Narrative re Irish portion of UK-Ireland trip, Sept and Oct, 2007:

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"WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY & HOW, WE ARE"

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:51:29 -0300
Marilynn and I flew overnite Saturday-Sunday, arriving at Heathrow just before noon on Sunday, 16 Sept.   For the ensuing week, we visited with family in Southwest England, and toured the area. On Sunday, 23 Sept, they drove us to Heathrow. We were early there, so we had lunch and read a book until our Aer Lingus flight was ready. The flight was about 45-60 minutes. We cleared immigration very quickly and then met Colman D. and daughter, Claire. Colman toured us through Dublin on the way to their home in Dun Laoughaire. We visited with Liv and their son John and had a great lamb shoulder for dinner. Their house is a beautifully restored Georgian style townhouse built in 1862.

After breakfast this morning, Monday, 24 Sept, Marilynn and I walked downtown and on to the waterfront, overlooking the ferry terminal from Holyhead in Wales.   Then, we all drove out to Powerscourt mansion in the Wicklow Hills for lunch.   Later we visited the waterfall on the estate.   It was a beautiful site, and we managed to do the little bit of hike involved in between some misty Irish showers!  {:-)

The following day, Tuesday, 25 Sept 2007, we took the Dart downtown to explore...     The Dart trip was quick and painless... we then took a "Hop on-Hop off" bus tour of Dublin and wandered around a bit, including a visit to Trinity College Dublin and a viewing of the Book of Kells. I took advantage of the occasion to visit the manuscript office of the Trinity College Library, and researched the records searching for any info on the landlord-tenant leases relating to the Trinity College Dublin Endowment Lands in Cos. Donegal and Fermanagh. A very helpful lady named “Estelle” assisted me while at the Manuscript office.

Estelle showed me the “TCD Catalogue of Muniments: Index of Deeds by places”. Under Co. Donegal, was an extensive list of Lands in the Barony of Tirhugh; Under Co. Fermanagh, was a list of the lands in “The Manor of Slutmulrooney”. Unfortunately, I learned that the Library has copies of deeds of transfer between middle landlords relating to the lands, but no copies of tenant leases. In passing, I did learn that Skreen Townland, tenanted by Jim Elliott’s family, was a part of the Trinity College Endowment Lands held in the Hamilton Estate. I did note that it should be possible to list the townlands associated with the various Hamilton and other estates within the Trinity College Endowment Lands, based on the records available at the TCD Library. There is also an out-of-print book entitled “The Trinity College Estates (1800-1923)”, by Robert MacCarthy, published by Dundalgan Press (W. Tempest) Ltd, 1992; ISBN 0-85221-118-X, which should be a good source of useful information.

The next day, Wednesday, 26 Sept, we went downtown again.  We rode the Red Line Luas out to Collins Barracks Museum to see a Viking Long Ship. Collins Barracks was formerly the Royal Barracks, housing the British troops garrisoning Dublin and environs. We quickly toured some parts of the museum, and viewed the long ship. We then returned via the Luas down to O'Connell Street and walked back across the Liffey to Grafton Street.   Marilynn went to have lunch with Deirdre, her former sister in law, and I set off on my own.

I visited the National Library but did little research. I did review a series entitled “Hayes Manuscript Sources in the National Library” which was in three separate volumes indexing such sources, By Subject, By Persons, and By Places; there are additionally four supplements. I found no Strong’s listed who were associated with either Co. Donegal or Co. Fermanagh. I did find the following references:
1) Re the Connolly Estate in Donegal, see in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, MS 17302, consisting of a rent roll.
2) Re the Leslie Estate in Co. Fermanagh, see in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, MS 5811-5812, consisting of rent rolls, and MS 5813, consisting of a rent roll for the year 1833. [See discussion below regarding the possible importance of this reference.]
3) Re the JC Broomfield Estate in Co. Fermanagh, see in the National Archives of Ireland in Dublin, NAI M.3563, consisting of a rent roll for the years 1810-1820, including all tenants at Belleek, Co. Fermanagh.

