Browne (Claremount)
Description
This family were descended from Denis Browne, Member of Parliament and known after the 1798 Rebellion as 'Denis the Rope'. He was a younger brother of John Browne, 1st Marquess of Sligo.
Estate(s)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Browne (Claremount) | There are references in the will of the 1st Earl of Altamont to the purchase of part of the Bell estate in the barony of Clanmorris, county Mayo, to provide for his younger sons. Various members of the Browne family of Westport held land in the Claremorris area in the latter part of the 18th century and Denis Browne, younger brother of the 1st Marquess of Sligo, appears to have bought the lease of the house - Claremount - from the Kirwans circa 1800. His descendants held a large estate in the parishes of Kilcolman and Tagheen, barony of Clanmorris, and in the parishes of Annagh and Bekan, barony of Costello. Their estate of over 5500 acres was advertised for sale in 1860 and some of the estate was sold, including much of the town of Claremorris. Property in the baronies of Gallen and Clanmorris, owned by Emily Alicia Browne and Hans S.H. Browne, were offered for sale in the Landed Estates Court in July 1876. The purchasers were Reverend Dominick Browne, in trust, R. Joynt, J.P. Treston and Mr. Connay. In 1876 James Denis Howe Browne of London still held 3629 acres in county Mayo. He left his estate to his sisters and the remainder of the estate was sold in the early 20th century. The Westport Estate Papers contain administrative records relating to the Claremount estate in the latter part of the 19th century. |
| Gray (Claremorris) | In the 1780s the Gray family from Ballybay, county Monaghan, settled at Turlough, near Castlebar, county Mayo. John Gray moved to Claremorris following his marriage to Elizabeth Wilson and leased properties in the town from the Brownes of Claremount. He bought the house Coursefield from the Nettervilles and an estate of 199 acres. He had a large family, one of whom became Sir John Gray, proprietor of the ''Freeman's Journal'' in the 1850s. In 1861 the Grays sold their Coarsefield estate. A sale of further Gray property in Castlebar and Claremorris took place in November 1863. The purchasers included Messers. Brabazon, Young and Griffin, as well as Patrick Joseph Kelly purchasing in trust. |
| Griffith (Claremorris) | James H. Griffith appears to have owned part of the Browne of Claremont estate, in particular the lands of Tootagh, in the parish of Kilcolman, barony of Clanmorris, county Mayo. There are references to him among the Westport Estates Papers. By March 1916 Griffith and Browne had accepted an offer from the Congested Districts' Board for the purchase of 277 acres. J.J. Griffiths, the Ford dealers and garage in Claremorris, was founded by this family. |