(420) Harold-Barry of Ballyvonare House and Ballyellis House

Harold-Barry of Ballyvonare

This branch of the extensive and consistently Roman Catholic Barry family have probably held lands near Buttevant  since medieval times, but I have been unable to trace their lineage with any certainty further back than John Barry (d. 1793), who lived at Ballyvonare in the late 18th century and may have built the present house there. At his death in 1793 he left an only daughter and heiress, Mary (fl. 1788-1824), who married in 1788 Richard Harold of Limerick, whose family claimed Viking origins and was certainly prominent in Limerick and before that in County Dublin over several centuries. John Barry left his estate to Richard and Mary's second son, John (c.1790-1867), on condition that he took the additional name Barry, which he did on coming of age in 1811. During his long minority, Richard and Mary occupied the house, but when John Harold-Barry came of age and came into his inheritance they moved out. John married twice but had children only by his short-lived first wife, and of these only one survived infancy. This was John Harold-Barry (1823-98), to whom the elder John seems to have handed over the estate soon after his marriage in 1860, retiring to a slightly smaller house called Castle View at Buttevant, which he may have rented from the Croft family.

The younger John Harold-Barry had fourteen children, of whom only eleven survived infancy, while two more of his sons died unmarried in early manhood while serving as soldiers. The boys were all educated at Catholic boarding schools in England, establishing a family tradition. In about 1875 he bought Ballyellis House from the Langley family and a few years later he inherited the lease of lands adjoining it from Barry cousins who had held them from the Doneraile Court estate since the 18th century; he later bought the freehold of these lands to consolidate and secure the property as part of the estate. When he died in 1898, he left Ballyvonare to his eldest surviving son, Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944). His second surviving son, Edward Daniel Harold-Barry (1872-1950) having become a Catholic priest, Ballyellis was left to the next eldest surviving son, Philip James Harold-Barry (1874-1940), who lived at Ballyellis until his death but never married.

Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944) was married in 1895 and over the next fourteen years he and his wife produced four sons and four daughters. His eldest son was killed in the First World War, in which his second son, Charles William Harold-Barry (1897-1986) also fought. Although wounded in a valiant action for which he was awareded the Military Cross, Charles survived the war and was the eventual heir to Ballyvonare. The two younger sons were too young for the war. Basil Harold-Barry (1901-92) went first to Canada, where he worked as a cowboy and lumberjack for several years, but with the Great Depression the jobs dried up and he decided to try rubber planting in Sumatra instead. He married in Malaya in 1933, but his wife found the climate in Indonesia intolerable so he returned to Ireland to farm, eventually settling at Drangan (Co. Tipperary).

Creagh House, Skibbereen

The youngest of the four sons, Peter Harold-Barry (1909-94) settled at Creagh House, Skibbereen, where he and his wife made a remarkable garden and formed a fine collection of Irish art and antiques. Of the four sisters, one died in infancy, but the other three lived together at Ballyellis, which they seem to have inherited on the death of their uncle Philip Harold-Barry in 1940. In the same year, the youngest sister, Aileen Harold-Barry (1908-2006) married, and she and her husband, Capt. John Esmonde RN (1907-83) brought up their family at Ballyellis, which is now the home of their eldest son, Peter Esmonde (b. 1945), an international charity and development worker.

In 1944 Charles Harold-Barry (1897-1986) inherited Ballyvonare, where he lived until his death in 1986. Having no children to inherit the property, in 1973 he made a lifetime gift of it for tax reasons to his brother Basil's son, Robin Harold-Barry (b. 1934), a civil engineer living in England. Since Robin's elder son, Charles (b. 1964) showed an early passion for farming and the estate, it was agreed that he would take over Ballyvonare House and its land on his great-uncle's death, and Robin conveyed the estate to him in two parts, in 1986 and 1999. Charles married in 2004 and since then he and his wife have made considerable progress with the restoration of the house, which was in poor condition when he inherited it.

Finally, in 1968, Basil's younger brother, John Harold-Barry (b. 1936), purchased Cordangan Manor near Tipperary with around a hundred acres. This property, which was once the agent's house for the very large estate of the Smith-Barry family, has now been passed on to John's son, Mark Harold-Barry (b. 1967), who farms it organically.

Ballyvonare House (also known as Ballinavonear House), Buttevant, Co. Cork

Ballyvonare House: entrance front in 2014.

A handsome five-bay three-storey house, usually said to have been built around 1750, but perhaps likely to be fifteen or twenty years later than that on stylistic grounds. It has roughcast walls, a hipped slate roof, and a stone eaves cornice and quoins. In the centre is a chunky Gibbsian doorcase with narrow sidelights (now blocked) and a fanlight. The sash windows on the ground and first floors of the front elevation lost their original glazing bars in the 19th century when the fashion for plate glass began, but happily these have recently been restored. Set above the front door is an armorial plaque which is said to come from the Harold family's house called Pennywell at Limerick. At the rear is a two-storey service wing built over a basement, as well as a more recent single-storey extension. The principal rooms have enriched plaster cornices with cast mouldings applied to the surface of the cornice, a detail which supports a slightly later date for the house than is normally given. The drawing room of the house was used as a set for some scenes in the film The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006). 

Descent: John Barry (d. 1793); to grandson, John Harold (later Harold-Barry) (c.1790-1867); to son, John Harold-Barry (1823-98); to son, Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944); to son, Charles William Harold-Barry (1897-1986); given 1973 to nephew, Harold Robin Harold-Barry (b. 1934); given 1986 to son, Charles Anthony Harold-Barry (b. 1964).

Ballyellis, Buttevant, Co. Cork

Ballyellis House: entrance front of 1807. Image: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

A well-preserved five bay late Georgian house of two storeys over a basement, built in 1807 for Henry Langley. The house has rendered walls and chimneystacks and preserves its sliding sash windows with their original glazing bars. The entrance front has a round-headed doorcase with engaged limestone columns and a fanlight, and above it is a plaque with the arms of the Harold-Barry family. At the rear of the hall an archway opens onto the staircase, which is lit by a round-headed sash window in the rear wall. On the rear elevation, the staircase projection is now flanked by symmetrical two-bay two-storey additions of 1905-06, made for Philip Harold-Barry, one of which has a canted bay window on its side elevation. Inside, the principal rooms have simple early 19th century plasterwork. A new stable block was also built in 1905-06.

Descent: built 1807 for Henry Langley (d. 1829); to son, Christopher Langley who sold to his brother Henry Langley (d. 1874); sold to John Harold-Barry (1823-98), who also bought the freehold of some adjacent lands formerly occupied by Barry cousins and leased from the Doneraile Court estate; to son, Philip Harold-Barry (1875-1940); to niece, Aileen Mary Harold-Barry (1908-2006), wife of Capt. John William Esmonde; to son, Peter Esmonde (b. 1945).

Cordangan Manor, Co. Tipperary

Cordangan Manor: the entrance front and side elevation. (Image: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage)

The house consists of a rendered two-storey five-bay centre with projecting two-storey two-bay wings on each side. It was apparently built about 1840 for the Cooke family (who were tenants of the Smith-Barrys) and later functioned as the home of the Smith-Barry's agents. The windows are still rectangular double-hung sashes, which may always have had plate glass in them. The generally late Georgian appearance of the house is challenged by the steep pitch of the roof and the gabled dormers of the central block, which may be due to a remodelling of c.1860 or later. Behind the north wing is a long single-storey addition, perhaps of the same date. The Smith-Barrys were unpopular landlords, and when Sir Leopold Cust (agent 1857-78) died in 1878 there were celebrations across the estate with bonfires and the Tipperary Brass Band 'playing airs of a rejoiceful character'. The Smith-Barrys sold the property to the Land Commission after an incident in 1928 when shots were fired into the house. It was sold by the Commission with 99 acres in 1930 and passed into the ownership of the Harold-Barry family in 1968.

Descent: sold to Land Commission, which sold 1930 to John Carroll-Pearse (d. 1967); sold 1968 to John Francis Joseph Harold-Barry (b. 1936); given to son, Mark Harold-Barry.

Harold-Barry family of Ballyvonare and Ballyellis

Barry, John (d. 1793). He married and had issue, perhaps with other children who died young:

(1) Mary Barry (fl. 1788-1824) (q.v.).

He inherited Ballyvonare and perhaps rebuilt the house. At his death he left it to his grandson, John Harold, on condition that he took the additional name Barry.

His will was written in 1792 and proved in 1793.

Barry, Mary (fl. 1788-1824). Only child and heiress of John Barry (d. 1793). She married, October 1788, Richard Harold (fl. 1814) of Singland and Pennywell (Co. Limerick), brewer and an officer in the Doneraile Yeomanry, son of Richard Harold (d. 1768) of Pennywell, brewer and tanner, and had issue, possibly among others:

(1) Daniel Harold (fl. 1860), who inherited Pennywell;

(2) John Harold (later Harold-Barry) (c.1790-1867) (q.v.);

(3) Jane Harold (d. 1866); died 24 October 1866;

(4) Edward Harold (c.1801-84); died 12 January 1884.

She and her husband lived at Ballyvonare from about 1793 until 1811.

She was living in 1824 but probably died soon afterwards. Her husband was living in 1814.