As I was feeling a little under the weather, I cut short my investigations and went off in search of a book store. While enquiring after the book “The Trinity College Estates (1800-1923)”, by Robert MacCarthy, I met a gentleman named Enda Cunningham operating “Cathach Books” an “Antiquarian” bookshop, 10 Duke Street, Dublin 2, Ireland; phone +353-1-671-8676; email info(at)rarebooks.ie ; web: www.rarebooks.ie . Enda took my name and hopefully will notify me if he comes across a copy of the book. He also told me that the Co. Donegal Library in Lifford had copies of certain rent rolls from the Murray Stewart Estate, and gave me a contact phone number for the Librarian in charge. I then waited around a while before meeting Marilynn, Liv, and Colman in the evening at the National Concert Hall to have dinner and attend a performance by a group called "Alton" ... mixing traditional Irish music with classical..

27 Sept, Thursday, we kicked back around Dun Laoughaire; and took the time to rent a car.  Colman gave me a driving lesson in his Mercedes, and educated me about some local directions to help me negotiate my way around.

28 Sept, Friday, Marilynn and I took a tour south through County Wicklow to Glendalough, an ancient Celtic Monastery, so I could practice driving on the left-hand side in Ireland. Saw some very beautiful scenery and went on an interesting tour of the monastery.

29 Sept, Saturday, I made some phone calls… to Brian Stronge in Kesh, Co. Fermanagh, who very kindly invited me to visit and stay with him and his wife, Nina; I also talked to Margaret Graham about further arrangements for viewing the Drumhome Parish records, and coordinated a bit with Philip Strong of Belfast, re our desire to meet and discuss Strong genealogical research in general. Did laundry, and Marilynn packed for return trip to Toronto. We all ordered in a traditional Fish and Chips dinner. Marilynn and Colman worked on the D____ family tree.

30 Sept, Sunday, M. flew back to Canada. Colman drove and I went along on the trip to Dublin Airport. We drove through the city early in the morning, and dropped Marilynn at the departures entrance. We then returned to Dun Laoughaire, had a brief breakfast, and then I headed for Donegal and Fermanagh.

I traveled around Dublin on the M-50, then northerly on the N3 into Northern Ireland, then westerly on the B82 to Kesh, County Fermanagh. I found things in Northern Ireland quite peaceful and open, but rather closed up on the Sunday. Also, noted that it would be best to refuel in the south before crossing the border, as the price of gas [petrol] in Euros is cheaper than in the north [in Lbs, Sterling]. After a brief stop at Castle Archdale Park, I found a restaurant in Lisnarrick and had a noon meal.

Around 2 PM, I found the home of Brian and Nina Stronge in Kesh. It was a rather new, well built two story home, right alongside the highway leading into the eastern side of Kesh. We visited and I shared some research info with them. Based on his local knowledge and the things in which I had expressed interest, Brian then took me to view the Templecarne Parish Church of Ireland and cemetery in Pettigo. We viewed the headstones for John Strong, and his sons Herbert and Mervyn Strong. Brian confirmed those relationships based on his personal knowledge of that family, and related that Mervyn had been nicknamed “six inch spike” Strong… because as a joiner, or carpenter, he had been known to use a six inch spike to nail just about anything together ! Brian also indicated that he was unaware of any familial relationship between that family and his own. It should also be noted that Brian thought the use of a terminal “e” on his surname was merely to help distinguish his family from that of other Strong families in the area.

Then, we drove out into the countryside to the Carne Cemetery, used historically as a burial site for the Templecarne Parish. The Cemetery is located in Carne Townland, which can be discerned on the map of western Templecarne Parish in County Donegal, southeast of Lough Derg. [Note: See also http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bhilchey/MTemplecarn.html; look for Carne Townland, number 14.]

