The Geraghty - Mumby Family History Project.

In 1585 the Composition of Connacht was enacted. Lordships were divided by survey into 'quarters'' of 120 acres. Coyne and livery (a phrase derived from the Irish coinnmheadh meaning guesting, and the English word livery meaning something handed out)  due to the lord from tenants was replaced by a tax agreement between the crown, lords and commoners.  The document records a number of chieftains in Fuerty parish, County Roscommon who made submissions to the English official Perrot. Among them was listed "Connor McGirraght, otherwise called McGirraght", (a title that connotes a chieftainship.)  McGirraght was granted 33 quarters, (3,960 acres) though subsequently it is thought to have been only a paper transaction, one reminicent of the past, good enough as a name description, but little else. (While Mageraghty's patrimony in earlier times had been the entire parish of Fuerty, it had been much reduced even before his submission to Perrot in 1585). The land was situated in O'Kelly's country, indicating that the McGeraghty clan no longer occupied their Siol Muiredhaigh ancestral territory. (One source speculates that the clan were expelled by O'Conor Roe. Other sources maintain the Anglo-Irish Burkes drove the clan from their ancestral homeland). O'Kelly of Hy Many as overlord was allowed to take rents of 20 shillings from the under chieftains for each of the townlands they occupied. McGarraght tenanted four town lands with a total area of about 2,000 acres.. 

There is further mention of McGirracht in an inquisition of 1609 which refers to: ".... the territory of McGirraght, ( i.e)  Aghgad, Aghagowre, BallymcGirraght and Tobervaddy (townlands) belonging to Fuerty parish." In 1612 another inquisition refers mentions: "4 quarters of the bishop of Elphin lying in the territory of McGirraght, viz.: the 4 quarters of Fuerty." (In present day terms, the total area of the four townlands McGirraght occupied in 1609 is 1,977 acres.)  McGirraght lost the final four townlands in 1653 following the surrender of Roscommon town to Cromwellian forces. In 1666 the Books of Survey and Distribution for the county of Roscommon recorded that all the quarters of land in Fuerty parish had been given to English supporters of the Cromwellian war. The total area was roughly equal to the 33 quarters of land claimed for Connor McGirraght 
There is a village in Fuerty parish that was once called the townland of BallyMcGirraght. By it's name, the townland was identified as the domicile of the clan chieftain, McGirracht. Following the expulsion of McGirracht a castle was built on the site and the name BallyMcGirracht was removed. The village located on the townland  was renamed Castlecoote, after the conquering English peer Sir Charles Coote. 

Prior to the 1585 Composition of Connacht, there exists an earlier inquisition (1584) showing Sir Nicholas Maltby, Military Governor and President of Connacht as possessor of the area. Shortly afterwards it passed into the hands of another Elizabethan adventurer, Thomas Rutledge, then to Dillon and Henry Maltby, then to Richard Gifford. In 1612 it was in the possession of Francis Rushe, and in 1616 came into the hands of Sir Charles Coote. He had previously served against O'Neill and O'Donnell and was appointed Provost Marshall of Connacht by King James 1.

                        The Castle.

It is thought that Sir Nicholas Maltby built the original  castle. It was situated on a bend overlooking the river Suck. In 1616 Sir Charles Coote improved and refortified the castle.

In 1641 during the great rebellion, Castlecoote was laid siege to by Con O'Rourke, and again in 1643 by Clanricard factions under Sean O'tsleibhe. In 1643 Patrick Sarsfield, on the Jacobite side ordered all superfluous castles to be torched, so as to deny them to the Williamites. The castle was partially demolished, and huge chunks of masonry may still be seen to this day where they were thrown down by gunpowder charges.

Castelcoote House is built within what would have been the enclosure of the old castle. Two great towers 36 yards apart remain at the corner of the east end of what was a rectangular enclosure. At the north-west corner stands a tower stump 63 yards from the great tower at the north-east corner. There are no remains of the fourth tower except for the foundation, two feet underground.

Castlecoote House was built in the second half of the seventeenth century. It faces east over the river Suck which bounds it on the north and east sides. 

 

Illustration of Castlecoote House from Grose's Antiquities of Ireland, published in 1792

Some small houses are situated across the river in what is called Bridgetown. This suggests that there was a bridge at this point though nothing remains of it today. The present day bridge is located a few hundred yards south of where the ancient bridge would have straddled the river.
After the Cootes, the property passed to the Gunnings (John Gunning is said to have won it in a poker game!). It then passed to the Chute family and more recently was acquired by the Conboys in the 1930's. In the 1980's fire destroyed much of the interior of the building and it remained empty until 1999 when it was acquired by the present owner Kevin Finnery. 

Note: Much of the information about Castlecoote Hall was provided by Nicholas Geraghty, the Clans of Ireland representative for the Geraghty Clan, from documents in his possession authored by Albert Siggins, Tony Conboy, and Ven. Archdeacon M.J. Connellan, P.P.

There are more photographs and much more information about Castlecoote House on Nick Geraghty's web site at http://mypage.goplay.com/BallyG/