| Cahermoyle House
© Cahermoyle House
Cahermoyle or Caher Maothail translates as 'the stone fort of
the soft ground'. About 1/3 of the circular stone wall of the 'Caher',
probably dating back two thousand years still survives one hundred yards
west of the house.
Cahermoyle fell to the Norman Fitzgeralds shortly after 1170. After the
Desmond rebellion came to an end with the death of Gerald the rebel Earl
in 1583, all of Gerald's lands were forfeited to Queen Elizabeth with
one exception. Cahermoyle escaped because it was part of the dowry of
Catherine, daughter of Earl Gerald. She married Sir Daniel O'Brien of
Carrigaholt, Co Clare.
Following the fall of Limerick to the Cromwellians in 1651, John Bourke,
a leading wealthy merchant rented Cahermoyle. He was MP for Askeaton in
the Parliament of James the Second. He died here in 1702 and is buried
in the Bourke vault, beside Bishop Lacy's grave, at Ardagh.
The famous poet Dáibhí O'Bruadair was a regular visitor
at Cahermoyle at this time. He refers to the house in which John Bourke
lived as 'the lime white mansion of the chieftain bounteous'.
In the late 1700s Sir Edward O'Brien of Dromoland got into financial
difficulties and failed to meet the payments on the mortgaged lands of
Cahermoyle and Dromoland. On a visit to Cahermoyle, where the money-lending
attorney Bill Smith was in residence, Edward met Smith's eldest daughter
Charlotte, and at a fairly obvious hint from the wily attorney he proposed
to Charlotte and was accepted. The marriage took place at Cahermoyle on
November 12th 1799. At the wedding meal Smith announced he had a gift
for the happy couple, whereupon he withdrew some papers from an inside
pocket and consigned them to the fire. The mortgages of both Cahermoyle
and Dromoland went up in flames. Thus for the second time a dowry had
saved Cahermoyle for the O'Briens.
William Smith O'Brien inherited Cahermoyle from his mother Charlotte.
He was MP for over 20 years at Westminster fighting the Irish cause. Having
become disillusioned with the parliamentary process, William took up arms
for the cause. Defeated at Ballingarry, arrested, convicted of treason,
and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, he had his sentence commuted
to penal servitude for life. He was pardoned in 1856 and returned to Cahermoyle.
He had expected to regain possession of the house and lands, which he
placed 'in trust' for his wife and eldest son Edward, before the debacle
of Ballingarry. However, his son did not appreciate his nationalist aspirations
and he never regained Cahermoyle. He did live there until his wife's death
but then moved to Bangor in Wales where he himself died in 1864. His body
was brought back to Ireland for burial.
The mail boat bringing his remains docked at the North Wall at 3.30 a.m.
but even at that hour of the morning the quays were lined by those who
appreciated the battle he had fought and the price he had paid for his
patriotism. All the way to Kingsbridge the thousands lined the streets.
From Limerick Station to his beloved Cahermoyle William was borne by hearse
drawn by four white horses. Next day twenty-four Catholic and twelve Protestant
clergymen led the cortege to Rathronan cemetery where William's mortal
remains were laid to rest. At one point the cortege was two miles long
stretching all the way from Rathronan back to Cahermoyle.
In 1922 Cahermoyle was acquired by the Oblate Order and became a novitiate.
Local people recall as many as thirty young Oblate Students based here
during the 1950's. They were a familiar sight on Sunday evenings on their
walk to places like the waterfall at Glenastar. The Oblate Fathers later
added an extra twenty rooms to the house as well as a refectory and community
rooms. They ran a model farm that made them self-sufficient. It was with
the greatest regret that the local community heard the news that falling
vocations would force the Fathers to leave Cahermoyle. The farm was sold
in a number of separate lots and Cahermoyle House became a nursing and
convalescent home.
The Oblate Fathers keep a little connection with their roots in Cahermoyle
by returning each summer for a celebration of mass with their many friends
in Ardagh and the surrounding parishes. Fr Mahon, a retired Oblate priest
resides in Cahermoyle and provides spiritual support to all the residents.
 
|