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The cemetery has a protestant side and a catholic side, divided by an invisible line. The cemetery is rough and unkept, with tumbled headstones, and overgrown with grass, brush, and trees, interspersed in a rocky, hilly landscape. Brian’s own grandfather is buried there, with no headstone. I took a picture of him standing near the gravesite.

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There were no apparent Strong headstones, but it would be very hard to tell without a major cleanup and restoration effort.
NOTE: Since the foregoing was written, much work has been done regarding Carne Cemetery. See: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~donegal/carne_graveyard.htm. As at 3 June 2012, no Strong headstones have been found.

We then drove on to nearby Lough Derg, where we viewed the monastery sited on Station Island in the middle of the lake. It can only be reached by boat, and is the destination of a major pilgrimage of Irish Catholics. Next, we drove to the Ballalt Townland and farmsite. Brian was born there, and moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1954 when he was aged 6. The land was sold to a Bryne family. We visited some elderly members of the McCusker family who lived next door; two brothers and their sister, each probably aged in their 80’s. The farmstead was a typical 19th century cottage, and had a flavor of old Ireland. We asked directions and info about the location of the “Carnhugh” farmstead. Both Brian and the McCuskers, and indeed everyone else to whom we talked subsequently, pronounced it something like “Cairnt’ que”… raising a question in my mind as to what the proper spelling actually was.

[Note: Subsequent research has shown that the placename "Carnhugh" has been used at least for 200 years, and suggests that my confusion as to the spelling arose from the peculiarities of local pronounciation. In June, 2012, Norman Peden suggested the following explanation of the origins of the placename:

"I have been doing a little thinking about the place name Carnhugh. I have a Northern Ireland Ordnance Survey map which covers the relevant bit of Donegal. Carnhugh lies immediately below Glasskeeragh Lough. On a town land map which I think I found on your website a little to the south east is Carnbeg. You will probably be aware that Carn means mound or hump. Beg is Irish Gaelic for small so Carnbeg is small mound or hill. So as a descriptor what is hugh? The nearest I can find is ugh which is the Gaelic for egg. So Carnhugh could be egg shaped mound. On google map it looks a bit egg shaped in outline. See google maps. The word Glasskeeragh is superimposed on the egg shaped bump I think is Carnhugh. Across southern Ulster is the drumlin belt of small boulder clay hills with small lakes in between and left behind by glacier activity. Indeed the drumlins in places are laid out in what is known by geologists as 'basket of eggs formation'. "]

It was late, so we returned to Brian’s home for the evening. After visiting further over a light “tea” [which was enough after the heavier lunch I had earlier that day!] Brian and I walked to the bridge over the Kesh river in town, and back, just at twilight. Later, their son, Leslie Stronge and his wife, Gillian, visited for a while. Nice young folks, and with somewhat less of the accent which Brian had. I could hear in many folks something of the accent I remember from listening to my grandfather, Jim Strong, many years ago. Of course, they probably thought I was the one with the accent !

That evening, I phoned Margaret Graham for arrangements to view the Drumhome Records the next day. I also talked to a David Johnson, with whom Brian put me in touch, re viewing the Templecarne records.

Next Day, Monday, 1 Oct 2007, I followed Brian to David Johnson’s home, and then subsequently drove on to Pettigo, where David Johnson advised me to wait at an office near the C of I church for a lady who could give me a look at the parish records. We arrived around 9 AM, and I waited there for about half an hour. She did not show up, and as I had a 10 AM appointment with the rector of Drumhome parish, I drove on to Ballintra. There I met Rev. David Russell, who very kindly showed me the original record books, dating back to 1691. He allowed me time to review the records. Unfortunately, I could find nothing concerning the marriage of my 2xgreat-grandparents, George Strong and Mary Haron, although it had been thought there might be something to be found there. We do know that the Raphoe Diocese Marriage Licence Bond Indices DO show that a licence was issued authorizing their marriage in 1820. [Refer to Dale G. Strong book and his research done in 1983] The actual original licence records were lost in the 1922 Four Courts fire. However, we can infer from the Index record that George Strong and Mary Haron were from two different parishes and needed the diocesian licence in order to marry.

