(417) Barry of Leamlara

Barry of Leamlara

The Barrys of Leamlara are undoubtedly a branch of the ancient family of that name which has been settled in County Cork since the 12th century, some account of which has been given previously. In the early 19th century it was claimed that they could trace their title to Leamlara through six hundred years and twenty-two generations, but although their claim to ancient possession may well be true, documentary evidence to support it is in short supply before the 17th century. I have accordingly begun my account of the family with John Barry 'the stout', who obtained a confirmatory grant of Leamlara in 1636 and was further confirmed in his estates as an 'innocent papist' in 1663. He was succeeded by his son, Garrett Barry, who paid £10 for a further confirmatory grant of the estate at the end of King Charles II's reign in 1685. As Roman Catholics, the family were presumably in good odour during the reign of James II, although there seems to be no record of their holding public office at that time. Nor does there seem to be any record of their suffering particular penalties or losses during or after the Williamite war of 1689-91. A talent for keeping out of trouble is therefore evident in the 17th century generations of the family, and may account for their long continuity in their estates.

The genealogy of the early generations is far from complete, but Garrett Barry was succeeded by his son, David Barry (c.1660-c.1720), who married Catherine, the daughter of Standish Grady of Elton (Co. Limerick), and their son and heir was Standish Barry (b. c.1685). He was the first of several members of the family to be given Standish as a forename, and in later generations it became normal practice for the family to employ it as a final forename. The small step from this pattern to it being treated as part of the surname seems to have been taken in the later 19th century, and in the 20th century it was habitually hyphenated as Standish-Barry, although I have found no record of this change being officially recorded through a deed poll or royal licence.

Standish Barry (b. c.1685) is the first head of the family for whom anything like a full list of his children can be compiled. He married in 1708 and was still living in 1729, and it was probably he who built Leamlara House to replace its fortified predecessor. His date of death seems not to be recorded, but he was succeeded by his son David Barry (c.1710-64), who was unmarried, and then by his second son, Garrett Barry (c.1712-86). Garrett did not marry until after his brother's death and it may be that he lacked the means to support a wife until he inherited the estate. When the penal laws were eased in 1778 to allow those who swore an oath of allegiance to the Crown to be exempted from many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics, Garrett was one of the first in the queue to make his oath, and his son and heir, Standish Barry (c.1765-1821) followed suit in 1787, when he came into his inheritance. Standish Barry had a substantial family of at least ten children, and his eldest son and heir, Garrett Standish Barry (1788-1864) succeeded him in the estate when he died at a relatively young age. With the easing of the penal laws, he had been able to attend Trinity College, Dublin and to train for the Irish bar, and in the 1820s he was active in Co. Cork as a proponent of full Catholic emancipation and of opposition to the Act of Union. He was an influential supporter of Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) and in the wake of Catholic emancipation and the Great Reform Act of 1832 he was elected as Liberal MP for County Cork, being the first Catholic to be elected since the introduction of the penal laws. He held the seat until 1841, and would no doubt have been re-elected again then, but when it became clear that O'Connell had lost his seat in County Dublin, he stood aside so that O'Connell could come in for Co. Cork. He does not seem to have stood for Parliament again, perhaps because of a growing crisis in his finances. 

