Coltsmann
The Coltsmann estate originated with John Coltsmann, an English merchant who came to Ireland in the early nineteenth century. Some of his family married into well-known Kerry families including the Godfreys and the Cronins. The estate eventually passed into the latter family who took the name Cronin-Coltsmann. In July 1854, over 7000 acres of the Cronin estate, in which members of the Coltsmann and Godfrey families also had an interest, were offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court. Most of this acreage was in the barony of Duhallow, county Cork, and included houses and premises in Killarney, county Kerry. The same property was advertised for sale again in October of the same year and part of it again in February 1855. Daniel C. Coltsmann was one of the principal lessors in the parishes of Kilcummin, Kilnanare and Nohovaldaly, barony of Magunihy and the parish of Killeentierna, barony of Trughanacmy, county Kerry at the time of Griffith’s Valuation, while his county Cork estate was in parishes of Kilmeen and Nohavaldaly, barony of Duhallow. The estate amounted to over 10,000 acres in Kerry in the 1870s as well as over 4000 acres in county Cork. Catherine Coltsmann, of Dublin, owned over 2000 acres in county Kerry at the same time.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flesk (Glenflesk) Castle | Dromhumper | Killarney | Killarney | Killarney Rural 67 | Magunihy | Kerry |
OSI Ref: V989899
OS Sheet: 67 Discovery map: 78 |
|
Archival sources
- Papers relating to the property of the Coltsmann family, 1798-1851. D23,337-23,530 T.12,672-3, M.5032-5035; National Archives of Ireland
- Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Cronin, Coltsmann, Godfrey, 13 July 1854, Vol 30, MRGS 39/0013, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Cronin, Coltsmann, Godfrey, 10 October 1854, Vol 30, MRGS 39/0013, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Encumbered Estates' Court Rentals (O'Brien), Cronin, Coltsman, Godfrey, 15 Feb 1855, Vol 33 (40), MRGS 39/015, (microfilm copy in NUIG); National Archives of Ireland
- Small notebook [kept by her mother] relating to Mary Margaret Murphy [aft. Cronin-Coltsmann] of Clifton, Co. Cork giving her date of birth, details of her education, date of her marriage and birth dates of her children, 1857-1886. Ms. 19,441 ; National Library of Ireland
- Irish Tourist Association Survey files, 1942-43: Parish of Killarney (Flesk Castle); Kerry Library, Local History & Archives Section
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Magunihy Barony: 96 (Dromhumper [Flesk Castle])
- HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. ''The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland''. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie] : 93 (Cronin-Coltsmann)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 141
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol.II, 127 (Killarney Parish)
- BATEMAN, John. ''The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland''. London: Harrison, 1883. : p.100
Modern printed sources
- Bary, Valerie. ''Historical Genealogical Architectural notes of some Houses of Kerry'' Whitegate, county Clare: Ballinakella Press, 1994. : 114-115
- ''THE KERRY MAGAZINE'': Bary, Valerie. Flesk Castle. No.5 (1994), 9-11.
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND. Reports on Private Collections: Report on Godfrey papers, letters & other materials relating to Godfrey & other families in Kerry, including Day & Coltsmann, 1778-1865. No. 471.
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 138 (Glenflesk Castle)
- MONTGOMERY-MASSINGBERD, Hugh (ed). ''Burke's Irish Family Records''. London: Burke's Peerage, 1976: 262 [Cronin-Coltsmann].
- BLAKE, Tarquin. ''Abandoned mansions of Ireland II: more portraits of forgotten stately homes'' Cork: Collins Press, 2012. : 116-121 (Flesk Castle)