Noel Guerin

Introduction

This local history project is a study of Leap Castle and the Darby family, from 1880 to 1928. Leap castle is situated between Birr and Kinnitty and about four and a half miles from Roscrea. It is in the parish of Aghancon in the barony of Ballybritt in Kings County (Offaly since 1920). It was one of the many big houses that were burned in the civil war of 1922-23. The Darbys were a powerful and influential family in the area. They built the church and schools on the estate and they gave employment to the local people.

This study will deal principally with the burning of Leap Castle and the compensation claim which ensued. It will also look at what was happening on the Estate at this time and show some of the changes that took place. Finally, this project will examine the development on the estate which led to its sale to the land commission and subsequent divisions in 1928.

The Darby Estate

Jonathan Charles Darby came into the Leap estate of 4,367 acres after the death of his grandfather in 1880. Upon his arrival at Leap Castle on 16 July 1880 Jonathan Darby, his mother and family got a great welcome from all the tenants on the estate. The welcoming committee read an address to Jonathan Darby. In it they congratulated him on his entering into possession of his Estates and hoped that a good sincere relationship would always exist between landlord and tenant. In his reply he said

I owe you my sincerest thanks for this address which reveals to me the kindly feeling that has existed, and I hope will ever exist, between my family and the tenants of the Leap estate. Now that I am entering on my duties as a Landlord, I hope nothing in the way of legislation may sever that bond of union. Also, I trust that I shall be able, to the best of my ability, to further your interests in your occupations and improvements though you all know the disadvantages, encumbrances, and dilapidation's which I now inherit with the property

There was an indenture by his grandfather William H. Darby made on 1 Sep.1853 for £10,000 at 4% interest to be paid on his death for his two sons and seven daughters and a jointure for £400 per year for his wife Elisa Darby to be paid for life. There was another indenture made by his father Jonathan Darby on 31 May 1865 for £8,000 at 4% interest to be paid to his remaining four children and a jointure for £400 per year for life for his wife Caroline Curtis Graham Darby

In order to pay off these indentures and encumbrances Jonathan Darby had to sell off some of the lands of Kilmaine estate included the lands in Kilmaine 627 acres and the lands of Castletown 529 acres to Joseph Studholme of Ballyegan on 11 Feb for £14,300. On 13 Feb. 1883 he paid the £10,000 on his grandfathers indenture and on 14 February he paid the £8,000 on his fathers indenture.

Because his grandfather was absent from the estate for a number of years Jonathan C. Darby had to repair parts of the castle at considerable cost.

These debts used up all the money he had inherited from his father and an uncle as well as all the money he got from the sale of the land and left him totally dependant on the rental of Leap estate. Shortly after finding himself pennyless Darby raised the rents on the land of the tenants on the estate by approximately thirty percent. In the years that followed this caused friction berween them and there were many disputes. Like most large landlords of his time he was active in the community. He became high sheriff of Kings Co. in 1883, and later deputy lieutenant for the county. He was also active in many prominent clubs and organisations such as vice president of the North Tipperary and King's Co. Farming Society, the Ormond Hunt committee, steward of the Birr steeplechases, trustee of the King's Co. Protestant Orphan Society.

On the majority of estates throughout the country there were many agrarian problems, one Act which is usually seen as the heralding the end of Irelands agrarian problems is the Windham Act of 1903 which was put in place to help tenants to buy out the land from the landlords. From 1903 to 1920 nearly nine million acres had been sold and two million more in the pipeline Jonathan C. Darby was one of the landlords that did not sell. Early in 1922 there were many meetings of tenants on the estate who were unhappy with the high rents on their farms. They were looking for 30% reduction in their rents. The tenants of the Darby estate attended meetings at Coolderry and Clareen where they decided that the unpurchased tenants should stand loyally together. In May, at a meeting in Clareen it was decided to send at least two tenants to the unpurchased tenant county convention in Tullamore. At the convention it was decided that the tenants should demand a 30% reduction in their rent. If the landlords do not grant this, no rent would be paid. This was the start of their troubles according to a letter wrote by Mildred.H. Darby to her cousin Lady Anderson in Belfast in January 1923. Our troubles began when the no rent campagin of the Farmers Union started. As was the custom around us each farmer was allowed to be one year in arrears with his rent so as the no rent began two years ago each now owe us three years rent. There are no courts, any legal way by which we can extract one farthing from them. Since they farmed about four hundred acres of Demesne themselves they found that for a while they could carry on. Then came a Boycott of the Labour Union, all the servants and workmen were called out and no on would buy or sell from them. She claimed that on occasion's shots were fired through the window and that the gardens were destroyed. In a letter to Sydney Carroll Mrs. Darby said we were forced to leave with only a few clothes leaving all our precious belongings behind us. Jonathan C. Darby claimed that in all in 1922 he was raided nine times and on account of the troubles he paid off his servants and employed Richard Dawkins, (a soldier) in 1922 as stewart and gardener. He was compelled to leave the castle in April or May and went to live with his daughter in Co. Longford and he however returned frequently to Leap.