Harold (later Harold-Barry), John (c.1790-1867). Second son of Richard Harold (fl. 1814) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Barry of Ballyvonare, born about 1790. He assumed the additional name of Barry on coming of age and inheriting Ballyvonare from his maternal grandfather in 1811. It is said that during the Famine in the 1840s he employed over 300 people on relief works around the estate. He married 1st, 1 October 1822 at Ballyhay (Co. Cork), Eliza (d. 1826), elder daughter of Henry Harrison of Castle Harrison (Co. Cork), and 2nd, 15 November 1843 at Ballinastragh (Co. Wexford), Margaret Cecilia (d. 1878), only daughter of Dr. John Esmonde MD and widow of Peter Warren Locke (c.1769-1833) of Athgoe Park (Co. Dublin), and had issue:

(1.1) John Harold-Barry (1823-98) (q.v.);

(1.2) Richard Harold-Barry; died young;

(1.3) Henry Harold-Barry; died young;

(1.4) Margaret Harold-Barry; died young.

He inherited Ballyvonare from his maternal grandfather in about 1794 and came into possession on coming of age in 1811.

He died at Castle View, Buttevant (Co. Cork), 30 July 1867; administration of his goods was granted to his son, 31 January 1868 (effects under £1,500). His first wife died 17 March 1826. His widow became an honorary canoness of the Order of St. Anne of Bavaria and died without issue, 25 December 1878.

Harold-Barry, John (1823-98). Only surviving child of John Harold (later Harold-Barry) (c.1790-1867), and his first wife Eliza, elder daughter of Henry Harrison of Castle Harrison (Co. Cork), born August 1823. JP and DL for Co. Cork; High Sheriff of Co. Cork, 1880-81. He was a keen hunting man and was Joint-Master of the Duhallow Hounds, 1863-69. He married, 29 October 1860 in Dublin, Margaret Josephine (1840-1922), daughter of William Gibson of Roebuck (Co. Dublin) and Belvedere Place, Dublin, and had issue:

(1) Marcella Josephine Mary Harold-Barry (1861-1954), born in Dublin, 11 October, and baptised at Westland Row RC chapel, Dublin, 17 October 1861; married, 14 December 1882, Garrett Thomas Nagle JP (1855-1937) of Clogher (Co. Cork) and had issue; died aged 92 in Chelsea (Middx), Jul-Sept 1954;

(2) John Harold-Barry (1863-64), born 19 July and baptised at Doneraile, 23 July 1863; died in infancy, Jan-Mar 1864;

(3) Eliza Harold-Barry (1864-1958), born at Ballyvonare, 17 October and baptised at Doneraile, 21 October 1864; a nun; died unmarried aged 94 on 21 October 1958;

(4) Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944) (q.v.);

(5) Margaret Josephine Harold-Barry (1866-1950), born 6 December and baptised at Doneraile, 11 December 1866; a nun at St Mary's Convent, Wanstead (Essex); died 14 March 1950;

(6) Anne Mary Harold-Barry (1868-1952), born 2 September and baptised at Doneraile, 7 September 1868; married, 1888, Thomas Joseph Carroll-Leahy JP (1850-1919) of Woodfort, Mallow (Co. Cork) and had issue; died 16 July 1952; will proved 23 December 1952 (estate £424);

(7) William John Harold-Barry (1869-96), born 8 September 1869; served with Royal Munster Fusiliers and South African police force, and died at Krugersdorp (South Africa), 2 February 1896, from wounds received in action during the Jameson Raid;

(8) Richard Harold-Barry (b. & d. 1871), born 8 January 1871; died in infancy, 1 August 1871;

(9) Fr. Edward Daniel* Harold-Barry (1872-1950), born 31 August 1872; educated at Woburn College (later St George's College), Addlestone (Surrey); an RC priest (ordained 1907), later on staff of St George's College (bursar, 1922-38; novice master, 1938-45); died unmarried, 3 January 1950, and was buried at Addlestone Cemetery (Surrey);

(10) Philip James Harold-Barry (1874-1940) of Ballyellis, born 14 March 1874; educated at Woburn College (later St George's College), Addlestone (Surrey); farmer; died unmarried, 26 July 1940;

(11) Henry Alan Harold-Barry (1876-1952), born 10 April 1876; educated at Woburn College (later St George's College), Addlestone (Surrey); bank clerk; married, 7 September 1915 at Mount Mellory RC chapel, Cappoquin (Co. Waterford), Marion (d. c.1949), daughter of John J. Russell  of Cashel, bank manager, but had no issue; died 20 July 1952; administration of goods granted 14 November 1952 (effects £54);

(12) Isabella Mary Harold-Barry (1877-1967), born 15 September and baptised at Doneraile, 23 September 1877; married, 1913, Col. Robert Henry Haseldine DSO OBE (1879-1955), son of Robert Parker Haseldine of Wellingborough (Northants), and had issue two daughters; died 18 May 1967;

(13) Thomas Stephen Harold-Barry (1879-80), born 26 December 1879; died in infancy, 21 January 1880;

(14) John Harold-Barry (1883-1915), born 3 August 1883; an officer in Royal Dublin Fusiliers (Lt., 1902; Capt., 1910); unmarried when he was wounded and missing presumed killed in action in France, 24 May 1915; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted to his mother, 11 April 1917 (estate £2,057).

He inherited Ballyvonare from his father in 1867.

He died 5 May 1898; his will was proved 7 July 1898 (effects £8,512). His widow died 15 August 1922; her will was proved in Cork and sealed in London, 25 April 1923 (estate in England, £286).

* Some sources give his second forename as Edmond.

Harold-Barry, Harold Philip (1865-1944), Second but eldest surviving son of John Harold-Barry (1823-98) and his wife Margaret Josephine, daughter of William Gibson of Roebuck (Co. Dublin) and Belvedere Place, Dublin, born 19 November and baptised at Doneraile (Co. Cork), 23 November 1865. Educated at Prior Park School, Bath (Som.). He married, 30 April 1895, Helen Frances Mary (1865-1958), second daughter of John Gerard Riddell of Hermeston Hall and Hodsock Park (Notts), and had issue:

(1) (John) Gerard Harold-Barry (1896-1916), born 28 January 1896; educated at St. George's College, Weybridge (Surrey); an officer in Royal Munster Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1914); died unmarried when he was killed in action in France, 7 July 1916;

(2) Charles William Harold-Barry (1897-1986) (q.v.);

(3) Hilda Mary Philomena Harold-Barry (b. 1900), born 25 May 1900; educated at New Hall School, Boreham (Essex); living, unmarried, at Ballyellis House in 1976; date of death not traced;

(4) (Edward) Basil Harold-Barry (1901-92) (q.v.);

(5) Mary Patricia Harold-Barry (b. & d. 1904), born 6 March 1904 and died July 1904;

(6) Etheldreda Mary Harold-Barry (b. 1906), born 9 August 1906; living, unmarried, at Ballyellis House in 1976; date of death not traced;

(7) Aileen Mary Harold-Barry (1908-2006) (q.v.);

(8) Peter James Harold-Barry (1909-94), born 5 November 1909; educated at St. George's College, Weybridge; bought Creagh House, Skibbereen (Co. Cork) in the late 1930s; was an avid collector of antiques, Irish silver, and impressionist and contemporary art; transformed the Italianate gardens of his home into a romanic wild garden; married, 8 November 1938, Gwendoline (1909-91), only child of Sir Edmond Browne of London, and had issue one daughter; died 24 April 1994; will proved 19 October 1994 (estate in England & Wales, £329,527).

He inherited Ballyvonare from his father in 1898.

He died 17 November 1944. His widow died 22 March 1958; her will was proved 29 May 1958 (estate in England, £154).

Harold-Barry, Charles William (1897-1986). Second, but eldest surviving, son of Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944) and his wife Helen Frances Mary, second daughter of John Gerard Riddell of Hermeston Hall and Hodsock Park (Notts), born 21 May 1897. Educated at St. George's College, Weybridge (Surrey). Served in First World War with Machine Gun Corps of Royal Munster Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt., 1917; Capt., 1917; wounded); awarded MC, 1918. He married, 30 November 1944, Mary Kathleen (1910-88), second daughter of David Thomas Joseph Sherlock MBE QC of Balreask, Kells (Co. Meath), but had no issue.

He inherited Ballyvonare from his father in 1944. In 1973 he handed over the estate to his nephew, Harold Robin Harold-Barry, but he continued to live at Ballyvonare until his death.

He died 24 January 1986; will proved July 1987 (estate in England, Wales and Ireland, £163,523). His widow died 16 June 1988; her will was proved 19 January 1989 (estate in England & Wales, £18,775).

Harold-Barry, (Edward) Basil (1901-92). Third son of Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944) and his wife Helen Frances Mary, second daughter of John Gerard Riddell of Hermeston Hall and Hodsock Park (Notts), born 1 September 1901. Educated at St. George's College, Weybridge (Surrey). As a young man he worked his passage to Canada, and worked as a lumberjack and cowboy in Alberta until the Great Depression caused him to try rubber planting in Sumatra (Indonesia) instead, but finding the climate injurious he returned to Ireland. He married, 6 July 1933 in Malaya, Amy Mary (1902-92), eldest daughter of William Frewen of Archnacree (Co. Tipperary), and had issue:

(1) (Harold) Robin Harold-Barry (b. 1934) (q.v.);

(2) John Francis Joseph Harold-Barry (b. 1936) (q.v.);

(3) Fr. David Anthony Harold-Barry (b. 1939), born 15 August 1939; educated at Ampleforth, Heythrop College and Campion Hall, Oxford (MA 1966; STL 1972); Roman Catholic (Jesuit) priest in Zimbabwe.

