Darrynane Church of Ireland, Co Kerry, was dedicated in September 1915.[1] It was a portentous year in which to embark on a church building project, as events of the following year proved:
Archdeacon John Fahy, Protestant Rector, Waterville, applied for £10 by reason of the Protestant Church at Darrynane being maliciously injured on the 18th April 1916 by the breaking of several panes of glass therein.[2]
The damage was detailed in an application for Compensation for Criminal Injuries:
The glass of seven of the windows of the iron church at Derrynane smashed and completely destroyed, on the 18th or 19th April 1916.[3]
The church stood in the vicinity of Darrynane Abbey, ancestral home of The Liberator on the Kerry coastline.[4] It was built on a site given by the Earl of Dunraven and Colonel Wyndham Quin.
The ‘Earl of Dunraven’ at this period was Rt Hon Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin (1841-1926), 4th Earl.[5] ‘Col Wyndham Quin’ was his cousin and heir presumptive, Colonel Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin (1857-1952) of Castletown (Cox) House, Carrick-on-Suir, later the 5th Earl of Dunraven.[6]
Darrynane and the Wyndham-Quins
The Dunraven Papers suggest that the Wyndham-Quins had an interest in the area as early as 1786.[7] In a nineteenth century court action about rights to seaweed, their interest was explained as by ‘some arrangement with the O’Connell family.’[8]
In 1858, Daniel O’Connell (1836-1919), eldest son of Maurice O’Connell (1803-1853) and grandson of The Liberator, purchased the Fee Simple of his Darrynane property from Lord Cork.[9] However, he fell into arrears, and Lord Cork entered into negotiations with the Earl of Dunraven for the sale of Darrynane.
News of this was not well received by the O’Connell family:
The matter coming to the ears of Morgan O’Connell, the uncle of the proprietor, and executor of his brother’s will, he directly approached Lord Dunraven and challenged him to a duel if he bought the property over the heads of the O’Connells.[10]
Morgan O’Connell and Lord Dunraven settled their differences amicably though the sale does appear to have taken place.[11]
Edwin, Earl of Dunraven 1850-1871
‘A lover and patron of everything Irish’
The ‘Lord Dunraven’ at the time of the sale was Edwin Richard Wyndham-Quin (1812-1871), 3rd Earl of Dunraven. He had succeeded his father, Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, 2nd Earl, in 1850.[12]
Edwin purchased (or retained) portions of the townlands of Darrynane More, Cahernaguihy and Farraniaragh, with all the islands except Abbey Island.[14] He also purchased Garinish Island near Sneem and built a lodge there.
He married Augusta Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Goold Esq of Dublin and had one son and heir, Windham Thomas, and five daughters.[15]
The benevolence of Augusta, Countess of Dunraven, and her husband was remarked on during Christmas 1861:
There was a large quantity of beef of the best quality extensively distributed on Christmas Eve at Adare Manor by order of the Earl of Dunraven. The Countess Dunraven herself superintended the distribution and seemed very happy in making the poor happy also at Christmas. But a short time ago one of the working men met with the fracture of a leg; the Earl of Dunraven at once had one of the best surgeons in Limerick up to visit him at a large fee, and the Countess Dunraven came to him at his house frequently accompanied by her amiable daughter, consoled himself and his family, supplied him with a variety of things, and the poor patient still receives repeated marks of their careful sympathy. This is but one of many instances in which the sick poor of Adare experience personal attendance and the substantial benefit from the noble Earl and Countess Dunraven.[16]
Edwin was an MP, intellectual, antiquarian and author. His literary works include contributions to Memorials of Adare Manor (1865) by his mother Caroline, dowager Countess of Dunraven.
