Creator(s): Conolly, family, of Castletown, County Kildare
Administrative History ↴
The huge fortune of the Conolly family was built by William Conolly, generally known as Speaker Conolly, who married Catherine daughter of Sir Albert Conyngham but died without issue leaving his estates to his nephew Rt. Hon. William Conolly MP for Ballyshannon. He married Lady Anne Wentworth daughter of the Earl of Strafford.
For the most part the papers date from the time of their son Thomas Conolly born 1738. In 1758 he married Lady Louisa Lennox daughter of the Duke of Richmond. As the richest commoner he was prominent in pioneering interests in hunting and breeding of race horses. He and his wife Louisa continued the decoration of Castletown, the greatest of the Irish country houses, which had been built by Speaker Conolly and is now in the care of the Irish Georgian Society. The interest is also reflected in the papers.
Archival History ↴
Found at Castletown, Celbridge, Co. Kildare by Lord Carew when he was leaving the house and presented to the Library; they were delivered by his steward, Mr. McDowell, 11 March 1966. They include the volumes MSS 3939-3961; 3962-3973 and loose papers mostly letters; a further small consignment came with the Carew correspondence, 2 March 1967.
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Donation
Content & Structure
Scope & Content: Conolly, family, of Castletown, County Kildare ↴
The collection details the history of the estate of the Conolly family, notably the great country house of Castletown in County Kildare. For the most part the papers date from the time of Thomas Conolly (b 1738) and his wife Lady Louisa Lennox, it contains a broad range of accounts such as house bills, servants’ bills, tradesmen’s bills, deeds and rentals and other papers relating to the estate and there is also a large sequence of correspondence which is arranged chronologically.
Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention
Arrangement ↴
The collection is arranged according to document type, the sequence of correspondence and loose accounts are arranged chronologically.
Conditions of Access & Use
Access Conditions
Please contact mscripts@tcd.ie in advance of your visit
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Please contact mscripts@tcd.ie for guidance
Creation Dates
1709-1900
Extent Medium
11 Boxes
Material Language Script
English
Finding Aids
A full descriptive list with index is available for consultation in the Manuscripts and Archives Research Library, Trinity College Dublin.
Archive Web Link →
Allied Materials
Publication Note
E. Austin Currie ‘Fining Down the Rents: The Management of the Conolly Estates in Ireland, 1734-1800’ Derriana (1979)
Notes
Note
Trinity College Library legacy numbering system applied multiple numbers to single fonds
Descriptive Control Area
Archivist Note
Natalie Milne, 2014
Rules/Conventions
ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names. Chippenham: National Council on Archives, 1997.