I did find the record of a baptism, on July 1, 1821, in the Drumhome records for a daughter, Jane Strong, born to George Strong and Mary Haron. A new fact gleaned from the Drumhome record was that Catherine Haron [was] godmother to the baby. Putting the fact of baptism in Drumhome together with the Raphoe Licence index info, I infer that Mary Haron was likely from Drumhome Parish and returned there for the baptism of the child in Mary’s home church. I also inferred that George Strong was from another nearby parish, likely Templecarne. I learned from Rev. Russell that the government of Ireland is providing grants to the local parishes, including Drumhome and Templecarne, to fund digital transcriptions of the old parish records. This is really a desirable thing, in that the pages of the old record books are faded and worn; some of the entries are nearly illegible, and will soon be lost forever. And, of course, digital transcriptions should be much more accessible… although checks for accuracy against the originals may continue to be necessary. I donated 50 Euros to the rector, and departed towards Laghy.

After a snack break at a convenience store and petrol station in Laghy, I drove on in the direction of Donegal-town. Enroute, I stopped at St. Ernan’s House, home of Rev. John Hamilton [c. 1810-c.1890]. There I enquired re the availability of Hamilton estate records. I was later advised by telephone basically that no records were available through that source. I drove on through Donegal-town, which was rather larger and more picturesque than I had expected. Someday, I would enjoy returning there for a longer visit and prowl around the town. However, I then drove on down to Dunkineely, where I took the time to explore out St. John’s Point in Killaghtee Parish,

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to a view of the derelict McSween’s Castle, also known as Castle Rahan or Castle Murray, 16th and 17th century stronghold of the Murray planters. It is falling into the sea, and eventually will be lost entirely to erosion.

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The area is of interest as the 1665 Hearth Money Rolls for the Parish of Killaghtee represent the first known record of George Strong and Thomas Strong in Co. Donegal. Presumably, all "Donegal Bay" Strongs are descended from them. See the Strong DNA Project Results page and links associated with the Donegal Bay Strong lineage.

I drove on to Killybegs which is picturesque, but did not greatly claim my attention. I returned to Dunkineely, where I stopped and explored the Church of Ireland church and cemetery, which had been pointed out by one of the locals while I was exploring on St. John’s point. I found no Strong’s on any headstones, but did note many tenant surnames of interest from discussions of the Plantation families. I drove back to Kesh and took a rest break, awaiting Brian Stronge’s return from a work project in which he was engaged.

After a short tea break with Brian, we drove out in the direction of Carnhugh. We drove along narrow country lanes, paved nonetheless,

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and finally found three or four homes, presently owned by members of the McGee family, which had formerly been Strong homes, before the land was sold and the family moved to County Fermanagh in 1954. What appeared to be one of the oldest houses was vacant, but may have been occupied in the early 19th century.

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[Note: See also video of "The Harron sisters visiting Carnhugh", posted 5 February 2009 on You-Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSE02tDv8M. The houses shown in the video are the same ones shown in the pictures here. The Harron sisters may be related as outlined on the Descendancy Hypothesis at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~donegalstrongs/13952.htm ] It appears that the farmsteads are located on Glasskeeragh Townland, which was one point I wanted to establish. After taking a few photos, we drove on toward Ballintra, in an effort to find the Drumhome cemetery. Near dusk, we found the cemetery,

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and on exploring, found several headstones mentioning Strongs and Harrons, as well as other tenant names of interest. Again, we took several photos:
including one of the unkept adjacent cemetery which Brian thought was a Catholic cemetery. He thought he saw a cross on a headstone there, which was typical of the Catholic cemeteries in the area. As it was nearly dark, we headed back to Kesh, and a light supper before heading off to bed for the nite.

