Cloone (Leitrim) County Leitrim
Lough Rynn was built in the early 1830s by the sons of the 2nd Earl of Leitrim Nathaniel Clements (1768-1854) who held extensive estates in many parts of Connacht.
Nathaniel Clements
The Clements family in Ireland were descended from Daniel Clements, a Cromwellian officer, originally granted lands in County Cavan. The three branches of the Clements family are descended from Robert Clements (died in 1722) father of Nathaniel Clements who purchased around 10,000 acres in the Mohill area of County Leitrim in 1749. His son, the 1st Viscount Leitrim Robert Clements (1732 – 1804) aka the Baron Leitrim of Manorhamilton was created The Earl of Leitrim in 1795.
Robert Clements
The heir to the 2nd Earl of Leitrim, Viscount Robert Bermingham Clements (1805-1839) died suddenly, which meant his brother William Sydney Clements was to inherit the family estate upon the death of their father. In 1854, William S Clements became the 3rd Earl of Leitrim or Lord Leitrim as he preferred. Around this time, Lough Rynn was valued at £40 in Griffith's Valuation.
Lord Leitrim soon became the most notorious of all the residents of Lough Rynn Castle. He was a callous and merciless landlord, who took particular pride in the ruthless way he evicted his tenants. Few escaped his reach and brutality. He travelled around his estates keeping a close eye on his tenants, something his journals, account books and rent ledgers outline in great detail.
When Lord Leitrim was assassinated in 1878, Henry T. Clements inherited the Lough Rynn estate. In 1906 it was recorded as the property of Col. Henry T. Clements and had a valuation of £100.
The Clements family continued to own Lough Rynn until the 1970s although the bulk of the land had been sold off to former tenants by the Land Commission.
Lough Rynn House is still extant and opened as a luxury hotel in 2006:
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Lough Rynn Castel Estate & Gardens | Ireland | VIEW SOURCE |