Leap and its contents in 1922.

It is worthwhile taking a brief look at Leap and its contents before its destruction. The castle was an impressive three-story tower house constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble it was one of the chief strongholds of the O'Carrolls. It then passed in to the Darby family through the marriage of John Darby an English Officer to Finola O'Carroll mid sixteenth century. It was enlarged and modernised by Jonathan Darby in the mid eighteenth century when it was given balancing two story one bay wings with battlements and Georgian gothic windows, and a Gothicized venetian doorway in the manner of Batty Langley. In the hall it had a cornice of eighteenth century plasterwork and a floor of slate and sandstone that was so well polished that it looked like black and white marble pavement. At the claims court Jonathan Darby described the interior of the castle he said there were an inner drop and an oak door and in the central keep was a gallery that opened in to the wings. The gallery was mahogany, oak and some pine. The timber throughout was oak and mahogany and the oak was used over the windows. Recorded in the 1911 census there were 28 rooms being used by the Darby family, seven family members and five servants. According to an inventory taken just before the burning of Leap in 1922 there were seven bedrooms, a blue bedroom and dressing room red bedroom and dressing room, 3 servants rooms, the priest's room and a clock room. There was also a school room, drawing room, dining room, study, gallery, two pantry's, two kitchen's and other smaller rooms. Of many beautiful mantlepieces one was a Florentino mantlepiece inlaid with the panels of Sienna marble and lapis lazzlale and was valued at £400. Other items destroyed in the fire and looting were oak and mahogany doors, and a large collection of chippendale, mahogany and walnut furniture, stained glass, silver plate, paintings including a large collection of portraits of famous family members. Included in the jewellery was a jewelled pin that was the property of Prince Imperial of France given by him just before he was killed. It was presented to a relative of Mr Darby's and by him to her as a wedding present. There was also a fruit table that had once being owned by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Mildred H. Darby lost a drawer with over one hundred and fifty printed short stories and another drawer with forty to fifty manuscripts and two complete long novels. Most of her manuscripts and books had not yet been published and she had at that time sold the rights of the book "Paddy Risky" for cinema for $2,000 and had intended to search out others and submit them for film.

The Burning of Leap Castle

By mid 1922 the civil war raged. Many buildings were destroyed, the roads were blocked and looting and plundering were rife. The anti-Treatyites forces had numbered 300 in Birr military barracks and were policing the area around Leap. Michael Collins ordered columns from Portlaoise and Roscrea to move on Tullamore and Birr and clear Offaly of Anti-Treatyite held barracks. Before they arrived at Birr on Thursday 27 July the Anti-Treatyites had evacuated the town they resorted to gorilla warfare in the midlands and provided many problems for the Free State army.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, 30 July 1922 a party of eleven raiders set fire to the Leap totally destroying the North and larger wing and its valuable contents. Giving evidence in the claims court Richard Dawkins said that on 30 July 1922, he was living in the Castle as caretaker with his wife and baby. They were the only persons in the castle that night. Richard Dawkins stated that at 2.20a.m.there was a knock on the door. He opened the window, put out his head, and saw men outside who stated that they wanted a night's lodging. The ordered him to open the door. He went down and opened the door and was subsequently held at gunpoint. The raiders then stated that they were going to burn the castle. Dawkins asked for time to get his wife and child out and was given twenty minutes to do so. The raiders then went into the castle and poured petrol over the rooms, and set them on fire. They kept the family outside from 2.30 a.m. to 5 a.m. Each of the men had a tin of petrol, and all were armed. Some had trench coats and other had bandoleers over their civilian clothes. The men broke furniture before setting the castle on fire.

After the fire on Sunday 30 July the main part of the building was still intact. Richard Dawkins saved a quantity of the furniture and stored it in one of the outoffices. The outoffices were later broken into and looted by people from the surrounding neighbourhood who devoted Sunday to making visits to the ruined building and carting home any serviceable articles that had escaped the fire.

On Monday morning 31 July Richard Dawkins and his family (who had gone to live in the gate lodge) heard a knock at the door at 4.20 a.m. Men outside asked him for paraffin oil. He stated that he had none. The men then left and went down to the castle. When he went down to the castle he found that the Southern part of the Leap which had not been burned in the other fire was now on fire. Richard Dawkins could not get into the castle to save the valuable furniture and pictures that had survived, all he managed to save were chairs and a sofa which he stored in Birr. His wife was the only one who gave him any assistance. Although plenty of people came to see the fire they only laughed when Dawkins asked them for assistance.