Tuesday, 2 October 2007: Next morning, we were up early. We exchanged photos,

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and then I bid them thanks and goodbye. I then drove back to Pettigo, where I again tried to find the ladies, Kitty and Denise, who were working on the Templecarne Parish records. Although I waited nearly an hour, neither one showed, and I gave up… driving off toward Lifford. In the meantime, based on the information I had from Enda Cunningham of Cathach Books in Dublin, I had called the Donegal County Library branch in Lifford, inquiring about the availability of archival material re the Murray Stewart Estate. I learned that the assistant archivist there was only available that day until noon, so I pushed through the Barnesmore Gap highway and reached Lifford around 11:15 AM. The assistant archivist very graciously showed me the catalogue of material held in the archives there, and allowed me a bit of time to view some of the materials. Address: Archivist; Donegal County Archives Service; Three Rivers Centre, Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland;

I found that available Murray Stewart rent roll materials dated from about 1845 to circa 1905. [to be inserted later:]
See attached Catalogue of Murray Stewart items held at the archives in Lifford [references #P/2, etc]. This was outside my personal range of inquiry, so I did not take the time to view the records. However, I did note that there were additionally three rent rolls relating to the Hamilton Estate, one relating to the “Ballinamore Estate” from about 1818 [reference #P/49/1], and two additional ones from 1842 [reference #P/49/2], and from 1844, 1845, 1848, and 1849 [reference #P/49/3]. On viewing them, I found a previously unknown to me record of a lease from the Brownhall Hamilton estate of the Aghadowey Townland to Hugh Strong, dated 1818: “Aghadowey; tenants names included James Gallagher, James McBride, John Mulhartagh, Michael Gallagher, Owen Gallagher, Wm. Mechin, John Hilly, and Hugh Strong; the line item for Hugh Strong showed no arrearages as of May, 1817, and One Years Rent due at May 1818 of 6, 14,9; the next column indicated that sum had been received, and the next column showed no item for Arrears due at May 1818” [reference #P/49/1]. The sum due would have been 6 pounds, 14 shillings, 9 pence. The rent roll had been approved by the Rev. John Hamilton on 3rd May 1819; it included townlands belonging to the Brownhall portion of the Estate, which included Aghadowey Townland. It appeared that the other two rent rolls were also approved by John Hamilton, but related only to the portion of the estate which was spun off to him circa 1825 when he and his brother divided off the St. Ernan’s estate to him. There was no mention in the two latter rent rolls of the Aghadowey Townland.

The assistant archivist and I shared a lunch hour in the County cafeteria. She is a very engaging young person, and seemed quite interested in the research I was doing. She had an appointment that afternoon, so had to excuse herself following lunch. At her suggestion, I decided to drive on to Letterkenny, to the main County Donegal Library. There, I found a full set of The Donegal Annual, dating back to the earliest number of the series, published in 1948. I had not previously had an opportunity to review the articles in the series from 1948 forward to the mid 1960’s, so I spent the rest of the afternoon scanning through them. I found several articles of interest, and was able to copy a couple of them. However, lack of time, and the failure of the library’s copying machine meant that I was only able to make note of the articles for future study and further research. Of particular interest, however, was the realization that former President of the Donegal Historical Society, now deceased South African Denis Verschoyle, had written some articles discussing the history of Dunkineely and it’s parish, Killaghtee. I need to spend some in-depth time with those articles.

I also found a couple of interesting articles regarding the rundale system of land management in Tirhugh barony in the early 19th century. I gained some insights into the management history of the tenancies in the area of Drumhome and Templecarne parishes. I also noted an article regarding the Dickson estate, but did not review it at the time, not realizing that it might have particular interest to me. Later, while visiting with Philip Strong in Belfast, I was able to view some material which indicates that the Dickson Estate might have in some way held the Glasskeeragh Townland wherein Carnhugh is located. Obviously, I need to return to that article at some point. A subsequent review of the Private Estate collections held at the PRONI in Belfast indicates that PRONI does not hold any Dickson papers. However, I have not yet had a chance to research whether such papers might be held at the National Archives in Dublin. On the other hand, I have found that the Leslie family's "Pettigo Estate" probably included the lands in question. See Below:

Leaving the County Library around 6 PM, I stopped for dinner across the street at a rather nice restaurant, and then forged off in the direction of Fycrannagh House B & B. Although I promptly got lost as it was nearing dark, I was rescued by the son of a lady whose door I had knocked asking for directions. He kindly led me with his van to the B & B… from which I was well and truly off in the wrong direction. I had a good rest that nite, and a good breakfast in the morning, before heading off toward Belfast.