Edwin sanctioned the private publication, and wrote the introduction to, Experiences in Spiritualism with D D Home (1869) by his son Windham, Viscount Adare; his son in turn wrote an introduction to his father’s two-volume Notes on Irish Architecture published (posthumously) in 1875.[17] The latter work, which contains considerable material relating to Co Kerry, includes reference to the ancient church of St Finan at Kealgorm in Castleisland.[18]
Augusta, Countess of Dunraven, died on 22 November 1866 aged 56:
We have to record the death of the Countess of Dunraven after a lingering illness from dropsy. For some weeks past the countess had been staying at the family residence at 5 Buckingham-gate, London.[19]
The funeral of the countess was on a grand scale, as ‘the bells of the Catholic and Protestant churches tolled together in funeral cadences’:
The coffin, covered with crimson velvet and richly mounted, was borne on the shoulders of the tenantry from the Grand Hall … a deep wail of grief was heard from the domestics in white linen cloaks and hoods over black dresses who took their places before the remains of their late beloved benefactress … The children of the Convent schools to the number of 120, then followed the female children of the Protestant school, next came the tenantry of the estates of the Earl of Dunraven and Archdeacon Goold amounting to near 500 persons … the tenantry of the Right Hon Wm Monsell MP also attended …a large number of boys who are educated at the schools of the Christian Brothers of Adare … we have at no period witnessed a more interesting procession than that which wended its way through the lovely demesne … her premature demise has overwhelmed with sorrow one of the noblest and most respected families in the land.[20]
Three years later, Edwin married secondly, on 27 January 1870, to Anne, daughter of Henry Lambert MP of Carnagh, Co Wexford.[21] In the same year, his mother Caroline, dowager Countess of Dunraven, died at her residence, Clearwell Court, Coleford, Gloucs. Her death occurred on 26 May at age 80:
The good the countess has done will live after her. The record of her life is full of unobtrusive but withal loud-speaking benevolence. Any scheme which bore within it advantage to the poor who resided upon her estates found in her a ready friend. The inhabitants of Bridgend, a town in which she was specially interested, will long have occasion to bless her memory and keep it green. This is no fulsome eulogium but the sober truth.[22]
Edwin, Earl of Dunraven, died the following year. His death occurred at the Imperial Hotel, Great Malvern (to where he had gone for the benefit of his health) on 6 October 1871 at age 59. His contributions to the county were acknowledged:
At Sneem, in the county of Kerry, where he was so fond of passing the autumn months close by the billows of the broad Atlantic, he built a handsome church in the early Gothic style of architecture, regardless of cost.[23]
Windham Thomas, Earl of Dunraven 1871-1926
Edwin’s eldest son, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin (1841-1926), co-donor of the church site, succeeded as 4th Earl of Dunraven.[24] He was a prolific writer.[25]
He married, in 1869, Florence Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Charles Lennox Kerr. The wedding took place by special licence at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London on 29 April, the service performed by Very Rev Knottesford Fortescue:
The dress of the bride was white satin covered with magnificent Brussels lace with veil to correspond, the gift of the Dowager Countess of Dunraven; ornaments of emeralds and diamonds, the gift of the Earl of Dunraven …The dejeuner was given by Mr and Mrs Consett at their residence at Queen’s Gate Place. The presents, which were numerous, were displayed after the dejeuner. Amongst those which excited special attention were a beautiful diamond and sapphire bracelet, the gift of the tenantry of the Adare estate, accompanied by an appropriate address, tastefully and artistically illuminated by a native of Adare; a very handsome silver épergne, likewise accompanied by an address, from the Dunraven tenantry; a handsome travelling clock, from the domestics of Adare Manor; and a gold-mounted walking stick from the household of the Dowager Countess of Dunraven.[26]
The couple had three daughters.[27]
The 4th Earl of Dunraven had a summer lodge at Darrynane. He seems to have continued developing the area around Darrynane Harbour. An inn, Darrynane Hotel, was constructed there in the later years of the nineteenth century. In 1893 it was advertised as a charming resort for seaside breaks ‘with mountain and sea breezes and beautiful scenery.’
In 1897, manager Daniel Keating was handed a letter found in a bottle on the nearby shore:
Lat 175 N, long 145 W, 5 May 1897. I, John Caulfield (?), the only survivor on board the brig Why Not, what took fire at sea on the 3rd, and is still burning. My comrades took to the boats and have deserted … Any person finding this bottle will, I hope, kindly report it in some local paper so that my friends will hear how I came by my death. Good bye to you all. This is the last wish of a dying man; trusting it will be carried out.[28]
In the same year, an aristocrat purchased a breaker at Darrynane, off the portion of land owned by Lord Dunraven. ‘His Lordship admired the surf on this particular rock so much that he actually purchased it so that he might be able to call it his own.’[29]
A few years later, a party from the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, consisting of Dr Lane Joynt, Captain Ogilvie and Mr Myles (President RCS) found a 30-pound cannon sunk in the sand on Lord Dunraven’s foreshore, ‘to whose summer lodge it was afterwards taken.’ The property was identified as ‘adjacent to Derrynane House, the seat of Mr Daniel O’Connell DL, grandson of the Liberator.’[30]
Florence, Countess of Dunraven, died at Kenry House, Kingston Vale, Surrey on 22 September 1916:
