Hellfire Club, Dublin
Encyclopedia
Montpelier Hill is a hill, 383 metres (1,256.6 ft) high in County Dublin
, Ireland
. It is commonly referred to as the Hell Fire Club , the popular name given to the ruined building at the summit. This building – a hunting lodge built around 1725 by William Conolly
– was originally called Mount Pelier and since its construction the hill has also gone by the same name. The original Irish name of the hill is no longer known although the historian and archaeologist Patrick Healy has suggested that the hill is the place known as or in the , the twelfth century diocesan
register book of the Archbishops of Dublin
.
Montpelier is the closest to Dublin city of the group of mountains – along with Killakee, Featherbed Bog, Kippure
, Seefingan
, Corrig, Seahan, Ballymorefinn, Carrigeenoura and Slievenabawnogue – that form the ridge
that bounds the Glenasmole valley. On the slopes is a forestry plantation, known as Hell Fire Wood, which consists of Sitka spruce
, larch
and beech
.
Originally there was a cairn with a prehistoric passage grave
on the summit. Stones from the cairn were taken and used in the construction of Mount Pelier lodge. Shortly after completion, a storm blew the roof off. Local superstition attributed this incident to the work of the Devil
, a punishment for interfering with the cairn. Since this time, Montpelier Hill has become associated with numerous paranormal
events.
This reputation was further enhanced when members of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which was active in the years 1735 to 1741, began using Mount Pelier lodge as a meeting place. Numerous lurid stories of wild behaviour and debauchery as well as occult
practices and demonic manifestations have become part of the local folklore. The original name of the lodge has been displaced and the building is generally known as the Hell Fire Club. When the lodge was damaged by fire, the members of the Hell Fire Club relocated down the hill to the nearby Stewards House for a brief period. This building also has a reputation for being haunted
, most notably by a massive black cat.
Adjacent to the Stewards House is the remains of Killakee Estate. A large Victorian house was built here in the early nineteenth century by Luke White
. White's son, Samuel, oversaw the development of extensive formal gardens
on the estate, including the construction of several glasshouses
by Richard Turner
. The estate passed to the Massy family
through inheritance in 1880 and John Thomas Massy, the 6th Baron made extensive use of the house and ground to host shooting parties and society gatherings. The fortunes of the Massy family declined in the early twentieth century and Hamon Massy, the 8th Baron, was evicted from Killakee House in 1924. He became known as the “Penniless Peer”. Following the eviction, Killakee House was demolished and the gardens fell into ruin.
Today Montpelier Hill and much of the surrounding lands, including Killakee Estate (now called Lord Massy's Estate) are owned by the State forestry
company Coillte and are open to the public.
, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons
. It was named Mount Pelier by Conolly but over the years has also been known as “The Haunted House”, “The Shooting Lodge”, “The Kennel”, and “Conolly's Folly”, as well as the Hell Fire Club.
While the building has a rough appearance today, the architecture is of a Palladian
design. The upper floor consists of a hall and two reception rooms. On the eastern side, there was a third, timber-floored, level where the sleeping quarters were located. On the ground floor is a kitchen, servants' quarters and stairs to the upper floors. The entrance, which is on the upper floor, was reached by a long flight of stairs which is now missing. At each side of the building is a room with a lean-to roof which may have been used to stable horses. A stone mounting block to assist people onto their horses can be seen on the eastern side. To the front there was a semi-circular courtyard, enclosed by a low stone wall and entered by a gate. The house faces to the north, looking over Dublin and the plains of Meath
and Kildare
, including Conolly's primary residence at Castletown House
in Celbridge
. The grounds around the lodge consisted of a 1000 acre (4 km²; 1.6 sq mi) deer park
. The identity of the architect is unknown: the author Michael Fewer has suggested it may have been Edward Lovett Pearce
(1699-1733) who was employed by Conolly to carry out works at Castletown in 1724.
There was a prehistoric burial site at the summit of Montpelier Hill and stones from it were used in the construction of the lodge. A nearby standing stone
was also used for the lintel over the fireplace. Shortly after its completion, a great storm blew the original slate
roof off. Local superstition held that this was the work of the Devil
, an act of revenge for disturbing the ancient cairn. Conolly had the roof replaced with an arched stone roof constructed in a similar fashion to that of a bridge. This roof has remained intact to the present day, even though the building has been abandoned for over two centuries and despite the roof being set alight with tar barrels during the visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland in 1849.
There is little evidence that the lodge was put to much use. Conolly himself died in 1729. The only known record of its occupation is an announcement of the death at Mount Pelier of a Mr Charles Cobbe, son of the Archbishop of Dublin
, in July 1751.
However, it was the period in the years following Conolly's death that Mount Pelier's association with the Hell Fire Club began. The Irish Hell Fire Club was founded in 1735 by Richard Parsons
, 1st Earl of Rosse
and Colonel Jack St Leger. The president of the club was Richard Chappell Whaley, a descendant of Oliver Cromwell
and known as “Burn-Chapel” Whaley on account of his penchant for setting fire to Catholic churches. Evidence of the identities of other members comes from a painting by James Worsdale
titled The Hell Fire Club, now held by the National Gallery of Ireland
, which shows five members of the club seated around a table. The five men are Harry Barry, Lord Santry
(who was tried and convicted for murder in 1739); Simon Luttrell, Lord Irnham
; Colonel Henry Bessborough; Colonel Richard St George and Colonel Clements. Most of their meetings occurred in Dublin city centre, either at the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill, near Dublin Castle
, or at Daly's Club
on College Green
. Accounts of the club's meetings claim that members drank “scaltheen”, a mixture of whiskey and hot butter, and that they left a chair vacant at each gathering for the Devil. The club's mascot was a black cat.