He lived at Ballybrado, Cahir (Co. Tipperary), 1936-47 and later at Priestown House, Drangan, Thurles (Co. Tipperary), 1949-90.

He died aged 90 on 1 February, and was buried at Drangan, 5 February 1992. His widow died aged 90 in July 1992.

Harold-Barry, (Harold) Robin (b. 1934). Eldest son of Edward Basil Harold-Barry (1901-92) and his wife Amy Mary, eldest daughter of William Frewen of Archnacree (Co. Tipperary), born 1 May 1934. Educated at St. George's College, Weybridge (Surrey) and Loughborough College. Civil engineer (MICE, 1961; Member of American Society of Civil Engineers, 1963); managing director of Concrete Consultancy Ltd, 1993-2002 (retired). He married 1st, 16 September 1961 (div.), Marjorie Isabel Forbes, only daughter of Duncan Hector Urquhart of Edinburgh, and 2nd, Jan-Mar 1989, Jennifer S. McBride, and had issue:

(1.1) Pauline Cecilia Harold-Barry (1962-2010), born 15 September 1962; married, Jul-Sep 1993, Michael J. Grant-Adamson; died before June 2010;

(1.2) Charles Anthony Harold-Barry (b. 1964) (q.v.);

(1.3) John Andrew Harold-Barry (b. 1965), born 8 April 1965; married, Jan-Mar 1997, Juliet M. Burdge;

(1.4) Peter Duncan Harold-Barry (b. 1966), born 11 July 1966.

He lived at Rickmansworth (Herts). In 1973 the Ballyvonare estate was made over to him by his uncle, but the latter continued to occupy the house and farm the estate. He handed the estate over to his son, partly in 1986 and partly in 1999.

Now living. His first wife married 2nd, Apr-Jun 1987, David J. Nisbett. His second wife is now living.

Harold-Barry, Charles Anthony (b. 1964). Eldest son of (Harold) Robin Harold-Barry (b. 1934) and his wife Marjorie Isabel Forbes, only daughter of Duncan Hector Urquhart of Edinburgh, born in Ghana, 12 January 1964. Educated at Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. He married, 2004, Catherine Reid (b. 1966) from Birr (Co. Offaly).

He was given Ballyvolane House and half the estate by his father in 1986 and the remainer of the estate in 1999.

Now living.

Harold-Barry, Aileen Mary (1908-2006). Fourth and youngest daughter of Harold Philip Harold-Barry (1865-1944) and his wife Helen Frances Mary, second daughter of John Gerard Riddell of Hermeston Hall and Hodsock Park (Notts), born 6 October 1908. She married, 29 October 1940, Capt. John Witham Esmonde OBE DSC RN (1907-83), son of Dr John Joseph Esmonde MP of Drominagh (Co. Tipperary), and had issue:

(1) Peter Witham Esmonde (b. 1945), born 4 August 1945; educated at Worth School (Sussex); trained for the RC priesthood and was ordained, but after serving a curacy in Zambia left the priesthood in 1976 and retrained as a teacher (BA; MSc; PGCE); worked with Oxfam, Action Aid and the Lutheran World Federation, chiefly in Africa; married 1st, 1976, Mary M. Esmonde and 2nd, 1982, Tsehai Berhane Selassie, a social anthropologist, historian and civil rights activist;

(2) Kevin Harold Esmonde (1948-2001), born 28 May 1948; educated at Worth Junior School, Downside and Oxford; social worker and trade unionist; member of Social Work Qualifications Board, 1997-2001; lived at Ballyellis House; married Mary [surname unknown]; died 2001;

(3) Helen Mary Karin Esmonde (b. 1950), born 29 July 1950; educated at Sussex University and taught at schools in London and Toronto; later a commissioning editor with McGraw-Hill International and then founded her own publishing and stationary company in London, which she sold in 2012, remaining as managing director of the business as a division of the new owners; director of Hoopers Gallery, 2003-11 and trustee of Hooper's Africa Trust since 2006; a member of the worshipful company of stationers (Master, 2015-16); married 1st, 1976, Paul Douglas Clark of Toronto (Canada), but had no issue; married 2nd, 1985, Lt-Col. Robert Charles Couldrey, only son of C.J. Couldrey of Limpsfield Common (Surrey) and had issue one son and one daughter.

Aileen and her sisters inherited Ballyellis House from her father in 1944.

She died aged 97 on 14 May 2006; her will was proved in England, 4 February 2013. Her husband died 28 March 1983; his will was proved 16 August 1983 (estate in England & Wales, £12,997).

Harold-Barry, John Francis Joseph (b. 1936). Second son of Edward Basil Harold-Barry (b. 1901) and his wife Amy Mary, eldest daughter of William Frewen of Archnacree (Co. Tipperary), born 29 July 1936. Educated at Ampleforth and Trinity College, Dublin (BA; MVB). Veterinary surgeon (MRCVS) from 1960. He married, 11 July 1962, Grace Anne (k/a Dinkie) (fl. 1997), daughter of Toby Peter Downes of Boardstown, Mullingar (Co. Westmeath), and had issue:

(1) Patricia Frances Harold-Barry (b. 1963), born 7 April 1963;

(2) Juliet Anne Harold-Barry (b. 1966), born 12 March 1966;

(3) Mark Edward Harold-Barry (b. 1967), born 20 December 1967; given Cordangan Manor by his father, where he farms organically;

(4) twin, Robin Gerald Harold-Barry (b. 1970), born 3 September 1970;

(5) twin, Philip Peter Harold-Barry (1970-2016) of Adare (Co. Limerick), born 3 September 1970; married Mary O'Mahony, but had no issue; died 17 December 2016.

He purchased Cordangan Manor, Tipperary, in 1968, and later handed it on to his eldest son.

Now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 75-76; J. Grove White, Historical and topographical notes, etc. on Buttevant, Castletownroche, Doneraile, Mallow, and places in their vicinity, Cork Historical & Archaeological Society, 1905-07; Irish Manuscripts Commission, Analecta Hibernica 15: Survey of Documents in Private Keeping: First Series, 1944, pp. 129-33 ; J. O'Keeffe (ed.), Voices from the Great Houses of Ireland: Life in the Big House - Cork and Kerry, 2013, ch. on Ballyvonare; F. Keohane, The buildings of Ireland: Cork, 2020, p. 280.

Location of archives

Harold-Barry of Ballyvonare: deeds, estate and family papers, 1700-20th cent. [Private Collection]

Coat of arms

Gules, a pall flory argent between three plates, one and two, each charged with an estoile of six points of the field.

Can you help?

• If anyone can provide better quality photographs or any early paintings of the houses described I should be most interested to see them.
• 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.
• Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from members of the family who can supply recent personal information for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 7 June 2020 and was updated 5 December 2025.

(419) Barry (later Creagh-Barry) of Dundullerick

Barry of Dundullerick

The Barrys of Dundullerick were descended from David Oge Barry (d. 1579?), who was murdered at the instigation of his cousin James Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant, but left four sons and one daughter. His second son, Redmond Barry (fl. c.1550-1615) was the father of James Barry (d. c.1617), with whom the genealogy below begins, and who purchased Dundullerick in the early 17th century. Very little is known about the early generations of this family, who were apparently consistent in their adherence to the Roman Catholic faith through four centuries. As a result of the operation of the penal laws, they were unable to hold public office, attend university, or participate in many of the professions until the late 18th century. Taken together with the poor survival of records in Ireland before the 19th century, this means that little independent confirmation of the genealogy which the family provided to the editors of Burke's Landed Gentry is possible. This is significant because there are suspiciously long intervals between generations in the 17th and early 18th centuries, and while the published descent is not impossible, it may be that the published account is incomplete.

James Barry's son, Edmond Barry (d. 1660/1665) is reported to have built or rebuilt the main house at Dundullerick, which he passed on to his son Thomas Barry (fl. 1684) and grandson, Garrett Barry (c.1680-1760). The two townlands of Dundullerick East and Dundullerick West both had substantial houses, and Garrett Barry left one to each of his two sons, Edmond Barry (c.1712-84) and Garrett Barry, after which they followed different paths through the family until the 20th century. Edmond Barry inherited Dundullerick East, which had the principal house, and passed this at his death to his fifth son, William Barry (1757-1824). Garrett Barry inherited Dundullerick West, which he mortgaged to Edmond's fourth son, David Barry (d. 1820). It subsequently passed into David's possession, but whether this was by purchase or inheritance is not clear. It then passed to David's son, Edmond Barry (1794-1862). On Edmond's death it passed to his son David Creagh Barry (1839-64), but when David died shortly afterwards it went to his younger brother, Pierce Barry (1840-1908), who was in Australia at the time, and had to return home to claim his inheritance. Pierce was unmarried and farmed Dundullerick West on his own until he needed help to manage the property. He then brought in his nephew, Edmond John Barry (1873-1934) and made him his heir. Edmund also remained unmarried, and at his death the property passed to his younger brother, William Barry (1886-1960), a local solicitor, who sold the estate to his third cousin, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952) of Dundullerick House.

