(587) Bernard of Castle Bernard now Kinnitty Castle (Co. Offaly)

The origins of this family are obscure, but they seem not to be related to the Bernards of Castle Bernard (Co. Cork); certainly not closely. They were evidently settled in Co. Carlow by the early 17th century, and there are references in deeds and other documents to members of the family living in or around the town of Carlow (then known as Catherlough) from 1619 onwards at properties including Straw Hill, Clonmulsh (spelled in a bewildering variety of ways) and Oldtown. It seems, however, not to be possible to construct a coherent genealogy before the time of Thomas Bernard (c.1655-1720), who served as High Sheriff of Co. Carlow in 1708, by which time the family clearly had gentry status. Thomas married, about 1688, a widow called Deborah Humfrey, who was the daughter of Matthew Sheppard of Killerick (Co. Carlow) and his wife Mary Franck. Deborah already had five sons from her first marriage, but together they produced three more sons and two daughters over the next decade or so. Thomas seems also to have owned land in Queen's County (now Co. Leix*), and his eldest son, Charles Bernard (c.1688-1732) settled there. His two younger sons, Franks (c.1689-1760) - who derived his name from his maternal grandmother's maiden name - and Joseph (1694-1763), shared the Carlow property between them. Franks Bernard subsequently leased an estate called Castletown at Kinnitty in King's County (now Co. Offaly*), which became the nucleus of the later Castle Bernard estate, but he lived mainly in Carlow and probably sold Castletown to his nephew, Thomas Bernard (c.1719-88), the eldest son of his brother Joseph. It was probably this Thomas or his son and namesake, Thomas Bernard (c.1747-1815), who replaced the ancient tower house at Castletown with a more modern residence, changed the name to Castle Bernard, and commenced the landscaping of the grounds. 

Thomas (d. 1815), 'a gentleman of large fortune' was succeeded by his only son, another Thomas Bernard (1769-1834), who was active in the militia during the 1798 uprising and became MP for King's County in 1802, holding the seat for thirty years until the extension of the franchise at the Great Reform Act weakened his hold on the constituency. He was married twice, and on both occasions his bride was of higher social status, his first wife being the daughter of a baron and his second wife the sister of an earl. After being rejected by the electorate in 1832 he seems to have decided to devote his energies to the rebuilding of Castle Bernard, and he obtained designs from the Pain brothers for a substantial and fashionably Gothic house. Unfortunately he did not live to enjoy it, for he died in 1834, barely a year into construction, and the house had to be completed under the direction of his widow, Lady Catherine Bernard, who was also left to bring up four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Thomas Bernard (1816-82), pursued a career in the army which was cut short after the explosion of a gun while he was out shooting occasioned the amputation of his right hand. He was initially regarded as a benign landlord, but his reputation deteriorated over time as he sought to reduce the population of his estates. In 1867 he became the Lord Lieutenant of King's County, an appointment which he retained until his death. He never married, and his death precipitated something of a crisis in the affairs of the family. 

Thomas had had three younger brothers, all of whom predeceased him. Francis (1818-46) died unmarried; Richard Wellesley (1822-77) had no children; and John Henry Scroope (1820-56) died from the effects of his service in the Crimea, having produced a son and daughter. However, by the 1880s it was clear that the son, Thomas Scroope Wellesley Bernard (1850-1905) was unlikely to be a good steward of the family estate, since he had dissipated a not inconsiderable inheritance, and his uncle chose instead to leave Castle Bernard to his niece, Margeurite (1852-1910), and her husband, Capt. Caulfeild French (1839-1910), although T.S.W. Bernard was in remainder in the event of their having no issue. Capt. French proved to be a harsh and adversarial landlord, who paid a lower wage for a longer day than was usual on neighbouring estates, on one occasion prompting a general strike by his labourers. He and his wife died without issue within a couple of months in the summer of 1910, whereupon the remainder in the will of Thomas Bernard (d. 1882) came into effect. Although T.S.W. Bernard had died five years earlier, he had left his entire estate to his widow, Monica Gertrude Bernard (1857-1948), with remainder to their four daughters, and the family now came to live at Castle Bernard. During the troubled years of the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, Mrs Bernard became alarmed for their safety and arranged for troops to be stationed at the house to offer them some protection. Unfortunately in 1922 the troops were withdrawn and irregular republican forces took advantage of the opportunity to burn the house down in July 1922. Compensation was subsequently claimed and the house was successfully rebuilt in 1928-30, the Bernards coming back into residence until shortly before Mrs Bernard's death, but in 1946 it was sold to Lord Decies, subsequently passing into public ownership and being converted to institutional use in the 1950s.

