On a fine fresh morning twenty to thirty local historians met at the entrance of the former Clonbrook estate near Ballinasloe fpr a field trip organised by the Dohenagh Local History Society. All were welcomed by Frank Gavin, chairman of the Fohenagh Group. Clonbrock which was owned by local landlords, the Dillon family, had been a huge estate in its heyday totalling in excess of 28,000 acres.The tour began with a visit to the Big House, how abandoned, but still showing signs of what it must have been like in its glory days. It had unfortunately been damaged by fire in the 1980s. A visit to the unique Photograph House proved to be fascinating as it was still very much intact and picturesquely set among trees and former gardens. The Dillons had been something of pioneers in thte early days of photography and produced many important prints which are now in the National Photographic Archive. It was interesting to see the impressive huge walls of the original walled gardens wtill very much intact and the remains of whaat was an old swimming pool. It was a real trip down memory lanr to see the stables where in more regal times horse-drawn carriages would have graced the scene. Then there was the old farmyard buildings, still there and in fact some restored and now inhabited by Robuck Ffrench. As on most large estates of the time there was an Ice-House where at times food was kept cold with ice taken from the nearby frozen lakes or transported all the way from Dublin. It was surprising and very encouraging to see the impressive 14th century Clonbrock Castle being restored by its present owners, Jonathan and Beverely Baylis, who kindly met the group to explain the progress on its restoration.
It was a most interesting and rewarding experience to taste what life would have been like in a unique period of Irish country life. During the walk Frank Gavin entertained the group with many stories of life on the estate including the story about what is still known locally as the "Dinner Field".
No comments:
Post a Comment