Mount Pelier was let to the club by the Conolly family. Coincidentally, William Conolly had purchased Mountpelier Hill from Philip, Duke of Wharton
, founder of the first Hell Fire Club in 1719. It is not clear to what extent, if any, the Hell Fire Club made use of the building. The author Michael Fewer has suggested that the remoteness of Mount Pelier’s location is why there are almost no verifiable accounts of the activities that went on there. However, numerous (and very doubtful) stories surrounding the building have become part of local folklore, some of which have spread to a wider audience through publication in the nineteenth century in books such as Robert Chambers' Book of Days
(1864) and in The Gentleman's Magazine
(1731-1922).
One of the best known of these tells of a stranger who arrived at the club on a stormy night. Invited in, he joined the members in a card game. One player dropped his card on the floor and when he bent under the table to retrieve it noticed that the stranger had a cloven hoof. At this point the visitor disappeared in a ball of flame. This is a very similar story to one associated with Loftus Hall
, County Wexford
. The Loftus family owned a hunting lodge – known as Dolly Mount – which was also to be found on Montpelier Hill.
Another story tells of a priest who came to the house one night and found the members engaged in the sacrifice of a black cat. The priest grabbed the cat and uttered an exorcism
upon which a demon was released from the corpse of the cat.
One tale centres on club member Simon Luttrell, Lord Irnham, later Earl of Carhampton
, one time Sheriff of Dublin. Luttrell is believed to have been the subject of The Diaboliad, a 1777 poem dedicated to “the worst man in England”. According to the story, Luttrell made a pact with the Devil to give up his soul within seven years in return for settling his debts but, when the Devil came to Mount Pelier lodge to claim his prize, Luttrell distracted the Devil and fled.
Other tales recount numerous drinking sessions and black mass
es at which animal sacrifice
s, and on one occasion the sacrifice of a dwarf, took place.
At some point during this period, the building was damaged by fire. There are several stories connected with this incident. One holds that the club set fire to the building when William Conolly's son refused to renew the lease on the lodge. An alternative story claims the club members did it in order to give the building a hellish appearance. Another story recounts that, following a black mass, a footman spilled a drink on “Burn-Chapel” Whaley’s coat. Whaley retaliated by pouring brandy over the man and setting him alight. The fire spread around the building and killed many members. Following the fire, the club relocated further down the hill to Killakee Stewards House. However, the club's activities declined after this incident.
The Irish Hell Fire Club was revived in 1771 and was active for a further thirty years. Its most notorious member was Thomas “Buck” Whaley
, son of Richard Chappell Whaley. This new incarnation was known as “The Holy Fathers”. Meetings once again took place at Mount Pelier lodge and, according to one story, the members kidnapped, murdered and ate a farmer's daughter. Whaley eventually repented and, when he died in 1800, the Irish Hell Fire Club passed away with him.
The antiquarian
Austin Cooper visited the house in 1779 and found it in a state of disrepair. Joseph Holt
, a general of the Society of the United Irishmen
recorded in his memoirs that he spent a night in the ruin of Mount Pelier while on the run following the 1798 Rebellion
. Holt wrote of his experience, “I lay down in the arched room of that remarkable building. I felt confident of the protection of the Almighty that the name of enchantment and the idle stories that were told of the place had but a slight hold of my mind.” The Conollys sold the lands to Luke White
in 1800. They passed through inheritance to the Massy
family of Duntrileage, County Limerick
. When the Massy family became bankrupt, the lands were acquired by the State. Today, the building is maintained by Coillte, who manage the forestry plantations on Montpelier's slopes, who have installed concrete stairs and iron safety rails across the upper windows.
– survived intact even after Mount Pelier was constructed. The historian Peter J. O'Keefe has suggested that many of the stones were taken away and used in the construction of the Military Road
at the start of the nineteenth century. Today, all that remains is a circular mound 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter and up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high with a dip at the centre where the chamber was located. The four large stones at the edge are all that survive of the kerbstones that formed the boundary of the monument. In close proximity is a second mound, 1 metres (3.3 ft) high, on which an Ordnance Survey
trig pillar
stands. Close to the monument is a fallen standing stone, a pointed rock 1 metres (3.3 ft) high.
and as a residence for the agent who managed the Killakee Estate. To the rear is a belfry
; this was once a common feature of large farmhouses and was used to call the workers for meals. The Hell Fire Club held meetings here for a time following the fire that damaged Mount Pelier lodge. The house has a reputation for being haunted, particularly by a large black cat. Stories regarding the origin of this spectre either connect it with the account of the priest who exorcised a cat at the Hell Fire Club or with a cat that was doused in whiskey and set alight by members of the Hell Fire Club before escaping across the mountains with its fur aflame.