In the 1830s the Leamlara estate was over 4,000 acres but the first sale of some 800 acres, took place in 1834. This may have been a tactical move, for in c.1835-38 Garrett made improvements to the house and grounds at Leamlara and built a Roman Catholic chapel on the edge of the estate. The famine years of the 1840s evidently precipitated a crisis, however, and in 1850-52 the estate was broken up and sold through the Encumbered Estates Court. Garrett Standish Barry was fortunate, however, in that the house and demesne and a core of about 1,000 acres, were successfully purchased by his unmarried sister, Penelope Barry (1801-83), and the family continued to occupy the house much as before. It is not clear how Penelope raised the purchase price: it may be that she was, in effect, the leader of a family consortium. When Garrett died, without issue, in 1864, his brother Henry Standish Barry (1804-70) became head of the family, but he lived mainly in England and only visitied Leamlara occasionally. On Penelope's death in 1883, however, it was Henry Standish Barry's son, Charles Standish Barry (1847-97), who inherited Leamlara and moved into the house. His only surviving child, the rather splendidly named Henry Joseph Arthur Robert Bruno Standish-Barry (1873-1945) was the last member of the family to live at Leamlara, and made some improvements to the house in around 1900, when he installed a water-turbine to provide electric lighting. He married an English wife and they had one son (who died just before the end of the First World War) and two daughters. After the war, the couple seem to have lived rather separate lives, with Mrs. Standish-Barry living chiefly in England, where she became a well-known author and practised as a clairvoyante with a extensive clientele in London society, while her husband lived in Ireland and managed the estate. Mrs. Standish-Barry was killed by a flying bomb in London in 1944 (and yes, she did predict it, albeit in a non-specific way), and her husband died the following year. In 1953 their two married daughters sold what remained of the estate to the Irish Land Commission, which pulled the house down in 1956.

Leamlara House (Co. Cork)

Leamlara House: the entrance and garden fronts in about 1910, from Hodges, Cork and County Cork in the 20th century, 1911.

A two-storey mid 18th century house of ashlar with a seven-bay entrance front facing south and long wings extending to rear on the east and west, providing a seven-bay garden front to the west and a shorter five-bay elevation to the east. The house was altered in the early 19th century, probably c.1835, when it was given a new roof with broad eaves and floor-length windows on the ground floor of the garden front. The entrance front had a three-bay breakfront, a doorcase with a full entablature but no supporting columns, and classical hood-moulds on console brackets over the ground-floor windows. Inside, a small room off the entrance hall had 18th century plasterwork, but otherwise the rooms were plainly decorated, with low ceilings. The main architectural feature of the house was the staircase behind the entrance hall, which occupied part of the narrow court between the two side wings, which rose in a single flight and divided into two at the half-pace.

Leamlara House: the Tudor Gothic gate lodge of c.1835 in about 1910.

The house was romantically situated on the side of a deep wooded glen in which there were two small lakes spanned by a mid 18th century bridge of rough masonry. In the early 20th century, advantage was taken of the fall of water to supply the house with electric lighting from a small water turbine in the river. When the house was remodelled c.1835, the demesne was given a pretty Tudor Gothic gate lodge which has been attributed to Sir Thomas and Kearns Deane. A Georgian Catholic church was built at the corner of the demesne in 1838. 

The estate consisted at its greatest extent in the early 1830s of over 4,000 acres, but was progressively reduced in size from 1834 onwards by a combination of private sales and sales through Encumbered Estates Court. The last four hundred acres were sold to the Irish Lands Commission in about 1953, after which the house and gate lodge were demolished in about 1956, although the Catholic church survives. The site is now covered by woodland.

Descent: John Barry (fl. 1636-63); to son, Garrett Barry (fl. 1660-85); to son, David Barry (c.1660-c.1720); to son Standish Barry (b. c.1685; fl. 1729); to son, David Barry (c.1710-64); to brother, Garrett Barry (c.1712-86); to son, Standish Barry (c.1766-1821); to son, Garrett Standish Barry (1788-1864); sold to sister, Penelope Barry (1801-83); to nephew, Charles Standish Barry (1847-97); to son, Henry Arthur Robert Standish Barry (1873-1945); to daughters, who sold c.1953 to Irish Land Commission, which demolished the house in c.1956.

