Rossenarra House is a country house situated in Rossenarra,

Demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

, formerly Castlehale and Snugsborough, near

Kilmoganny Kilmoganny (officially Kilmaganny; ) is a small village in the County Kilkenny in the south-east of Ireland. Saint Mogeanna was an Irish virgin whose feast day in the Irish Calendar of Saints is 29 January. It is home to a primary school, post o ...

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is claimed in local lore to have been designed by the architect

James Hoban James Hoban (1755 – December 8, 1831) was an Irish architect, best known for designing the White House in Washington D.C. Early life and education Hoban was born to Edmond and Martha (née Beaghan) Hoban in 1755, and raised a Roman Cathol ...

, who was also responsible for designing the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

History

17th century (Castlehale)

Originally a stronghold of the

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mount Walsh, Mount Walsh National Park Canada * Fort Walsh, one of the first Royal Canadian Mounted ...

of the Mountains clan, it was known as Castlehale, Castle Hoel or Castlehowel. In the 17th century, the Walshes took up arms against

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and as a result in 1650, the castle was besieged and the survivors were executed. During the 19th century their remains were found when a road was constructed.

19th century

The house was built between 1819 and 1824 in the Palladian style, commissioned by William Morris-Reade, the owner of a large estate of some 7,000 acres near

. The most likely designers were George R. Paine, who had worked in 1823 for Morris-Reade's relation, the 1st Baron Carew, or Miles Kearney of Piltown, whose widow Ellen sued Morris-Reade's widow for monies owed in 1850. The house passed to his second son Frederick Richard Morris-Reade, who was born in 1833 at Rossenarra but died as a pauper in the workhouse at Michelstown in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

in 1898. In 1850 and again in 1852 the whole estate and house was offered for sale by the Incumbent Estates Courts due to bankruptcy following the "Great Hunger" with some 1,500 acres being bought by the Morris family.

20th century

Between 1901 and 1903, it came into the possession of the McEnery family who had been tenants of the house and some 1,000-odd acres of the remaining Reade Estates. It was sold to them by the Morris Reade descendants of Frederick Richard Morris-Reade's elder brother who were resident in Canada and where they still live. Sir

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, on 20 March 1856 and baptised at St Patrick's Church ...

, the Irish artist celebrated for his portraits resided at Rossenarra during the last few years of his life and died there on 10 January 1941, having been cared for by his stepdaughter Alice McEnery, (née Trudeau) (1904-1991), daughter of his second wife Hazel Lavery. The house was also for a time the home of the American author

Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were writte ...

, who wrote ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a communist conspiracy. T ...

'' and ''

Prizzi's Honor ''Prizzi's Honor'' is a 1985 American black comedy crime film directed by John Huston, starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner as two highly skilled mob assassins who, after falling in love, are hired to kill each other. The screenplay co- ...

''. Condon lived in Rossenarra from 1971 until he returned to the United States in 1980. During this time, famous guests to the house included

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. The title of Condon's memoir, '' And Then We Moved to Rossenarra'', published in 1973, refers to his time there. The most recent residents of the house were American tycoon Walter Griffith and his Irish-born wife, Christine.

History

17th century (Castlehale)

19th century

20th century

References

Further reading