* The historic names of these two counties were changed in the 20th century for political reasons. I have used the modern names where they describe geographical locations, but retained the contemporary names where they refer to public offices, since to talk about the 'High Sheriff of Co. Offaly' would be anachronistic.

Castle Bernard, Kinnitty, Co. Offaly (now Kinnitty Castle)

The site has a long occupation history, going back to an Anglo-Norman motte and bailey castle, which stood about 200 yards south of the present house. This was destroyed in 1207 and rebuilt, possibly in stone, in 1213. It later became one of the five chiefry castles of the O'Carroll family, and probably took the form of a tower house. It has long been demolished, but several ogee-headed windows inserted into the stableyard wall in the 19th century may be survivals from it. 

The Bernard family became associated with the site, then known as Castletown, in the early 18th century, when Franks Bernard leased a small estate here. Either he or more probably his nephew Thomas Bernard (d. 1788) acquired the freehold and built the modest T-plan house which forms the south-east corner of the present building. This property, which was already called Castle Bernard by the beginning of the 19th century, was described by Arthur Atkinson in The Irish Tourist (1815) as 'one of the most interesting romantic villas in that part of Ireland', though his praise seems to have been based less on the architecture than on its 'retired beauties', notably its setting on a plain below the Slieve Bloom mountains next to the River Camcor, and 'the planting which forms an embroidery to this demesne'.

Castle Bernard: the north front of the house in the early 20th century. Image: National Library of Ireland.

A later Thomas Bernard (1769-1834), who was MP for King's County for thirty years, greatly expanded the estate and decided at the end of his life to enlarge and entirely transform the house into a Tudor Gothic mansion better fitting the name 'Castle Bernard'. He chose as his architects the Pain brothers (James and George Richard) from Limerick and Cork, whose designs were influenced by both the castle-style buildings they had erected for John Nash in the 1810s, and the Tudor Gothic buildings of Sir Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison. It

Quinville House, Co. Clare

seems likely that George Richard Pain was chiefly responsible for the design of Castle Bernard. The elevations are taller and more compact than some of the Pain brothers' earlier houses, such as Dromoland (Co. Clare) or Mitchelstown (Co. Cork), and are very similar in overall effect to the house they built at Quinville (Co. Clare) in 1827, although they were working here on a rather larger scale. Thomas Bernard died only a year after construction began, and the house was completed for his widow, as their eldest son did not come of age until 1837. The Georgian house was retained but the new house, which was nearly twice as wide, was built in front of its main elevation. The new north front was the focus for the stylistic impact: it was given battered basement walls, canted bays, steeply-pitched gables and a complex roofline with pinnacles and tall chimneystacks. At the north-west corner the house sprouted an octagonal tower crowned with machicolation and pinnacles that has Guy's Tower at Warwick Castle in its distant ancestry and Charleville Castle as a closer relation. The side elevations by contrast are fairly plain, with only hood-moulds over the large mullioned and transomed windows and crenellated parapets that are raised into a gable in the middle. All the new elevations were executed in a fine blue-grey limestone that is attractive in sunshine but rather dour in wet or gloomy weather. The older part of the house at the back was given a Gothic dress and rendered to mask the red sandstone of which it was originally built. It is thought that the house was built by Henry, Mullins & MacMahon, whose archive (now in the Irish Architectural Archive) includes some alternative designs, including one with a porte-cochère and another with a circular rather than a polygonal tower.

Castle Bernard: the house after the fire, 1922.

On 23 July 1922 the house was burnt by irregular republican forces, who gave the occupants half an hour to leave but only allowed them to remove personal possessions. Seven fires were then set in different parts of the building, and the interiors, furniture and pictures were completely destroyed, although the external walls largely remained standing. The Bernard family sought compensation of £42,000 for their losses but were eventually awarded a total of £24,000, which they thought would allow a 'partial reinstatement'. In the event, the whole house was restored in 1928-30 to the designs of Joseph John Bruntz (1881-1954) of Edenderry (Co. Offaly), but no attempt was made to recreate the lost decorative schemes, and the simplest new internal decoration was applied. 