Wednesday, 3 Oct 2007: I met Philip Strong at a coffee shop located in a Marks and Spencer store in the Sprucewood Shopping Center in Lisburn. We enjoyed visiting and discussing our joint interest in various aspect of Strong genealogy, and after a brief lunch, we drove [Philip leading and me following !] to the PRONI in Belfast. There we did some reviewing of available materials and decided to focus on about five items of interest. Most we quickly eliminated, including microfilm of the C of I parish records for Belleek [MIC 1/270; T.679/65; 257-258] and for Magheraculmoney [MIC. 1/67-68]. We got into reviews of two additional microfilms. One was a microfilm of the Kilbarron Parish records [MIC. 1/156] which include the area around Ballyshannon. In that film, Philip found several records of Strongs, which we believe probably relate to members of Dale Strong’s family. We need to collate our findings with prior records to see if we have found any new material which will be of use in tracing his origins there. The other film was a very poor copy of the records of Templecarne Parish…. The very records which I had been unable to access while in Pettigo earlier. [MIC 1/217/A-C]

In the Templecarne Parish records, I found about five records of interest, including what I believe are records of the births of my Great Grandfather, George Strong: “George Strong son of George (?) and Mary Strong; born Oct 26th, 1825, Baptised Oct.30th, 1825 by Wm. Ingram, curate”; [found at page 6, line 49 of MIC 1/217/A-C], and of his sister, Anne Strong [Story]: “Ann daughter of George & Mary Strong of Glaskeeragh, born 9 Feb 1830, baptized 14 Feb 1830, registered 15 Feb 1830, by Geo. Harris”. [found at page 38, line 408, of MIC 1/217/A-C] These records had previously been missed by other reviewers, so I was very pleased to find them. Also, they tend to confirm my hypothesis that my George Strong family was associated with the Carnhugh Strong family. Another record of much interest to me was that of an 1841 burial of William Strong, of Drumchin Townland, Drumkeeran Parish which took place in Templecarne Parish ! : “Burial of: William Strong, Drumchin, parish of Drumkeeran; 15th April 1841, age 53; ceremony performed by C. G.”, which appear to be the initials of “C. Graham”; [found at page 10 of Burials, in MIC 1/217/A-C]. This clue may well help tie in some other records of a Strong family previously found in Drumkeeran Parish to the Strong families in Templecarne.

It must be noted that there were two additional records which might be confusing. The Templecarne baptisms also included “Elizabeth Strong, daughter of ____(illegible) Strong & Mary Strong of Glasskeeragh, b. 10 Dec 1827, baptized 16 Dec 1827 ” [found at page 22, line #218, in MIC 1/217/A-C] , and “Anne, dau of Wm and Mary Strong of Glasskeeragh, b. 14th Nov 1828, baptized 16th Nov 1828, Registered 25th March 1829” [found at page 30, line #288, in MIC 1/217/A-C]. I needed to cross check these two records against our prior information and against our previously developed descendencies to be sure we were not confusing identities of the individuals involved. It needs also to be remembered that there were several different cottages found at Carnhugh on the Glasskeeragh Townland, all apparently inhabited by various members of the extended Strong family of the time. Subsequently, on Dec 11th, 2007, I checked the foregoing data against the Irish Strong Database in my computer, and found that indeed the records were not previously recorded in the database. It appears that this new data adds to and clarifies some of the gaps in the database.

