Garbally House is a country house built by the Lord Clancarty in the 17th century. It has two floors and fine views over Ballinasloe. It is situated beside Garbally College (Garbally Court), which is an all boys secondary school in Ballinasloe County Galway. It has an obelisk, pond, steps (nicknamed the 40 steps) (that have no current use but were previously one of many entrances into the vast estate) and a system of tunnels (that are now closed) on its grounds. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clonfert and is inhabited by a local priest who serves as a groundskeeper.[1][2][3]
It was once used as a hospital by the English after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.[4] Following the secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom in 1921, the House along with the surrounding land which constituted Garbally Park was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clonfert, transferring ownership of all fixed assets to the Catholic Church. The following year in 1922 St. Joseph's College, the diocesan second-level school of Clonfert, moved its premises to Garbally Park, henceforth being commonly referred to as Garbally College.[5] Until 2008, the house served as residence to boarding students at Garbally College until the boarding of students at the college came to an end in the same year.[6]
References
edit- ^ Tierney, Declan (13 March 2022). "Garbally House 'could be the Galway answer to Westport House'". Connacht Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ "Appendix 6 Record of Protected Structures" (PDF). Galway County Development Plan. May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
Detached eleven-bay square, twostorey house, designed by Thomas Gandy, c. 1819
- ^ Lally, Barry (21 August 2017). "Ballinasloe Heritage – How Trench Became Clancarty". ballinasloe.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
Its spire was salvaged from the ruins and re-erected as an obelisk in the grounds of Garbally House.
- ^ K. Egan, Patrick. "Ballinasloe Town and Parish 1585-1855". places.galwaylibrary.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ Tierney, Declan (23 April 2022). "No interest in Galway mansion with bargain €1 price tag". Connacht Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
The Le Poer Trenches remained there until 1922 when the estate was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clonfert for £6,750 when it went on to become a boy's secondary school.
- ^ Ni Fhlatharta, Bernie (15 May 2008). "Garbally closes doors to boarders". Connacht Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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