Eganshouse comprises numbers 7 and 9 Iona Park, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Iona Park was built between 1909 and 1911 as part of the development of Henry Gore Lindsay’s estate in Glasnevin. Numbers 7 & 9 Iona Park were built in 1909 and 1910 respectively, by the renowned builder, Alexander Strain. The representatives of Henry Gore Lindsay and Alexander Strain owned these properties until they were purchased by the previous owner of Eganshouse in 1971.
Glasnevin, or Glas Na’on, ‘Stream of the Infants’ — also known as Glas Naedhe, O Naeidhe’s Stream, first came into prominence in the sixth century, when St Mobhi founded a monastery on the banks of the river Tolka, on the present site of Glasnevin Village.
After the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century the lands of Glasnevin became the property of the Holy Trinity (Christ Church Cathedral) and in its returns for 1326 it was stated that 28 tenants resided in Glasnevin. In the 1540’s Glasnevin had developed as a village, its principal landmark and focal point was its “bull -ring”. A century later, in 1667, Glasnevin village comprised of 24 houses.
By the late Seventeenth Century the puritanical Archbishop King of Dublin, described it as a “harbour for dishonesty and immorality”, but over the next century the village gradually came to be described as a “favorite resort” of Dublin citizens of the “better kind”. The gentrification of the area was first given impetus when Sir John Rogerson, a wealthy merchant and property developer, built his country residence, “The Glen” or “Glasnevin House” outside the village. Sir John Rogerson was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1693-94, and also represented the City in the Irish Parliament.
In the 18th Century, the house now known as “Delville” became the residence of a Mrs. Delaney, renowned as an author of political articles and philippics.
Dean Jonathan Swift is reputed to have written many of his pamphlets at Delville, and the Parnell family, as well as the family of Richard Brinsley Sheridan was also associated with Glasnevin.
Thomas Tickell (1685-1740) was another literary figure closely associated with Glasnevin. A minor poet he arrived in Ireland after 1709 with his patron Joseph Addison, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Irish administration. Tickell acquired the soubriquet ‘Whigissimus’, because of his close association with the Whig parliamentary party. In 1717 he was appointed Under Secretary to Addison now Secretary of State, and became Secretary to the Lords justices of Ireland between 1725 and 1740.
Tickell maintained a country house and a small estate in Glasnevin on the banks of the Tolka, and in his leisure time he followed the fashionable pursuit of landscape gardening and horticulture. Tickell’s demesne later became the site of the Botanic Gardens, established in1795 by the Royal Dublin Society and the Irish parliament. A single feature from Tickell’s garden was incorporated into the Botanic Gardens, a double line of yew trees known as Addison’s walk in remembrance of Tickell’s patron, survives to this day.
Lewis, in his 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, described Glasnevin as a parish in the barony of Coolock. The parish population was recorded as 1,001, of whom 559 resided in the village. Lewis further described the village as pleasantly situated and the residence of many families of distinction. A field called the ‘bloody acre’ is supposed to be part of the site of the Battle of Clontarf.
When Drumcondra began to rapidly expand in the 1870’s the ‘grand residents’ of Glasnevin sought to protect their ‘pastoral district’ and opposed being merged with the neighbouring suburb. One such resident was the property-owner, Dr Gogarty,
the father of the Irish poet, Oliver St. John Gogarty (1878 — 1957). However the development of the Lindsay Estate after 1903/04 marked the gradual development of the area, and Glasnevin rapidly developed in the 1920’s as part of Dublin Corporation’s ‘suburbanization’ scheme, which reflected the enlightened ‘garden city’ norms of the day.
Nos. 7 & 8 Iona Park:
1900 — The Development of the Lindsay Estate.
In June 1832 the Lindsay family, specifically George Hayward Lindsay, father of Col. Henry Gore Lindsay, secured Sir John Rogerson’s lands at Galsnevin, including Glasnevin House, by a mortgage for 1,500 Pounds. This acquisition laid the basis for the development of a significant part of Glasnevin by the Lindsay family in the early 1900’s.
In an Indenture of Mortgage dated 1st June 1832, the Honourable and Right Reverend Charles Lindsay, Lord Bishop of Kildare and the Honourable William John Esq. released their lands at Galsnevin House to George Hayward Lindsay. This indenture included the sum of 1,500 Pounds Sterling, which enabled Lindsay “to secure the lands and house at Glasnevin originally leased from John Rogerson bearing the date 1774”.
Although this Memorial of Deed does not specifically cite the marriage of George Hayward Lindsay to Lady Mary Catherine Gore, George Lindsay almost certainly came into the lands at Glasnevin as a result oh his marriage and his wives marriage portion. The marriage of George Hayward Lindsay to Lady Mary Catherine Gore untied two influential families, the Earldom of Arran and the Earldom and Baronies of Crawford and Balcarres.
