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Estate: French (Cloonyquin)

Associated Families

Description

''Burke's Irish Family Records'' states that Arthur French of Tyrone bought Cloonyquin from the Right Honourable William Conolly, who had bought it from the Trustess of Irish Forfeitures. From Arthur French's second marriage to the widow of Iriel Farrell of Cloonyquin descend this branch of the French family. Arthur French of Cloonyquin bought part of the estate of Colonel John Browne of Westport in the barony of Ballymoe, county Galway, in the late 17th century. In 1828 William French of Clooniquin was a member of the Grand Panel of county Roscommon. By the mid 19th century the French estate was in the parish of Elphin, barony of Roscommon. Some of it was leased by Patrick Taaffe of Foxborough. Christopher French of Cloonyquin owned 3,701 acres in county Roscommon in the 1870s. Part of the French estate was conveyed to the Congested Districts' Board in July 1906.

Houses

House Name / Description	Townland	Civil Parish	PLU	DED	Barony	County	Map Ref
Cloonyquin (H1344) Home of the French family, including the song writer Percy French, sold by the family in the 1950s. In 1786 Wilson refers to it as a seat of Arthur French in 1786. Valued at £24 in the mid 19th century. The house was demolished in the 1960s. See www.percyfrench.ie.	Boyanagh	Elphin	Strokestown	Cloonyquin 93	Roscommon	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.80703 -8.25808 OSI Ref: M830 842 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #22.
Foxborough (H1396) In 1786 Wilson refers to Foxborough as the seat of Arthur French. Occupied by Patrick Taaffe at the time of Griffith's Valuation, who was leasing from Christopher French. The house was then valued at £20. It is now a ruin though the stable yard survives.	Foxborough	Elphin	Strokestown	Cloonyquin 93	Roscommon	Roscommon	Lat/Lon: 53.79272 -8.22460 OSI Ref: M852826 Discovery map #33. OS Sheet #22.

Archival sources

Irish Architectural Archive: Cloonyquin House, press cuttings file. 133/023
National Library of Ireland: Westport Estate Papers, Collection List 78
National Library of Ireland: Map of the estate of Major Arthur St George French, in the electoral division of Cloonyquin, barony of Roscommon, 1906. 15.A.20(11)

Contemporary printed sources

GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1850-1858. : Strokestown Union, 80 (Boyanagh) & 94 (Foxborough)
HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878: 170
LEWIS, Samuel. A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co., 1837: Vol I, 597
ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOKS, County Roscommon: Vol II, 4
PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. 18th Annual Report of the Congested Districts' Board for Ireland, [Cd 4927] HC 1909, xvi. Appendix XXXII: 139
PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of Untenanted Lands in Rural Districts, Distinguishing Demesnes on Which There is a Mansion..., HC 1906, c, 177: 386 (Cloonyquin)
PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland. HC 1876, LXXX: 315
TAYLOR, George & SKINNER, Andrew. Maps of the Roads of Ireland, surveyed in 1777 and corrected down to 1783. Facsimile of 2nd edition. Shannon: Irish University Press, 1969: 69 & 72 (Foxborough) & 239 (Tunyquin & Foxborough)
WELD, Isaac. Statistical Survey of the county of Roscommon. Dublin: Royal Dublin Society, 1832. : 651.
WILSON, William. The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland. The author: Dublin, 1786 : 108 & 421 (Foxborough), 421 (Tunyquin)

Modern printed sources

Email: info@landedestates.ie. Landed Estates Database, 1.2.7b2, 18 May 2011, Phase II beta