|
Máire's first husband was Daniel O'Neylan, also O'Neillan,
of Dysert O'Dea Castle. They had four children. Upon his
death, Máire inherited Daniel's estate, which totaled
£1000. This money enabled Conor and Máire to extend
Leamaneh Castle to include the manor. Their four children
followed Máire to Leamaneh Castle.
The architecture of the manor house was quite modern
for the time and accredited to Máire's foresight. Multi-gabled
structures such as this didn't come into vogue for nearly
fifty years.
Conor had just barely seen the completion of construction
on the new manor house when Cromwell's war ripped through
County Clare. Oliver Cromwell brought 3000 troops into
Ireland September 1649 with the purpose of re-conquering
the country on behalf of the English Parliament. While
Cromwell left in 1650, his troops remained for the next
four years, doing untold damage and leaving scars across
a nation that would remain for hundreds of years.
In 1651, Conor was killed in battle against Cromwellian
troops and Máire was forced to marry in order to retain
her property. Her third husband was a Cromwellian soldier
called Cornet John Cooper.
There are a few stories about this marriage. One story
tells how Máire was so upset over the death of her husband
Conor, which was said to be a rare love match, and so
angered at being forced into marriage to John Cooper that
she lured Cooper to the top of the tower and threw him
to his death. Thus earning herself the nickname Máire
Rúa, or Red Mary, red referring to the blood she'd shed
by her action. Realizing that Máire was a formidable woman
not to be provoked, Cromwell's army left the region.
In reality, the most likely story is that Máire married
in order to retain her fortune and status, though the
exact year she married Cooper is under dispute. It's either
1651 or 1653.
During their time together, Cooper amassed a great wealth
through land acquisition and property speculation. However,
he eventually ran into financial difficulty and was forced
to mortgage Leamaneh Castle. Maybe this is where the rumors
of Máire throwing Cooper off the tower came from!
The last of the O'Brien's to occupy the castle was Máire's
son Donagh. It was about this time that Dromoland Castle
in Newmarket-on-Fergus was completed and he moved his
family to the new home, and thus the O'Brien's seat or
power. Máire spent her last years in Dromoland.
There were other occupants at Leamaneh, but the house
finally fell into ruin at the end of the 18th century.
The O'Brien's ruled most of Clare for several hundred
years and occupied many of the biggest castles, such as
Dromoland and Bunratty.
The finest of the fireplaces was moved to the Old Ground
Hotel in Ennis, and in 1902 the main gateway was moved
to Dromoland Castle.
|
Castle is closed, access through pasture, cattle on site