William Barry (1757-1824), who had inherited Dundullerick House in 1784, probably rebuilt or remodelled it to give it the Georgian appearance it is known to have had in the 20th century. He had a very large family (eleven sons and three daughters) and may well have felt the need for extra space, although he also lived at Rockville, Carrigtwohill. His eldest son, James William Barry (1782-1846) inherited the house. He and several of his brothers were very active in Liberal politics in the second quarter of the 19th century. At his death the estate passed to his elder son, William Barry (c.1819-75), who died unmarried, having outlived his younger brother, who was a barrister, secretary to the local Liberal MP, and also unmarried. In 1875, therefore, the estate passed to their sister, Anna Maria (1821-75) and her husband, Philip William Creagh (1817-1901), although since Anna Maria died later the same year, Philip Creagh was the effective beneficiary. His elder son, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952) inherited in due course, and it was he who finally reunited the ownership of the two Dundullerick townlands. Rather improbably, he married an English musical comedy actress, and the family spent some time in England, where they had a house at Southsea (Hampshire). In 1950 he sold the whole Dundullerick estate, and both Dundullerick House and Dundullerick West have subsequently been demolished.

Dundullerick House and Dundullerick West, Leamlara, Co. Cork

Two houses about which very little can be said, since no illustration of either appears to be known. The estate was acquired by the Barry family in the early 17th century, and included the townlands of Dundullerick East and Dundullerick West, each of which had a substantial house with a gate lodge, the two properties being occupied by two branches of the family from the 18th to the 20th century. Dundullerick House itself is said to have been built or rebuilt in the mid 17th century for Edmund Barry (d. 1660/65), but it was again rebuilt or remodelled in Georgian times as a two-storey house with a three-bay centre and single-storey, two-bay wings. It is not known when this was done, but it was perhaps for William Barry, who inherited in 1784 and died in 1824.

In the later 19th century the estate passed by marriage to Philip William Creagh (1817-1901). His son, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952) was the last member of the family to live permanently at Dundullerick. The house was put up for sale in 1950 with 310 acres of land, and was then described as "a stone-built residence, facing west, with main windows south and east...with considerable charm... in nicely timbered parklands". The house was said to be structurally sound (from which I think we can infer poor decorative order!) and consisted of four reception rooms, four principal bedrooms and service accommodation, some of which was in the basement, which formed the ground floor at the rear of the building. In 1957 the main house was 'compact, modernised and in good repair'. Later owners do not seem to have shown the same care, however, and by 1995 both Dundullerick House and Dundullerick West had been demolished, along with the stable court, lodges and all but one of the outbuildings. New houses and farm buildings now stand close to the sites of both houses.

Descent of Dundullerick House: sold to James Barry (d. c.1617); to son, Edmund Barry (d. 1660/65); to son, Thomas Barry (fl. 1684); to son, Garrett Barry (c.1680-1760); to son, Edmond Barry (c.1712-84); to son, William Barry (1757-1824); to son, James William Barry (1782-1846); to son, William Barry (c.1817-75); to sister, Anna Maria (1821-75), wife of Philip William Creagh (1817-1901); to son, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952); sold 1950 to James Aherne (d. 1957); sold to W.J. Cronin...

Descent of Dundullerick West: as above to Garrett Barry (c.1680-1760); to son, Garrett Barry; to nephew, David Barry (d. 1820); to son, Edmond Barry (1794-1862); to son, David Creagh Barry (1839-64); to brother, Pierce Barry (1840-1908); to nephew, Edmond John Barry (1873-1934); to brother, William John (alias William Joseph) Barry (1886-1960), who sold it to his third cousin, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952), and then as above.

Barry (later Creagh-Barry) family of Dundullerick

Barry, James (d. c.1617). Son of Redmond Barry (fl. c.1550-1615) of Kilcor and Killhacurra, and his wife Honora, daughter of [forename unknown] O'Brien of Kilcor. The popular pretender to the earldom of Desmond, James FitzThomas FitzGerald (d. 1608) having been given sanctuary in woodlands belonging to the Barrys, James was pardoned by Queen Elizabeth in 1601. He married [forename unknown] Roche and had issue, probably among others:

(1) Edmund Barry (d. 1660/1665) (q.v.).

He purchased the Dundullerick estate.

He died in about 1617. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, Edmund (d. 1660/1665). Only recorded son of James Barry (d. c.1617) and his wife [forename unknown] Roche. He married Jane Egan and had issue, probably among others:

(1) Thomas Barry (fl. 1684)

He inherited the Dundullerick estate from his father in about 1617 and is said to have built or rebuilt Dundullerick House.

He died in 1660 or 1665.

Barry, Thomas (fl. 1684). Only recorded son of Edmund Barry (d. 1660/1665) and his wife Jane Egan. He married [forename unknown], daughter of Ludovick O'Cahill of Ballyvodock Castle or of Daniel Duff O'Cahill, and had issue:

(1) Garrett Barry (c.1680-1760) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Barry; married [forename unknown] Davis and had issue one son.

He inherited Dundullerick from his father in 1660 or 1665.

He was living in 1684 but his date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, Garrett (c.1680-1760). Elder son of Thomas Barry (fl. 1684) and his wife [forename unknown], daughter of Ludovick O'Cahill of Ballyvodock Castle or of Daniel Duff O'Cahill. He married 1st, Dorinda, daughter of Capt. Teige McOwen McDonal McCarthy of East Ballyneadig, and 2nd, 1730, Elizabeth, daughter of Luke Coppinger, and had issue:

(1.1) Edmond Barry (c. 1712-84) (q.v.);

(1.2) Garrett Barry, of Ballyedmond and Dundullerick West (which he mortgaged to his nephew David); married, 1762, Catherine Morrough of Castle Martyr (Co. Cork) and had issue three daughters;

(1.3) Abigail Barry; married, 1762?? [recte 1732/42??], James Fitzgerald of Ballymartin (Co. Cork), grandson of Sir William Fitzgerald of Glenane, and had issue;

(1.4) Mary Barry; married Maurice Murphy of Lismeelcunnin, and had issue;

(1.5) Ellinor Barry; married, 1737, Thomas Barry of Cork, merchant;

(2.1) Bridget Barry; married Maurice Hannigan of Castle Lyons, and had issue.

He inherited Dundullerick from his father.

He died in 1760. His first wife died before 1730. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, Edmond (c.1712-84). Elder son of Garrett Barry (c.1680-1760) and his first wife Dorinda, daughter of Capt. Teige McOwen McDonal McCarthy of East Ballyneadig, born about 1712. He married, 1737, Johanna, daughter of John Coppinger of Granacloyne (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Garrett Barry, of Curraheen and Carrigtwohill (Co. Cork); married Ellen Power of Snowhill (Co. Kilkenny) and had issue one son and two daughters;

(2) Thomas Barry; married [forename unknown] Bernard, and had issue one daughter (who died young);

(3) Edmond Barry, of Cork, who married 1st, [forename unknown] Gould, and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, Catherine Conlon of Limerick, and had further issue three sons and two daughters;

(4) David Barry (d. 1820) of Dundullerick (q.v.);

(5) William Barry (1757-1824) (q.v.);

(6) James Barry (1759-1830) of Birch Hill (aka Lackabeha) and Ahanisk (Co. Cork), born 1759; married, 1784, Abigail (d. 1833), second daughter of James Barry of Desert and widow of James Cotter of Castle Lyons, and had issue three sons and five daughters; died 6 July 1830;

(7) Richard Barry, of Barry's Lodge (Co. Cork); JP for Co. Cork; married Honora, daughter of Garret FitzThomas Barry (who was said to be a descendant of the McAdam Barrys of Lisnegar);

(8) Dora Barry; married Thomas Coppinger, fourth son of William Coppinger of Ballyvolane and Barry's Court, and had issue four sons and four daughters;

(9) Mary Ann Barry; married, in or after 1783, Philip Barry of Ballynahina.

He inherited Dundullerick from his father in 1760. At his death it passed to his fifth son, William. 

His will, dated 30 March 1783, was proved in 1784. His widow was living in 1784 but her date of death is unknown.

Barry, David (d. 1820). Fourth son of Edmond Barry (c.1712-84) and his wife Johanna, daughter of John Coppinger of Granacloyne (Co. Cork). He married, about 1792, Emma (d. 1800), daughter of Joseph Taylor of Dunkarron (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Edmond Barry (1794-1862) (q.v.);

(2) Joseph Barry (1796-1860), of Midleton Lodge, Glenbeg (Co. Cork), baptised 8 November 1796; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (MD 1822); physician (LRCSI 1823) to Cork Dispensary and later medical officer for Midleton district; JP for Co. Cork; married, 19 April 1852 at St Mary RC, Haddington Rd., Dublin, Ellen, seventh daughter of Sir John Power, 1st bt., of Edermine (Co. Wexford), but had no issue; died suddenly at Killeagh railway station, 18 September 1860; will proved 11 April 1861 (effects under £1,500);

(3) Emma Barry (1798-1840), born 28 September 1798; married Edward Davy FRS (1785-1857) of Kimmage Lodge (Co. Dublin), professor of chemistry in Royal Cork Institution, 1813-26 and at Royal Dublin Society, 1826-54, second son of William Davy of Penzance (Cornw.); buried at Crumlin (Co. Dublin), 20 May 1840.