Barry family of Leamlara

Barry, John (fl. 1636-63). Reputedly the son of Garrett Barry of Leamlara and his wife Ellen McCarthy of Tuadrommun. Known as John Barry Laidhir ("the stout"). During the troubled years of the Civil War and Commonwealth he apparently remained loyal to the Crown and in 1663 the King's commissioners declared him an 'innocent papist' and confirmed him in the possession of his lands. He married Isabel Nagle of Moneanimie and had issue including:
(1) Garrett Barry (fl. 1660) (q.v.).
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father and had confirmatory grants of his estates in 1636 and 1663.
His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, Garrett (fl. 1660-85). Son of John Barry (fl. 1636-63) and his wife Isabel Nagle. He married Ellen, daughter of Daniel Duff O'Cahill, and had issue including:
(1) David Barry (c.1660-c.1720) (q.v.).
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father and had a confirmatory grant of the estate from King Charles II in 1685.
His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, David (c.1660-c.1720). Son of Garrett Barry (fl. 1660-85) and his wife Ellen, daughter of Daniel Duff O'Cahill, said to have been born about 1660. He married Catherine, daughter of Standish Grady of Elton (Co. Limerick), and had issue including:
(1) Standish Barry (b. c.1685; fl. 1729) (q.v.).
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father.
He is said to have died in about 1720. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, Standish (b. c.1685; fl. 1729). Son of David Barry and his wife Catherine, daughter of Standish Grady of Elton (Co. Limerick), said to have been born about 1685. He married, 12 November 1708, Eleanor, second daughter of Thady Quin of Adare (Co. Limerick), and had issue:
(1) David Barry (c. 1710-64) (q.v.);
(2) Garrett Barry (c. 1712-86) (q.v.);
(3) John Barry; died unmarried;
(4) Catherine Barry; married Joseph Anthony of Carrick Castle (Co. Waterford);
(5) Elizabeth Barry; married Patrick Lacey of Miltown (Co. Limerick);
(6) Margaret Barry; married, before 1750, John Stack of Kelad (Co. Kerry) and had issue;
(7) Anne Barry; married, 4 February 1758 at Cork, Simon Haly, son of William Haly of Ballyhally;
(8) Eleanor Barry;
(9) Anne Barry.
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father.
He was living in 1729; his date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, David (c.1710-64). Eldest son of Standish Barry (b. c.1685; fl. 1729) and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Thady Quin of Adare (Co. Limerick), born about 1710. He was apparently unmarried and died without issue.
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father.
He died at Leamlara, 4 December 1764.

Barry, Garrett (c.1712-86). Second son of Standish Barry (b. c.1685; fl. 1729) and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Thady Quin of Adare (Co. Limerick), born about 1712. He qualified for relief from the penal laws by swearing an oath of allegiance in 1778. He married, 1765 (licence 27 November), Mary Anne (c.1740-1814), daughter of Stafford Hussey of Galtrim, Baron of Galtrim, and had issue, possibly amongst others:
(1) Standish Barry (c.1766-1821) (q.v.);
(2) Michael Stafford Standish Barry; died young;
(3) Anne Mary Barry (b. 1772), baptised at St Mary RC church, Cork, 19 January 1772; married, 17 April 1792, Timothy Deasy (d. 1820) of Phale Court, Enniskeane (Co. Cork), but had no issue;
(4) Eleanor Mary Barry (c.1774-1802), youngest daughter, born about 1774; married, 7 February 1795, Hatton Conron of Grange, near Cork, and had issue three daughters; died 10 July 1802.
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his elder brother in 1764.
He died at Leamlara, 10 November 1786; his will was proved in 1799. His widow died 16 January 1814.

Standish Barry (c.1766-1821)

