Dunmore

[dunmorechris]

Hi Breen,

there was a very big twilight zone in Ireland around the time of the War if Independence and Civil War. There were many Irishmen who fought in the British Army arounf that time, and when they returned home (IF they COULD return home) they were despised by fellow Irishmen, and despised by the Black & Tans just for being Irish. It was a very bad time in our history.

Louth Lodge: I asked an old school teacher of mine (well she's not really old yet, but retired from teaching now) about the row of cottages. There is a row of houses still in Louth Lodge that were once just plain cottages but have been modernised in the last 30 - 40 years. There is only one of the original cottages remaining.

I have found a map of Dunmore from 1929, and will scan it and put up here (if I can) the image with Quarter, Lissybroder (Louth Lodge) outlined, and the location of the derilict 2 storey house and a picture of the house as it is today.

Chris

[tompion]

My grandfather was born in Dunmore House, Dunmore. which belonged to his mother's family, being the home of William Downes Griffith, a barrister.   He apparently had 900 acres and I was wondering if Dunmore House stills exists and if anyone had a photograph of it.

Many thanks for any help.

Yours Tompion

[dunmorechris]

Hi Tompion,

Dunmore House is still standing, but is derelict now. It is in the centre of The Dunmore Demesne Golf Club. There are many phots of it, but I have to root them out, will scan them and email them to you.

Chris

[tompion]

Thanks Chris - what a shame it is now derelict but interested in seing any photos you have.  Yours Tompion

[DJBM]

Hi All,

I see the thread on Louth Lodge goes back some years. Louth Lodge (sometimes referred to as South Lodge, but this can be assumed to be a typo error) was in the townland of Lissbroder. It was owned by John Bodkin of Castletown, who left it to his second son, Dominick George Bodkin. DG Bodkin was resident at Louth Lodge for at least 25 years until his death in 1824. After that, it seems the house was abandoned.

As the Bodkins remained Catholic, they were not allowed (by the penal laws) to buy land, so rather they took long leases on a couple of thousand acres and acted as middlemen and farmers in the locality. They did own some lands, pre-dating the confiscations, Lissybroder being one of their own.

From the 1820s-40s, these Bodkins were involved in numerous law cases, sued on all sides by creditors and relations who had lent money in the past. Lissybroder was sold in the Encumbered Estates Acts around 1851.

[Kiltaglassan]

Welcome to RootsChat, DJBM   

I don't have anything to add about Dunmore on this old thread, but this is the map for the townland of Lissybroder. Quarter townland is to the west and Dunmore Demesne townland further to the north.

https://www.townlands.ie/galway/dunmore/dunmore/dunmore-south/lissybroder/

KG

[hallmark]

 At the time of Griffith's Valuation John Bodkin owned three townlands in the parish of Dunmore, barony of Ballymoe, which were advertised for sale by Thomas James Bodkin in 1864, with Ballydoogan and the islands in the barony of Kilconnell. John Samuel Barrett of Greenhills, was the purchaser of some of these lots. The representatives of Thomas J. Bodkin are recorded as holding over 350 acres in county Galway in the 1870s. In 1808 John Bodkin of Bingarra married Margaret Bodkin of Annagh and their grandson Martin Bodkin inherited the Annagh estate, barony of Clare, following the death of his cousin Robert Bodkin of Annagh in 1881.


http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=1052

[DJBM]

Thank you for the welcome, KG and for the other info.

John Bodkin of Castletown (my paternal x6 grandfather) left a big estate to his two sons, John Dominick and Dominick George. JD seems to have received a considerably larger portion as his first son). Dominick George, born around 1770, was in the army for a while and from 1810 to 1824 is listed in various almanacs as resident at variously South Lodge or Louth Lodge - the initial notes for these almanacs would have been taken by hand, so it is likely in the printing process the 'L' became and 'S' in a couple of cases.

Dominick George died in 1824 and after that, I cannot find much trace of Louth Lodge. I notice in the area there is a Lought Lodge...which is further along the Clonbern Road. Perhaps this has also morphed over the years.

Dominic George's three children Elizabeth, Mary and Thomas James (b.1801) inherited what was left of his estate (which was heavily indebted, sold off by 1830). The two girls took sizeabe dowries while Thomas James retained around 350 acres in the Castletown/Tullyinadaly area. Thomas James married a Jane Keaveny and they had 15 children most of whom emigrated, two daughters marrying locally and one of them, Mary Catherine, marrying my great-great grandfather, Nicholas Mahon.

The other daughter, by the way, married a local businessman, Mr. Costello and one of their children Dr. Thomas Bodkin Costello was the doctor to the Tuam Babies Home throughout the terrible years we have recently learnt about.

None of Thomas James' children were interested in returning from their exciting lives in the US and Australia, so the remaining 350 acres were sold shortly after Thomas James' death in 1881.

One of Thomas James' sons was Dominic Fursey Bodkin, a leading Christian Brother in Australia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Fursey_Bodkin

Another intersting side note is that these Bodkins were closely related to the infamous Bodkin Murders of 1741: John Bodkin of Castletown, the founder of the dynasty, married Mary Catherine Bodkin, the daughter of the sole survivor of the Bodkin Murders:

http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/history/chapter77.html