He acquired Dundullerick West from his uncle, perhaps by foreclosing on a mortgage, but possibly by inheritance.

He died 20 August 1820. His wife is said to have died in 1800.

Barry, Edmond (1794-1862). Elder son of David Barry (d. 1820) and his wife Emma, daughter of Joseph Taylor of Dunkarron (Co. Cork), born 9 October 1794. Farmer and landowner. He married, 30 November 1836, perhaps at St Nicholas, Cork, Sarah Isabella (d. 1861), daughter of Pierce Creagh of Rockforest Lodge, and had issue:

(1) Isabella Barry (1838-50?), born at Rockforest Lodge, 23 August 1838; died young, possibly in 1850;

(2) David Creagh Barry (1839-64), born at Rockforest Lodge, 15 September 1839; sued for breach of contract over the sale of timber from woodland on the estate, 1863, but won the case; died unmarried and without issue, 16 or 18 February 1864;

(3) Pierce Joseph Barry (1840-1908), born at Rockforest Lodge, 2 November 1840; emigrated to Australia before 1863 but returned on inheriting Dundullerick West; died unmarried and without issue, 26 April 1908 and left Dundullerick to his nephew, Edmond John Barry (1873-1934); his will was proved 22 May 1908 (estate £2,410);

(4) Joseph Barry (1842-64), born 1 February 1842; died unmarried, 11 January 1864;

(5) Emma Barry (1843-45?), born 11 March and baptised at Lisgoold, 12 March 1843; died young, possibly in 1845;

(6) Edmond Barry (1844-1911) (q.v.);

(7) William Barry (1852-68), born 13 January 1852; died of typhoid fever at Clongowes Wood College, 19 April 1868.

He inherited Dundullerick West from his father in 1820, and Dunkarron Castle (Co. Cork) from his mother's family. He sold Dunkarron to his cousin, Thomas Taylor MD. Dundullerick West passed in turn to his sons David, and Pierce.

He died 17 June 1862; will proved at Cork, 18 December 1863 (effects under £450). His wife died 18 June 1861.

Barry, Edmond (1844-1911). Fourth son of Edmond Barry (1794-1862) and his wife Sarah Isabella, daughter of Pierce Creagh of Rockforest Lodge, born 31 October 1844. He married, 7 November 1871, Mary (b. c.1851), daughter of John Higgins of Midleton (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Edmond John Barry (1873-1934), born 26 March 1873; farmer at Dundullerick West, which he inherited from his uncle, Pierce Barry, in 1908; died unmarried and without issue, 20 December 1934;

(2) John Joseph Barry (1884-1944), of Liverpool, born 8 December 1884; educated at Prior Park School, Bath (Som.) and Queen's College, Cork (LRCPI 1911; LRCSI 1911); physician and surgeon in Liverpool; married, 8 April 1915 at St Mary RC Church, Newport (Monmouths.), Caroline Mary (1893-1958), daughter of Henry Clarke of Newport, and had issue one son and four daughters; died suddenly, 15 October 1944; will proved 8 February 1945 (estate £11,769);

(3) William John (alias William Joseph) Barry (1886-1960), of Midleton (Co. Cork), born 12 June 1886; solicitor in Midleton from c.1910; inherited Dundullerick West from his elder brother in 1934 but sold it to his third cousin, James William Creagh-Barry (1863-1952) of Dundullerick House; married, 24 November 1925, Hanora Rose, daughter of Michael H. Walsh of Midleton, merchant, and had issue four daughters; died 11 September 1960.

He died in July 1911. His wife was living in 1911; her date of death is unknown.

---

Barry, William (1757-1824). Fifth son of Edmond Barry (c.1712-84) and his wife Johanna, daughter of John Coppinger of Granacloyne (Co. Cork), born 1757. He married, c.1780, Margaret, eldest daughter of James Barry of Desert (Co. Cork) (who was said to be a descendant of the McAdam Barrys of Lisnegar), and had issue:

(1) Edmund Barry; died young;

(2) James William Barry (1782-1846) (q.v.);

(3) Johanna Barry (1784-1873), born 1 July 1784; died unmarried, 1873;

(4) David Barry (d. 1838/9), of Barry's Lodge (Co. Cork); married, 6 December 1823, Julia (d. 1835), daughter of Myles Geran of Mitchelstown, and had issue one son (Richard, who became a famous gentleman rider), and two daughters; died between February 1838 and July 1839;

(5) Edmund Barry (d. c.1845); educated at Edinburgh University (admitted 1811; MD, 1844); died unmarried soon after receiving his doctorate;

(6) Ellen Barry; married James Fitzgerald of Castle Lyons and had issue one son;

(7) Richard Barry (c.1789-1865?), of Greenville; married, 13 April 1819 at St Finbarr RC church, Cork, Catherine (1793-1840), daughter of John Gallwey of Rocklodge, Monkstown (Co. Cork) and Doon (Co. Clare), and had issue six sons and two daughters; probably the man of this name who died 3 April 1865;

(8) Mary Barry (c.1790-1878), of Greenville; died unmarried, 8 June 1878; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted 31 October 1884 (effects £329).

(9) William Barry (d. 1855); an officer in the Royal Navy, 1805-14 (Lt., 1812; Cdr.); died unmarried, 19 September 1855;

(10) Thomas Barry (d. c.1850), of Rockville; married, 15 November 1829, Julia, daughter of Stephen Murphy of Cork, draper, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died between 1844 and 1856;

(11) Garrett Barry (c.1797-1861), of Greenville; racehorse owner (his horses included Arthur and Waitawhile); JP for Co. Cork; died unmarried, 29 March 1861; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted to his unmarried sisters, 30 April 1861 (effects under £3,000);

(12) Patrick Barry (c.1799-1861), of Cork, born about 1799; married Anne, daughter of Stephen Murphy of Cork, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died suddenly at his marine residence in Youghal, 5 September 1861;

(13) John W. Barry (c.1800-74); educated at Edinburgh University (MD, 1823), licenced to practice medicine, 1823; medical officer of Carrignavan and later of Carrigtwohill District, Co. Cork; married Ellen, daughter of David Kearney of Newcastle (Co. Tipperary) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died December 1874;

(14) Henry Barry (c.1803-68); of Ballyadam, farmer; Belgian Consul at Cork; Constable of the barony of Barrymore; coroner for the East Riding of Cork; Chevalier of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), a Liberal in politics and active in public affairs in Cork for forty years; married Mary Lynch, but had no issue; died 16 December 1868; will proved 21 May 1869 (effects under £5,000).

He lived at Rockville, but inherited Dundullerick House from his father.

He died 24 January 1824. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Barry, James William (1782-1846). Second, but eldest surviving, son of William Barry (1757-1824) and his wife Margaret, eldest daughter of James Barry of Desert (Co. Cork), born 1782. He was a Liberal in politics. He married, 1818, Elizabeth (d. 1839), daughter of Edward Barry of Kilbolane, and had issue:

(1) William Barry (c.1819-75) (q.v.);

(2) Edward Barry (1820-73), born 4 November 1820; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1838; BA 1843) and Kings Inns, Dublin (admitted 1840; called to bar 1847) and Lincoln's Inn, London (admitted 1845); barrister-at-law; secretary to Sir Edward Sullivan, 1st bt., the MP for Mallow (Co. Cork); died unmarried at Queenstown (Co. Cork), 9 June 1873; will proved 24 July 1873 (estate under £3,000);

(3) Anna Maria Barry (1821-75) (q.v.);

(4) Margaret Barry (d. 1893); died unmarried, 5 October 1893.

He inherited Dundullerick House from his father in 1824.

He died 17 January 1846. His wife died at Cove (Co. Cork), 19 September 1839.

Barry, William (c.1819-75). Elder son of James Barry (1782-1846) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Barry of Kilbolane, born about 1819. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Dundullerick House from his father in 1846. At his death it passed to his sister and her husband.

He died 3 February 1875.

Barry, Anna Maria (1821-75). Elder daughter of James Barry (1782-1846) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Barry of Kilbolane, baptised at Lisgoold RC church, 5 January 1822. She married, 10 July 1860 at Leamlara, her cousin Philip William Creagh JP (1817-1901) of Mallow (Co. Cork), solicitor and land agent, son of James Creagh of Ballygriffin (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Eliza Mary Joseph Creagh (1862-66), born 18 June 1862; died young, 15 August 1866;

(2) James William Joseph Creagh (later Creagh-Barry) (1863-1952) (q.v.);

(3) Philip William Creagh (1866-1931), of Corrinville, Fermoy, born 6 July 1866; veterinary surgeon (MRCVS); married, 26 February 1895, Sarah Henrietta (d. 1955), daughter of Cornelius O'Callaghan of Cahirduggan (Co. Cork), and had issue two sons; died 23 January 1931.

She and her husband inherited Dundullerick House from her brother in 1875. Her husband inherited Ballygriffin from his father, but they seem to have lived at Dundullerick.

She died 1 November 1875. Her husband died at Dundullerick, 8 April 1901.