Along the way, I have received emails from Tom Strong in Australia, advising me of some research he has done regarding signators on "The Ulster Covenant" a document signed in 1912 whereby many of the protestant community in Ulster promised to resist homerule at all costs - including armed rebellion. Tom discovered that a George Strong from the parliamentary constituency of Fermanagh-South Donegal signed it. His address was Gartnessy, and the document was signed at Pettigo. According to Tom, of the 9 Strongs who signed the Covenant, 5 were from Tyrone and South Donegal; 2 from Down and one each from Antrim and Armagh. Tom also found there were 147 Harrons who signed the covenant. Of these 6 were from Donegal- So. Fermanagh; 4 from Fermanagh; 7 from Tyrone; 2 from other Donegal constituencies; 1 from Scotland and the rest, 127, from South Donegal,--most of these from Ballintra. Aside from indicating the sentiments of a large number of the protestant community in the area in 1912, this confirms the continued residence in the area of Strongs and Harrons before the 1922 Partition of Ulster which followed the 1916 Uprising and the Irish Civil War.

From another source, we find at the

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE of NORTHERN IRELAND The Leslie Papers (MIC/606 and T/3827), which reference is quoted in part here:

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"The archive at Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co. Monaghan, amounts to 128 PRONI boxes, plus several outsize albums, numerous rolled maps and the boxed patent of 1876 [F/2] creating the Leslie baronetcy. While the PRONI list and arrangement covers the entire archive, only a tiny fraction has in fact been copied by and is available in PRONI (MIC/606 and T/3827).

"The material copied by PRONI is as follows: The rest - and the vast majority of - the archive can be consulted only by prior arrangement with Miss Samantha Leslie, either in the Muniment Room at Castle Leslie or by means of a special loan to PRONI of the material requested. Researchers granted access to the Muniment Room at Castle Leslie are strongly recommended to stay and dine there, as it is now run as a country-house hotel and combines comfort and efficiency with an evocative family atmosphere."

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"The Leslie family's Co. Donegal estate at Pettigo, Lough Derg, etc, was part of the see lands of Clogher and had been leased by Bishop John Leslie from pre 1666. The importance of this Bishop's lease to the Leslies' estate and income explains the anxiety of Charles Powell Leslie III to get his brother John translated to the see of Clogher [see J/7/61. The later papers of 1847, 1880-81 and 1913 all relate to a dispute in the early 1880s leading to a lawsuit with Bishop James Donnelly the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher. This concerned ownership of Station Island and access to the well-known place of pilgrimage, Saint Patrick's Purgatory, Lough Derg. Eventually in the 1940s, this was settled, by the family handing it over to the church. Title deeds, etc, 1774-1801 relate to the Leslies' successive Dublin town houses, eg. a deed of sale by Charles Powell Leslie II of No. 2 St Stephen's Green, 1801. Leslie was a county member of parliament and after the Union, needing to reside in London during the parliamentary session, he disposed of his Dublin town house.

"D. Rentals and miscellaneous volumes.
This section includes rentals starting in 1766 for Co. Monaghan and Pettigo with a valuation of the estate (by James Nixon, the agent) in 1826 and another in 1916. Rentals for 1796 are of Charles Powell Leslie's lands of Bryanstown, Ballinamona, etc. Co.Wexford, which came from his second wife Mary-Anne, daughter and heiress of the Rev. Joshua Tench. The rentals from Glaslough and Pettigo 1928-1960 (with gaps) relate to the Sir John Leslie Estates Company. There are 19th- and 20th-century game and fishing books, account books for Glaslough estate 1848-1857, and for Castle Leslie demesne and home farm 1929-1931. One volume 1931-1963 contains plans and proposals for tree planting, forestry, etc. at Castle Leslie. There is a box containing 2 volumes, 1871-1915 and 1915-1963, respectively of the Castle Leslie visitors' book.