Deep regret is expressed in Limerick and district at the death of the Countess of Dunraven who was most popular among all classes. She was much interested in the encouragement of Irish manufacture and was President of the Limerick Branch of the Irish Industries Association and President of the Limerick Branches of the Red Cross Society, the Women’s National Health Association and Women’s Industrial Development Association.[31]
Her remains were returned to Adare for interment in the Dunraven mausoleum.[32]
Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven, died on 14 June 1926:
The Earl of Dunraven, who had been in a poor state of health for the past eighteen months, died at his London residence, 22 Norfolk-street, Park Lane, shortly after ten o’clock on Monday night. The earl, who was 85 years of age, had been a soldier, steeplechase-rider, big game hunter, lifelong yachtsman (in this connection he held the Board of Trade’s Master’s Certificate) and war correspondent. He was also an ex-Under-Secretary for the Colonies. His principal seat was Dunraven Castle, Bridgend … The heir is Lord Dunraven’s cousin, Col W H Wyndham-Quin.[33]
Windham Henry, Earl of Dunraven 1926-1952
Colonel Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, co-donor of the church site, succeeded as 5th Earl of Dunraven.[34] He married Eva Constance Aline (née Bourke), daughter of Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, in 1885. They had four children.[35]
The earl continued to develop the Darrynane property and a number of cottages were erected in the years that followed.[36] He kept ‘a pretty cottage residence at Derrynane not far from Garinish.’ In 1913, he enjoyed a visit with Lady Eva (as she was then styled):
He and Lady Eva Quin, after some months’ stay, have returned to Castletown, Kilkenny where they are entertaining a large shooting party.[37]
Their eldest son Richard, ‘Lord Adare,’ also took a keen interest in the area. In 1935 it was remarked that ‘the late Earl of Dunraven [4th earl] sold all the lands that were let to tenants under the 1903 (Windham) Act … the remaining portion is in the hands of Lord Adare who has made the place into a lovely paradise.’[38]
Eva, Countess Dunraven, described as charitable, philanthropic and handsome, died at Adare Manor on 19 January 1940 aged 81.[39] She was remembered by the community in South Wales during her residence at Dunraven Castle:
When she and the Earl celebrated their golden wedding, festivities were arranged in their honour in Glamorgan and they were presented with a gold loving cup and an illuminated address in album form by their estate office staff, tenants, and employees. During the celebrations, Lord Dunraven referred to the assistance given him by his wife in a memorable election campaign in the South Glamorgan Division when he was returned in what appeared at first to be a hopeless fight. In 1926, when the countess made her first appearance on a political platform, she said, ‘Let us remember that the Conservative cause stands for patriotism, loyalty, Christianity and the security of the British Empire.[40]
Her husband, the 5th Earl of Dunraven, died at Adare Manor on 23 October 1952 aged 95. The funeral took place from Adare Manor to the Protestant Church for service and thence to the Dunraven family vault at Adare:
The route from the church door to the family vault was lined by employees of the Dunraven estates of Adare, Derrynane, Garinish and Kilgobbin.[41]
Richard Southwell, Earl of Dunraven 1952-1965
Richard, Lord Adare, succeeded as the 6th Earl of Dunraven. As with his father and forebears, he favoured his Co Kerry ‘paradise.’ He married in 1915, as his first wife, Miss Helen Lindsay Swire, daughter of John Swire, Master of the Essex Hounds, of Hillingdon House, Harlow, Essex and Emily Hamilton Campbell Kidston, and sister of Second Lieutenant Alexander Glen Swire, Killed in Action near Ypres on 13 May 1915 aged 18.[42]
Helen, Lady Adare, was described as ‘one of the keenest women to hounds in Leicestershire, one of the most tireless of racegoers and moreover, a better judge of a horse than most women.’[43]
In August 1926, Eva, Countess of Dunraven, stayed with Lord and Lady Adare at Darrynane before returning to Castletown House, Co Kilkenny. Lord and Lady Adare were in their Kerry residence the following summer when Lord Adare made a generous contribution to an ‘American Tea’ held at Darrynane Abbey. Before their visit to Kerry, the couple had stayed with the Countess of Dunraven at Dunraven Castle, Glamorganshire.[44]
In 1929, Lord Adare won the Stokes Cup for Darrynane ‘and very kindly had the dates, names of clubs, hounds and owners inscribed on it.’[45] Lord and Lady Adare divorced in 1931.[46]
Lord Adare married again in 1934 to Miss Nancy Long Yuille, daughter of Mr and Mrs Thomas Burke Yuille, of East 69th Street, New York City.[47] They had a son, Thady, and two daughters.[48]
Lord Adare, who succeeded his father as 6th Earl of Dunraven in 1952, died on 28 August 1965:
The late Earl was one of Ireland’s leading bloodstock breeders and sportsmen. He was a former senior steward of the Irish Turf Club and a founder member of the Irish Racing Board, a nominator to and president of the Clounanna Irish Cup meeting. He was the owner of the Fort Union Stud Farm, which is situated on his 4,000 acres estate which includes the village of Adare. The stud controlled such famous sires as His Highness, Panorama and Desmond.[49]
Thady Windham, Earl of Dunraven 1965-2011
Thady Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin succeeded as 7th Earl of Dunraven in 1965. He married, in 1969, Geraldine McAleer, daughter of Air Commodore Gerard Ward McAleer, CBE, of Wokingham, Berkshire, a native of Dungannon, Co Tyrone.[50]
In 1982, the contents of Adare Manor were auctioned and the Earl of Dunraven and his family moved to Kilcurley House, Adare. The complicated sale and receivership of Adare Manor occurred over the following five years or so.[51]
In 1994, his mother Nancy, dowager Countess of Dunraven, who was instrumental in setting up the Adare branch of the Red Cross Society and took a lead role in setting up the Adare Tidy Towns Association, died at her home in Kilgobbin, Adare.[52] Thady and his family took up residence there in 1996.[53]
Thady died at Kilgobbin on 25 March 2011. He left no male issue, and was therefore the 7th and last Earl of Dunraven.
