Bishopscourt is a townland and historic site in County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 near Kill

Kill, County Kildare

Kill is a village and parish in County Kildare, Ireland near the county's border with Dublin beside the N7. Its population of 2,510 makes it the 13th largest town in County Kildare. Kill is the birthpace of the Fenian John Devoy, sometimes regarded as the "grandfather of the modern Irish state"...

, Ardclough

Ardclough

Ardclough, officially Ardclogh , is a village and community in the parish of Kill County Kildare, Ireland, two miles off the N7 national primary road. Amongst its buildings today are a national school, a church, Ardclough GAA Club, and one shop "Buggys". Ardclough also contains the historic round...

 and Straffan

Straffan

Sruthán was mistakenly cited by Thomas O'Connor in the Ordnance Survey Letters in 1837, and adopted as the Irish form of Straffan. Seosamh Laoide used it in his list of Irish names of post-offices published in Post-Sheanchas . An Sruthán gained currency among those involved in the Irish revival...

 and beside the N7 road. The estate was once held by the Bishops of Kildare.

Calendar and historical references

In 1527 Thomas, Bishop of Kildare granted Bishopscourt to Piers Butler Earl of Ormond and his wife Margaret. In 1537 it passed to John Alen

John Alen

John Alen was an English canon lawyer, Archbishop of Dublin, and Chancellor of Ireland.-Life:He was born in Cotteshall, Norfolk.The Alans were a numerous clan and six of his cousins settled in Ireland including his namesake John, who was Lord Chancellor in his turn...

, Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...

. In 1676 it passed to John Margetson, later to die at the Siege of Limerick in 1690 fighting for William of Orange

William III of England

William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

. His daughter married Brabazon Ponsonby, recorded in folklore as a fortune hunter.

Ponsonby Family

The Ponsonby family because the most powerful political dynasty in 17th century Ireland. John Ponsonby, was speaker of the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

 (1753–1761) and William Ponsonby

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby

William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby , PC was a leading Irish Whig politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons, and after 1800, of the United Kingdom parliament. Ponsonby was the son of the Hon...

, leader of the Irish Whigs (1789–1803) and birthplace of his brother George Ponsonby

George Ponsonby

George Ponsonby PC , was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and education:...

 (1755–1817) leader of the Whig

British Whig Party

The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...

 Party in the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 at Westminster (1808–1817), his uncle Major-General Sir William Ponsonby (1772–1815) whose inept charge at the Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 resulted in his death at the hands of the Polish Lancers and was studied as an example of failed battle strategy for generations afterwards, and of his sister Mary Ponsonby, wife of Charles Grey

Charles Grey

-Real people:*Charles Grey, 7th Earl of Kent , Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire*Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey , British Army General*Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey , British Prime Minister, after whom Earl Grey tea is named...

, British Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 from 1830 to 1834 and best known nowadays as the Earl Grey of the tea brand. Ponsonby descendants include Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Alec Douglas-Home

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...

 (British Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 from 1963-4), Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, heir to the British throne, and the designer Nicky Haslam.

The House

The fabric of the house was reconstructed to the design of an unknown architect in 1790. It was on the grounds of the estate that Daniel O’Connell fought a duel with John d’Esterre on 1st Feb 1815. Subsequently the house burnt down in the 1950s and was rebuilt.

At the walled west corner of the estate is a small blue door, and the adjacent road junction on the Straffan-Kill road is referred to as the Blue Door.

Scott, Kennedy, McGillycuddy

In1838 Bishopscourt was sold by Frederick Ponsonby to John Scott, Earl of Clonmell

Earl of Clonmell

Earl of Clonmell, in the County of Tipperary, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for John Scott, 1st Viscount Clonmell, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland. He had already been created Baron Earlsfort, of Lisson-Earl in the County of Tipperary, in 1784, and...

 and in 1914 sold on to Edward Kennedy from Baronrath, at the time the most famous breeder of racehorses in Ireland. Kennedy’s stallion The Tetrarch

The Tetrarch

The Tetrarch was an undefeated Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, who was voted Britain's Two-Year-Old of the 20th Century.-Breeding:...

, standing at Bishopscourt, is confirmed as the most successful sire in the world in 1919. In 1938 the house passed to Edward’s daughter Patricia (Tiggie) Kennedy and her husband, Dermot McGillycuddy, heir to Senator McGillycuddy of the Reeks

McGillycuddy of the Reeks

The McGillycuddy of the Reeks is one of the hereditary chiefs of the name of Ireland. The current family head is Donough McGillycuddy, who lives in Himeville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-Mythology:...

, an ancient clan chiefdom from County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

. Edward Kennedy's son Major DM (John) Kennedy won an MC at Anzio whilst serving with 1st Battalion Irish Guards and was later killed at Terporten Castle in Germany in February 1945. It is now home to the Farrell family.