Eyre (Clifden)
Thomas Eyre of Bath, Somerset, bought much of the property of John D'Arcy of Clifden, county Galway, for sale in the Encumbered Estates' Court in 1850, including the Kylemore estate which he purchased in 1852 and part of the New Forest estate in the barony of Tiaquin. From 1837 the D'Arcy estates were mortgaged to him and his brother Charles Eyre. At the time of Griffith's Valuation he owned about 20 townlands in the parish of Omey, 3 townlands in the parishes of Moyrus and Ballynakill, barony of Ballynahinch and 4 townlands in the parish of Kilkerrin, barony of Tiaquin. In 1864 he handed over his Connemara estates to his nephew John Joseph Eyre of London, who is recorded as owning 8,204 acres in the 1870s. The Eyres were absentee landlords and after J.J.Eyre's death in 1894 a trust was set up to administer their property until most of it was purchased by the Land Commission in 1931. The agents for the trust were Joyce, Mackie and Lougheed, solicitors, Galway.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifden Castle | Clifden Demesne | Omey | Clifden | Clifden 22 | Ballynahinch | Galway |
OSI Ref: L635 509
OS Sheet: 35 Discovery map: 37 |
|
Archival sources
- Correspondence of John Charles Williams, Bengal Civil Service, to his cousin and legal adviser J.W.Randall of 10 King's Bench Walk, concerning anticipated inheritance under the Will of his wife's great-uncle, Thomas Eyre, of Bath (d.16 Sep 1866), 1884-5. Acc/221; Bath and North East Somerset Record Office
- Clifden Castle, mounted photo. 022/031; Irish Architectural Archive
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Clifden Union, 87
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion...'', HC 1906, c, 177: 311
- 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] : 151
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 295
- SLATER, Isaac. ''Royal National Directory of Ireland: List of the principal seats''. (Manchester: 1894) : xxv & 39
Modern printed sources
- TULLY CROSS GUILD IRISH COUNTRYWOMEN'S ASSOCIATION, ''Portrait of a Parish, Ballynakill, Connemara''. Tully Cross I.C.A., 1985: 46-47
- VILLIERS-TUTHILL, Kathleen. ''Beyond the Twelve Bens: A History of Clifden and District 1860-1923''. [Dublin]: the author, 2nd ed. 1990: 128-131
- GLIN, Knight of, GRIFFIN, D. J. & ROBINSON, N.K (eds).'' Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland''. Dublin: Irish Architectural Archive/Irish Georgian Society, 1989. : 69