My ancestors - Blennerhassett - Contents

Ballycarty

Ballycarty, or Ballycarthy, just E of Ballyseedy, SE of Tralee, Co.Kerry.
Ballycarty is at the junction of the River Lee (running E to W) and what is (remarkably) an unnamed tributary coming in from the S.
Ballycarty is on the SW side of the river junction.

The old Ballycarty Castle was a Geraldine (Desmond branch) fortress, perhaps 15th century.
It was confiscated after the Desmond rebellion was defeated in 1583.

It was granted to Thomas Blennerhassett of Flimby, Cumberland, in 1590.
Thomas and his son Robert Blennerhassett came to Ireland.
Thomas returned to England, but Robert stayed in Ireland, and lived at Ballycarty Castle.
See the mysterious 1627 arms now at New Ballyseedy.

The 1641 rebellion started in Oct 1641.
At this time, Robert Blennerhassett and his son John Blennerhassett were both living at Ballycarty.
They surrendered Ballycarty Castle to the rebels in Nov 1642.
After the wars of 1641-1653, Ballyseedy became the main seat of the Blennerhassett family.
But Blennerhassetts continued to live at Ballycarty.
Agnes Blennerhassett was born at Ballycarty in 1740.

[Houses of Kerry] thought Ballycarty Castle was at the same site as Ballycarty House, and replaced by it in 1765-1770.
However, the old Ballycarty Castle seems to be the ruin that survives today to the NE of Ballycarty House.

The new Ballycarty House was built in 1765-1770 period some distance SW of the river junction.
It was built by the Nash family (not connected to Blennerhassett).
Ballycarty House was burnt by the Republicans in the Civil War in January 1923.
It was a ruin for many years.
The ruins were mostly cleared when a new Ballycarty House was built at the site in 2009, though it does incorporate some of the 18th century structure.

Ballycarty (marked in yellow) on a 1587 map.
Printed in Hickson's Kerry Topography.
N is down, so Ballycarty appears at the top right of the junction of the rivers. And Tralee to the W appears to the right here.
If N is up, we see that Ballycarty is SW of the junction of the rivers.
See original and wider.

A deposition of 1643 about the events of the 1641 rebellion.
This shows both Robert Blennerhassett and his son John Blennerhassett living in two different households at Ballycarty Castle.
They were accused of fraternising with the rebels at Ballycarty Castle.
From pp.122-123 of [Hickson, 1884, vol.2].

Ballyseedy and Ballycarty on 1777 map.
Up is W.
Orange is the old coach road.
Note that the old coach road runs S of the river between Ballyseedy Bridge and the old bridge at Ballycarty.

[The Post-chaise Companion, 1786, p.186] lists "ruins of Ballycarthy castle" at this location.

The old ruin at Ballycarty (red cross) on 1829 to 1842 map.

Extract from p.124 of [Hickson, 1884, vol.2].
Hickson says that "a small square tower" at Ballycarty would be the old castle.
So it looks like the ruin above.

Ballycarty on 1887 to 1913 map.
The old coach road is visible here running S of the river and across an old bridge. It was replaced by the new road N of the river and a new bridge (since replaced by a further bridge).
There is a ruin NE of Ballycarty House. It is the building just E of the "Lodge", on bank of River Lee, near the old bridge over the river.
Bill Jehan says it is close to "an ancient and beautiful bridge that once carried the old coach road to Tralee".
See other copy.

Ballycarty on modern map.
The ruin by the river is marked "Castle (in ruins)" to the NE of Ballycarty House.
The large building to the NW is the Earl of Desmond Hotel.

The ruin at Ballycarty

The following are pictures of the surviving ruin near the river at Ballycarty, on the S bank of the River Lee, NE of Ballycarty House.
This is probably the old Ballycarty Castle.

Bill Jehan says this is Ballycarty Watermill, an old watermill for the Blennerhassett estate.
But it is an odd building, with very thick walls (defensive) and lots of windows (not defensive).
Bill Jehan says: "The precise location of old Ballycarty Castle is uncertain. It may have been incorporated into the later Ballycarty House, but the parts of Ballycarty watermill, whose ruins survive close by on the bank of the River Lee, appear strong enough to have been defensive - if so perhaps the old castle was adapted to become the mill."
excavations.ie looked at this building and dates it to the 1600-1750 period. It says: "It would appear that the current edifice was an earlier 17th-century defended structure that was added or remodelled in the post-Cromwellian period."
So it may be the old Ballycarty castle put to work for other uses after Blennerhassett moved to Ballyseedy.

The ruin at Ballycarty.
See larger and original.
See other shot.
This and other photos 2004 by Bill Jehan.

The ruin at Ballycarty.
See larger and original.

Interior. The ruin at Ballycarty.
See larger and original.

The 1627 arms

There is a coat of arms with the date "1627" at New Ballyseedy.
It is near the door of the library. This is now the bar of the hotel.
It is in the wainscot or wooden panelling around the walls.
The hotel says this carving is 19th century. Bill Jehan is inclined to that view.

Oddly, 1627 does not fit well into the family history and it is unclear what the date refers to.
What can 1627 mean?

The date when Old Ballyseedy was built? But in the 1641 war, Blennerhassett is still living at Ballycarty.
So 1627 would seem to be a date from the Ballycarty period. But what?
Could 1627 be the building of a second house at Ballycarty Castle to accomodate the multiple generations of Blennerhassetts now living there?
And is it a real date from the time, or just a date someone in the 19th century thought made sense?

The coat of arms with the date "1627".
Photo 2016. See larger and full size. See other shot.
See other shot. Photo apparently 2006. From Bill Jehan.
See wider shot. Photo 2000.

The Blennerhassett arms (on LHS) seem to be combined with another family's arms. Could 1627 refer to a marriage?
The obvious choice would be the marriage of Blennerhassett and Lynne. However 1627 seems a little late for their marriage. Bill Jehan notes the arms do not match the arms of Lynne. They look simply like the Royal Arms of England.
In conclusion, the whole carving is a mystery and may contain 19th century errors.

Close-up of the coat of arms with the date "1627".
Photo 2016. See larger and full size.
See other shot.

Ballycarty House

Ballycarty House.
From Bill Jehan. Photo from Antonia Johnson.

Ballycarty House.
See larger and original.
See other shot and other shot.
Photos 2004 by Bill Jehan.

Ballycarty House in Landed Estates project.
Ballycarty (the old ruin) at excavations.ie.