The Lombards of Lombardstown

Introduction

The Lombards first came to live in Lombardstown in 1620, but the area was then part of Gortmolire townland. Having established a thatched bungalow there that year, early references to the Lombards back then refer to them as the Lombards of Gortmolire but that changed in 1752 when they created a new townland, Lombardstown, to honour their family and to define their original estate.

In 1750 they built a four storey mansion which survived as a residence until destroyed by an accidental fire in 2012. The Lombards played a significant role in the commercial and social life of the Lombardstown area and this is the story of their arrival here and their time in the locality. The 400th anniversary of their coming was remembered in 2020.

Lombard Origins

There is a perception that they came from Lombardy Province in Northern Italy and to a certain extent that is true but they originally came from Germany and settled in Lombardy where they established many businesses and became wealthy traders. There was no such name as Lombard but a multiplicity of Italian sounding names and all become known as Lombards as a consequence of their origins. The family that came to Gortmolire were from the Donati branch and they already had built the Lombard Castle in Buttevant and were also connected with the Lombards of Castlemartyr and Cork City.

Lombard Trading

The Lombards were closely associated with the all conquering Normans and followed them into their new conquests to establish trading links. The Normans came to Ireland in 1169 and the Lombards followed within about 100 years . The Lombards were staunch Catholic, as were the Normans, and developed a lucrative trade in taking indulgence requests to Rome. They also developed strong trading expertise in exporting wool, importing wine, shipping goods and were serious money lenders. In fact, the Lombard Bank was taken over by the Ulster Bank in 1975 to form the Lombard and Ulster Bank. The Lombards became major players in the commercial and political scene in County Cork and this is evidenced by the number of them that became Aldermen and high sheriffs of Cork. A number also were granted the freedom of Cork and Youghal.

Lombardstown Connection

Following the Desmond Rebellion of the 1580’s and the plantation of South Munster, the O’Callaghan Clan found themselves financially stressed. In order to restore their castle at Dromineen and to stock their lands after the scorched earth policies imposed by the British after the Desmond Rebellion, they had to resort to borrowing money and entered a borrowing arrangement with the Lombards in 1592. They put up co-lateral of 358 acres of land in Gortmolire and the clan chief, Connogher of the Rock and a William Lombard made the deal and this deed is held in the National Library in Dublin where it is available to view.

Clan Chief Conogher O Callaghane Seal – 1592.

The Lombards in Gortmolire

In 1620 the O’Callaghans either could not keep up the repayments or reneged on the agreement and the Lombards took possession of the 358 acres and that included an old water powered corn mill. The Lombards built a large, thatched bungalow immediately on the site and moved in. James Lombard, later Alderman of Cork City is credited with establishing the Gortmolire estate.

When the O’Callaghans and O’Mullanes were evicted because of their part in the 1641 rebellion, the Lombards, though Catholic, were declared innocent and acquired about 1500 more acres of mainly O’Mullane property in about 1655 for as little as one pound per acre. In 1717 James Lombard, who was next in line to the estate, changed religion and became a Protestant to ensure he inherited the entire estate as Catholic lands had to be divided between all sons under the Penal laws. The Lombards also obtained other lands in North Cork and now owned a formidable estate and when James Lombard married in c 1740 he expanded the bungalow into a four storey mansion and in 1750 he became Sherriff of County Cork.

Lombardstown House and Townland

Lombardstown House C. 2000. Picture courtesy of Noel Smith.

Now that James was a man of status and held powerful political and legal positions in the county, he decided the family needed a place named in their honour and he created a new townland out of the original 358 acres in Gortmolire, in 1752, and named it Lombardstown. Interestingly the Irish name for Gortmolire, Gortmaoluidhre, continued as the Irish name for Lombardstown until the 1980’s when Cork County Council renamed it Baile Lombaird. There are still a number of signposts in the locality with the old Irish name on them. The postal stamp Gortmaoluidhre was also changed by the post office at that time to reflect the new Irish name.

This townland is an interesting townland and the area is exactly as it was when drawn up in 1592. At the time, the Douglas river was harnessed to power a grist corn mill on the property and the Lombards ensured that a narrow strip of land, in Gortroe townland, on the opposite bank of the river was included in the deal which gave them total control of the river, its potential to be harnessed for power and the fishing rights. That strip of land is still in Lombardstown townland and when the co-op creamery took over the lease of 20 acres of it in 1896, they inherited the corn mill and continue to use some of the former Gortroe strip of land across the river as a fertiliser depot to this day.