Kinnitty Castle: the reconstructed house in 2007. Image: Sarah777 on Wikimedia

Entering through the porch on the north front, the visitor ascends to the level of the principal rooms by a flight of steps the full width of the entrance hall, and passes through a screen of three narrow arches into a central vestibule lit by a stained glass window, which acts as the central circulation space of the house. The rooms to the west of the hall and vestibule were entirely reshaped by Bruntz, who created a new double-aspect drawing room here (now used as a dining room). On the other side of the vestibule is the top-lit staircase hall, which has a new timber staircase of the 1920s, and also the entrance to the former billiards room (now the main drawing room). The room in the north-east corner of the house is now furnished as a library but used as a bar area. Here and in the central vestibule the walls are panelled with robust oak panelling which has the look and feel of 1830s work and may have been salvaged after the fire. The room functions and decoration have been much altered to suit the present use of the house as an hotel.

Kinnitty Castle: the former billiards room (now drawing room). Image: Trip Advisor

Kinnitty Castle: the library/bar. Image: Trip Advisor

As noted above, development of the grounds began in association with the 18th century house. A map of 1809 shows a small area around the house had been landscaped, but this was greatly expanded later, and by 1859 the estate was receiving so many picnic parties that visitors were  required to obtain a ticket in advance. Much of the attraction of the demesne is due to the way the River Camcor or Castletown River winds through the estate, passing just to the east of the house, where it is crossed by a (now derelict) suspension footbridge built between 1838 and 1850 for Thomas Bernard (1816-82). Another bridge, further south, carries an approach drive from the north entrance to the estate, where there is a grand carriage archway flanked by curtain walls which conceal a porter's lodge on one side and contain a postern gate on the other. On stylistic grounds, this north lodge is likely to be by the Pain brothers. The entrance screen replaced an earlier pair of lodges, which may have been contemporary with the main (south) lodge. This is thought to date from about 1811, and to be associated with a scheme by Samuel Beazley for a school and park entrance, for which he exhibited designs at the Royal Academy in that year. The lodge was extended to either side with additional gables c.1885, but the original building was a rather pretty Gothick design with a pair of blank quatrefoils either side of an ogee-headed doorcase set in a concave surround with clustered colonnettes that derive ultimately from the pattern books of Batty Langley. 

Kinnitty Castle: the south lodge, perhaps originally of 1811 but extended in 1885. Image: Buildings of Ireland.

Kinnitty Castle: the pyramidal mausoleum.

South-east of the village of Kinnitty, Thomas Bernard (1769-1834) built a mausoleum in the form of a crisp four-sided pyramid, supposedly influenced by his travels in Egypt.

Descent: Franks Bernard (c.1689-1760); sold? to nephew, Thomas Bernard (c.1719-88); to son, Thomas Bernard (c.1747-1815); to son, Thomas Bernard MP (1769-1834); to son, Thomas Bernard (1816-82); to niece, Margeurite (1852-1910), wife of Capt. Caulfeild French (1839-1910); to her brother's widow, Monica Gertrude Bernard (1857-1948); who sold 1946 to Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford (1915-92), 6th Baron Decies; sold 1951 to Irish Government for conversion to an Agricultural College; sold 1995 for conversion to an hotel. 

Bernard family of Castle Bernard (now Kinnity Castle)

Bernard, Thomas (c.1655-1720). Parentage unknown, born about 1655. High Sheriff of Co. Carlow, 1708. He married, c.1688, Deborah (d. 1732), daughter of Matthew Shepherd (d. 1663)* of Killerick (Co. Carlow) and widow of Edward Humfrey (d. 1686) of Clonagh (Co. Carlow), and had issue:

(1) Charles Bernard (c.1688-1732), of Bernard's Grove (now Blandsfort, Co. Leix); High Sheriff of Co. Carlow, 1718; married, 12 December 1711 at Marton (Ches.), Rachel Stringer of Nantwich (Ches.), and had issue three sons and three daughters; will proved in 1732;

(2) Franks Bernard (c.1689-1760) (q.v.);

(3) Elizabeth Bernard (c.1690-1755); married 1st, 1712, Henry Rudkin, and had issue two or three sons and five daughters; married 2nd, 1738, William Doyle (d. 1758); died 1755;

(4) Joseph Bernard (1694-1763) (q.v.);

(5) Ann Bernard (d. 1737); married 1st, 1722, Gayton Mainwaring and had issue one son; married 2nd, Thomas Barnes of Grange (Co. Kilkenny); died 1737.