Barry (later Creagh-Barry), James William Joseph (1863-1952). Elder son of Philip William Creagh (1817-1901) and his wife Anna Maria (d. 1875), elder daughter of James Barry of Dundullerick, born 18 September and baptised at Mallow RC church, 23 September 1863. An officer in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, 1882-93 (Lt., 1882; Capt., 1885). He assumed the additional surname Barry. Land agent and farmer. He married, 1900, Edith Marion (k/a Mignon) (1879-1959), a musical comedy actress, daughter of Charles Glazebrook of Dieppe (France), and had issue:

(1) Marie Danielle Nora Josephine Creagh-Barry (1901-84), born 15 May 1901; married, 24 November 1932, Lionel Ernest Quirke Mitchelmore (1889-1957), biscuit wholesaler, son of Ernest Mitchelmore of Goring-on-Thames (Oxon), but had no issue; died in Bournemouth (Hants), Oct-Dec 1984;

(2) Nora Sheila Creagh-Barry (1902-75), born 28 June 1902; married 1st, 11 June 1924 at Southsea, Dr. John Newton Barry (b. 1893; d. by 1966), engineer in public transport sector, youngest son of James Grene Barry of Sandville House, Ballymeet (Co. Limerick); married 2nd, Jan-Mar 1966, James B. Hall (b. 1899) of Barnsley (Yorks WR); died at Folkestone (Kent), 5 August 1975; will proved 22 October 1975 (estate £11,913);

(3) Joan Marion Creagh-Barry (1904-80), born 7 April 1904; married, 16 June 1932 in Malta, Cdr. John Wellington Hall RN (1903-41), son of Harry Whitworth Hall, and had issue three daughters; died Apr-Jun 1980;

(4) Charles Philip Nagle Creagh-Barry (1913-2004), born 4 October 1913; educated at St John's College, Southsea (Hants); farmer; served in Second World War with Irish Guards; married 1st, 12 April 1939 (div.), Georgina Scott (1909-98) (who m2, 20 June 1964, Alan Gordon Milne (1906-92)), daughter of James Scott McBride, merchant, and 2nd, 1954, Josephine (1926-2005), daughter of William Leahy of Carrigtwohill (Co. Cork), and had issue three sons; died aged 90 on 8 April 2004; will proved 14 June 2004;

(5) Phyllis Violet Nagle Creagh-Barry (1905-94), born 1905; married, 19 August 1924 at Southsea, Cdr. Thomas Louis Alken RN (1900-70), son of John Alkin of Bonehill, Tamworth (Warks), and had issue one daughter; died 25 November 1994; administration of goods granted 1 May 1995 (estate £225,420);

(6) Valerie Edith Denise Creagh-Barry (1917-97), born 24 September 1917; died unmarried, Jul-Sept 1997;

(7) Philip Edward March Steuard (k/a Peter) Creagh-Barry (1919-85), born 2 May 1919; educated privately; an officer in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and Irish Guards who served in the Second World War and in Palestine, 1945-48; died unmarried, Jul-Sept 1985.

He inherited Dundullerick House from his father in 1901, and purchased the freehold of Dundullerick West from his kinsman, William Barry, but sold the estate in 1950. He also had a house at Southsea (Hants).

He died in February 1952. His widow died 11 December 1959.

Principal sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 66-75; M. Bence-Jones, A guide to Irish country houses, 2nd edn., 1990, p. 115.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Argent, three bars gemelles, gules.

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply a drawing or photograph of Dundullerick House, or provide fuller information about why Dundullerick was sold in 1950 or when it was demolished?
• 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 2 June 2020.

(418) Barry of Santry Court, Barons Barry of Santry

Barry, Barons Barry of Santry

This family were almost certainly distantly related to the Barry family who played such a prominent role in the history of County Cork and were Barons Barrymore in the medieval period. They claimed descent from the 3rd Baron's fifth son, Sir Robert Barry (d. 1345), who settled  at Dungourney Castle (Co. Cork), and although not every step of the connection can be fully documented, it seems likely that Richard Barry (d. c.1648), with whom the genealogy below begins, was his six-greats grandson. At some point in the early 16th century, Richard's ancestors migrated from County Cork to become merchants in Dublin, where they grew steadily in wealth and importance. Richard's father, James, was sheriff of Dublin in 1577, and Richard himself served that office in 1604. In 1607 he became an alderman and in 1610, reached the civic pinnacle as Mayor (Dublin did not have a Lord Mayor until 1665). In the early 17th century, Richard invested his surplus capital in land, buying the Santry Court estate soon after 1608 and Tubberbunny at nearby Cloghran soon afterwards. His eldest son and heir, James Barry (1603-73), was educated for the law and his third son, William Barry (c.1608-95), entered the church, but little is known of his other sons careers. James went to Trinity College, Dublin and then to Lincoln's Inn in London, where he was called to the bar in 1628. He evidently showed great promise as a lawyer, but even so his appointment as Recorder of Dublin and King's Serjeant in Ireland in 1629, at the tender age of 26, must have owed more to his connections than his abilities. In 1634 his career progressed further, when he became Second Baron of the Exchequer and one of the assizes judges for Ireland, travelling on the Connaught circuit. In 1640 he was knighted, but in 1641, with the breakdown of law and order in Ireland, his activities were suspended. He was a Royalist and seems to have spent much of the 1640s in England (one of his sons being born in Chester in 1642), but eventually he reached an accommodation with the Commonwealth authorities, who agreed to allow him to practise law again in 1653, and even gave him a commission as an assize judge in Ulster in 1655. In 1659 he was chosen to chair the Convention which met, in defiance of the Commonwealth government, and called for the return of King Charles II, and after the king was restored to the throne he was rewarded by appointment as Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland and by being raised to a peerage as Baron Barry of Santry. The peerage title was commonly abbreviated to 'Lord Santry'.

When the 1st Lord Santry died in 1673 he was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, who had been educated largely in England, where he attended Oxford University and Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1666. He may thereafter have assisted his father but he seems not to have been called to the Irish bar and so probably never practised on his own account. He had a large family but of his four sons only the youngest survived him. This was Henry Barry (1680-1734), 3rd Lord Santry, who came of age in 1701 and pursued a military career about which almost nothing is known until 1710, when he became Lieutenant Colonel in the Earl of Wharton's Dragoons. This unit was disbanded in 1713, apparently for disciplinary reasons, although Lord Santry himself does not seem to have been tarnished by his association with it, for he was later appointed to the important and sensitive post of Governor of Derry City. The 3rd Baron's chief importance for this story, however, is that between his marriage in 1702 and about 1709 he pulled down the old house at Santry Court and built a much larger and more fashionable new one, and laid out elaborate formal gardens around it. His marriage produced a single son, Henry Barry (1710-51), who succeeded him as 4th Lord Santry in 1735 and over the next few years probably made major additions to the house. 

The young 4th Baron was, however, a notorious rake. He pursued a hard-drinking lifestyle and was a leading member of the Irish Hell-Fire Club, which - if the highly-coloured accounts of its activities are to be believed - got up to some very nasty things indeed. In August 1738, after a heavy day's drinking, he ran a man through with his sword. After lingering for some seven weeks, the poor fellow inconveniently died, and Lord Santry found himself facing a murder charge. He invoked his right to a trial by his peers, but they had no choice but to find him guilty, and he was sentenced to death. Since in Ireland murder was regarded as treason, the sentence also mean that he forfeited his estates and his peerage, and only the energetic activity of his friends and relations in persuading King George II to exercise his prerogative of mercy saved his neck. His creditors having been alarmed by the loss of his estates - and thus his income - they began pressing for payment, and even though his estate was eventually returned to him in 1741, his maternal uncle (and eventual heir) oversaw the passing of an Act of Parliament which vested his estate in trustees for the payment of his creditors. The Hon. Henry Barry, as he was subsequently known, lived in exile in Nottingham, in greatly reduced circumstances. He married again shortly before his death, but his widow, who died only in 1816, did not inherit his property, which passed to his uncle, Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt.

Santry Court, Co. Dublin

The Santry estate was acquired by Richard Barry (d. c.1648), a Dublin merchant and alderman, in the early 17th century. There was already a substantial house here by 1664, when it was taxed on eleven hearths, but nothing more is known about it before it was rebuilt in 1703-09 for the 3rd Lord Santry. The very grand building he constructed would not have looked out of place in the English home counties, but its designer - whether English or Irish - seems to be unrecorded. The house as it was built at this time consisted of a rectangular nine-by-three bay block of two storeys over an unusually high basement, and also had a dormered attic storey lurking behind the partly balustraded parapet. Both main fronts had a three-bay pedimented breakfront in the centre, with the pediment set against the parapet. On the entrance side there was grand doorcase with a segmental pediment carried on Corinthian columns, which was originally located at the basement level, though the doorcase was later moved up to the ground floor and an immense flight of steps was built to provide an external approach to it. The garden front was always plainer, and at least after 19th century alterations, had no doorcase at all, although the grand doorcase which later provided an entrance to the walled garden was probably originally on the garden front of the house. The house was probably from the first accompanied by a formal landscape, the outlines of which are shown on John Rocque's map of County Dublin in 1760.

Santry Court: entrance front in about 1900.

Santry Court: garden front after the 19th century alterations.

