Morris
Family title
Baron Killanin
Estate(s)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Comyn (Woodstock) | From the mid 17th century the Comyn family were established at Kilcorney in county Clare. In 1796 Laurence Comyn married Jane Lynch of Barna and bought land in the Spiddal area from his in-laws and from the Frenches. Beggan states that he bought more land from the Blakes of Drum in 1814. By the time of Griffith's Valuation, Francis and Peter Sarsfield Comyn, sons of Laurence Comyn of Woodstock, county Galway, held land in the parishes of Killannin and Moycullen, barony of Moycullen and in the parish of Rahoon, barony of Galway. Francis Comyn also had an estate in county Clare in the parishes of Drumcreehy, Kilcorney and Rathborney, barony of Burren. Part of the estate of Peter Sarsfield Comyn at Spiddal was sold in the early 1860s to the Morris family. P.S. Comyn bought the Browne estate at Gortatleva in 1860 and resold it to Michael Hennessy of Galway, except for Brownville, in November 1869. Through a marriage in 1871 with the only daughter and heir of Walter Bourke of Carrowkeel, county Mayo, the Comyns inherited the Carrowkeel estate in the parish of Addergoole, barony of Tirawley. In 1878 Francis Lorenzo Comyn was recorded as owning 3,654 acres in county Mayo, over 7,000 acres in county Galway and 1,961 acres in county Clare. Holywell, the Comyn home, and 161 acres in the barony of Corcomroe, county Clare, was advertised for sale by Thomas Gibson, assignee of Thomas Francis Comyn, in June 1859. This property was held on a lease dated 1803 from Edward O'Brien of Ennistymon to George Comyn of Hollywell. The Freeman's Journal reported that it was purchased in trust by Mr. Redington for £1900. Most of the Comyn estate of Woodstock and the Brownville property, with a portion of the Comyn estate in county Mayo, were sold to the Congested Districts' Board in 1902. 757 acres in county Clare were vested in the Board in November 1912. |
| Morris (Spiddle) | In 1684, George Morris who had served in the army of King James II married Catherine Fitzpatrick and through this marriage the Morris family gained land in the parish of Killannin, barony of Moycullen, county Galway. Beggan writes that the Morris family purchased land at Spiddle from the sale of part of the estate of Patrick Sarsfield Comyn in the early 1860s. In the second half of the 19th century Michael Morris was a prominent lawyer and judge and was made a Baronet in 1885 and 1st Lord Killanin in 1900. He owned 1274 acres in county Galway in the 1870s and his brother George Morris of Wellpark owned 748 acres. Lord Killanin sold an estate of 2,557 acres to the Congested Districts' Board on 31 Mar 1914. Michael Morris, 3rd Lord Killanin, was President of the International Olympic Committee 1972-1980. |
| Macnamara (Doolin) | This branch of the Macnamara family was established in the barony of Burren, north county Clare, at the beginning of the 18th century by Bartholomew Macnamara, born 1685. Bartholomew’s eldest son ,William Macnamara, settled at Doolin, parish of Killilagh, in the neighbouring barony of Corcomroe, following his marriage to Catherine, daughter and heiress of Francis Sarsfield of Doolin. John Sarsfield was granted over 1,400 acres including Doolin in 1679/80. Later generations of the Mcnamaras married members of the Stamer and Finucane families so that by the time of Griffith’s Valuation Captain Francis Macnamara of Doolin had a large estate in the baronies of Burren and Corcomroe, mainly concentrated in the parishes of Carran (Burren) and Killilagh, Kilmacrehy and Kilmanaheen (Corcomroe), including the town of Ennistymon. In the 1870s the estate of his two sons, Henry Valentine and William James Macnamara, amounted to 15,246 acres and their great uncle, Admiral Sir Burton Macnamara of Tromra House, owned 732 acres in the county. This county Clare family owned a house on about 20 acres near the town of Galway from the early 19th century. In the 1870s the representatives of Major MacNamara of county Clare owned 19 acres in county Galway. Ennistymon House became Macnamara property as a result of the marriage in 1798 of William Nugent Macnamara and Susannah Finucane. Susannah was a daughter of Anne O’Brien of the Ennistymon family. This Macnamara family has now died out in the male line but the 20th century female members included an author and Caitlin, the wife of Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas. The house at Doolin was burnt in the 1920s. The Stacpoole Kenny collection in the National Library of Ireland contains records relating to John Macnamara of Moher, a younger brother of William Nugent Macnamara and to his wife, Louisa Macnamara of Rock Lodge. John Barrymore Macnamara may have been his son. Some lands owned by John McNamara close to Fanore were sold in the Encumbered Estates Court in 1856. They were purchased in trust by Mr. Clay. |