The best documented account of these hauntings occurred between 1968 and 1970. The Evening Herald
and Evening Press
newspapers carried a number of reports regarding a Mrs Margaret O'Brien and her husband Nicholas, a retired Garda
superintendent
, who were converting the house into an arts centre. The redevelopment had been a troubled affair with tradesmen employed on the work leaving complaining of ghosts. One night, a friend of the O'Brien's, artist Tom McAssey, and two workmen were confronted by a spectral figure and a black cat with glowing red eyes. McAssey painted a portrait of the cat which hung in the house for several years after. Although locals were sceptical of the reports, further apparitions were reported, most notably of an Indian gentleman and of two nuns called Blessed Margaret and Holy Mary who had taken part in black masses on Mountpelier Hill. There were also reports of ringing bells and poltergeist
activity. In 1970 an RTÉ
television crew recorded a documentary at the house. In the documentary a clairvoyant called Sheila St. Clair communicated with the spirits of the house through automatic writing
. In 1971, a plumber working in the house discovered a grave with a skeleton of a small figure, most likely that of a child or, perhaps, the body of the dwarf alleged to have been sacrificed by the members of the Hell Fire Club. The house operated as a restaurant in the 1990s before closing in 2001; it is now a private residence.
invasion and later given to Sir Thomas Luttrell, an ancestor of Hell Fire Club member Simon Luttrell, by Henry VIII. The Luttrell family held onto the estate until the seventeenth century when it was relinquished to Dudley Loftus
and then passed to William Conolly. In 1800, the Conolly family sold the estate to Luke White
.
The White family built Killakee House on the estate in the early nineteenth century. This was a two storey, thirty-six roomed stucco-faced
house. It had a Tuscan-columned
entrance and large three-windowed bows
on the back and sides. Luke White's second son, Colonel Samuel White, inherited the estate on his father's death in 1824 and invested considerable effort in developing its gardens. In 1838, he engaged the services of Sir Ninian Niven, former director of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. Niven laid out two Victorian formal gardens
of gravel walks, terraces and exotic trees decorated with statues of Greek and Roman gods. Adjacent to the house was a terraced rose garden with a statue of Neptune
. A second walled garden in a vale in the woods below the house contained more fountains and a range of glasshouses
designed by Richard Turner
. William Robinson, writing in The Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette on 10 December 1864, said of the gardens, “I know of no better example of the
advantage of extensively planting and draining a barren and elevated
district than is afforded by this demesne of 500 acres.”
When Samuel White's widow, Anne, died in 1880, she bequeathed the estate to her late husband's nephew, John Thomas, 6th Baron Massy
. The Massys were a Protestant Ascendancy
family who had come to Ireland in 1641 and owned extensive lands in Counties Limerick
, Leitrim
and Tipperary
. Massy used Killakee House to entertain guests while shooting game on nearby Cruagh and Glendoo mountains. He also used the house to host parties during major events on the Dublin social calendar such as the Dublin Horse Show
, the Punchestown Races
and the Dublin Castle Season
. During these events long lines of guests' carriages could be seen stretched along the road leading to the house. However, as a result of declining rental income and poor investment decisions, John Thomas Massy was in considerable debt when he died in 1915. By the time John Massy's grandson, Hugh Hamon Charles, 8th Baron Massy, inherited the estate, the family's finances were in an irreversible decline and in 1924 he was declared bankrupt and evicted from Killakee House. The Massys initially moved into the Stewards House before taking up residence in Beehive Cottage, the estate's gate lodge, by agreement with the bank. Hamon Massy, unable to find a job on account of his alcoholism
became dependent on his wife, Margaret, whose modest salary from a job with the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
was the family's only income. In the years up to his death in 1958, Hamon Massy, who became known as the “Penniless Peer”, could be seen collecting firewood in the woods of his former family estate.
Following the eviction, Killakee House was briefly used as an operations base by the Detective Unit of the Garda Síochána
in 1931 while they hunted IRA
subversives who were hiding explosives at Killakee. When the bank was unable to find a buyer for the estate, it was acquired by a builder who stripped the house and then demolished it in 1941. The lands were eventually acquired by the State and opened to the public. In the late 1930s, the Director of Forestry, a German called Otto Reinard, laid out the area as an unban forest. The trees have reclaimed most of the land once occupied by the formal gardens: all that remains is the brickwork at the rear of the Turner glasshouses and the system of irrigation canals and ponds for the exotic plants contained within.
In 1978, the archaeologist and historian Patrick Healy discovered the remains of a prehistoric wedge tomb in the woods. All the survives is the skeletal outline of the main chamber and the outer double walls. Most of the stones were removed to build the low stone wall that runs across the front of the tomb.
, Earl of Ely
towards the end of the eighteenth century. The building was originally two stories high with bow window
s each side of the hall door, above which was the Ely coat of arms
. At each side of the house was an arched gate from which extended a range of ancillary buildings, terminating in a three-storied tower with an embattled
top and pointed windows. The interiors were noted for their marble chimney pieces and stucco
ed ceilings. The earl’s first wife, Frances Monroe, was the aunt of Dolores “Dolly” Monroe who was a celebrated beauty and in whose honour the house was named Dolly Mount. The Ely’s subsequently abandoned the residence and the building soon fell into ruin, mainly at the hands of a tenant called Jack Kelly who wrecked the house in order to ensure his tenancy would not be disturbed. All, except for the tower at the western end, which is now known as Carthy’s Castle, was demolished in 1950.
since the mid-nineteenth century and is a retreat and conference centre run by the friars. It was built in 1790 by Mr Lundy Foot, a wealthy snuff
merchant, who named the house Footmount. He was also a magistrate
and was instrumental in condemning three members of the Kearney family to death for the murder of John Kinlan, the gamekeeper at Friarstown, near Bohernabreena, in 1816. Foot was subsequently murdered in 1835, an act that was attributed to relatives of the Kearneys. In fact, Foot was killed by James Murphy, the son of an evicted tenant farmer whose land Foot had bought following the eviction.
