. T3254/3.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Rentals and rent accounts of the Ballyshannon estate, 1770s & 1780s. T3254/3.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Survey of lives in leases on the Ballyshannon estate, 1748. Ms.5751.; National Library of Ireland
- Survey of property in Dromhome, 1770. MIC435/20.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Survey of property in Dromhome, 1770. MIC435/20.; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Conolly, 7 June 1867, Vol 85, MRGS 39/041-2, (microfilm copy in University of Galway Library); National Archives of Ireland
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Conolly, 29 Nov 1867, Vol 87, MRGS 39/042, (microfilm copy in University of Galway Library); National Archives of Ireland
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Jones, 15 Nov1867, Vol 87, MRGS 39/042, (microfilm copy in University of Galway Library); National Archives of Ireland
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Conolly, 26 Jun 1868, Vol 90, MRGS 39/044, (microfilm copy in University of Galway Library); National Archives of Ireland
- Landed Estates’ Court Rentals (O’Brien), Conolly, 22 Nov 1872, Vol 107, MRGS 39/050, (microfilm copy in NUIG);; National Archives of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''15th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Records Ireland,'' 1825. Vol XVI, Appendix III. Abstracts of the conveyances from the trustees of the Forfeited Estates and Interests in Ireland in 1688'.: 390
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Glenties Union, p.89.
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Donegal Union, p.128 (Trumman West)
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Ballyshannon Union, p.1(Ardeelan Lower), p.56 (Magheracar), p.63 (Dunmuckdrum), p.64 (Ballymunterhiggin), p.72 (Ballyhanna)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: p.36 (Ballymunterhiggin, Henry Coene)
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol.II, p.49 (Cliff)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: p.224.
- BATEMAN, John. ''The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland''. London: Harrison, 1883. : p.102.
Modern printed sources
- BURKE, Sir Bernard. ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the Landed Gentry of Ireland''. London: Harrison & Sons, 1904: 107-108
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Reports on Private Collections: Report on P.C. Connolly Papers, Castletown, Co Kildare, re lands in Cos Donegal, Dublin, Fermanagh, Kildare, Westmeath, Roscommon & Meath, from 1604. No. 314
- SIMMS, J.G. ''The Williamite Confiscation in Ireland 1690-1703''. London: Faber and Faber, [1956]: Appendix B, Summary of Trustees' Sales 1702-1703
- ''Irish Times'': Landed Estates Court Sales reports, 8 June 1867, p.4
- ''Donegal Annual'': McWilliam, J.M. The Dickson and Conolly families of Ballyshannon. 4(1959), pp.111-117.
- ''Jnl of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'': Corlett, C. The 1946 Survey of the Area Flooded by the Erne Hydro-Electric Scheme, Co. Donegal. 136 (2006), pp.50-98. Includes images of Cliff House, Stone Wold, Laputa and Mullins
- ''Scotch Irish Studies'': MacMaster, Richard K. Emigrants to New England from the Conolly estates, 1718., 1 (2000), pp.18-23.
- Malcolmson, A.P.W. & Walsh, Patrick. ''The Conolly archive''. Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission. 2010. : -
- Walsh, Patrick. ''The making of the Irish protestant ascendancy: the life of William Conolly,1662-1729.'' Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010. : -
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Special Lists.: Ainsworth, John. Report on the Conolly papers. Report on Private Collections. no.314.
- ''Donegal Annual'': Cunningham, J.B. William Conolly's Ballyshannon estate. 33 (1981), pp.27-44.