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Fitzgibbon (Ballysheedy)
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The Fitzgibbon family were living at Ballysheedy/Ballyseeda, county Limerick, by the mid 18th century. John Thomas Fitzgibbon married Elinor Grove of Ballyhemock, county Cork and had four sons. The eldest son, John, purchased Mount Shannon from the White family and was father of the 1st Earl of Clare. The fourth son, Gibbon Fitzgibbon of Ballysheedy, married Barbara Lynch of Rafiladown, county Galway, and had a son, Gibbon Thomas Fitzgibbon, also known as Thomas Gibbon Fitzgibbon. In 1804 he married Eliza, daughter of Sir Henry Osborne. At the time of Griffith's Valuation Colonel Gibbon T. Fitzgibbon had an estate in the parishes of Abbeyfeale, barony of Glenquin and St Nicholas Parish, barony of Clanwilliam. In November 1854 over 700 acres at Ardatagle and Cappaghkeigh, barony of Tulla, county Clare and 24 acres at Ballysheeda, barony of Clanwilliam, county Limerick, belonging to Gibbon Thomas Fitzgibbon of Ballysheeda, were advertised for sale. Islandmore in the barony of Leitrim, county Galway was also advertised for sale on the same date. In June 1867 the trustees of the will of the last Earl of Clare advertised for sale the Fitzgibbon land in the barony of Glenquin. In the 1870s John Fitzgibbon of Ballysheedy owned 140 acres in county Limerick. These remaining 140 acres which included Ballysheedy House were advertised for sale in April 1883. The Irish Times reported that the sale was adjourned and that one of the observers was Mr. Thomas T. Macready, solicitor to the Irish Land Corporation, who "attended with a view to making a purchase on their behalf".
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Spaight
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The Spaight family was originally from Kent. In the late 17th century Thomas Spaight was seneschal to Henry, 7th Earl of Thomond, and in 1684, he married Elizabeth Westropp of the Fort Anne family. They lived at Bunratty Lodge, possibly the house later known as Cappagh Lodge, parish of Kinfinaghta, barony of Bunratty Lower, county Clare. His son Thomas also lived at Bunratty Lodge and at Burrane, parish of Killimer, barony of Clonderalaw, county Clare. Later generations of the family lived at Corbally, Afflock and Derry Castle, (near Killaloe), county Tipperary. A granddaughter of the second Thomas Spaight married Edward Ferriter of county Kerry. The representatives of Edward Spaight Ferriter are recorded in Griffith’s Valuation as owning land in the parishes of Kilconry and Kilfinaghta, barony of Bunratty Lower and Quin, barony of Bunratty Upper. At the same time George Spaight and Henrietta Stapleton owned land in the parish of Clooney, barony of Bunratty Upper and William Spaight held land in the parishes of Kilnasoolagh and Tomfinlough, Bunratty Lower. In 1854 Thomas Spaight of Corbally, parish of Clooney, barony of Bunratty Upper, bought Ardataggle, parish of O’Briensbridge, barony of Tulla Lower, from Thomas Fitzgibbon. In 1855 approximately 1000 acres of the Spaight estate, including Cappa Lodge, was advertised for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court. Property in the town of Kilrush was sold in the Landed Estates Court in trust to a Mr. McSheehy in July 1865.
In the 1870s his wife Mrs Spaight of Ardataggle owned 689 acres in county Clare while her sister Mrs Constantia Spaight, wife of Thomas’s brother Henry, owned 153 acres. At the same time William Spaight of Derry Castle owned 315 acres in county Clare and 4,597 acres in county Tipperary. The Spaight's county Tipperary estate was mainly in the parish of Templeachally (11 townlands) and in the parish of Burgesbeg, barony of Owney and Arra. 134 acres belonging to Henry W. Spaight were vested in the Congested Districts' Board on 22 February 1911.
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FitzGibbon
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The FitzGibbon family were established at Ballysheedy, county Limerick, from the mid 18th century. In 1795 John FitzGibbon, 1st Viscount FitzGibbon, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was created Earl of Clare. He was succeeded by two of his sons as 2nd and 3rd Earls. In 1826 the 2nd Earl married Elizabeth Burrell, daughter of Peter, 1st Lord Gwydyr. The title 'Earl of Clare' became extinct in 1864 following the death of the 3rd Earl. Mount Shannon was inherited by his daughter, Lady Louisa, who owned an estate of over 10,000 acres in county Limerick and over 3,000 acres in county Tipperary in the 1870s. Lady Louisa married twice. Her husbands were Gerald N. Dillon, sixth son of Viscount Dillon, and the Marchese della Rocella. Griffith's Valuation records the Earl of Clare holding lands in the parishes of Dunmoylan Kilbradran, Kilcolman, Kilfergus, Kilmoylan, Rathronan and Shanagolden, barony of Shanid, Clonagh, barony of Connelloe Lower, Abington, Killeenagarriff and Stradbally, barony of Clanwilliam and Ballingarry and Cloncagh, barony of Connello Upper, county Limerick and Cloneen, barony of Middlethird, county Tipperary. Thomas Davenport was his agent in the 1840s. In June 1867 the estate of the trustees of the Earl's will, at Dromtrasna Harnett and Ballaghbehy North and South, parish of Abbeyfeale, barony of Glenquin, was advertised for sale. This property, amounting to 2,546 acres, was in the possession of Colonel Fitzgibbon of Ballysheedy at the time of Griffith's Valuation. Included in the sale were 91 acres in county Dublin. Members of the Harnett family were tenants on the Fitzgibbon estate in the parish of Abbeyfeale and were also among the purchasers of the Abbeyfeale lands. Other purchasers included Messers. Curtin, Sandes, Sheehy and Vereker. At the time of Griffith's Valuation the Earl of Clare held at least four townlands in the parish of Cloneen, barony of Middlethird, county Tipperary.
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