Barry, Standish (c.1766-1821). Only surviving son of Garrett Barry (c.1712-86) and his wife Mary Anne, daughter Stafford Hussey of Galtrim, Baron of Galtrim, born about 1766. When he came of age, he qualified for relief from the penal laws by swearing allegiance to the Crown, 8 June 1787. He married, July 1787, Margaret (d. 1855), daughter of Philip Roche of Limerick and had issue, possibly among others:
(1) Garrett Standish Barry (1788-1864) (q.v.);
(2) Philip Barry (b. 1789), baptised at St Michael's RC church, Limerick, 15 July 1789; probably died young;
(3) John Joseph Richard Henry Standish Barry (1791-1833), baptised in St Michael's RC church, Limerick, 19 February 1791; died unmarried, June or July 1833;
(4) Margaret Helena Barry (1794-1875), born at Limerick, 24 July 1794; married, 10 July 1813, Thomas Butler (1782-1863) of Ballycarron (Co. Tipperary) and had issue seven sons and five daughters; died 18 December 1875; will proved 12 April 1876 (effects under £10,000);
(5) Standish Barry (d. 1797); buried at St Finbarr, Cork, 22 January 1797;
(6) Penelope Barry (1801-83), baptised at St Peter & St Paul RC church, Cork, 30 March 1801; purchased the core of the Leamlara estate from her eldest brother through the Encumbered Estates Court in 1851-52; died unmarried, 19 November 1883; will proved 7 December 1883 (effects £685);
(7) A daughter (b. 1802), born 20 September 1802; probably died young;
(8) Henry Standish Barry (1804-70) (q.v.);
(9) A son (b. 1807), born 14 May 1807; probably died young;
(10) Anne Charlotte Standish Barry (c.1808-78), born about 1808; died 25 November 1878; administration of goods granted 5 September 1879 (effects under £100).
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father in 1786. In 1846 the estate amounted to some 4,000 acres.
He died at Leamlara 'of a lingering illness', 28 April 1821; his will was proved in Dublin later the same year. His widow died 25 May 1855.

Barry, Garrett Standish (1788-1864). Eldest son of Standish Barry (c.1766-1821) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Philip Roche of Limerick, baptised at St Michael's RC church, Limerick, 12 June 1788. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1804; BA 1809) and Kings Inns (admitted 1806; called 1811). JP and DL for Co. Cork; High Sheriff of Co. Cork, 1830; popular Liberal MP for Co. Cork, 1832-41, being the first Roman Catholic elected by the county after the Emancipation Act of 1829; in 1841 he retired in favour of Daniel O'Connell, who had failed to retain his seat in Co. Dublin. He was unmarried and without issue.
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father in 1821 but it was sold in lots through the Incumbered Estates Court in 1851-52, though the house and about 1,000 acres were kept in the family, being bought by his sister Penelope.
He died 26 December 1864.

Barry, Henry David Standish (1804-70). Youngest surviving son of Standish Barry (c.1766-1821) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Philip Roche of Limerick, baptised at St Finbarr's (South Parish), Cork, 12 August 1804. He married, 20 August 1836 at St George, Hanover Sq., London and later at the Bavarian Ambassador's RC Chapel, Warwick St., London, Angelina Anne Mary (1802-78), youngest daughter of William Brander of Morden Hall (Surrey), and had issue:
(1) Angelina Anne Dorinda Standish Barry (1838-50), born 1838; died in Cheltenham, probably of scarlet fever, 23 November 1850, and was buried at Twickenham (Middx), 3 December 1850;
(2) Standish Barry (1841-68), born February 1841; an officer in the 2nd Foot (Ensign, 1860; Lt., 1863; retired 1867); died at Leamlara, 21 July 1868;
(3) John H. Standish Barry (1842-50); died of scarlet fever in Cheltenham, 3 December 1850;
(4) Henry Standish Barry (1844-50), born 26 May 1844; died of scarlet fever in Cheltenham, 12 December 1850;
(5) Charles Standish Barry (1847-97) (q.v.).
He lived at East Cliff, Dover and later at Hove (Sussex).
He died at Leamlara, 31 August 1870. His widow died 25 November 1878; administration of her goods was granted 7 January 1879 (effects under £7,000).