George Hayward Lindsay’s eldest son, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay, was in possession of his father’s lands at Glasnevin when the area began to be developed at the beginning of the twentieth-century.
The Lindsay Family, the Earls of Crawford & Balcarres
George Hayward Lindsay (1799-1886)
George Hayward Lindsay was the third son of the sixth Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, a Scottish Earldom. He married Lady Mary Catherine Gore on 3rd September 1828.
Lady Catherine was the sister of Philip Gore, the 4th Earl of Arran, and daughter of the Honorable Colonel William John Gore who released and sold the lands at Glasnevin, including Glasnevin House, to George Hayward Lindsay, as part of his daughter’s marriage portion and dowry. Lady Mary Catherine Lindsay nee Gore died on 28th April 1885 and George Hayward Lindsay died on 5th January 1886.
The Earldom of Crawford and Balcarres is an old Scottish title, first created in 1398, the family motto is Endure Forte — Suffer bravely. The family motto may have something to do with the Lindsay’s long-lived connection with the British army, in which many of the male family members served.
The Earldom is still extant and is currently occupied by the 29th Earl of Crawford, styled 12th Earl of Balcarres, Lord Lindsay, Lord Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Lindsay of Balniel, Baron Wigan of Haig Hall and Baron Balniel.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lyndsay (1830-1914)
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay was the eldest son of George Hayward Lindsay and Lady Mary Catherine Gore. Born on 26th January 1830, Henry was, by birth, the cousin of the 7th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres and the nephew of the 3rd Earl of Arran. It is likely that Henry Gore Lyndsay was born at his fathers residence of Glasnevin House, which Henry would eventually inherit on his fathers death. Henry married the Honourable Ellen Sarah, the daughter of the 1st Baron of Tredgar, on 14th May 1856, and a number of children issued from the marriage. All the male issues followed in their fathers footsteps and served with distinction in the British Army.
Henry Gore Lindsay was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Rifle Brigade and served with distinction in South Africa (1852-53), during the Crimean War (1855) and during the Indian Mutiny, also known as the Kaffir Wars (1857), when he was mentioned in dispatches. At the time of his death he was Deputy Lieutenant of Dublin, Chief Constable of Glamorgan, and Justice of the Peace for county Dublin and Breconshire.
Added to these attributes were his role as the building developer of what was known as the Lindsay Estate in Glasnevin, which began at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay died at his residence of Glasnevin House on 15th December 1914, aged 84.
“Strain Built”: the Construction of Iona Park, 1904-11 The roadways of Iona Park, Road and Drive, together with the adjacent Lindsay and Cliftonville roads were laid-down by the master-builder, Alexander Strain, in about 1904.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay owned all of the land upon which Iona, Lindsay and Cliftonville were built. Needless to say, the name Lindsay commemorates the owner’s name, which was standard Street naming practice at this time. Lindsay leased and sold the land upon which Iona Park, Drive and Road was built, to two builders: Alexander Strain and Strain’s main building rival, Thomas Connolly.
A registered deed between Thomas Connolly and Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay, gives an indication of what was expected from the two builders and the relative speed at which Lindsay Estate was built. Lindsay instructed that within the space of twelve months Connelly had to lay down the road, complete the footpaths, sewers, gas and water mains, in addition to building forty substantial houses.
A second registered deed between Lindsay and Connelly noted, that although the builder had managed to lay down Iona Road and its utilities, he had only constructed eight of the requisite forty houses, only four of which were occupied by February 1905.
Iona Park was laid shortly after Iona Road, but for this, Lindsay chose Alexander Strain.
There would appear to have been a degree of professional rivalry between Connolly, the builder of some of the houses on Iona Road, and Strain, the builder of Iona Park.
This may have been due to Strain being chosen as the builder for the later Iona Park, despite Connolly declaring that his houses were better than Strains, because his walls were half an inch thicker! For Henry Lindsay, it may have been due to the fact that Connolly had not fulfilled his twelve-month lease for the construction of forty houses at Iona Road.
Strain, in association with Walter Kinnear and Alexander McGregor, set about building the even numbered houses of Iona Park in 1908, on land described as being situated at Daneswell or Cross Guns North, between Iona Road and Botanic Avenue, now known as Iona Park in 1908. After the completion of the even numbered houses at Iona Park, Strain, Kinnear and McGregor set about constructing the odd numbers.