Over the years, Dunraven property at Darrynane has been sold. However, Geraldine, dowager Countess of Dunraven, continues in ownership of an elegant cottage there.
An article in the Caherdaniel Parish Magazine (2016) looks at the links between Darrynane and the Earls of Dunraven. Notes on the Earls of Dunraven are also contained in The Church of Ireland in Co Limerick (Adare) (2013) and associated Edited Research Correspondence (2013). See also The Dunraven Papers held at the University of Limerick which contain accounts of cottages on the Wyndham-Quin property at Darrynane, Co Kerry 1856-c1900 and other Kerry-related material.[54]
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[1] It was located in the townland of Darrynane in the parish of Kilcrohane. The spelling of Darrynane is commonly given as Derrynane. [2] The Liberator Tralee, 15 June 1916. [3] Kerry Sentinel, 10 June 1916. [4] Its precise location and fate have not yet been determined. However, as it opened on the threshold of the Easter Rising, it seems unlikely to have survived for long. [5] Dictionary of Irish Architects. The Dunraven Papers held at the University of Limerick (https://www.ul.ie/library/sites/default/files/documents/Dunraven_Summary_Index_-_Dunraven_Papers.pdf) contain: ‘Miscellaneous letters and papers of Wyndham-Quin about financial, estate and sporting affairs, including papers about Castletown Cox, Co Kilkenny [which they bought from the Villiers-Stuart family in 1909] and about a site for a church at Waterville, Co Kerry (1890s –c1920).’ Note: Dates suggest that the church referred to here may relate to Darrynane. [6] Castletown House (or Castletown Cox House), near Carrick-on-Suir, was a residence of the Wyndham-Quins before Colonel Wyndham-Quin inherited the Earldom of Dunraven in 1926. Eva, Lady Dunraven was President of Carrick-on-Suir District Nursing Association and an active worker in local charitable organisations. A notice (Waterford Standard, 7 October 1939) of the death in Switzerland in 1939 of Kathleen Mary, Lady Blacque, daughter of Lord Charles Beresford, Curraghmore and wife of General Edmund Raoul Blacque, stated that General and Lady Blacque bought Castletown House from the Earl of Dunraven ‘a few years ago’ where they spent each spring and summer, going abroad for the winter. In July 1931 General and Madame Blacque opened the house and grounds in aid of the Nurses’ Pension Fund. A report of the event provided a little background to the house: ‘The mansion was built in 1767 by the Archbishop of Cashel and took nearly 20 years to complete. The beautiful stucco work was done by the famous Italian workmen of the period. The last male of the Cox family (Sir Richard Cox, Bart) was killed off his horse at Castletown about 1859. The late Colonel Villiers Stuart was in residence from about 1850 and was succeeded by Col Wyndham Quin who lived there till he succeeded to the title of Earl of Dunraven, when he went to live at Adare’ (Waterford Standard, 25 July 1931). ‘William Villiers-Stewart married the only daughter and heiress of Michael Cox of Castletown, Co Kilkenny, a descendant of Sir Richard Cox, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1703. Castletown, which was built by the Most Rev Michael Cox, Protestant Archbishop of Cashel, was until recently the residence of Col Wyndham-Quin, cousin and heir-presumptive to the Earl of Dunraven … After the sale of Castletown to Col Wyndham-Quin, Colonel Villiers-Stuart and his family went to live at Castleane which adjoins Castletown’ (Kilkenny Moderator, 22 October 1921). A sketch of the history of the house is given in ‘Christie’s to sell contents from Castletown House,’ Kilkenny People, 4 October 1991. [7] The Dunraven Papers contain ‘title deeds, marriage and other settlements and mortgages … a few to Wyndham-Quin Property in Co Kerry (Aghamore, Derrynane, etc) 1786 and 1826-1863.’ [8] In an action heard before Baron Deasy in 1861 regarding rights to seaweed (Earl of Dunraven v O’Connell and Others) it was stated that Lord Dunraven, ‘through some arrangement with the O’Connell family, had become possessed of some portion of the Derrynane estate, comprising some islands’ (Kerry Evening Post, 23 February 1861). Up until then, the lands had been leased by Lord Cork to the O’Connell family: ‘The lands at Derrynane were granted by Elizabeth to Sir Walter Raleigh who disposed of them to Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork. Lord Cork kept ‘his papist lessee [O’Connell] in undisturbed possession’ (The Kerry News, 10 June 1935, ‘Darrynane and Achadhmore’). [9] ‘The recent death of Mr Daniel O’Connell DL at Derrynane, the Liberator’s grandson, recalls Denis Florence McCarthy’s poem: A chieftain the greatest the world has e’er known,/Laurel his coronet, true hearts his