Barry, Charles Standish (1847-97). Youngest son of Henry Standish Barry (1804-70) and his wife Angelina, youngest daughter of William Brander of Morden Hall (Surrey), baptised at Passage West RC Church (Co. Cork), 17 July 1847. He married, 5 August 1869 at Ballybrick RC church (Co. Dublin), the Hon. Margaret Mary (1843-1916), daughter of Lt-Col. the Hon. Arthur Francis Southwell, and sister of the 4th Viscount Southwell KP, and had issue:
(1) Winifred Mary Standish Barry (1872-92), born 2 March 1872; died unmarried, 'after a long and tedious illness', 15 May 1892;
(2) Henry Arthur Robert Standish Barry (1873-1945) (q.v.).
He lived at Castle Jane Villa, Glanmire (Co. Cork) until he inherited the Leamlara estate from his aunt, Penelope Barry, in 1883.
He died 10 November 1897. His widow died 9 April 1916; her will was proved in Dublin, 18 July 1916 (estate £1,174).

Henry Standish-Barry (1873-1945)

Standish-Barry, Henry Joseph Arthur Robert Bruno (1873-1945). Only son of Charles Standish Barry (1847-97) and his wife, the Hon. Margaret Mary, daughter of Lt-Col. the Hon. Arthur Francis Southwell, and sister of the 4th Viscount Southwell KP, born 8 November 1873. Educated at Downside. In 1893 he suffered a serious but happily not fatal gunshot wound while out shooting with friends at Leamlara. JP for Co. Cork (from 1896). He and his children habitually used the surname Standish-Barry. He married*, 18 April 1899 at Leamlara, Eleanor Lilian Helène (1875-1944), actress and playwright (who as 'Miss Nell St. John Montague' was a well-known clairvoyant and as 'Sister Poppy' was a prominent fundraiser and campaigner for ex-servicemen and the disadvantaged), daughter of Maj-Gen. C.B. Lucie-Smith, and had issue:
(1) Charles Henry Joseph Robert Garrett Standish-Barry (1900-18), born 9 February 1900; served in Royal Irish Regiment, 1917-18; died at home of typhoid and measles, 22 July 1918;
(2) Marcella Muriel Winifred Standish-Barry (1904-90), born 5 September 1904; actress; married 1st, December 1932 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Lt-Col. Donald William Garnham Ray (1903-44); and 2nd, Jan-Mar 1947, Andrew Robertson Ferguson (1905-75) of Seaford (Sussex); died 24 June 1990; will proved 16 July 1990 (estate under £115,000);
(3) Margaret Patricia Mary Standish-Barry (1911-75), born 12 March 1911; married, Oct-Dec 1936, John Collinson Heather (1906-73), physician in Coventry and Birmingham, who was 'an eccentric in his personal affairs'; died 4 December 1975; will proved 23 February 1976 (estate £22,450).
He inherited the Leamlara estate from his father. At his death it passed to his two daughters who sold it to the Irish Lands Commission in about 1953.
He died 8 February 1945; his will was proved in Dublin, 1 January 1946 (estate £7,261). His wife was killed by a flying bomb in London, 22 August 1944, when it was widely reported that she had predicted the violent circumstances of her death, reputedly saying "I saw a fiery streak. Then a red mist spread over everything"; she was buried at Bishopstone (Sussex) and administration of her goods was granted to her daughters, 20 July 1945 (estate £2,878). 
* The couple do not seem to have been formally separated, but after the First World War they lived rather separate lives, with Mrs Standish-Barry living in England, where she had houses in London and at Seaford (Sussex), and her husband living chiefly at Leamlara.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1898, vol. 2, supplement pp. 17-18; Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 17; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn, 1990, p. 182; J.A.K. Dean, The gate lodges of Munster: a gazetteer, 2018, p. 98.
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/big-houses-of-ireland/leamlara-house-co.-cork/history-of-leamlara-house/

Location of archives

Barry or Standish-Barry of Leamlara: estate maps, photographs and press cuttings, 19th-20th cents. [Cork County Library]

Coat of arms

Argent, three bars, gemels, gules.

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply further images of Leamlara House, and in particular any interior views?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 22 May 2020 and was updated 13 August 2020.