He lived at Oldtown and Clonmulsh (Co. Carlow).

He died in 1720; his will was proved 19 May 1721. His widow died about 1732; her will was proved 5 May 1732.

* Matthew Sheapheard married Marie Franck at Saxelby (Leics) on 27 October 1654 and emigrated to Ireland soon afterwards. This explains how the unusual forename Franks entered the family.

Bernard, Franks (c.1689-1760). Second son of Thomas Bernard (c.1655-1720) of Oldtown and Clonmulsh (Co. Carlow) and his wife Deborah, daughter of Matthew Shepperd of Killerick (Co. Carlow) and widow of Edward Humfrey of Clonagh (Co. Carlow), born about 1689. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1705). He married, c.1708?, Elizabeth [surname unknown] (fl. 1761) and had issue:

(1) Franks Bernard (c.1708-82); married 1st, c.1727, Susanna (d. c.1735), probably the daughter of Thomas Bunbury, and had issue six sons and two daughters; married 2nd, 1735, Mary Grantham (d. 1742) and had further issue two sons*; will proved 1782;

(2) Susan Bernard;

(3) Mary Bernard; married, 1737, James Butler, and had issue one son;

(4) Anne Bernard (d. 1762); married Edward Pickering of Carlow; died 1762;

(5) Deborah Bernard.

He leased a small estate at Castletown (later the nucleus of the Castle Bernard estate) in the early 18th century, but seems to have lived chiefly at Clonsmulsh (Co. Carlow), and probably sold Castletown to his nephew Thomas Bernard (c.1719-88).

His date of death is unknown; his will was proved in 1760. His widow was living in 1761 but her date of death is unknown.

* It is uncertain whether a further marriage in 1750 between Franks Bernard jr. and Margaret Bonham was a third marriage of Franks (d. 1782) or a first marriage of his son Franks (c.1730-96). 

Bernard, Joseph (1694-1763). Third son of Thomas Bernard (c.1655-1720) of Oldtown and Clonmulsh (Co. Carlow) and his wife Deborah, daughter of Matthew Shepperd of Killerick (Co. Carlow) and widow of Edward Humfrey of Clonagh (Co. Carlow), born 1694. High Sheriff of Co. Carlow, 1730. He married, 1717 (licence 5 December), Mary (fl. 1763), daughter of John Edwards (d. 1728) of Old Court (Co. Wicklow), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bernard (c.1719-88) (q.v.);

(2) John Bernard (c.1720-89); an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt., 1745; last recorded service, 1752); settled at Carlow (Co. Carlow); married, 20 July 1767 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), his cousin Frances, daughter of Sir Gilbert Pickering, 3rd bt., and had issue one son and three daughters; he also had an illegitimate son, born prior to his marriage; died at Carlow, 19 November and was buried there, 26 November 1789; will proved in the PCC, 31 October 1791;

(3) William Bernard (d. c.1790), of Straw Hill (Co. Carlow); High Sheriff of Co. Carlow, 1773-74; married, perhaps c.1755, his cousin Mary Bernard, and had issue at least two sons and two daughters; died after 8 February 1789; will proved 2 June 1790;

(4) Jane Bernard (c.1724-98); married, c.1744, William Galbraith (c.1704-54) of Carlow, merchant, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 30 April 1798 and was buried at Carlow, where she is commemorated by a headstone erected by her daughter;

(5) Mary Bernard (c.1733-1804); married 1st, 1759 (settlement 28 November), Thomas Bennett (c.1732-78), of Ballynloghan and Viewmount (Co. Carlow), and had issue two sons and six daughters; married 2nd, 1782 (settlement 27 April), Mathew Humphrey (b. c.1730?) of Ratheadon (Co. Carlow); died 6 January 1804 and was buried at Loram Cemetery, Carlow;

(6) Deborah Bernard (fl. 1763); married, c.1759, William Rourke, and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; living in 1763;

(7) Jemma Bernard (fl. 1782); married, 1774 (licence 28 September), Rev. Robert Moffat (c.1745-c.1819) of Park Place (Co. Longford), vicar & rector of Cashel and Rathcline, 1780-c.1813 and of Tashinny and Abbeyshrule, c.1813-19?, and had issue one son and five daughters; living in 1782 but death not traced;

(8) Elizabeth Bernard (fl. 1789); married [forename unknown] Latrys and had issue five sons and one daughter; living in 1789;

(9) Ann Bernard (c.1731-1801); married, 1765, Humphrey Mitchell (fl. 1801), possibly the man of this name who was Clerk of the Barrow Navigation in 1787, and had issue one son; died suddenly, while at cards, 17 November 1801, and was buried at Carlow.