In a field opposite Orlagh House is a holy well
associated with Saint Colmcille
. A statue of the saint, designed by Joseph Tierney, was erected at the site in 1917. Pilgrims either drink the water or apply it to sore ears.
between Rathfarnham
and Glencullen
. The woods offer around 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) of forest roads and tracks as well as a permanent orienteering
course. Lord Massy's Estate is also accessed from the R115, close to the Hell Fire Wood car park. The woods offer a nature trail and a permanent orienteering course. Lord Massy's Estate and Montpelier Hill are also traversed by the Dublin Mountains Way
hiking trail that runs between Shankill
and Tallaght
.
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is commonly referred to as the Hell Fire Club , the popular name given to the ruined building at the summit. This building – a hunting lodge built around 1725 by William Conolly
William Conolly
William Conolly , also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner.-Career:...
– was originally called Mount Pelier and since its construction the hill has also gone by the same name. The original Irish name of the hill is no longer known although the historian and archaeologist Patrick Healy has suggested that the hill is the place known as or in the , the twelfth century diocesan
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
register book of the Archbishops of Dublin
Archbishop of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin may refer to:* Archbishop of Dublin – an article which lists of pre- and post-Reformation archbishops.* Archbishop of Dublin – the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin....
.
Montpelier is the closest to Dublin city of the group of mountains – along with Killakee, Featherbed Bog, Kippure
Kippure
Kippure is a granite mountain that straddles the county boundaries of South Dublin and Wicklow. It is popular for hill walking and outdoor leisure activity owing to its proximity to Dublin city, with its fine views over Dublin Bay towards Howth Head. It has convenient access and easy terrain...
, Seefingan
Seefingan
Seefingan often spelt Seafingan is a mountain on the border between the counties of South Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. At 724 metres it is the 11th highest summit in the Wicklow Mountains, the second highest mountain in South Dublin after Kippure and the 92nd highest summit in Ireland...
, Corrig, Seahan, Ballymorefinn, Carrigeenoura and Slievenabawnogue – that form the ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
that bounds the Glenasmole valley. On the slopes is a forestry plantation, known as Hell Fire Wood, which consists of Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
, larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
.
Originally there was a cairn with a prehistoric passage grave
Passage grave
thumb|250px|right|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which...
on the summit. Stones from the cairn were taken and used in the construction of Mount Pelier lodge. Shortly after completion, a storm blew the roof off. Local superstition attributed this incident to the work of the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, a punishment for interfering with the cairn. Since this time, Montpelier Hill has become associated with numerous paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
events.
This reputation was further enhanced when members of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which was active in the years 1735 to 1741, began using Mount Pelier lodge as a meeting place. Numerous lurid stories of wild behaviour and debauchery as well as occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
practices and demonic manifestations have become part of the local folklore. The original name of the lodge has been displaced and the building is generally known as the Hell Fire Club. When the lodge was damaged by fire, the members of the Hell Fire Club relocated down the hill to the nearby Stewards House for a brief period. This building also has a reputation for being haunted
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
, most notably by a massive black cat.
Adjacent to the Stewards House is the remains of Killakee Estate. A large Victorian house was built here in the early nineteenth century by Luke White
Luke White (Irish politician)
Luke White was an Irish bookseller, operator of a lottery and Whig politician.He started as an impecunious book dealer, first in the streets of Belfast, then from 1778 at an auction house in Dublin buying and reselling around the country...
. White's son, Samuel, oversaw the development of extensive formal gardens
Garden design
Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise...
on the estate, including the construction of several glasshouses
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
by Richard Turner
Richard Turner (iron-founder)
Richard Turner was an Irish iron-founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in Dublin.His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens , the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London, the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National...
. The estate passed to the Massy family
Baron Massy
Baron Massy, of Duntrileague in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Hugh Massy, who had previously represented County Limerick in the Irish House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, also represented this constituency in the Irish Parliament...
through inheritance in 1880 and John Thomas Massy, the 6th Baron made extensive use of the house and ground to host shooting parties and society gatherings. The fortunes of the Massy family declined in the early twentieth century and Hamon Massy, the 8th Baron, was evicted from Killakee House in 1924. He became known as the “Penniless Peer”. Following the eviction, Killakee House was demolished and the gardens fell into ruin.
Today Montpelier Hill and much of the surrounding lands, including Killakee Estate (now called Lord Massy's Estate) are owned by the State forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
company Coillte and are open to the public.
The Hell Fire Club
The building now known as the Hell Fire Club was built around 1725 as a hunting lodge by William ConollyWilliam Conolly
William Conolly , also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner.-Career:...
, the 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...
. It was named Mount Pelier by Conolly but over the years has also been known as “The Haunted House”, “The Shooting Lodge”, “The Kennel”, and “Conolly's Folly”, as well as the Hell Fire Club.
While the building has a rough appearance today, the architecture is of a Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
design. The upper floor consists of a hall and two reception rooms. On the eastern side, there was a third, timber-floored, level where the sleeping quarters were located. On the ground floor is a kitchen, servants' quarters and stairs to the upper floors. The entrance, which is on the upper floor, was reached by a long flight of stairs which is now missing. At each side of the building is a room with a lean-to roof which may have been used to stable horses. A stone mounting block to assist people onto their horses can be seen on the eastern side. To the front there was a semi-circular courtyard, enclosed by a low stone wall and entered by a gate. The house faces to the north, looking over Dublin and the plains of Meath
County Meath
County Meath 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 ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
and Kildare
Kildare
-External links:*******...
, including Conolly's primary residence at Castletown House
Castletown House
Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland's is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of a estate...
in Celbridge
Celbridge
Celbridge is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. As a town within the Dublin Metropolitan Area and the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the R403 and R405 regional roads....
