On Sunday 28 July, as part of the 2013 DGS Gathering weekend, a visit to Kildalton and Kilkenny is planned. Here Michael Dalton gives some more details about these places and their Dalton connections.
On the Sunday of the 2013 Gathering weekend we will be exploring the south east corner of Ireland and making our way in the morning to Kildalton College near the small village of Piltown in the southern part of County Kilkenny. There we will be given a guided tour of what until 1971 was called Bessborough House, built in the mid-1700s and now an agricultural college. At the end of the morning we will drive the short distance to the county town of Kilkenny where delegates will have some free time to have lunch and look at the old part of the city with its quaint narrow streets. There will then be a guided tour of historic Kilkenny Castle, for centuries the seat of the Butler and Ormonde families. Later in the afternoon we will return to Dublin in time for dinner at Ryan’s, just a few steps from the Ashling Hotel.
Kildalton
Kildalton’s connection with the Dalton family goes back to the late-1500s, Daltons having arrived in Kilkenny as early as 1382. It is known that William Dalton who died in 1591 lived with his family in a castle on the Kildalton estate. It is recorded that in 1641 the Dalton family owned 3,223 acres of land. However with the rise of Oliver Cromwell and his successful invasion of Ireland in the Civil War following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the fortunes of the Daltons of Kildalton were turned around and Cromwell rewarded one of the leaders of the invasion, Colonel John Ponsonby, with the Kildalton estate. Ponsonby was created Earl of Bessborough and renamed Kildalton Castle Bessborough. The original castle was destroyed and replaced with a fine new mansion in 1744, Bessborough House. Some members of the Dalton family continued to live on the estate as tenants of the Earl.
DGS member Pat Robinson is descended from this Irish Dalton line and has researched the trials and tribulations of her Dalton ancestors in some detail. The latest issue of the DGS Journal includes a fascinating article written by Pat entitled “Daltons of Kilkenny” (DGSJ Vol 57 Dec 12 pp 24-27) which gives a much fuller account of the history of these Daltons.
Kildalton College today
The photographs below were taken on my visit to the College in November 2012:
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Kildalton College situated in Piltown, Co Kilkenny opened in 1971 |
The imposing 18th Century mansion - Bessborough House, now Kildalton College |
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In the grounds on a fine autumn day |
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The rear elevation of the property |
Autumn view from the gardens |
There is a brief history included in the current publicity material for Kildalton College, which, although making little mention of the Dalton connections, gives an interesting account of the development of today’s buildings. The following extracts will help the reader to appreciate the story.
Kildalton was a very different place before the main house was originally built in 1744. Sir John Ponsonby changed its name to Bessborough House in honour of his second wife Elizabeth, known as Bessy. Sir John died in 1678 and it was his successors who were responsible for the fine mansion constructed of blue Kilkenny limestone that we see today. It took 11 years to build and was completed in 1755. The architect was Francis Bindon from County Clare. A wing with a new dining room was added in about 1870 and the entrance hall and porch were reconstructed as well. Among the many objects of interest that were to be seen in the house were paintings by eminent artists of the day and two sets of elk or moose deer horns, reputedly the largest ever discovered.
In 1923 Ireland went through much disorder and unrest and a number of large houses including Bessborough were burned to the ground. Lord Bessborough had wisely taken the precaution of moving his best pictures elsewhere. By 1929 the house was restored with the compensation received from the courts, but the Ponsonby family did not feel secure enough to return. They sold the house to the Oblate fathers who in 1940 opened Our Lady’s Scholasticate at Bessborough House, a new training facility and seminary. They built a new wing on the west side of the house to provide a lecture hall and a dining room. A further wing was added in 1944 on the east side, providing a chapel, a dormitory and bathrooms. The Oblates worked their own bakery and dairy, kept poultry, cattle, pigs and sheep, and grew potatoes, grain and other crops. They also had a very good orchard. Major construction took place in 1960 when an old building projecting out from the main house northwards was demolished and replaced with a three storey wing containing 92 single bedrooms and associated facilities.
By 1970 numbers joining the order had decreased and the Oblates decided to sell the property. It was purchased in 1971 by the Department of Agriculture and opened as Kildalton College. With the accommodation and the working farm already there, this was a match well made for training young farmers and horticulturists.
The College today has become a centre of excellence and provides courses in Equine Studies, Machinery, Agriculture and Horticulture. It is linked to the local Institute of Technology in Waterford to make it a progressive learning facility in the South East of Ireland.
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is famous for its castle which stands dramatically on a strategic height that commands a crossing on the River Nore and dominates the 'High Town' of Kilkenny City. Over the eight centuries of its existence, many additions and alterations have been made to the fabric of the building, making Kilkenny Castle today a complex structure of various architectural styles.
The original Anglo-Norman stone castle was built for William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (c.1146-1219) during the first decade of the thirteenth century. Kilkenny Castle later became the principal Irish residence of the powerful Butler family for almost 600 years. The Butler ownership began when James (c.1360-1405), 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the castle in c.1391, and lasted until 1967 when Arthur, 6th Marquess of Ormonde (1893-1971), presented it to the people of Kilkenny in return for a token payment of £50. The buildings have been in the care of the Office of Public Works since 1969, and many important programmes of archaeological excavation, conservation, and restoration have been carried out there since then.
Kilkenny and Kilkenny Castle
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Kilkenny Castle from the Parade |
View of the River Nore from Kilkenny Castle grounds |
We look forward to an interesting tour on the Sunday of our 2013 DGS Gathering to Kildalton and Kilkenny.