He lived at Clonmulsk (Co. Carlow) and inherited Straw Hill from his father.

He died about October 1763; his will was proved 26 November 1763. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Bernard, Thomas (c.1719-88). Eldest son of Joseph Bernard (1694-1763) of Straw Hill (Co. Carlow) and Castletown (Co. Offaly), and his wife Mary, daughter of John Edwards of Old Court (Co. Wicklow), born about 1719. He married 1st, 1740 (settlement 26 May), Jane, daughter of Adam Mitchell of Rathgibbon and widow of Joseph Palmer, and 2nd, c.1762, Mary, widow of Thomas Bernard (d. 1757) of Cloghristick (Co. Carlow), and had issue:

(1.1) Mary Bernard (b. c.1741), born about 1741; married 1st, 1759 (settlement 21 March), James Dillon (d. 1778) of Carlow (Co. Carlow) and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, before 1789, Rev. Edward Palmer;

(1.2) Grace Bernard (c.1744-1836); married, 1767, Philip Going (1741-1820) of Monaquil, son of Robert Going of Traverston, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died March 1836;

(1.3) Susannah Bernard (1745-1819); married, 1769, Bigoe Armstrong (1745-73), son of Archibald Armstrong (b. 1716), and had issue two sons; died July 1819;

(1.4) Thomas Bernard (c.1747-1815) (q.v.);

(1.5) Barbara Bernard (c.1749-90), born about 1749; married, 1769 (contract 19 September) at Birr (Co. Offaly), Robert Lauder of Moyclare (Co. Offaly), High Sheriff of King's County, 1775-76, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died October 1790;

(1.6) Jane Bernard (b. c.1750), born about 1750; married, 1772, Rev. John Smith (d. 1813), vicar of Ballingarry and Uskean (Co. Tipp.), 1776-1809, and had issue three sons and five daughters;

(1.7) Jemima Bernard (c.1755-1825); married George Clarke of Birr; died in Dublin, December 1825.

He probably purchased Castletown from his uncle.

He died in 1788; his will was proved in 1788. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife died before 1768, leaving four children by her first husband, to whom Franks Bernard was appointed guardian.

Bernard, Thomas (c.1747-1815). Only son of Thomas Bernard (c.1719-88) and his wife Jane, daughter of Adam Mitchell of Rathgibbon and widow of Joseph Palmer, born about 1747. High Sheriff of King's County, 1785-86. He married 1st, 15 April 1768, Mary, second daughter of Jonathan Willington of Castle Willington (Co. Offaly) and 2nd, 16 April 1780 at St Mary, Dublin, Margaret (c.1740-1811), daughter and co-heir of Nicholas Biddulph (d. 1762) of Rathrobin and Portal, and widow of Alexander Cornewall (d. 1779) of Lishmote (Co. Limerick), and had issue, with two further daughters who died young:

(1.1) Thomas Bernard (1769-1834) (q.v.);

(1.2) Mary Bernard (c.1770-1804); married, 29 April 1796, as his first wife, Col. Sir Robert Waller (1768-1826), 2nd bt., but had no issue; died 16 July 1804;

(1.3) Barbara Bernard (c.1772-1845) married, 1800 (against her father's wishes, and was disinherited as a result), John Poe (c.1773-1857) of Solsborough (Co. Tipp.), but had no issue; died at Avranches (France), 24 June 1845.

He inherited Castletown from his father and renamed it Castle Bernard.

He died at Birr (Co. Offaly), 8 May 1815; his will was proved in 1815. His first wife died before 1780. His second wife died 31 March 1811.

