Roxborough house

Kilchreest Castledaly (Galway) County Galway

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Roxborough House is a late 17th Century mansion and was long the seat of the Persse family.

William Persse was a personal friend of US President George Washington and maintained contact with him for many years. In 1788 he wrote telling the President that he was sending him gooseberry bush plants from Roxborough to plant in his garden at the White House. Records show that the two corresponded for some time until 1795 after which no records can be found. Henry Persse had been stationed in North America for some time.

Roxborough House was destroyed in 1922. Situated 1 km off the N66 the Grand Gates remain intact. Lady Augusta Gregory - Playwright and patron of WB Yeats the internationally famous poet. Together with him she co-founded the Abbey Theatre. She was born in Roxborough House in 1852 and was the daughter of Dudley Persse. It was during her childhood years at Roxborough that she developed her love for Irish folklore from the local people. She was also a major figure in the Literary Revival in the early 1900s.

Lady Gregory visited the site in 1924 and described it as follows: 'The house - the ruin - is very sad, just the walls standing, blackened, and all the long yards silent, all the many buildings, dairy, laundry, cow-houses, coach-houses, stables, kennels, smithy, sawmill and carpenter's workshops empty. Some of the roofs falling in.'