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McDonnell (Carnacon)
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The McDonnells were settled in the Ballintober area of county Mayo from the 18th century, where they acted as agents and middlemen to some of the larger landowners. James Joseph McDonnell of Carnacon was one of the leaders of the 1798 Rebellion in the locality. By the mid 19th century the McDonnells of Carnacon, parish of Burriscarra, barony of Carra, held the Cheevers estate in that parish and in the parish of Ballintober. There was a marriage between members of the two families in 1822. They also had lands in the parish of Bohola, barony of Gallen and the townland of Sheskin, containing almost 7,000 acres, in the parish of Kilcommon, barony of Erris. Most of their estate was advertised for sale in the Encumbered Estates' Court in 1853. Lane indicates that it was bought by Mr. Cheevers, in trust for his son-in-law, Joseph McDonnell. A Myles McDonnell was selling land in the parish of Clontuskert, baronies of Clonmacnowen and Kilconnell, county Galway in July 1853.
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Cheevers (Killian)
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The Cheevers family originally owned estates in counties Wexford and Meath. Following their transplantation to Connacht in the mid 17th century they obtained a grant of Killian from Charles II in 1667. They acquired their property at Turlough through marriage with Margaret O'Flyn of Turlough. Later generations intermarried with the county Galway families of Lynch of Cottage and Ffrench of Ballinamore Park as well as the McDonnells of Carnacon, county Mayo. The family were still resident at Killian in the early 20th century. Besides their estate in county Galway, the Cheevers had land in the parishes of Ballintober and Burriscarra, barony of Carra, county Mayo, some of it on lease from the Moores of Moorehall. The McDonnells of Carnacon acted as their agent and eventually came to hold the Cheevers' lands in county Mayo through a marriage connection. In the 1870s the Cheevers owned 6,116 acres in county Galway and 264 in county Mayo. Over 5,600 acres of Cheevers land in county Galway was vested in the Congested Districts' Board in November 1911 and 262 acres in county Mayo was vested on 18 March 1915. Edward Cheevers, created Viscount Mount Leinster in 1689, was a member of this family.
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D'Arcy (Newforest)
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This branch of the D'Arcy family were descended from Martin D'Arcy, second son of James 'Riveagh' D'Arcy, and were settled at Rockvale on the northern border of county Clare from the late 17th century. The Newforest estate, parish of Kilkerrin, barony of Tiaquin, county Galway, was in the shared ownership of this branch of the D'Arcy family and the D'Arcys of Kiltullagh and Clifden from the 17th century. In 1754 the estate was officially divided between the two branches. The D'Arcys of Clifden sold their part of the estate in 1850 to Thomas Eyre. Richard D'Arcy built a house on the Newforest estate soon after the division of the land and the Newforest estate remained in the possession of the D'Arcy family into the 20th century. He also built a house at Rockvale on his county Clare estate in the parish of Kilkeedy, barony of Inchiquin. He purchased 2,782 acres in that parish from the sale of the estate of the Marquis of Thomond in 1857. The Newforest estate was expanded with the purchase of the Fiddane estate of the Kellys in the 19th century, which McCarthy writes amounted to over 7,000 acres. In 1844 the D'Arcys also inherited the Fisherhill estate of their cousins, the Blakes. At the time of Griffith's Valuation the D'Arcys had lands in county Mayo in the parishes of Kilconduff and Killasser, barony of Gallen, and in the parish of Breaghwy, barony of Carra. Over 1100 acres of the D'Arcy estate in county Mayo was sold to the Congested Districts' Board on 28 July 1903 and 4395 acres was vested in the Board in March 1915. In the mid 19th century the Newforest estate was divided between two brothers James and Martin D'Arcy. Martin D'Arcy and his descendants lived at Wellfort, previously part of the Kelly estate. In the 1870s Hyacinth D'Arcy of Newforest owned 4,434 acres in county Galway, 3,871 acres in county Mayo and 3,129 acres in county Clare. The Newforest estate was divided among the tenants in the early 20th century but the D'Arcy family retained the home farm until the 1950s when it was bought by the Land Commission and the house demolished.
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