. The grounds around the lodge consisted of a 1000 acre (4 km²; 1.6 sq mi) deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
. The identity of the architect is unknown: the author Michael Fewer has suggested it may have been Edward Lovett Pearce
Edward Lovett Pearce
Sir Edward Lovett Pearce was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is best known for the Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin, and his work on Castletown...
(1699-1733) who was employed by Conolly to carry out works at Castletown in 1724.
There was a prehistoric burial site at the summit of Montpelier Hill and stones from it were used in the construction of the lodge. A nearby standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
was also used for the lintel over the fireplace. Shortly after its completion, a great storm blew the original slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof off. Local superstition held that this was the work of the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, an act of revenge for disturbing the ancient cairn. Conolly had the roof replaced with an arched stone roof constructed in a similar fashion to that of a bridge. This roof has remained intact to the present day, even though the building has been abandoned for over two centuries and despite the roof being set alight with tar barrels during the visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland in 1849.
There is little evidence that the lodge was put to much use. Conolly himself died in 1729. The only known record of its occupation is an announcement of the death at Mount Pelier of a Mr Charles Cobbe, son of the Archbishop of Dublin
Charles Cobbe
Charles Cobbe was Archbishop of Dublin from 1743 to 1765. He was the second son of Thomas and Veriana Cobbe of Winchester in Hampshire, England....
, in July 1751.
However, it was the period in the years following Conolly's death that Mount Pelier's association with the Hell Fire Club began. The Irish Hell Fire Club was founded in 1735 by Richard Parsons
Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse
Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse , Freemason and a founder-member of the Hell-Fire Club, 2nd Viscount Rosse of Bellamont co. Dublin, Baron Oxmantown, 3rd baronet....
, 1st Earl of Rosse
Earl of Rosse
Earl of Rosse is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, both times for members of the Parsons family. It is not to be confused with the Scottish title of Earl of Ross. The Parsons family were originally an English family of which five brothers settled in Ireland during the...
and Colonel Jack St Leger. The president of the club was Richard Chappell Whaley, a descendant of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and known as “Burn-Chapel” Whaley on account of his penchant for setting fire to Catholic churches. Evidence of the identities of other members comes from a painting by James Worsdale
James Worsdale
James Worsdale was an Irish and English portrait painter, actor, literary fraud, and libertine whose lively conversation, wittiness, and boldness allowed him to move among the highest circles of literary life...
titled The Hell Fire Club, now held by the National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
, which shows five members of the club seated around a table. The five men are Harry Barry, Lord Santry
Baron Barry of Santry
Baron Barry of Santry, in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1661 for the Irish lawyer and politician Sir James Barry, a former Member of the Irish Parliament for Lismore and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. His grandson, the third Baron, served as Governor...
(who was tried and convicted for murder in 1739); Simon Luttrell, Lord Irnham
Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton
Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton was a British politician and Irish nobleman.He was the second son of Col. Henry Luttrell, of Luttrellstown...
; Colonel Henry Bessborough; Colonel Richard St George and Colonel Clements. Most of their meetings occurred in Dublin city centre, either at the Eagle Tavern on Cork Hill, near Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
, or at Daly's Club
Daly's Club
Daly's Club, with premises known as Daly's Club House, was a gentlemen's club in Dublin, Ireland, a centre of social and political life between its origins in about 1750 and its end in 1823.-History:...
on College Green
College Green
College Green is a three-sided "square" in the centre of Dublin. On its northern side is a building known today as the Bank of Ireland which until 1800 was Ireland's Parliament House. To its east stands Trinity College Dublin, the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. To its south...
. Accounts of the club's meetings claim that members drank “scaltheen”, a mixture of whiskey and hot butter, and that they left a chair vacant at each gathering for the Devil. The club's mascot was a black cat.
Mount Pelier was let to the club by the Conolly family. Coincidentally, William Conolly had purchased Mountpelier Hill from Philip, Duke of Wharton
Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton
Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton , powerful Jacobite politician, notorious libertine and rake, profligate, and alcoholic, was one of the few people in English history, and the first since the 15th century, to have been raised to a Dukedom whilst still a minor and not closely related to the...
, founder of the first Hell Fire Club in 1719. It is not clear to what extent, if any, the Hell Fire Club made use of the building. The author Michael Fewer has suggested that the remoteness of Mount Pelier’s location is why there are almost no verifiable accounts of the activities that went on there. However, numerous (and very doubtful) stories surrounding the building have become part of local folklore, some of which have spread to a wider audience through publication in the nineteenth century in books such as Robert Chambers' Book of Days
Chambers Book of Days
The Chambers Book of Days was written by the Scottish author Robert Chambers and first published in 1864.A new version was published by Chambers Harrap known as the Chambers Book of...
(1864) and in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
(1731-1922).
One of the best known of these tells of a stranger who arrived at the club on a stormy night. Invited in, he joined the members in a card game. One player dropped his card on the floor and when he bent under the table to retrieve it noticed that the stranger had a cloven hoof. At this point the visitor disappeared in a ball of flame. This is a very similar story to one associated with Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman....
, County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
. The Loftus family owned a hunting lodge – known as Dolly Mount – which was also to be found on Montpelier Hill.
Another story tells of a priest who came to the house one night and found the members engaged in the sacrifice of a black cat. The priest grabbed the cat and uttered an exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
upon which a demon was released from the corpse of the cat.
One tale centres on club member Simon Luttrell, Lord Irnham, later Earl of Carhampton
Earl of Carhampton
Earl of Carhampton was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1785 for Simon Luttrell, 1st Viscount Carhampton. He had already been created Baron Irnham, of Luttrellstown in the County of Dublin, in 1768 and Viscount Carhampton, of Castlehaven in the County of Cork, in 1781, also in...