Brittas Townland

The Lombards bought 1,500 acres of land including Brittas townland, the ancestral home of the O’Mullanes, from the British government and also seemed to have leased the remainder of the O’Mullane estate who were outlawed and evicted from Gortmolire. In a great act of kindness, James Og Lombard, in his will in 1683, returned Brittas townland to the O’Mullanes on a 1,000 year lease at cost and urged his heirs to be kind and generous to the O’Mullanes. It appears that the Lombards accepted that a grave injustice had been perpetrated on the O’Mullanes.

The Battle of Oulart

Oulart Hill Battle signage. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

This battle was significant in the 1798 insurrection. The North Cork Militia were called out to help the British suppress the insurrection in South Leinster. They built up a reputation for cruelty, torture, and for taking no prisoners. When Fr. Murphy and about 1,500 supporters retreated up Oulart Hill near Enniscorthy, about 100 of the North Cork Militia attacked them and had deployed a troop of cavalry behind the hill to cut off any escape. The soldiers fire was drawn by a volley from the Irish and before they could re-load their single fire muskets the Irish attacked with cudgels, ash plants, rocks, pikes etc. and drove the militia back down the hill. Unfortunately, for the British, another band of Fr. Murphy’s supporters arrived to cut off their retreat and all but three were slaughtered. Colonel Foot, from Newberry, a commander of the Militia was one of the escapees but Major James Lombard, who led the militia charge, was a casualty and that incident had huge repercussions for the Lombard estate and Lombardstown.

Plaque in North Cork Lane, Oulart which was named after the North Cork Militia. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan

Consequences of the Battle

Major Lombard died intestate, no will having been made, and his estate was now equally owned by his four daughters as he had no son. Henrietta married James Delacour of Bearforest House in Mallow, of a wealthy banking family. Helena married Sir James Laurence Cotter of Rockforest House in Mallow, a wealthy landlord who inherited his title from his ancestor who was knighted as a general in Cromwell’s Army. These marriages took place in about 1820. The other two daughters, Mary Anne and Elizabeth never married. It would appear that some of the property was leased out before that to members of the Bolster family and that the Lombard ladies, the widow and her two single daughters lived on in the mansion. Unfortunately, the house was raided by the Whiteboys in 1825 but the raid was expected and one attacker was shot dead. This terrifying incident caused the ladies to move out, lease the rest of the estate and take up residence in Mallow. The estate was now finally abandoned by the Lombards and this led to its eventual breakup.

Some Notable Lombard Descendants

Nano Nagle (1718-1784)- James Og Lombard of Gortmolire, died in 1683 and in his will he stipulated he was to be buried in the family tomb in Kilshannig Graveyard. His daughter had married David Nagle of Ballygriffin in 1680 and this event is recorded in the Nagle family tree. Their grand daughter was the famous Nano Nagle.

Princess Diana (1961-1997) Nano Nagle had a sister Margaret who has been largely ignored and practically forgotten about but she is an extremely important Lombard descendant nevertheless. She married a Daniel Curtin from a wealthy merchant family in Cork City. Their grand daughter married Edmond Roche of Trabolgan whose family were amongst one of the wealthiest and most extensive landlords in East Cork with numerous places named in their honour. This Edmond became the 1st. Baron Fermoy. The 4th baron’s daughter, Ruth Bourke Roche, married Edward Spenser and their daughter, Princess Diana Spenser was born in 1961.

Princess Diana/Nano Nagle Ancestors. Researched & compiled by Donie O Sullivan.

On a visit to a Presentation Convent in England some years ago one of the nuns was from Mallow and asked about the connection between their founder Nano Nagle and Princess Diana as it was well known throughout the Presentation Order in England that they were related. The problem was that no one could say what the relationship was and some took it as a fanciful notion but when I explained it , they were so delighted to have it confirmed as a fact and not a rumour that I had to write it down for them.

James Lombard (1708-1769) Born in 1708 in Castlemartyr a grand nephew to James Og Lombard of the Lombardstown estate which he inherited in 1717 when a young boy. He changed religion from Catholic to Protestant to ensure he inherit the whole estate. He received the Freedom of Youghal in 1729 and of Cork in 1731. He married in 1740 and built Lombardstown Mansion, in 1750. He became Sherriff of County Cork and in 1752 he created the townland of Lombardstown. He died in 1769 and is buried in Kilshannig Graveyard. This man left a lasting legacy in the locality.

