Bishopscourt, County Kildare

Coordinates: 53°18′N 6°30′W / 53.3°N 6.5°W / 53.3; -6.5
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bishopscourt
Town
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Bishopscourt is a townland and historic site in County Kildare, Ireland, near Kill, Ardclough and Straffan and beside the N7 road. The estate was once held by the Bishops of Kildare.

Calendar and historical references

In 1527, Thomas, Bishop of Kildare, granted Bishopscourt to Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, and his wife Margaret. In 1537 it passed to John Alen, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. In 1676 it passed to John Margetson, later to die at the Siege of Limerick in 1690 fighting for William of Orange. His daughter married Brabazon Ponsonby, recorded in folklore as a fortune hunter.[citation needed]

Ponsonby family

Main article: Earl of Bessborough

The Ponsonby family became the most powerful political dynasty in 17th century Ireland.

Mary Ponsonby, wife of The 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister
from 1830 to 1834 and best known nowadays as the Earl Grey of the tea brand.

House

Bishopscourt House in 1879, from The County Seats of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, by Francis Orpen Morris.

The fabric of the house was reconstructed to the design of

Sir Richard Morrison in 1790.[1] It was on the grounds of the estate that Daniel O'Connell fought a duel with John d'Esterre
on 1 February 1815. Subsequently, the house burnt down in the 1950s and was rebuilt.

At the walled west corner of the estate is a small blue door, and the adjacent road junction on the Straffan-Kill road is referred to as the Blue Door.

Scott, Kennedy, McGillycuddy

In 1838 Bishopscourt was sold by Frederick Ponsonby to

clan chiefdom from County Kerry
. Edward Kennedy's son Major DM (John) Kennedy won an MC at Anzio whilst serving with 1st Battalion Irish Guards and was later killed at Terporten Castle in Germany in February 1945. It is now home to the Farrell family.

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "1790 – Bishops Court House, Naas, Co. Kildare". 8 January 2010.
  • Tony Carr: Time to Kill: Memories of Kill Village (2004)
  • Eoghan Corry and Jim Tancred: The Annals of Ardclough (2004).
  • Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society, Volume II : 278. Volume III : 489. Volume IV : 114, 240. Volume V : 214. Volume VI : 479. Volume XII : 340. Volume XVII : 35.
  • Bishopscourt by James Fleming, published 31 October 1936 in the Weekly Irish Times
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