Bernard, Thomas (1769-1834). Only son of Thomas Bernard (c.1747-1815) and his first wife Mary, daughter of Jonathan Willington of Castle Willington (Co. Offaly), born 1769. High Sheriff of King's County, 1798-99; MP for King's County 1802-32; Colonel of the King's County (Offaly) Militia, 1823; Governor of King's County, 1828-31. He married 1st, 10 September 1800 at Kilboy (Co. Tipp.), Elizabeth (d. 1802), daughter of Henry Prittie (1743-1801), 1st Baron Dunalley, and 2nd, 29 July 1814 at St Michan, Dublin, Lady Catherine Henrietta (c.1792-1844), second daughter of the Hon. Francis Hely-Hutchinson MP (1769-1827) and sister of John Hely-Hutchinson (1787-1851), 3rd Earl of Donoughmore, and had issue:

(2.1) Frances Margaret Bernard (1815-50), eldest child, born 1815; married, 17/18 September 1846 at Kinnitty, as his first wife, Samuel Hamilton Goold-Adams (c.1814-84) of Salisbury (Co. Tipp), fourth son of Michael Goold-Adams (1778-1817) of Jamesbrook (Co. Cork), and had issue one daughter; died March 1850;

(2.2) Thomas Bernard (1816-82) (q.v.);

(2.3) Margeurite Bernard (1817-42), third child, born 1817; died unmarried at Leamington Spa (Warks), 12 October 1842, and was buried in the family mausoleum at Kinnitty;

(2.4) Francis Bernard (1818-46), born December 1818; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1836) King's Inns, Dublin (admitted 1838) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1842); died unmarried in Rome (Italy), 27 December 1846; will proved, 1847;

(2.5) John Henry Scroope Bernard (1820-56) (q.v.); 

(2.6) Richard Wellesley Bernard (1822-77), born 25 March or 10 June 1822; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (matriculated 1838; BA 1844), Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1840) and King's Inns, Dublin (called to the Irish bar, 1844); barrister-at-law; served as a volunteer officer in the Austrian service; in the 1850s he was noted as a sportsman and particularly for his prowess in steeplechasing, but he sold his stud of horses on joining the army at the outbreak of the Crimean war, where he fought at Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman; an officer in the King's County Militia Rifles (Ensign, 1846; Lt., c.1848; Capt., 1855; Maj. c.1870; Lt-Col, 1872-77; Deputy Ranger of the Curragh of Kildare, 1868-77; JP for Co. Kildare; Chamberlain at the Vice-Regal Courts of the Dukes of Abercorn and Marlborough, c.1872-77; married, 31 August 1859 at Cheltenham (Glos), Ellen Georgina (1826-1907), daughter of Lt-Col. Henry Williams and widow of Col. the Hon. Henry Handcock (d. 1855), but had no issue; died following a heart attack at Straffan station (Co. Kildare), 24/25 September 1877 and was buried at Kinnitty, where he is commemorated by a memorial brass; will proved 19 February 1878 (effects under £5,000).

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1815, and rebuilt the house after 1832, the works being completed by his widow.

He died in Dublin, 18 May 1834. His first wife died 20 April 1802. His widow died in London, 21 June and was buried at Weedon Lois (Northants), 29 June 1844.

Bernard, Thomas (1816-82). Eldest son of Thomas Bernard (1769-1834) and his second wife, Lady Catherine Henrietta, second daughter of the Hon. Francis Hely-Hutchinson MP and sister of John Hely-Hutchinson, 3rd Earl of Donoughmore, born September 1816. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1835; Lt., 1839; Capt. 1844; retired on half-pay, 1847); Col. of King's County Royal Rifles, 1855-82; High Sheriff of King's County, 1837-38, 1842-43; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of King's County, 1867-82 (DL from 1842). In 1845 he was injured by the explosion of a gun he was reloading, which necessitated the amputation of his right hand. A Conservative in politics, he stood unsuccessfully for election to Parliament in King's County. in 1841 and 1852. Although initially regarded as a benevolent landowner and employer, he became increasingly unpopular because of measures to depopulate his estate. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Castle Bernard from his father in 1834. At his death the estate passed to his niece and her husband, Capt. & Mrs. Caulfeild French, with remainder to her brother, T.S.W. Bernard.

He died 13 December and was buried at Kinnitty, 18 December 1882.

Bernard, John Henry Scroope (1820-57). Third son of Thomas Bernard (1769-1834) and his second wife, Lady Catherine Henrietta, sister of John Hely Hutchinson, 3rd Earl of Donoughmore, born May 1820. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1839; Lt., 1840, Capt. c.1846) who served with the Turkish Contingent in the Crimea (Maj.). He married, 31 May 1849 at St Peter, Dublin, Maria Eveline Cecile Nathalie Claire Di Chiarmonte Manfredonia D'Altamura (c.1826-83), daughter of Edouard Racine, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Scroope Wellesley Bernard (1850-1905) (q.v.);

(2) Margeurite Adeline Bernard (1852-1910), born 24 December 1852; married, 15 June 1875 at the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle, Capt. Caulfeild French JP DL (1839-1910) of Castle Bernard, High Sheriff of King's County, 1887-88; eldest son of William John French of Ardsallagh (Co. Meath), but had no issue; died 18 July 1910 and was buried at Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin; will proved in Dublin, 24 August 1910 (estate £14,052).