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"... Charles left three children, Robert, Henry, and "Vinegar Jane". Henry was colonel in the army, and probably served under Lord Peterborough, and lived long in Spain. He and his brother were great friends of Dean Swift, who nicknamed Henry the "Spaniard". [Henry was later 'of Markethill', Co. Armagh. His significance in family, estate and[in?] archival terms is that he was the recipient of the Pettigo estate, which had been in family possession since pre-1666, under the terms of a statement of 1713. He succeeded to it on the death of Charles Leslie in 1722, and died, childless, in 1743. On the death of his widow, c.1765, it reverted to the main branch of the family, then represented by Charles Powell Leslie I. This helps to explain the absence of pre-1765 Pettigo documentation from the archive at Castle Leslie.] ... --

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"The Pettigo Estate
Co. Donegal Barony of Tirhugh,
Aghafay
Aghalagh
Ardnaglass
Aughhnaboles, --otherwise Aughnavoles
Ballynackavany
Bannus Belatt, --otherwise Belait North
Belatt South, --otherwise Belalt South
Bilbary, --otherwise Billary
Bireog
Boeshill
Carne
Carnhessy
Carrickrory
Casheleny
Corley
Crilly
Croaghbrack
Croagh
Crocknacunnie
Cullion
Drumacue
Drumawarte
Drumgun
Drumheriff, --otherwise Drumharve, --otherwise Drumherve
Fincashill
Glasskeeragh
Gortenessy
Kilgornell
Kimmed
Leheny
Letteran
Lough Derg
Lough Ultan
Margay
Meelanellisson
Middlebrook
Minchifin
Mullingoad
Oughtkeen
Pettigo
Rusheen
Seavoy
Seshiaskilty
Tamur
Tavlagh
Tievetooey
Tullycarne
Tullylark

Co. Fermanagh Barony of Lurg
Backwood Firze or Firs
Ballynabranagh, --otherwise Ballybranagh
Branaghmore
Carrigoughter, --otherwise Carrigonghter, --otherwise Carrickoughter
Drumlongfield
Tiergannon
Tullyhammon, --otherwise Tallyhommon on which stands that part of the village of Pettigo which is situated in Co. Fermanagh".

Following the 6 PM closure of the PRONI, I followed Philip through some fairly heavy rush hour traffic to his home in Bangor. There we met his wife, Margaret, and after an enjoyable happy hour, did justice to a very delicious salmon dinner. We enjoyed a good visit, and after a good nite’s sleep, a good breakfast.

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Thursday, October 4, 2007: Leaving about 10 AM, Philip and Margaret very kindly guided me out of Belfast and onto the M1 motorway leading south towards Dublin. I journeyed through the Mountains of Mourne in Co. Down, on into Co. Meath, and then to Co. Dublin. I successfully negotiated from the M1 onto the M50 around Dublin, and then used exit 16 to reach the R118 into Dun Laoughaire. I got within about two blocks of their home on Royal Terrace, and then ran into a “traffic diversion”… which led me into winding and twisting my way around Dun Laoughaire in an effort to regain Royal Terrace… After much travail, I finally found my way there around 1:30 PM. I had a quick snack on some meat pies purchased at the local convenience store, and then Colman arrived home to help guide me back to the car rental agency. I returned the car in good order after driving “on the wrong side” of the road for a week in Ireland! Colman had done a great job of finding a reasonable rental for me. The car was a couple of years old, and had a few dents… but it got me there and back without incident, for only about 189 Euros for the week !

Friday was rest up, do laundry, and pack day. I updated my handwritten notes, and prepared for departure the following day. Bright and early on Saturday, Colman drove me back to Dublin Airport and I caught the Aer Lingus one hour flight to Heathrow and my connection with Air Transat back to Toronto. The Heathrow to Toronto flight was about 7 ¼ hours. Marilynn was there to rescue me and we returned to Roseberry Road in time for a visit with family before I crashed for the nite. The next day we all enjoyed a great Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings ! It was great to be home from a very enjoyable and rewarding trip.