, one time Sheriff of Dublin. Luttrell is believed to have been the subject of The Diaboliad, a 1777 poem dedicated to “the worst man in England”. According to the story, Luttrell made a pact with the Devil to give up his soul within seven years in return for settling his debts but, when the Devil came to Mount Pelier lodge to claim his prize, Luttrell distracted the Devil and fled.
Other tales recount numerous drinking sessions and black mass
Black Mass
A Black Mass is a ceremony supposedly celebrated during the Witches' Sabbath, which was a sacrilegious parody of the Catholic Mass. Its main objective was the profanation of the host, although there is no agreement among authors on how hosts were obtained or profaned; the most common idea is that...
es at which animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...
s, and on one occasion the sacrifice of a dwarf, took place.
At some point during this period, the building was damaged by fire. There are several stories connected with this incident. One holds that the club set fire to the building when William Conolly's son refused to renew the lease on the lodge. An alternative story claims the club members did it in order to give the building a hellish appearance. Another story recounts that, following a black mass, a footman spilled a drink on “Burn-Chapel” Whaley’s coat. Whaley retaliated by pouring brandy over the man and setting him alight. The fire spread around the building and killed many members. Following the fire, the club relocated further down the hill to Killakee Stewards House. However, the club's activities declined after this incident.
The Irish Hell Fire Club was revived in 1771 and was active for a further thirty years. Its most notorious member was Thomas “Buck” Whaley
Thomas Whaley (politician)
Thomas Whaley , commonly known as Buck Whaley or Jerusalem Whaley, was an Irish gambler and member of the Irish House of Commons.-Early life:...
, son of Richard Chappell Whaley. This new incarnation was known as “The Holy Fathers”. Meetings once again took place at Mount Pelier lodge and, according to one story, the members kidnapped, murdered and ate a farmer's daughter. Whaley eventually repented and, when he died in 1800, the Irish Hell Fire Club passed away with him.
The antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
Austin Cooper visited the house in 1779 and found it in a state of disrepair. Joseph Holt
Joseph Holt (rebel)
Joseph Holt was a United Irish general and leader of a large guerrilla force which fought against British troops in County Wicklow from June–October 1798. He was exiled to Australia in 1799 where he worked as a farm manager and eventually returned to Ireland in 1814.-Background:Holt was one of six...
, a general of the Society of the United Irishmen
Society of the United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform. However, it evolved into a revolutionary republican organisation, inspired by the American Revolution and allied with Revolutionary France...
recorded in his memoirs that he spent a night in the ruin of Mount Pelier while on the run following the 1798 Rebellion
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. Holt wrote of his experience, “I lay down in the arched room of that remarkable building. I felt confident of the protection of the Almighty that the name of enchantment and the idle stories that were told of the place had but a slight hold of my mind.” The Conollys sold the lands to Luke White
Luke White (Irish politician)
Luke White was an Irish bookseller, operator of a lottery and Whig politician.He started as an impecunious book dealer, first in the streets of Belfast, then from 1778 at an auction house in Dublin buying and reselling around the country...
in 1800. They passed through inheritance to the Massy
Baron Massy
Baron Massy, of Duntrileague in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Hugh Massy, who had previously represented County Limerick in the Irish House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, also represented this constituency in the Irish Parliament...
family of Duntrileage, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. When the Massy family became bankrupt, the lands were acquired by the State. Today, the building is maintained by Coillte, who manage the forestry plantations on Montpelier's slopes, who have installed concrete stairs and iron safety rails across the upper windows.
Prehistoric monuments
The remains of the prehistoric monument that originally stood at the summit can be seen to the rear of the Hell Fire Club building. Austin Cooper, on his visit in 1779, described it thus: “behind the house are still the remains of the cairn, the limits of which were composed of large stones set edgeways which made a sort of wall or boundary about 18 inches (45.7 cm) high and withinside these were the small stones heaped up. It is 34 yards (31.1 m) diameter or 102 yards (93.3 m) in circumference. In the very centre is a large stone 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) broad and about 3 foot (0.9144 m) thick not raised upon large stones but lying low with the stones cleared away from about it. There are several other large stones lying upon the heap.” It appears from this description that the central chamber of the monument – which was a passage gravePassage grave
thumb|250px|right|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which...
– survived intact even after Mount Pelier was constructed. The historian Peter J. O'Keefe has suggested that many of the stones were taken away and used in the construction of the Military Road
R115 road
The R115 road is a regional road in counties Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. It follows the Military Road for its entire length. The R115 is long; the full length of the Military Road is...
at the start of the nineteenth century. Today, all that remains is a circular mound 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter and up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high with a dip at the centre where the chamber was located. The four large stones at the edge are all that survive of the kerbstones that formed the boundary of the monument. In close proximity is a second mound, 1 metres (3.3 ft) high, on which an Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland is the national mapping agency of the Republic of Ireland and, together with the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland , succeeded, after 1922, the Irish operations of the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey. It is part of the Public service of the Republic of Ireland...
trig pillar
Triangulation station
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...
stands. Close to the monument is a fallen standing stone, a pointed rock 1 metres (3.3 ft) high.
