My wife's ancestors - Fitzwilliam - Contents
Booterstown, Co.Dublin
- References:
- Sources yet to be consulted:
- Booterstown in Journal of RSAI, 30:310 and 32:178.
Traffic camera on Rock Road at Booterstown Ave.
From Dublin City Council.
Booterstown Castle
The estate of Thorn Castlecame into possession of a branch of the Fitzwilliams 1400s,
Thorn Castle is now Booterstown and surrounds, down to Blackrock and up to Mount Merrion, the Thorn Castle building itself prob. stood near Blackrock, see [Ball, vol.2, 1903].
Booterstown Castle,
in Booterstown village, Co.Dublin,
was built 1449 by the Fitzwilliams
(prob. Fitzwilliam of Thorncastle),
Thorn Castle and Booterstown
later inherited by the cousins of these Fitzwilliams,
in possession of
Thomas Fitzwilliam
before 1517,
held by
Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, Kt
in 16th cent,
1st Viscount Fitzwilliam
was
cr Baron Fitzwilliam of Thorncastle 1629,
grant of Thorncastle, Booterstown and other lands to
2nd Viscount
reaffirmed 1666,
Booterstown Castle fell into disrepair by 1760,
it was rebuilt then into a house called "St.Mary's",
this survives today
(the 18th cent house with the castle built into it)
on Booterstown Ave,
see [Pearson, 1998]
and
[Lyng, 2000].
Booterstown parish
The Catholic parish of Booterstown,which originally meant most of SE suburban Dublin (outside the city centre),
survived through the Penal times due to the protection of the Fitzwilliams, who stayed Catholic through the 1600s.
A plaque on the RHS wall of the current Booterstown church lists "Rev. James Cahill" as Roman Catholic parish priest of Booterstown, Donnybrook and Dundrum from 1616 (in the time of the 1st Viscount) to 1650. [Ball, vol.2, 1903] says that as at 1630, "Rev. John" Cahill was acting as Roman Catholic priest for Donnybrook, Ringsend, Irishtown, Booterstown, Blackrock, Stillorgan, Kilmacud and Dundrum, under the protection of the Fitzwilliams and the Walshes, and "was able to perform the services of his church without interference". [Lyng, 2000] also has him as "Rev. John", says there was no church at this time, he stayed with the Fitzwilliams and said mass at Merrion and Dundrum. The plaque at Booterstown shows a continuous line of parish priests from 1616 through the penal years to the present day.
The old Roman Catholic chapel at Booterstown
was built 1686
(in the time of the
4th Viscount),
see
[Lyng, 2000],
making this now one of the oldest
continuous Roman Catholic churches in Ireland.
Although the
5th Viscount
finally conformed in 1710,
the penal laws never really ran in the Fitzwilliam territory of South Dublin.
There is reputed to have been an old mass tunnel
(hiding and escape route for priests)
in the Deer Park
at Mount Merrion.
The Catholic parish register started in 1755.
The old Roman Catholic church on Booterstown Ave
appears on a map of 1757
(temp 6th Viscount).
The name "St.Mary's" -
The old name for the Booterstown church was "St.Mary's".
This might derive as a replacement for the
lost old Donnybrook church "St.Mary's".
"St.Mary's" is now the name of the Booterstown Castle house
(see above).
The site of Merrion Castle
is also now "St.Mary's".
Interesting that
"Mary" was a family name in the Fitzwilliam
family,
see
Mary Fitzwilliam, sister of 1st Viscount,
born late 1500s,
also
Mary Fitzwilliam, dau of 3rd Viscount,
also
Mary Fitzwilliam, dau of 4th Viscount,
and of course our
Mary Fitzwilliam, dau of 5th Viscount,
born est c.1707 [while still Catholic].
But the last 3 at least can be explained
as coming from
Mary Luttrell, wife of 3rd Viscount,
and
Mary Stapleton, wife of 4th Viscount.
The present Catholic church on Booterstown Ave was built 1812 (on the site of the old chapel) by the 7th Viscount for his Catholic tenants.
The founding of the Catholic Sisters of Mercy convent and school beside Booterstown church in 1838 was contributed to by Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, heir of the Fitzwilliams and frequent resident at Mount Merrion.
The high cross outside Booterstown church was erected c.1868 from a sum of money left to the church by a servant lady from the Pembroke estate.
Canon Patrick Flanagan was parish priest of Booterstown 1939-56.
- Booterstown RC parish
-
Church of Ireland Parish of Booterstown
-
Booterstown was the original Catholic parish
of, among others, the following
(i.e. all of these Catholic parishes
were split off from the original
Booterstown parish):
- Donnybrook (where the Fitzwilliam graves were, an old church was there, but lost to Catholicism by 1615)
- Merrion Rd
- Rathfarnham (another old church there which was also lost to Catholicism in the Reformation)
- Dundrum
- Milltown
- Mount Merrion
- Blackrock
For a full list see [Lyng, 2000].
So the 17th century Fitzwilliam protection was ultimately the origin of just about all of the Catholic churches of this massive area of SE Co.Dublin, containing half a million people, and probably the single most influential area in Ireland.
