Duncan (Kylemore)
|
At the time of Griffith's Valuation Reverend Joseph Duncan owned two townlands containing 1913 acres in the parish of Ballynakill, barony of Ballynahinch, county Galway. He also had a lease from the D'Arcys of over 300 acres of the townland of Kylemore for 999 years, dated 11 April 1842 and had built a hotel by the time of Griffith's Valuation. The D'Arcy sale rental for the Kylemore estate dated 13 July 1852 contains two small lithographs, one of which features Kylemore lake and hotel. Kylemore appears to have been bought by a banking consortium of John William Burmester, Farmery John Law and James Sadlier and was offered for sale again in May 1859. The sale rental refers to Reverend Duncan who had built a handsome residence and had converted it into an excellent hotel "in consequence of the great influx of tourists". Kylemore was probably purchased by Benjamin Lee Guinness at this time.
|