The Stewards House
Further down the hill, along the Military Road, is a two story house, known as The Stewards House or as Killakee House (not to be confused with the now-demolished Killakee House that served as the residence of the Massy family who owned the adjacent Killakee Estate). It was built around 1765 by the Conolly family as a hunting lodge. Over the years, it has served as a dower houseDower house
On an estate, a dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the estate-owner. The widow, often known as the "dowager" usually moves into the dower house from the larger family house on the death of her husband if the heir is married, and upon his marriage if he...
and as a residence for the agent who managed the Killakee Estate. To the rear is a belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
; this was once a common feature of large farmhouses and was used to call the workers for meals. The Hell Fire Club held meetings here for a time following the fire that damaged Mount Pelier lodge. The house has a reputation for being haunted, particularly by a large black cat. Stories regarding the origin of this spectre either connect it with the account of the priest who exorcised a cat at the Hell Fire Club or with a cat that was doused in whiskey and set alight by members of the Hell Fire Club before escaping across the mountains with its fur aflame.
The best documented account of these hauntings occurred between 1968 and 1970. The Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
and Evening Press
Evening Press
The Evening Press was an Irish newspaper which was printed from 1954 until 1995. It was set up by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group, and was originally edited by Douglas Gageby...
newspapers carried a number of reports regarding a Mrs Margaret O'Brien and her husband Nicholas, a retired Garda
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
, who were converting the house into an arts centre. The redevelopment had been a troubled affair with tradesmen employed on the work leaving complaining of ghosts. One night, a friend of the O'Brien's, artist Tom McAssey, and two workmen were confronted by a spectral figure and a black cat with glowing red eyes. McAssey painted a portrait of the cat which hung in the house for several years after. Although locals were sceptical of the reports, further apparitions were reported, most notably of an Indian gentleman and of two nuns called Blessed Margaret and Holy Mary who had taken part in black masses on Mountpelier Hill. There were also reports of ringing bells and poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
activity. In 1970 an RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
television crew recorded a documentary at the house. In the documentary a clairvoyant called Sheila St. Clair communicated with the spirits of the house through automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
. In 1971, a plumber working in the house discovered a grave with a skeleton of a small figure, most likely that of a child or, perhaps, the body of the dwarf alleged to have been sacrificed by the members of the Hell Fire Club. The house operated as a restaurant in the 1990s before closing in 2001; it is now a private residence.
Killakee (Lord Massy's) Estate
On the other side of the Military Road to Hell Fire Wood and the Stewards House is the remains of Killakee Estate , now known as Lord Massy's Estate. These lands were first granted to Walter de Ridleford after the NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
invasion and later given to Sir Thomas Luttrell, an ancestor of Hell Fire Club member Simon Luttrell, by Henry VIII. The Luttrell family held onto the estate until the seventeenth century when it was relinquished to Dudley Loftus
Dudley Loftus
Dudley Loftus was an Irish jurist and noted orientalist.Loftus was born the second son of Sir Adam Loftus, into a family of 17 siblings on his great-grandfather’s estate of Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin when 18, then entered Oxford University in 1639 on the...
and then passed to William Conolly. In 1800, the Conolly family sold the estate to Luke White
Luke White (Irish politician)
Luke White was an Irish bookseller, operator of a lottery and Whig politician.He started as an impecunious book dealer, first in the streets of Belfast, then from 1778 at an auction house in Dublin buying and reselling around the country...
.
The White family built Killakee House on the estate in the early nineteenth century. This was a two storey, thirty-six roomed stucco-faced
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
house. It had a Tuscan-columned
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
entrance and large three-windowed bows
Bow window
A bow window is a curved bay window. Bow windows are designed to create space by projecting beyond the exterior wall of a building, and to provide a wider view of the garden or street outside and typically combine four or more casement windows, which join together to form an arch.Bow windows first...
on the back and sides. Luke White's second son, Colonel Samuel White, inherited the estate on his father's death in 1824 and invested considerable effort in developing its gardens. In 1838, he engaged the services of Sir Ninian Niven, former director of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. Niven laid out two Victorian formal gardens
Garden design
Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise...
of gravel walks, terraces and exotic trees decorated with statues of Greek and Roman gods. Adjacent to the house was a terraced rose garden with a statue of Neptune
Neptune (mythology)
Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
. A second walled garden in a vale in the woods below the house contained more fountains and a range of glasshouses
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
designed by Richard Turner
Richard Turner (iron-founder)
Richard Turner was an Irish iron-founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in Dublin.His works included the Palm House at Kew Gardens , the glasshouse in the Winter Gardens at Regent's Park in London, the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens and the Curvilinear Range at the Irish National...
. William Robinson, writing in The Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette on 10 December 1864, said of the gardens, “I know of no better example of the
advantage of extensively planting and draining a barren and elevated
district than is afforded by this demesne of 500 acres.”
When Samuel White's widow, Anne, died in 1880, she bequeathed the estate to her late husband's nephew, John Thomas, 6th Baron Massy
Baron Massy
Baron Massy, of Duntrileague in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Hugh Massy, who had previously represented County Limerick in the Irish House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, also represented this constituency in the Irish Parliament...