throne/Knowledge his sceptre, a nation his clan,/O’Connell the Chieftain of proud Derrynane’ (Kerry Weekly Reporter, 19 July 1919). The poem, ‘Darrynane,’ was written by McCarthy in 1844. Daniel O’Connell married Isobella Shine Lawlor on 23 April 1862 and they had issue five daughters, four of whom, Isobella Mary (Sybil), Kathleen, Margaret Gertrude (Peg) and Frances Mary, died unmarried. Eileen Mary married the noted antiquarian, Walter Abel Heurtley, Captain 9th East Lancashire Regiment, Aldershot, son of Rev Charles Abel Heurtley (1845-1936), Rector of Binsey, Oxford 1911-1919, and grandson of Rev Charles Abel Heurtley (1806-1895), Professor of Divinity at Oxford (see Alpine Notes (Alpine Journal) for genealogy). They married at St James’ RC Church, Reading, on 28 August 1915. The ceremony was performed by Rev A C Heurtley, brother of the bridegroom. Kerryburials.com records the grave of Walter Abel Heurtley at Darrynane, who died on 2nd January 1955. Also his wife, Eileen Mary Heurtley, who died 18th January 1961. [10] The Kerry News, 10 June 1935, ‘Darrynane and Achadhmore.’ ‘This Morgan was the Liberator’s second son’ viz, Morgan O’Connell (1804-1885). [11] The Dunraven Papers record the following: ‘1786; 1826; 1858; 1861;1863 Title deeds to the 3rd Earl of Dunraven’s Co Kerry Estate – Aghamore, Derrynane, etc – acquired from Daniel O’Connell’s family and held under the Earls of Cork and Orrery.’ An action regarding the claims of landed proprietors to unclaimed wreck of the sea heard in 1862 showed that by deed dated 1861, Daniel O’Connell and ‘his heirs and assigns for ever’ were granted the lands of Cahernageeha and Derrynane More from the Earl of Dunraven, though the earl continued in ownership of a portion of the shore of the estate (Weekly Freeman’s Journal, 7 June 1862). [12] His father was Windham Henry Quin (1782-1850), 2nd Earl of Dunraven, MP for Co Limerick. He married Caroline, daughter of heiress of Thomas Wyndham of Dunraven Castle, Glamorgan, and Clearwell Castle, Gloucestershire. He adopted, by Royal Licence, the name Wyndham-Quin in 1815. He died at Adare Manor and was interred in the mausoleum erected by him in the churchyard of Adare. ‘Over 4000 persons, including gentry, farmers, his Lordship’s tenantry, and the peasants of the surrounding district assembled to pay the last sad tribute to the memory of a good and benevolent resident landlord … The Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy also attended, 1600 of the tenantry walking in procession, with scarfs and hatbands, and the deep regret felt for the late Peer’ (Illustrated London News, 17 August 1850). [13] The music was published in Dublin by Henry Bussell, 7 Westmorland Street and 39 Fleet Street. Bussell was publishing sheet music from c1853 to c1869. Frances may have been a sister of Robert James Graves (1796-1853) and Richard Hastings Graves (1791-1877), sons of Richard Graves (1763-1829) Professor of Divinity at TCD and Dean of Ardagh, and Elizabeth Mary, daughter of James Drought. An earlier version of The Erin Quadrilles by professor of dancing, John Lewis Oustain, dedicated to Lady Cuffe, was published in 1821/1822. [14] Cahernaguihy was evidently in the vicinity of Darrynane Abbey. The Legend of Johanna Carmody recalls a battle fought near Dun Bruighin (Doonbreen, The Fort of the Battle). In an account of this legend, it was stated that the ‘Cahernaguihy stream flowed into the strand outside the demesne of Darrynane House’ (The Liberator, Tralee, 22 June 1935). The following, from the same source, suggests that Cahernaguihy was a construct of some form: ‘Cahernaguihy, in Lord Adare’s ground, was almost levelled to the ground to provide material for road-making.’ [15] Hon Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, his heir; Lady Caroline Adelaide Wyndham-Quin (died 2 July 1853); Lady Augusta Emily Wyndham-Quin (died 11 February 1877); Lady Mary Frances Wyndham-Quin (died 21 September 1884); Lady Edith Wyndham-Quin (died 10 April 1885) and Lady Emily Anna Wyndham-Quin (died 21 November 1940). There is a photograph of Lady Augusta Emily Wyndham-Quin and her husband, Sir Arthur Pendarves Vivian (1834-1926) in a Victorian album held in the National Library of Ireland (compiled by K. E. H.) held under title ‘Mayo Gentry Album.’ An artist’s impression of his brother-in-law, Wyndham Goold Esq MP, was published in the Illustrated London News, 2 December 1854. [16] Dublin Daily Express, 30 December 1861. ‘The Dowager Countess, though now absent, contributes every year a large sum for the poor of Adare where the recollection of her former bounty also, when residing there, is still warmly and gratefully cherished.’ [17] The introduction was signed ‘Dunraven. Coombe Wood, Kingston-on-Thames, September 3rd, 1875.’ Both volumes, edited by Margaret Stokes, have considerable material on the antiquities of Co Kerry. Of Darrynane, he writes: ‘The church of Darrynane in Kilcrohane parish, which is not far from Loch Currane, was also founded by this saint [St Finan]; its name is derived from Doire Fhionain, ‘the oak-grove of Finan.’ Also in Kealgorm, a townland of the parish of Castle Island and barony of Trughanacmy, in the same county, there is a church which is dedicated to St Finan’ (Vol II, p64). [18] The church of Cill Fionain (Kilfinnaun, St Finan’s Church) was located in the townland of Kealgorm (which adjoins the townland of Cahereen West); a nearby bridge styled Kilfinnaun (or Killfinnaun) Bridge. Archdall (Monasticon Hibernicum Vol II, p241) makes passing reference to the church in an extract about the priory of Killagh (Cilefahah or Killagha, Bello Loco) at Milltown, Co Kerry: ‘In the parish of Castleisland there is the ruin of an old church called Cill-Fionain, which honoured St Finan as patron.’ O’Donovan (Ordnance Survey Letters) recorded the following in 1841: ‘No part of it is now traceable but the East gable with its window but from this the original breadth of the building cannot be ascertained. The window forms a semicircular arch on the inside where it measures seven feet six inches in height and four feet one inch in width but on the outside it is pointed and formed of cut lime stone, and measures five feet in height and eight inches in width. This gable is built of large and small stones and lime and sand cement. It is three feet in thickness.’ Cahereenard House was erected in the vicinity of the ruin. Valerie Bary (Houses of Kerry) observed that Fr Maurice Fitzgerald lived there c1820s but in the 1880s, Protestant rector Rev William Heffernan was in residence. In 1872, it was part of the estate of Henry Arthur Herbert (1840-1901) and later Henry Arthur Edward Keane Herbert (1867-1931). In 1892 the estate possessed first rate farmland, ‘a pretty cottage very handsomely situated’ with views of the Killarney lakes and Castlemaine Bay. In 1900, considerable land in Kerry including Kealgorm was identified in the Land Purchase Acts, the Estate of Henry Arthur Edward Keane Herbert and James Hope, Archibald Robert Craufurd (or Crawford) Pitman (Writer to the Signet, Edinburgh), and Spencer Campbell Thomson (1842-1931) of Edinburgh. In 1903, John P Griffin, Castleisland, leased lands of Cahernanard (sic) and Kealgorm for grazing. Rev William Ruby Heffernan of Cahereenard died at Castleisland on 31 July 1909 aged 86. The house was burned by Black and Tans. In 1922, the Griffin family purchased the property, built a new house and continue to farm there. It is said that Cahereenard had a fairy cow which came down from the north at the time of the Famine and, no matter how often she was milked, she continued to give copious amount of milk. One day, a bad woman said she would show how much or how little milk the cow could give and she milked her into a colander. When the cow at last looked down and saw all her milk on the ground she walked away from Cahereenard and was never seen again from that day to this. [19] Kerry Evening Post, 28 November 1866. Her remains were brought to Adare for interment in the family mausoleum. [20] Detailed funeral report in Tipperary Vindicator, 30 November 1866. [21] There was no issue of the marriage. [22] Obituary, The Western Mail, 28 May 1870. ‘The demise of Lady Dunraven is deeply and generally regretted but nowhere will it be more severely felt than amongst the poor in the neighbourhood of Adare Manor, who can never forget her unbounded charity and benevolence. Her remains will be brought from Coleford to Limerick in the course of next week and will subsequently be interred in the family mausoleum in Adare Abbey’ (Kerry Evening Post, 1 June 1870). [23] Obituary, Freeman’s Journal, 12 October 1871. ‘Very few indeed of the titled and noble have passed away from amongst us whose loss will be more bitterly felt by all who came within the wide sphere of his exalted influence.’ The church was St Michael’s, Sneem. The Earl of Dunraven was present for the opening ceremony on 27th July, 1865. [24] Edwin’s son Windham died in 1926 without male issue and Edwin’s nephew, Colonel Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin (1857-1952), son of his brother, Captain Windham Henry Wyndham Quin (1829-1865) succeeded as 5th Earl of Dunraven. [25] The literature of Windham, 4th Earl of Dunraven, includes Experiences in Spiritualism with D D Home (1869) to which his father wrote an introduction; The Great Divide: Travels in the Upper Yellowstone in the Summer of 1874 (1876) which he dedicated to his wife Florence. Other works were Irish Question (1890); Self Instruction in the Theory and Practice of Navigation (1900); The Outlook in Ireland: The Case for