His widow went by the name of Cecile Clyde, was bankrupted in 1873, and later became the headmistress of a private school for girls in Hove (Sussex), which was wound up after her death.

He died in Dublin, 12 September 1857, of a fever caught while serving in the Crimea. His widow died 7 October and was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 12 October 1883.

Bernard, Thomas Scroope Wellesley (1850-1905). Only son of John Henry Scroope Bernard (1820-57) and his wife Maria Eveline Cecile Nathalie Claire Di Chiarmonte Manfredonia D'Altamura, daughter of Edouard Racine, born at Youghal Lodge, Nenagh  (Tipperary), 18 October 1850. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1868; Lt., 1871; Capt., 1880; retired 1882) and later in the Essex Militia (Capt., 1882; retired 1883) and South Lancashire Regiment militia battalion (Capt., 1890; Maj., 1893); JP for Co. Offaly. A Unionist in politics, he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the Birr constituency in 1885 and 1886. A freemason from 1876. As a young man, he evidently lived considerably beyond his means and eroded his fortune, to the point where his uncle decided not to entrust him with the Castle Bernard estate. He married, 2 December 1880 at Gowran (Co. Kilkenny), Monica Gertrude (1857-1948), sixth daughter of William Henry Darby (d. 1880) of Leap Castle (Co. Offaly), and had issue:

(1) Margeurite Cecil Elizabeth Bernard (1882-1958), born 11 October 1882; married, 25 October 1906 at St James, St Peter Port (Guernsey), Charles Johnston Alexander (1873-1946) of Marina, Norton, Yarmouth (Isle of Wight), eighth son of Robert Henry Alexander (1838-1901) of Stoke Newington (Middx), and had issue one daughter; died 9 January 1958; will proved 4 March 1958 (estate £31,174);

(2) Monica Charlotte Emily Bernard (1886-1975), born at Nenagh (Co. Tipp.), 9 May 1886; married, 1922, as his second wife, Leonard Cornwall Maguire (b. 1887) of Stow-on-the-Wold (Glos), veterinary surgeon (bankrupt 1934), son of James Maguire, but had no issue; died 24 August 1975; will proved 12 December 1975 (estate £32,505);

(3) Kathrine Anne Bernard (1889-1954), born at Nenagh (Co. Tipp.), 11 March 1889; married, 20 October 1923 at St Philip, Kensington (Middx), Lt-Col. James Stuart Harper MC (1885-1943), son of Joseph Harper of Ceylon, and had issue one daughter; died 26 June 1954; will proved 22 September 1954 (estate £43,292);

(4) Maude Mary Gertrude Bernard (1900-65), born at St Peter Port (Guernsey), 6 May 1900; died unmarried in Dublin, 16 January 1965; will proved 28 June 1965 (estate £20,874).

He was in remainder to the Castle Bernard estate after the death of his uncle in 1882, but lived in a cottage at Nenagh (Tipperary) and later at Weston House, Thames Ditton (Surrey) and in St Peter Port. Castle Bernard was occupied by his sister and his brother-in-law, Capt. French. At his death he left his entire property to his widow, who subsequently inherited Castle Bernard on the deaths of Capt & Mrs French in 1910.

He died 1 February, and his body was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 10 February, but later moved to Thames Ditton, where it was reinterred, 11 March 1905; his will was proved in Dublin, 10 May 1905 (estate £14,759). His widow died 6 May and was buried at Thames Ditton, 8 May 1948; her will was proved in Dublin, 10 August 1948 (estate in Ireland, £145) and in England, 24 September 1948 (estate in England, £9,642).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland, 1912, p. 41; J.A.K. Dean, The gate houses of Leinster, 2016, pp. 310-11; R. McKenna, Flights of fancy: follies, families and demesnes in Offaly, 2017, pp. 310-29; A. Tierney, The buildings of Ireland: Central Leinster, 2019, pp. 426-29; 

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~marlow95/genealogy/bernard/;

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to have survived, and many records may have been lost in the fire at Castle Bernard in 1922.

Coat of arms

None recorded.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 25 October 2024.