Westmeath history society hosts eighth annual conference

Regan Kelly

Burned-out mansions, abandoned castles and the history of Dominick Street were just some of the topics discussed at Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society’s eighth annual conference. The event took place on April 12 and more than 60 people gathered upstairs at the Greville Arms Hotel, for a day of talks and debates.

Speakers came from across Westmeath, Wexford and Dublin, each with a particular field of expertise and interest, and they gave hour-long lectures detailing their research, findings and evidence.

Eugene Dunne: Burning the Big House in Westmeath 1919-21

Eugene Dunne, the first speaker, gave a lecture on the impact of the Irish War of Independence in Westmeath. Eugene is a retired member of An Garda Síochána and holds a BA and PhD in History from Maynooth University.

He spoke of the impact that the War of Independence had among members of the public, authorities and local politics. One of the most controversial aspects of the war was the burning of big houses, and Eugene spoke about that at length.

In the latter stages of the war, many of those who owned estates in Westmeath had sold them on, but Westmeath landlords still owned large areas of land, and because of that, agrarian agitation had become an intimidation tactic by the IRA.

Eugene said: “The hunger and desire for land necessitated that landlords be driven from their holdings and the destruction of their houses reduced the likelihood of the member returning to their estates.

“During the war in Westmeath, police protection was not readily available to the owners of these lands and estates, because the police barracks at Killucan and Rhode had already been evacuated and burnt.

“A house that had been burned in Westmeath, was Gaulstown House, near Rochfortbridge.” Eugene described how the house was burned by a local IRA battalion after already being raided previously.

The house had been unoccupied for some time and there had been rumours of it being used to aid the British Army.

Finola O’Kane: Lough Ennell Belvedere and the design of Ireland’s 18th century great Lakeland landscapes

Finola O’Kane, professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Design at UCD, spoke of the landscapes around Westmeath, looking at the impact the lakes had on the design of estates and big houses.

Finola gave a complete breakdown of the way 18th-century houses were built, and said a lot of the designs can be attributed to a fashion at the time.

She described the importance of lakeland environments when it came to designing houses and gave Belvedere as an example of incorporating the lake into the design of the house.

Finola said: “Mullingar is well positioned between these two lakes, Lough Ennell and Lough Owel, which is really important.

“Looking at OS maps, we can see that there are clusters of houses along the east sides of the lakes, which would mean that their houses are looking west in the evenings.

“One thing to remember about that period is that people owned large amounts of land, so they could place their houses wherever they liked, to get the best views.

“During the 19th-century reconfiguration of Belvedere, we see that the aim was to create a much clearer connection between the house and the lake, and that was done by adding much more formal terraces.”

Ruth Illingworth: The Belvedere Lake Big House Cluster — Tudenham, Belvedere, Bloomfield and Ladestown

The third speaker of the day was Ruth Illingworth, who has a BA in History from Maynooth University and is a widely published author and expert local historian.

Ruth spoke about four houses that have strong historical ties to the county of Westmeath, besides one being associated with the famous Rochfort family.

The most famous of those are Tudenham and Belvedere and the well known stories of the two Rochfort brothers’ relationship often bring these houses back to life.

Ruth gave a breakdown of how interlinked Tudenham and Belvedere are; they were designed by the same architect, who designed many other houses around Ireland.

Belvedere and Tudenham were owned by the Rochfort brothers, Robert and George, and Ruth detailed their turbulent relationship and how it affected the landscape around the houses.

“Tudenham was one of the finest examples of an Anglo-Irish house in the 18th century. It was George who brought Richard Castles down to design the houses, and Tudenham would be built in 1742, and that one belonged to George Rochfort.

“As the story goes, Robert built the Jealous Wall, the magnificent folly, to block off his brother’s view of Belvedere. Robert Rochfort was an incredibly jealous individual, and didn’t like the fact that his brother’s mansion was larger than his.

“One can’t quite help feeling that whatever corner of hell Robert Rochfort is in, he might get some satisfaction in knowing that his mansion still stands intact and his brother’s don’t.”

Donal O’Brien: The lost houses of Westmeath

Donal O’Brien is a former president of the Old Athlone Society and current president of the Irish Georgian Society. He gave a breakdown of many different houses in Westmeath that had been abandoned and lost over the years.

One example Donal gave was a house called ‘Old Court’, which was originally built by the Potts family, who came here as settlers.

The house was taken over by a family called the McGanns, who moved in around 1890. Around that time during the First World War, a lot of soldiers were sent to Athlone to recuperate from injuries. Bill McGann, a teenager living in the house, would write two books detailing this period in the house.

Donal said: “Practically every day during that period, there was a funeral passing by the house. Bill would hear the army band constantly playing the death march and that would inspire him to join the army, and he did, before becoming a founding member of MI5.”

The house survived until the 1980s, before being demolished to make way for the new telephone exchange, and that is still on the site today.

Ursula Kane Cafferty: Snapping Twine – Townhouse Tales from a post-colonial streetscape

Ursula Kane Cafferty, an author who specialises in Bloomsbury connections through art and literature. Ursula is a native of Mullingar and grew up on Dominick Street – her childhood home is where Con’s pub is today.

Ursula gave a breakdown of what a childhood in the town centre was like, detailing everything from old shops on the street to old bedsits in the townhouses.

Helen Kane, Ursula’s mother, owned a hardware store at the bottom of the building, and there was also a pub on the premises.

Ursula described what life was like in the shop: “Gas delivery days were cold, draughty and extremely busy days in our shop. The cylinders were wheeled in two at a time, with the doors wide open, before being stacked up in the back.

“Helen would, at that time, be selling upwards of 300 cylinders a week, even supplying the barracks and the hospital.

“The shop was painted yellow and blue, as the gas suppliers gave us the paint free of charge. The fact that these were the same colours as my mother’s native Tipperary is merely a coincidence.”

Ursula concluded her lecture by showcasing multiple different artefacts from that period that she had found, including storage drawers from the shop and a knitting needle.

Andrew Hughes: Killua- Life, Death and Rebirth of a Castle

The last speaker of the day was Andrew Hughes, an author, historian and archivist who specialises in researching the history of Georgian houses and estates.

Andrew spoke at length about the history of Killua Castle in Clonmellon, from its heyday as an estate to its downfall, before being completely restored in recent years.

He explained how the house was originally owned by Sir Benjamin Chapman, and the lands had been passed down from his father.

The Chapman family had erected an Obelisk to commemorate Sir Walter Raleigh, and it still stands. Andrew noted some possible links between the Chapman family and Sir Walter Raleigh.

Looking at Benjamin Chapman, Andrew noted that “in the census of 1659, Benjamin was the title holder of Killua, which had a population of 61, and he was one of only two English people, the other being his wife”.

Andrew said: “Things suggest that several generations of the Chapman family would have lived at an older site in Killua, before the construction of what would become Killua Castle in the 1780s.”

Killua Castle was abandoned in the 1940s and had become a ruin by the early 2000s, before being restored over 21 years and is now a fully functional residence.