. The Massys were a Protestant Ascendancy
Protestant Ascendancy
The Protestant Ascendancy, usually known in Ireland simply as the Ascendancy, is a phrase used when referring to the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland by a minority of great landowners, Protestant clergy, and professionals, all members of the Established Church during the 17th...
family who had come to Ireland in 1641 and owned extensive lands in Counties Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
and Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. Massy used Killakee House to entertain guests while shooting game on nearby Cruagh and Glendoo mountains. He also used the house to host parties during major events on the Dublin social calendar such as the Dublin Horse Show
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
, the Punchestown Races
Punchestown Racecourse
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland....
and the Dublin Castle Season
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
. During these events long lines of guests' carriages could be seen stretched along the road leading to the house. However, as a result of declining rental income and poor investment decisions, John Thomas Massy was in considerable debt when he died in 1915. By the time John Massy's grandson, Hugh Hamon Charles, 8th Baron Massy, inherited the estate, the family's finances were in an irreversible decline and in 1924 he was declared bankrupt and evicted from Killakee House. The Massys initially moved into the Stewards House before taking up residence in Beehive Cottage, the estate's gate lodge, by agreement with the bank. Hamon Massy, unable to find a job on account of his alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
became dependent on his wife, Margaret, whose modest salary from a job with the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 as the Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance hospitals, and is often referred to as the Irish Sweepstake...
was the family's only income. In the years up to his death in 1958, Hamon Massy, who became known as the “Penniless Peer”, could be seen collecting firewood in the woods of his former family estate.
Following the eviction, Killakee House was briefly used as an operations base by the Detective Unit of the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
in 1931 while they hunted IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
subversives who were hiding explosives at Killakee. When the bank was unable to find a buyer for the estate, it was acquired by a builder who stripped the house and then demolished it in 1941. The lands were eventually acquired by the State and opened to the public. In the late 1930s, the Director of Forestry, a German called Otto Reinard, laid out the area as an unban forest. The trees have reclaimed most of the land once occupied by the formal gardens: all that remains is the brickwork at the rear of the Turner glasshouses and the system of irrigation canals and ponds for the exotic plants contained within.
In 1978, the archaeologist and historian Patrick Healy discovered the remains of a prehistoric wedge tomb in the woods. All the survives is the skeletal outline of the main chamber and the outer double walls. Most of the stones were removed to build the low stone wall that runs across the front of the tomb.
Carthy’s Castle
On the northern slopes is another ruined building, known as Carthy’s or McCarthy’s Castle. This is all that remains of Dolly Mount – also known as the “Long House” and “Mount Pelier House” – a large hunting residence built by Henry LoftusHenry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely
Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely KP, PC , styled The Honourable from 1751 to 1769 and known as Henry Loftus, 4th Viscount Loftus from 1769 to 1771, was an Irish peer and politician....
, Earl of Ely
Earl of Ely
Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of Loftus Hall in the County of Wexford, in 1751. In 1756 he was further...
towards the end of the eighteenth century. The building was originally two stories high with bow window
Bow window
A bow window is a curved bay window. Bow windows are designed to create space by projecting beyond the exterior wall of a building, and to provide a wider view of the garden or street outside and typically combine four or more casement windows, which join together to form an arch.Bow windows first...
s each side of the hall door, above which was the Ely coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. At each side of the house was an arched gate from which extended a range of ancillary buildings, terminating in a three-storied tower with an embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
top and pointed windows. The interiors were noted for their marble chimney pieces and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed ceilings. The earl’s first wife, Frances Monroe, was the aunt of Dolores “Dolly” Monroe who was a celebrated beauty and in whose honour the house was named Dolly Mount. The Ely’s subsequently abandoned the residence and the building soon fell into ruin, mainly at the hands of a tenant called Jack Kelly who wrecked the house in order to ensure his tenancy would not be disturbed. All, except for the tower at the western end, which is now known as Carthy’s Castle, was demolished in 1950.
Orlagh House
In the land adjacent to Carthy’s Castle is Orlagh House which has been owned by the Augustinian OrderAugustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
since the mid-nineteenth century and is a retreat and conference centre run by the friars. It was built in 1790 by Mr Lundy Foot, a wealthy snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
merchant, who named the house Footmount. He was also a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
and was instrumental in condemning three members of the Kearney family to death for the murder of John Kinlan, the gamekeeper at Friarstown, near Bohernabreena, in 1816. Foot was subsequently murdered in 1835, an act that was attributed to relatives of the Kearneys. In fact, Foot was killed by James Murphy, the son of an evicted tenant farmer whose land Foot had bought following the eviction.
In a field opposite Orlagh House is a holy well
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
associated with Saint Colmcille
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
. A statue of the saint, designed by Joseph Tierney, was erected at the site in 1917. Pilgrims either drink the water or apply it to sore ears.
Access and recreation
Montpelier Hill is accessed from the Hell Fire Wood car park along the R115 roadR115 road
The R115 road is a regional road in counties Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. It follows the Military Road for its entire length. The R115 is long; the full length of the Military Road is...
between Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...
and Glencullen
Glencullen
Glencullen , is a village in south County Dublin. It is also a townland in the civil parish of Kilternan, in the Barony and Poor Law Union of Rathdown in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County....
. The woods offer around 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) of forest roads and tracks as well as a permanent orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
course. Lord Massy's Estate is also accessed from the R115, close to the Hell Fire Wood car park. The woods offer a nature trail and a permanent orienteering course. Lord Massy's Estate and Montpelier Hill are also traversed by the Dublin Mountains Way
Dublin Mountains Way
The Dublin Mountains Way is a waymarked long-distance trail in the Dublin Mountains, County Dublin, Ireland. The route is approximately long and runs from Shankill in the East to Tallaght in the West...
hiking trail that runs between Shankill
Shankill, Dublin
Shankill is a suburb in the South-East of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It has a population of 13,242 .-History:-Name:...
and Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
.
Recreation
- Hell Fire Club at Dublin Mountains Partnership
- Orienteering at the Hell Fire Club
- Massy's Estate at Dublin Mountains Partnership
- Orienteering at Massy's Estate
The Hell Fire Club
- The Dublin Hellfire Club – The Facts
- The Hellfire Club at blather.net
- The Hellfire Club at Abandoned Ireland