In the mid 18th century, the original rectangular block was enlarged by the addition of quadrant links and five-bay wings on the entrance front, giving the house a more Palladian layout. This was most probably done for the 4th Lord Santry between 1734, when he inherited the estate, and 1739, when he forfeited it on his conviction for murder (the estate was restored to him in 1741 after he was pardoned, but he lived the rest of his life in exile in England in reduced circumstances). It is also possible that the enlargement of the house only took place after 1751, when it passed to Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt., but it was certainly complete by 1760, when the plan, with the quadrant links and wings, is clearly shown on John Rocque's plan of County Dublin. 

Santry Court: detail of John Rocque's plan of Co. Dublin,
showing the footprint of the house and the formal avenues and canal surrounding it.

The main doorcase was moved to the piano nobile at the same time as the wings were added, in further pursuit of a Palladian appearance. The vast staircase which appears in photographs as leading up to it was almost certainly a later alteration, for John Rocque's plan seems to show a two-armed staircase in its place, but it was in place by the 1830s when it was recorded on an engraving of the house. A slight inelegance in the proportion of window to wall in the design of the facades also suggests that the fenestration was altered after the house was first built, and this probably resulted from the replacement of the original windows by sashes with architraves at the time of the other mid 18th century changes. 

Although the house underwent some changes in the later 18th century, when several rooms were evidently redecorated and the formal landscaping was swept away in favour of a more naturalistic layout, further major changes to the house did not take place until Sir C.C.W. Domvile inherited the estate in 1857. His works to the house and garden began in 1858 and continued until 1872, although shortage of funds may have made progress sporadic. The works to the house were probably designed by Sandham Symes, who is known to have supplied several sets of designs and who was seeking tenders for works to the estate buildings in 1871. They evidently included the building of two new five-bay wings on the garden front, the removal of the central doorcase on the garden side to form a the gateway into a new walled garden, and the redecoration of some of the interiors. 

Santry Court: head of the early 18th century staircase.
Image: South Dublin Libraries

The interiors combined the work of several different periods. There was a large hall, a wooden staircase with barley-sugar twist balusters, Corinthian newels and carved acanthus decoration similar to that at Mount Ievers and surely part of the original build; a dining room with plaster panels on the walls and a ceiling in low relief; and a panelled study. In 1881 the rooms were described as 'lofty and spacious... the ceilings either richly gilt, ornamented with armorial bearings, or rare engravings', and some rooms evidently had stained glass in the windows, which was no doubt a 19th century intervention. 

Alongside the remodelling of the house in the 1860s, there was a major redesign of the surrounding landscape by Ninian Niven, begun in 1857. Niven laid out a formal cour d'entrée in front of the house, a parterre with raised walks leading to an oval terrace with a jet d'eau in an oval basin, from which the older park, with its formal vistas and follies could be seen. A domed temple of about 1740 (now at Luggala in Co. Wicklow) was brought from the Domvile's original seat at Templeogue, and a bridge with balustrades and lions was built over the late 18th century lake.

Santry Court: engraving of the 1830s by Louis Haghe, showing the wide stone steps already in place.

Sir C.C.W. Domvile was the last member of his family to live in the house. In 1875, he became bankrupt, and a huge sale was held over ten days of the accumulated furnishings of the house, after which it was occupied by  Capt. G.L. Poe (1846-1934), who was a relation by marriage, and who acted as agent-in-residence. After his death, the house was first leased as a residential care home and then sold to the Irish government which intended to turn it into a mental hospital, although this did not happen because of the outbreak of the Second World War. During this emergency, the proximity of the house to Dublin airport caused it to be requisitioned by the Irish army as a security base, and the grounds were used for military training. In 1947, during military occupation, the house burned down, and after standing as a roofless shell for some years, the ruins were pulled down either in 1959 or a few years later. The fine entrance doorcase was preserved by the Office of Public Works with a view to its reuse in Dublin Castle, but in 1989 it remained in store. Today, about 70 acres of the demesne are a public park but the rest has been swallowed up by a sports stadium and the spreading housing estates of modern Dublin.

Santry Court: the ruin of the house after the fire of 1947 and before demolition. Image: South Dublin Libraries

Descent: sold to Richard Barry (d. c.1648); to son, Sir James Barry (1603-72), kt., 1st Baron Barry of Santry; to son, Richard Barry (d. 1694), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry; to Henry Barry (1680-1734), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry; to son Henry Barry (1710-51), 4th Baron Barry of Santry, who forfeited the peerage on being convicted of murder; to uncle, Sir Compton Domvile (1696-1768), 2nd bt.; to kinsman, Charles Pocklington (later Domvile) (1740-1810); to son, Sir Compton Pocklington Domvile (c.1775-1857), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Charles Compton William Domvile (1822-84), 2nd bt.; to brother, Sir William Compton Domvile (1825-84), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Compton Meade Domvile (1857-1935), 4th bt.; to nephew, Sir Hugo Compton Domvile Poe (later Poe Domvile), 2nd bt., a person of unsound mind, whose Trustee sold it to Irish Government. After 1875, Santry was leased to Capt. George Leslie Poe RN (1846-1934), and then passed into institutional use.

Barry of Santry, Barons Barry of Santry

Barry, Richard (c.1575-1648). Second son of James Barry (d. 1598), merchant and alderman of Dublin, born about 1575. Merchant in Dublin. Alderman of Dublin from 1607 (Sheriff, 1604; Mayor 1610); MP for Dublin, 1613-15, 1634 and 1639. He married, about 1600, Anne (d. 1663), daughter and heiress of James Cusack of Rathgar (Co. Dublin), and had issue:
(1) Sir James Barry (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.);
(2) Edward Barry (d. 1672), of Tubberbunny, Cloghran (Co. Dublin); married 1st, Susanna, daughter of Charles Foster, alderman of Dublin, and had issue four sons and one daughter; married 2nd, Eleanor Dowdall, and had further issue six sons and two daughters; died intestate, 1672;
(3) Rev. William Barry (c.1608-95); educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1626); rector and vicar of Killucan (Co. Meath), 1642-95 and vicar of Termonfeckin (Armagh), 1647-93, but lived in Dublin and no doubt served both cures with curates; married 1st, 1 January 1634, Margaret (d. 1645), daughter of Rev. Edmund Donellan, and had issue four sons and five daughters; married 2nd, 23 November 1648, Elizabeth, daughter of Kedagh Kelly, and had issue one son and nine daughters; died 30 August 1695;
(4) Thomas Barry (d. 1632); died unmarried, 31 October 1632;
(5) Humphrey Barry; married and had issue two sons and one daughter;
(6) Richard Barry (d. 1675), of Fyan's Castle, Dublin; died 7 December and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 8 December 1675;
(7) Mary Anne Barry (d. 1635); married, as his first wife, Sir James Donelan (d. 1665), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland and third son of Most Rev. Nehemiah Donelan, Archbishop of Tuam, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 5 April 1635 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin;
(8) Frances Barry (d. 1668); married Henry Kenney (d. 1650) of Kenney's Hall and Edermine (Co. Wexford) and had issue three sons and three daughters; died July 1668 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin;
(9) Lettice Barry (d. 1637); married Alderman John Gibson of Dublin, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 22 August 1637 and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
He acquired Santry Court (soon after 1608) and Tubberbunny (Co. Dublin) and Ardrossan (Co. Kildare), but lived chiefly in Dublin.
He died in or after 1648. His widow died 21 September 1663.

Barry, Sir James (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry. Eldest son of Alderman Richard Barry (c.1575-1637) of Dublin and his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of James Cusack of Rathgar (Co. Dublin), born 1603. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA 1621; MA 1624), Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1621; called 1628) and King's Inns, Dublin (called 1630; Treasurer, 1635-36. 1661-64); degrees incorporated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in 1627. Barrister-at-law in England and Ireland; Recorder of Dublin and King's Serjeant-at-Laws in Ireland, 1629-34; MP for Lismore, 1634; Second Baron of the Exchequer, 1634-41, acting as an assize judge on the Connaught circuit; was superseded during the interregnum and was apparently in England for most of the period 1642-50; allowed to return to practice in Dublin, 1653 and acted as an assize judge in Ulster in 1655; Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1660-73. He was chosen Chairman of the Dublin convention which met in defiance of the Commonwealth authorities and voted for the unconditional restoration of King Charles II, 1660. He was knighted in 1640, and for his service at the Restoration, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Barry of Santry (commonly abbreviated to Lord Santry), 18 February 1661. He married, about 1632, Catherine, daughter of Sir William Parsons, 1st bt., of Bellamont (Co. Dublin), Lord Deputy of Ireland, and had issue:
(1) Hon. Anne Barry (c.1634-81), born about 1634; married 1st, 29 May 1660 at St Michan, Dublin, Stephen Butler (d. 1662) of Belturbet (Co. Cavan), but had no surviving issue; married 2nd, Hon. Raymond FitzMaurice (d. 1713), younger son of Patrick Fitzmaurice, 19th Lord of Kerry, and had issue two sons; died March 1681;
(2) Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.);
(3) Hon. Elizabeth Barry (b. 1638), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 16 February 1637/8; married, 4 October 1683, Thomas Anderton, but had no issue;
(4) Hon. Catherine Barry (1639-70), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 7 May 1639; died unmarried, 22 September and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 4 October 1670;
(5) Hon. James Barry* (1640-74) of Santry, baptised 10 June 1640; died unmarried, 17 November and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, 22 November 1674; will proved 25 April 1675;
(6) Hon. William Barry (b. 1642), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 9 March 1641/2; educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1660) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1662); barrister-at-law; died without issue;
(7) Hon. Thomas Barry; died without issue;
(8) Hon. Mary Barry (d. 1669); died unmarried and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 2 April 1669.
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1648.
He died 9 February and was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 14 February 1672/3. His wife's date of death is unknown.
* Burke's Irish Family Records states that he was a knight but I have found no evidence to support this: he does not appear in the lists of knights and the probate of his will described him as 'esquire'.

