Blennerhassett (Riddlestown)
The Blennerhassett family acquired estates in county Kerry from the forfeitures of the Earl of Desmond in the late 16th century. In the late 17th century Edward Blennerhassett, son of Arthur of Loughgur, Bruff, county Limerick, married Elizabeth Windell, heiress to the Rice family of Riddlestown. The Riddlestown property was inherited by Edward’s nephew, Arthur Blennerhassett, who built the house circa 1730. Arthur was succeeded by his uncle Gerald and his descendants lived at Riddlestown throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In the mid 19th century the Blennerhassett Riddlestown estate was in the parishes of Doondonnell and Rathkeale, barony of Connello Lower. In the 1870s it amounted to 1,142 acres. In 1840 Gerald Blennerhassett married Geraldine Anne, daughter of the Knight of Glin. John Blennerhassett of Rockfield was Gerald’s uncle. ‘’Irish Family Records’’ states that Riddlestown Park passed to the Knights of Glin following the death in 1904 of Clara Elizabeth Blennerhassett who married George Ralph Fosbery of Kilgobbin and Clorane in 1888. Mrs Fosbery’s aunt, Clara Anna, married in 1835, her first cousin, J.F.E. Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riddlestown Park | Riddlestown | Doondonnell | Rathkeale | Riddlestown 132 | Connello Lower | Limerick |
OSI Ref: R331 436
OS Sheet: 19 Discovery map: 64 |
|
Archival sources
- Deeds & other papers re properties of Waller family in Co Limerick, mainly 18th century, including ref to this family. Small Accs Index 78, Co. 2453-2464, D.11,802-11,980, M.1039-1049, T.3858-3873; National Archives of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Barony of Connello Lower, 34 (Riddlestown)
- LEET, Ambrose. ''A directory to the market towns, villages, gentlemen's seats, and other noted places in Ireland''. Dublin: Printed by B. Smith, 1814 : 335 (Riddlestown)
- LEWIS, Samuel. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland''. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: I, 572-573 (Riddlestown)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 146
- 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] : 39
- TAYLOR, George & SKINNER, Andrew. ''Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783''. Facsimile of 2nd edition. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969: 104 (Riddlestown)
- WILSON, William. ''The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland''. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 178 (Riddlestown)
Modern printed sources
- MONTGOMERY-MASSINGBERD, Hugh (ed). ''Burke's Irish Family Records''. London: Burke's Peerage, 1976: 135-136
- BENCE-JONES, Mark. ''A Guide to Irish Country Houses''. Revised ed. London: Constable, 1988. : 242
- GLIN, Knight of, GRIFFIN, D. J. & ROBINSON, N.K (eds).'' Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland''. Dublin: Irish Architectural Archive/Irish Georgian Society, 1989. : 104 (Riddlestown Park)
- WALFORD, Edward. 'The County families of the United Kingdom''. London: Chatto and Windus, 1885): p.97