Rev. Edmond Lombard – Son and heir to James above. He was ordained in 1758 and became rector of Kilshannig Parish, 1772-1779. Granted freedom of Youghal in 1761. He was owner of the Lombardstown Estate but had transferred it to his son James who lived at the time in Ballygriffin. He died in 1799, a year after the death of his son, James, at the Battle of Oulert in 1798.

James Lombard – North Cork Militia – James was son to Rev. Edmond above and had inherited the Lombardstown Estate before the 1798 rebellion commenced. He was living in Ballygriffin, most likely in the territory of his relations, the Nagles. He was a major in the North Cork Militia who were commanded by Colonel Foot at that time and were sent to south Leinster to help suppress the 1798 rebellion there. His company of over 100 men were slaughtered at the Battle of Oulert. His demise was the catalyst for the breakup of the Lombardstown Estate.

William Of Danesfort – Married Elizabeth Stopfort of Danesfort House in Kilpadder and their daughter Anne Stopfort married John Hunt. William’s brother, Edmund, was residing in Aldworth and in 1811 bought Danesfort estate from James Stopford. He died unmarried, in 1845 and bequeathed the estate to the Hunt family who continued to live there until it was destroyed by fire in 1950. Edda Hunt was the last of that family to reside there and he was a well known character with an air of pomposityand liked the high living.

The Lombards had become large players in land holdings following their purchases after Cromwell and in Griffiths Valuation records of 1852 they held the following lands in the parish:-

Ballyboght – c.400 acres

Beenalaght – c.490 acres

Glantane – c.450 acres

Gortmolire – c.212 acres

Knockavaddra – c.1060 acres

Lackendarragh – c.840 acres

Lombardstown – c.358 acres

Total – 3,810 acres

The Lombards the Newmans, Townsends and Vicount Lismore (O’Callaghan) owned most of the land in the parish in the mid 1800’s and had leased much of it to tenants. Land reform acts in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s facilitated tenants in buying out their tenancies as freeholds. Many such transactions took place in the period 1910-1920, however, some landlords continued to reap a rich dividend mainly in towns and villages, through ground rent charges and some continue to exist to this day despite the government changing the law in 1978 to outlaw such practices.

The ground for the building of the Catholic Church in 1821 was provided by the Lombard family.

In 1822 the Lombards provided a six acre site to the Representative Church Body for the building of a Protestant school and residence for the headmaster just across the road from the Catholic Church site and this was an ideal location for a soup kitchen during the Great Famine to entice Catholics to skip mass to avail of the free soup which was available only at mass times.

Current Situation

Three branches of the Bolster family leased most of the 358 acres of the original Lombardstown estate in the early 1800’s but they seemed to have given up their tenancies in about 1887 and a new crop of tenants took over the leases such as:-

• Nathaniel Gardine 1878, old corn mill and 22 acres), Later leased to Lombardstown Co-Op and the Post Office
• Thomas Heffernan 1878, Lombardstown House and c.100 acres), Later to Henry Smith in 1897
• Richard Fleming. 1878 c. 60 acres). Still in the family
• Richard Ludgate 1892, Lombardstown Cottage and c.158 acres, Later to the O’Mahony family.
• Others – The remaining 15 acres

Following years of land wars, agitation and starvation, the British government introduced a number of land reform acts culminating in the Wyndham Land Act of 1903. Landlords were subsidised to sell off their tenancies to their tenants and tenants also got grants and loan facilities to purchase their tenancies as free holds. Generally, these measures resulted in the tenants buying out their holdings at about half their market value. The Smith family continued to live in the mansion and farmed there until about 2000 when it was sold .

Lombardstown House on fire in 2012. Source of photo unknown.

The new owner put a caretaker into the mansion as it would appear to be an investment property but, unfortunately, a fire destroyed the house in 2012, a sad ending to a property that played a significant role in the commercial and social life of Lombardstown and surrounds for 400 years. The fire was unfortunate, as shortly afterwards a direct descendant of the Lombards, John Lombard, visited from Australia and seemed interested in acquiring the old mansion only to find it burned out.

John Lombard on his visit to Lombardstown in 2012 with Catherine Healy-Byrne of Lombardstown Post Office and Donie O Sullivan. Photo courtesy of Rachel O Sullivan

This was a sad ending to almost 400 years of Lombard influence in the Lombardstown end of the parish . Fortunately the townland name is a constant reminder of the family that created it.

Lombardstown House in C. 2012. Photo courtesy of Rachel O Sullivan.