Number 7 Iona Park was completed and occupied by 1909, and number 9 was completed by 1910, but for some reason was not occupied until 1912. After number 7 Iona Park was built, Alexander Strain released the property back to Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay, but he remained in possession of the adjacent number 9 Iona Park. It has been said that the houses constructed on Iona Park were Alexander Strain’s “finest achievement as a builder”,
where “everything had to be of quality” and built to stand the test of time.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay died in 1914. His representatives retained possession of 7 Iona Park until it was purchased by the Egan family in 1981, and presently by Pat and Monica Finn on the 1st of November 2000.
Alderman Francis Vance: the first occupant of 7 Iona Park
From the evidence it would appear that 7 Iona Park was completed by Alender Strain and his building partners, Walter Kinnear and Alexander McGregor, sometime in 1909. The first occupant of the house was Alderman Francis Vance, who had, until moving into 7 Iona Park, resided at Ormonde House, 1 Belmount Terrace, Upper Drumcondra Road. Vance was an Alderman for the City Council of Dublin Corporation and was first elected in 1908, at which time he served as the Deputy Chairman of the Improvements Committee.
Immediately on taking up residence at 7 Iona Park, Vance named the dwelling ‘Park House’, which was described in the Land Valuation Cancelled Books as a house, yard and small garden, initially valued at 47 pounds a year for rateable purposes, a valuation that was reduced a year after the dwelling’s construction to 42 pounds a year.
On the evening of Sunday 2nd April of 1911 the Census of Ireland was enumerated.
On form B1, 7 Iona Park was described as a property of the 1st class, consisting of nine occupied rooms, with seven front windows. The house was occupied by Francis Vance, his wife and a visitor. Francis Vance recorded that he was a 63 year old Alderman and Insurance Manager who was born in Co. Londonderry. Vance recorded his religion as Christian and he was married to Isabella Irving Vance.
Isabella was born in Scotland and described herself as ‘congregationalist’, aged 46, who had been married to Francis Vance for two years. The couple had no children.
Also living in the house on Sunday 2nd April was Elizabeth Moodie, a 50 year old single woman, born in Scotland.
Francis Vance remained the occupant of 7 Iona Park until 1921, when Richard F. Jones replaced him.
The Lonergan Family: the first occupants of 9 Iona Park
Number 9 Iona Park was completed in 1910, but remained vacant until 1911. The first recorded occupant was Mrs. Lonergan. Successive members of the Lonergan family were to remain as residents of 9 Iona Park until 1967.
Mrs. Caroline Lonergan was the head of household at the time of the 1911 Census of Ireland and completed the Census Return on the evening of Sunday 2nd April 1911. Number 9 Iona Park would appear to have been slightly larger than its
neighbour, number 7. The 1911 House and Building Return noted that number 9 consisted of 12 occupied rooms, compared to 9 in number 7. The house was occupied by 9 individuals. These included the head of the household, 72 year old Caroline Lonergan, a widow who was born in England, two daughters, two sons, a grandson and three boarders.
The presence of three “boarders” at 9 Iona Park in 1911 would suggest that the premises had been used as a guesthouse since it was first constructed. Succession of Ownership & Occupation of 7 & 9 Iona Park, 1909-2003 Number 7, ‘Park House’, Iona Park, Glasnevin.
In 1928 Richard F. Jones constructed a ‘motor house’, which seemed to replace the ‘small garden’. The term motor house was the contemporary word for a garage and as such suggests that Richard Jones was one of the early owners of a motor car. At this time, cars were not yet commonplace in Ireland.
The addition of a motor house increased the annual rateable valuation of the property from 42 to 45 pounds a year In 1963 Thomas Makey became the occupant of 7 Iona Park. From this date the property was described as a ‘Hotel’.
In 1971 John F. Egan became the occupier of 7 Iona Park. Mr. Egan purchased the property from the Representatives of Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay in 1981, at which time the annual rateable valuation of the property rose from 45 to 77.
EGANS HOUSE NOTES:
THE ABOVE WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN FROM THE FOLLOWING:
- STREET DIRECTORIES
- 1901 AND 1911 CENSUS RETURNS (AND OTHERS WHERE AVAILABLE)
- LAND VALUATION HOUSE BOOKS
- REGISTERED DEEDS DATING BACK TO 1708
- INCUMBERED ESTATES AND LANDED ESTATES COURT RENTALS
- (WHERE APPICABLE)
- ESTATE RECORDS (WHERE AVAILABLE)
- PUBLISHED SOURCES ON THE AREA IN QUESTION
- RECORDS FROM THE ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVES
- NEWSPAPERS FOR DETAILS OF PREVIOUS SALES
- CURRENT OWNERS: MR AND MRS PATRICK AND MONICA FINN
- YEAR 2000 – PRESENT