O'Brien (Thomond)
The estate of the Earl of Thomond was the largest in county Clare with lands in seven out of the eleven baronies. In his will dated 14 October 1738 the childless Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond, left his estates to the three year old son of his cousin William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin, with remainder to his own wife's nephew Percy Wyndham. In 1741 the Earl died and shortly afterwards so did the child to whom he had left his estates. Percy Wyndham became the successor taking the additional surname of O'Brien and in 1756 was created Earl of Thomond. When he died in 1774 without children his nephew George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont of Petworth House, succeeded to the estates. The unmarried 3rd Earl left his Irish estates to his adopted [natural] son Colonel George Wyndham, created Baron Leconfield in 1859.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathorp | Attyslany North | Kilkeedy | Corrofin | Boston 13 | Inchiquin | Clare |
OSI Ref: R402 972
OS Sheet: 11 Discovery map: 52 |
|
| Rockvale | Rockvale | Kilkeedy | Corrofin | Boston 13 | Inchiquin | Clare |
OSI Ref: R385 985
OS Sheet: 11 Discovery map: 52 |
|
| Inchiquin Cottage | Killeen | Killinaboy | Corrofin | Corrofin 14 | Inchiquin | Clare |
OSI Ref: R284 905
OS Sheet: 17 Discovery map: 51 |
|
| Bunratty Castle | Bunratty East | Bunratty | Ennis | Drumline 40 | Bunratty Lower | Clare |
OSI Ref: R451 609
OS Sheet: 62 Discovery map: 58 |
|
Archival sources
- Petworth Collection, Thomond Papers, rental of estates of the Earl in Cos Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and other counties, compiled by T. Spaight, 1681. Microfilm P 4769 ; National Library of Ireland
- Copies of documents from the Petworth House Papers relating to the Co Clare estates of the Earls of Thomond which were inherited by the Earls of Egremont. 3 microfilm reels; Clare County Library
- Petworth House Archives: Survey of the Thomond Estate, 1703. Ms 9342; West Sussex Record Office
- Conveyance of woods of Caheracon, Henry Earl of Thomond to Angel Scott, 19 Apr 1728. E.J. French solicitor's collection, Small Accessions Index 8, D.3201; National Archives of Ireland
- Petworth Collection, catalogue of estate papers Vol I pp 93-133, 153-154, Vols IX & XI listing 17th & 18th century documents re estates in Cos Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Carlow, Queen’s Co, Dublin and Meath inherited by George Earl of Egremont from Henry 8th Earl of Thomond, giving dates, brief descriptions etc, compiled c 1805. Microfilm P 4767; National Library of Ireland
- Petworth Collection, Thomond Papers, Book of maps & book references to Thomas Moland’s Survey of the Thomand estates in Cos Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Carlwo, Queen’s Co, Dublin and Meath, 1703; National Library of Ireland
- Petworth Collection, Thomond Papers, survey with maps of estate of Earl of Thomond in Cos Clare and Limerick by Bernard Scales, 1773. Also 18th century maps & plans of Bunratty. Microfilm P 4769; National Library of Ireland
- Pedigree of O’Brien, Earls of Thomond and Earls of Clare, up to 1855. GO MS 178:98-122; National Library of Ireland
- Inchiquin Papers, includes documents re the estates of the Earls of Thomond, 16th-18th centuries. Collection List 143, MSS 45,639-45,652; National Library of Ireland
- Inchiquin Papers: rentals & accounts of the estates of Earl of Thomond in Cos Clare & Limerick, 1687, c 1687. MSS 14,362-14,364 ; National Library of Ireland
- Henry Earl of Thomond v James & John Hamilton & John Jacob re fraudulent misrepresentation in sale of Thomond’s estates in Ireland including estates in Co Limerick, Apr 1733. House of Lords Appeals, XI; King's Inn Library
- Lease for lives of Cannon Island & Trummery Island, barony of Clonderalaw, Co Clare, Rt Hon Henry Earl of Thomond to Richard Henn of Paradise Hill, 22 May 1712. 98/22; National Archives of Ireland
- Copies from the Wyndham Papers of 4 documents re estate of Earls of Thomond, comprising lands in Cos Carlow, Clare, Dublin, Kilkenny, Leix (Laois), Limerick, Meath, Tipperary & Waterford, including survey by Thomas Spaight, 1681; reference book to survey, [1703]; volume of maps surveyed by Thomas Moland, 1703; & survey of Percy Wyndham's estate in Cos Clare & Limerick by Bernard Seale, 1772. T3332; Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Corrofin Union, 11 (Rathorp), 23 (Rockvale)
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: II, 101 (Ratope & Rockvale)
- PRIOR, Thomas. ''A list of the Absentees of Ireland, and the yearly value of their estates and incomes spent abroad''. 1730: 2
Modern printed sources
- WEIR, Hugh W. L. ''Historical, Genealogical and Architectural notes on some Houses of Clare''. Whitegate, county Clare: Ballinakella Press, 1999. : 225
- ''The Other Clare'': O’BRIEN, Ivar. The Will of the 8th Earl of Thomond. XII (1988), 9
- ''The Other Clare'': Ó DÁLAIGH, Brian. From Gaelic Warlords to English Country Gentlemen- The O’Briens of Thomond 1543-1741. XXV (2001), 40-42
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 49 (Bunratty Castle)
- Ó DÁLAIGH, Brian. ''The Strangers Gaze: Travels in County Clare''. Ennis: Clasp Press, 1998: 52-59, 77-79
- MALCOMSON, A.P.W. ''The Pursuit of the Heiress: Aristocratic Marriage in Ireland, 1740-1840''. Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2006: 225
- ''The Irish Genealogist'': Ó MURCHADHA, Diarmuid. Memorial Inscriptions of Irish Interest from Somerset. IX (1994-1997), 5-13