| Description |
Patrick Balfe was occupying the residence valued at £45, at Southpark, barony of Castlereagh, at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In 1814 it was the seat of Michael Balfe who was also resident there in 1837. Gomley states that Daniel O'Connell was a frequent visitor to the house as his sister was married to one of the Balfe family. Slater refers to it as the seat of Major Michael Balfe in 1894. In 1783 Taylor and Skinner noted the property as the seat of Gen. Gisborne. In 1786 Wilson mentions South Park as "the fine seat of the late General Gisborne, now of Mr. Corr". Sadleir notes that Colonel Gisborne was MP for Lismore, in county Waterford in the 1770s and died in 1778. Skeffington Gibbon writes that South Park was built by General Gisburn on the Malone estate and was, in the late 1820s, in the possession of a grazier named Balfe. South Park House is no longer extant having been burned in 1921 but there are extensive remains of the walled garden and stable yard. |
