Landed Estates
University of Galway

National Building and Land Investment Company


Estate(s)

Name Description
National Building and Land Investment Company of Ireland (Limited) This company bought the Port Royal estate of the Gildea family in the parish of Ballyovey, barony of Carra, county Mayo. In 1876 they owned 5179 acres in county Mayo. They sold 6208 acres to the Congested Districts' Board on 10 Mar 1898.
Gildea The Gildeas were established at Port Royal in county Mayo from early in the 18th century, where they held an estate of church lands in the parish of Ballyovey, barony of Carra. Thomas Fair of Roundfort was agent to James Gildea in the 1830s. From early in the 18th century the Gildeas also leased Cloonnagashel in the parish of Ballinrobe from the Bingham family, Earls of Lucan. In 1865 James Knox Gildea was advertising for sale over 10,000 acres in the barony of Ross, county Galway and in the baronies of Carra, Clanmorris and Kilmaine, county Mayo. Most of the county Galway part of the estate was sold to the Earl of Leitrim. Part of the Portroyal estate was sold to Thomas K. Sullivan of Bandon while the Caher estate was sold to Francis Browne. The following year the Port Royal estate of 5,480 acres was purchased by the National Land and Building Investment Company for £9,000. In the early 19th century the Gildeas moved their main residence from Port Royal to Clooncormick in the parish of Kilcommon, barony of Kilmaine. In the 1870s Anthony Knox Gildea of Clooncormick owned 1,635 acres in county Mayo.