Barry, Richard (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry. Eldest son of Sir James Barry (1603-73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir William Parsons, 1st bt. of Bellamont (Co. Dublin), Lord Justice of Ireland, born about 1635. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford (matriculated 1651) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1660; called 1666). Barrister-at-law. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, 9 February 1672/3. He was threatened with attainder by King James II in 1689 for absenting himself from the Irish Parliament, but sat in the Irish House of Lords from 1692. He married, 1660 (licence 11 September, Elizabeth (c.1644-82), daughter of Henry Jenery, a judge of the English Court of King's Bench, and had issue:
(1) Hon. James Barry (b. 1662), born 15 January 1661/2; died young;
(2) Hon. Catherine Barry (1663-1737), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 9 May 1663; married 1st, 1682/3 (settlement 24 February), Lawrence Barry (c.1657-99), 3rd Earl of Barrymore; married 2nd, 1699, Francis Gash, collector of HM Revenue; married 3rd, 8 December 1729, as his second wife, Sir Henry Piers (d. 1733), 3rd bt., of Tristernagh, but had no issue by any of her husbands; she died 8 June and was buried at St Mary, Dublin, 10 June 1737; her will was proved 1744;
(3) Hon. Richard Barry (b. 1664); baptised at St Michan, Dublin 1 October 1664; died young;
(4) Hon. Anne Barry (b. c.1665?); apparently married, 12 February 1679/80 at St Bride, Dublin, John Keating (d. 1717); probably died before 1695, when her husband married her younger sister;
(5) Hon. Jane Barry; died young;
(6) Hon. Rose Barry (b. 1666), baptised at St Michan, Dublin, 10 October 1666;
(7) Hon. Mary Barry; died young; 
(8) Hon. Elizabeth Barry (d. by 1711), born about 1670; married, 11 July 1695 at St Michan, Dublin, as his second wife, Brig. James Naper alias Napper (c.1662-1719) of Loughcrew (Co. Meath), MP for Athboy 1695-99, Trim 1703-13 and Co. Meath, 1715-18, second son of James Napper, but had no issue; died before 1711;
(9) Hon. William Barry (b. 1672); baptised 27 July 1672; died young;
(10) Hon. Dorothea Barry (b. c.1675), born about 1675; married, 1703 (licence 29 April), as his second wife, Sir John Fielding (1673-1715), Governor of Jamaica, and had issue one daughter;
(11) Hon. Frances Barry; married, 23 November 1695, John Keating (d. 1717), MP for Trim, 1715-17, and had issue at least one son;
(12) Henry Barry (1680-1735), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.).
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1672.
He died on or after 25 October 1694 and was buried at Santry; his will was proved in Dublin, 10 November 1694. His wife died 6 February, and was buried at Santry, 17 February 1682.

Barry, Henry (1680-1735), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry. Fourth, but only surviving, son of Richard Barry (c.1635-94), 2nd Baron Barry of Santry, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Jenery, born 1680. Said to have been educated at Eton, 1698, though he does not appear in the college lists, and at St. John's College, Oxford (matriculated 1700). He succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Barry of Santry, October 1694, and took his seat in the Irish House of Lords, 21 September 1703, serving on several committees and being appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland in 1714. He was a Whig in politics and a strong supporter of the Hanoverian succession and the Protestant religion. Immediately on coming of age and marrying, he pulled down the old house at Santry and built a replacement; in 1709 he also rebuilt the parish church. He was an officer in the Earl of Wharton's Dragoons (Lt-Col., 1710; disbanded, 1713) and was Governor of Charlemont, 1718, and of Derry city and Culmore Fort, 1719-35.  He married, 9 February 1702 (with a dowry of £4,500), Bridget (d. 1750), elder daughter of Sir Thomas Domvile, 1st bt., of Templeogue (Co. Dublin), and had issue:
(1) Henry Barry (1710-51), 4th Baron Barry of Santry (q.v.).
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1694, and built a new house there following his marriage.
He died 27 January and was buried at Santry, 29 January 1734/5; his will was proved in Dublin in 1736. His widow died 21 August, and was buried at Santry, 8 September 1750.

Henry Barry, 4th Lord Santry
from a group portrait of the Hellfire Club

Barry, Henry (1710-51), 4th Baron Barry of Santry. Only child of Henry Barry (1680-1735), 3rd Baron Barry of Santry, and his wife Bridget, elder daughter of Sir Thomas Domvile, 1st bt., born 3 September 1710. He was evidently a 'typical 18th century rake', a heavy drinker, a leading member of the Irish Hell Fire Club, and possessed of a quarrelsome and violent nature: Dean Swift had chided his mother about his early misdeeds. On the evening of 9 August 1738, when he had been drinking heavily all day with friends in the kitchen of a tavern at Palmerstown near Dublin, he got into an argument with a Mr Humphries, but was so befuddled with drink that he found himself unable to draw his sword. He flew into a rage and stormed from the room, but collided with the tavern porter, Loughlin Murphy, before reaching the street. He shoved Murphy (who according to some accounts had formerly been his running footman, and had been invited to join the drinking party earlier in the day) back into the kitchen, and swore that he would run through the next man who spoke. 'With startlingly ill-judged courtesy, Murphy wished that no one would offend the noble lord', whereupon, true to his word, Lord Santry plunged his sword into Murphy's side. Murphy was not killed outright but died - probably from an infection in his wound - some weeks later in Dublin. Lord Santry was then arrested and charged with murder, but claimed the privilege of a trial by his peers in the Irish House of Lords. The trial was held on 27 April 1739, and such was the brilliant oratory of the prosecution and the weakness of the defence, that there was a speedy conviction and, since murder was treated as high treason in Ireland, an automatic sentence of death. As a convicted felon, Lord Santry's title and estates were also forfeited to the Crown, but after the trial, Lord Santry's friends and relatives appealed to King George II to exercise his prerogative of mercy and grant a pardon or at least a reprieve. Those making representations for mercy included all but one of the peers who had been on the jury convicting him. The king was initially reluctant to grant clemency, but was eventually persuaded, and a pardon was finally issued* on 17 June 1739, although his title was forfeited for life, and he felt obliged to leave Ireland, living the rest of his life in exile in England. Alongside the trial, Lord Santry was being pressed by his creditors for debts of some £13,000, and after his property was restored to him in 1741, his uncle secured an Act of Parliament vesting his property in trustees for the payment of his debts. By 1744, however, the trustees had ceased to act and his agent was managing his affairs in Ireland. In exile he lived in modest comfort, supported in part by the payment by the Treasury of pension arrears due to his father, for which an inexplicable allowance of £50 a month was eventually substituted. History does not record that anything was done, either by the family or the government, to support the family of the murdered tavern porter. In his last years he suffered increasingly from gout and depression. He married 1st, 8 May 1737 at Finglas (Co. Dublin), Anne (d. 1742), daughter of William Thornton of Finglas (Co. Dublin) and 2nd, 7 November 1750 at Ruddington (Notts), Elisabeth Shore (c.1733-1816) of Derby and Ruddington, but had no issue.
He inherited Santry Court from his father in 1734. He forfeited his estates on being convicted of murder in 1739, but they were restored to him in 1741. At his death he bequeathed his estates to his maternal uncle, Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd bt., of Templeogue (Co. Dublin).
He died in Nottingham, 18 March 1750/1, when his peerage became extinct, and was buried at St Nicholas, Nottingham, 22 March 1750/1. His first wife died in March 1742. His widow died 28 December 1816 and was buried at St Mary, Nottingham, 6 January 1817; her will was proved in York, January 1817 (estate under £5,000).
* Although not before a new axe had been purchased for the planned execution: it is reputed to have been acquired and preserved by the Domvile family as an heirloom.

Principal sources

Burke's Dormant and Extinct Peerages, 1883, pp. 25-26; Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 69-71; B.W. Adams, History and description of Santry and Cloghran parishes, County Dublin, 1883; E. Malins & P. Bowe, Irish gardens and demesnes from 1830, 1980, pp. 41-42; N. Garnham, 'The Trials of James Cotter and Henry, Baron Barry of Santry: Two Case Studies in the Administration of Criminal Justice in Early Eighteenth-Century Ireland', Irish Historical Studies, May 1999, pp. 328-342; T. Reeves-Smith, 'The country houses and designed landscapes of Fingal', in S. Flanagan & K. Coghlan, The built heritage of Fingal, 2005; V. Costello, Irish demesne landscapes, 1660-1740, 2015, pp. 28, 132.

Location of archives

Barry of Santry Court, Barons Barry of Santry: some records of this family are included among the papers of the Domvile family of Templeogue, baronets [National Library of Ireland, Domvile papers]

Coat of arms

Argent, three bars gemelles, gules.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide further early views of Santry Court or photographs of the interior when it was still in private occupation?
• 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 27 May 2020 and was updated 30 May 2020.