Devolution and Conciliation (1907); The Legacy of Past Years (1911); The Finances of Ireland Before the Union and After (1912); Canadian Nights (1914); Introduction to William Hamilton Maxwell’s Wild Sports of the West (1915); The Fox Hound in County Limerick (1919); Past Times and Pastimes (1922, 2 volumes). The Weekly Dispatch (London), issue 26 September 1915, carries his account, ‘Life in my Hospital Ship’ during the war. [26] ‘About two o’clock the happy pair left for Ditton Park, near Windsor, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch’ (Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, 8 May 1869). See same for full report of wedding guests. [27] Lady Florence Enid Wyndham-Quin (1870-1891), Lady Rachael Charlotte Wyndham-Quin (1872-1901) and Lady Aileen May Wyndham-Quin (1873-1962). Florence, Countess of Dunraven, and her daughter Lady Aileen sent a wreath to the funeral of Hon Ella Frances Peel (1872-1900) who was found dead in her bed on 20 July 1900. She was the youngest daughter of Arthur Wellesley Peel (1829-1912), 1st Viscount Peel. [28] Evening Echo, 27 October 1897. The letter appears to have been interpreted as a work of fiction. Daniel Keating seems to have helped to maintain seventeen shipwrecked American sailors from the fishing schooner Ethel B Jacobs, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, mastered by William Cluett, shipwrecked in fog on a rock known as the Prison at the south west of Abbey Island on the Kerry coast in October 1899 (Kerry Evening Post, 12 May 1900). The schooner was earlier impounded at Berehaven by Her Majesty’s Revenue gunboat Cutter Fly after complaints had been made about fishing within the three mile limit. A report of the charge and hearing at Castletownbere Petty Sessions was given in the Irish Examiner, 26 October 1899. The case was dismissed. Darrynane Hotel is known today as Keating’s Bar / Bridie’s Bar. [29] Clarion, 6 November 1897. [30] Kerry Evening Post and Belfast Newsletter, 5 August 1899. [31] Freeman’s Journal, 25 September 1916. The Dunraven Papers document a journal kept by Florence, Lady Adare, while visiting New York c1869-1877 also letters to Florence from various people including an American, Laura A Gilmore; letters to Florence from Stephen E de Vere and Betty Balfour, wife of Gerald Balfour, about literary matters; and the bank account book of her uncle, Major-General Lord Mark Kerr. [32] The countess died intestate; she left unsettled estate of the gross value of £1,956. [33] Obituary, ‘Death of the Earl of Dunraven,’ Western Mail, 15 June 1926. He was buried at St Nicholas’ Church of Ireland, Adare. See also biography in Limerick Leader, 13 May 1944, ‘Worthies of Thomond by Robert Herbert): ‘His most famous achievement was the land conference which led to the passing of the Windham Land Act of 1903 which laid down that the landlords should be bought out and the occupiers become the owners. When the Treaty of 1921 was passed, Dunraven wrote, By acceptance of the Treaty, the foundation of a great and desirable peace had been laid.’ [34] Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin (1857-1952) was the son of Hon Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin of Dunraven Castle, Glamorgan and his wife, Caroline, third daughter of Admiral Sir George Tyler MP of Cottrell, St Nicholas, Cardiff. The marriage of Windham and Caroline took place at St Nicholas parish church, Glamorganshire on 24 January 1856. Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin senior died after a painful illness at the Pavilion, Folkestone, on 24 October 1865 in his 36th year. His widow Caroline remarried to Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel Octavius Simpson Turner, CB, RA. The marriage took place at St Peter’s Church, Eaton Square, London on 5th March 1867. Lt-Col Simpson of Munster House, Fulham, died on 4 February 1884 aged 55. Honourable Caroline Turner died at Mount Gernos, South Wales, on 22 October 1898. [35] Richard Southwell Windham Robert Wyndham-Quin (1887-1965) 6th Earl of Dunraven; Valentine Maurice Wyndham-Quin (1890-1983); Lady Olein Eva Constance Wyndham-Quin (1892-1969); Lady Kathleen Sybil Wyndham-Quin (1895-1907). [36] A holiday residence known today as Iskeroon was erected in the 1930s. It survives, but has changed hands on a number of occasions. It has been tastefully restored. [37] Truth, 22 October 1913. The same report mentioned that Lord Dunraven, who was staying at Adare during the autumn, had left Ireland ‘last week … He frequently visits his picturesque residence on Garinish, an island in Kenmare River, quite close to Parknasilla, and opposite the mountainous district on the edge of which Derreen, Lord Lansdowne’s place, stands.’ [38] The Kerry News, 10 June 1935, ‘Darrynane and Achadhmore.’ [39] A memorial service was held at St Brides Major Parish Church, Wales. The Dunraven Papers hold documents relating to Eva, Countess of Dunraven, including letters to her future husband Windham in 1885, diaries 1885-1907 (some typed), and an address to Lady Eva’s father, the 6th Earl of Mayo, from Moshinooddowlah, Lucknow, when Viceroy of India. [40] Western Mail, 20 January 1940. [41] Irish Examiner, 28 October 1952. Kilgobbin House, Adare, is the original residence of the Quin family. [42] They were married at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, on 20 October 1915. Another brother was businessman John Kidston Swire (1893-1983). [43] Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 26 February 1927. [44] Dunraven Castle was demolished in 1963. [45] Kerry Reporter, 23 August 1930. [46] Viscountess Adare was summonsed for a debt in Westminster County Court in July 1930 but did not appear. Judge Sir Alfred Tobin asked, ‘Is she an English peeress or what? … You ask me to commit her, do you know where she is?’ Sir Alfred Callaghan, barrister, replied, ‘I think she has an Irish address in the Free State.’ A judgment given in favour of Lord Adare, of Orleans Club, King Street, St James, London, in 1930 ruled that as he was living apart from his wife, she had no authority to pledge his credit and ‘he would no longer be responsible for her debts’ (Dundee Courier, 6 November 1930). ‘In the London Divorce Court today before Mr Justice Langton, Helen Lindsay Wyndham Quin, Viscountess Adare of Seamore Court, Seamore Place, Mayfair, petitioned for a decree of divorce on the ground of the misconduct of her husband, Captain Richard Southwell Windham Robert Wyndham Quin, Viscount Adare, the Earl of Dunraven’s heir. There was no defence to the suit … While in Ireland in 1929 Lady Adare complained that her husband paid attention to another woman and later she had him watched with the result that she obtained information that he had stayed with a woman named Julie Lavelle at Bournemouth. Mr Justice Langton granted Lady Adare a decree nisi with costs’ (Dundee Evening Telegraph, 13 July 1931). It was made absolute by Lord Merrivale in the London Divorce Court in March 1932. John Swire of Hillingdon House, Harlow, died at the age of 71 in 1933; chief mourners at his funeral at St Mary’s Church, Harlow were given in the Chelmsford Chronicle, 2 June 1933. In 1939, the Viscountess Adare of Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, was fined £50 for attempting to bribe a driving test examiner. It appeared that Lady Adare was anxious for her maid to pass a driving test so to ‘be able to drive when they were abroad’ (Essex Newsman, 18 March 1939). [48] Lady Melissa Eva Caroline Wyndham-Quin, was born on 16 February 1935. Lady Caroline Olein Geraldine Wyndham-Quin was born on 14 September 1936. Hon Thady Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin was born on 27 October 1939. The Tatler, 18 December 1935, contains photographs of Viscountess Adare with baby Melissa, and with Lord Dunraven. [49] Evening Echo, 31 August 1965. Obituary and funeral report, Munster Express, 3 September 1965. The earl was not buried in the family mausoleum but in the burial ground of Adare parish church. The stud closed in 1976: ‘The 90-year-old Union Stud in Limerick is to close. The Earl of Dunraven, whose family started the venture, said Spiralling costs and the unhelpful attitude of the Irish Government forced the decision to close’ (Coventry Evening Telegraph, 6 April 1976). [50] The couple married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, Mayfair, London on 15 February 1969. They had one child, a daughter, Lady Anna Wyndham-Quin, born in 1972. [51] See Irish Independent, 3 April 1987, ‘No more to the manor born.’ Ultimately, it was purchased by Irish Americans Thomas and Judy Kane who converted it into the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort. It was sold again in 2015 to J P McManus (The Irish Times, 4 February 2015, ‘Adare Manor sold to businessman J P McManus’). [52] Tribute, Limerick Leader, 2 April 1994. Nancy, dowager Countess of Dunraven, died on 2 March 1994, aged 92. In her will, she left £943,269. [53] See recording of ‘Geraldine Wyndham-Quin, Countess of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (b.1942)’ at Irish Life and Lore, www.irishlifeandlore.com. [54] For example, letters written in the 1830s by Lord Adare to Caroline, Countess of Dunraven … ‘from various places in Kerry where he spent a longer holiday in October.’ Also diaries and journals of the 3rd Earl of Dunraven including records of meteorological recordings taken at Derrynane and elsewhere (1830s-1850s) and papers of the 3rd Earl of Dunraven regarding lands at Ballycarnahan and Rath, Co Kerry which he held by lease from the Hartopp family.