Later on Monday morning between 10 and 11 a.m. Dawkins went to Roscrea and reported the burning to the Free State troops there but no steps were taken to save the building or to put out the fire. Roscrea was five miles away. He did not go there earlier as he had no bicycle and that the roads were blocked so that he could not bring a horse. On Thursday Jonathan C. Darby returned to Leap to find a smouldering mass of charred stones to mark the site of his castle and home and the looting so complete that even poultry and turf were gone.

In a newspaper report Jonathan Darby said that it looked as if there were explosives used in the destruction of the castle he had found some dynamite in the cellar where the raiders got so drunk they could not explode it. He said that it was the locals who burned the castle. He also claimed that after the burning of Leap they tried to take his land they were grazing their animals with his own herd of pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle that he could not sell because of the boycott. He ran them off with the help of the civic guard.

It is not clear who exactly was responsible for the burning of Leap. Richard Dawkins said of the men that burned it, some had trench coats and other had bandoleers over there civilian clothes which indicates, some civilians had a good part in it. J.C. Darby claimed that it was farmers hungry for his land. Most of the farmers on the estate were in arrears in rent and they refused to pay the rent unless they got that 30% reduction. After the Land Commission was finished the farmers had benefited by getting that 30% reduction and also getting to buy the land. Jonathan Darby lost his house and estate and his children's inheritance, and his income was greatly diminished.

The compensation claim

After the fire Jonathan C. Darby lodged a claim with Offaly County Council for £35,000. This claim was actually five times as much as he had the castle and contents insured for. He had the castle insured with the Alliance Insurance Co. for £3,500, he also had £2,000 on the outoffices and £1,200 fire insurance on the furniture. He said that the insurance was very old and that he never increased them sensibly, he thought the place was indestructible. He could not claim on the insurance because cover was not extended to damage due to civil commotion or riot. He then took his family and left for England where they lived in a flat until October. Then they returned to Ireland and they stayed in the home of their daughter in Doory Hall in County Longford and waited for their claim for compensation to be heard. In January 1923 Mildred H. Darby wrote a letter to her cousin Lady Anderson in Belfast, and showing her frustration after waiting three months for the compensation claim to be heard she wrote,

On the day the case was to be heard we were informed that orders came from Dublin that no claims were to be heard until the next Quarter Session 10-15 January 1923. Now we are told once again no claims until Dail Eireann has passed a decree on the subject of hearing on such and how if claim is granted such are to be paid Jonathan C. Darby's claim was finally heard at the Birr quarter sessions on 31 May 1924, Darby was forced to claim for damage under the 1923 compensation Act. Claims for damage during the civil war were to be investigated by the courts under the terms of the damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923. The right to compensation was limited to damage done to property injured, it did not extend to any other loss as a result of such damage, nor the loss of the use of the property, nor items such as jewellery or articles described as articles of personal ornament. Jonathan C. Darby's claim was for £35,000 for the burning of Leap castle and £5,928 for the furniture. Mrs. Darby claimed £4,327 for personal effects and manuscripts etc. and Mr. H.C.Darby, son of Mr. Jonathan C. Darby claimed £299 for clothes and Miss F.C.Darby daughter of Mr. J.C. Darby claimed £150.

Mr. Barry (appearing for the applicants) said after having a discussion with Mr. Rogers (appearing for the Minister of Finance) the previous night the claim was then reduced to £22,684 19s 5d with reference to the restoration clause in the act. Clause 10 of the act stipulated that compensation in respect of the destruction or damage to a building would be paid only upon fulfilment of conditions which the courts might impose, required the building to be wholly or partially reinstated. Full reinstatement meant that the old building would have to rebuild or a new building built on the same site. Partial reinstatement meant that a new building would have to be erected on a nearby site. Jonathan Darby opted for the latter, Darby said that he would divide the demesne of five hundred acres into four farms and on three of them he would build a house on the fourth there were outoffices that could easily be converted into a dwelling house. He then would have four substantial farms for sale, he said that he would not let them to the people that were clamouring for them, but he would sell the farms to them. Then evidence was heard from Richard Dawkins about the burning of Leap in 1922, in his evidence Dawkins said almost all the contents were destroyed in the fire and there was no mention of any looting committed by the local people. In the 1923 Compensation to Property Act any looted chattels such as furniture had to be proven to be taken by persons 'engaged in or purporting to act or might reasonably be presumed to have been acting in the name or on behalf of any combination or conspiracy for the overthrow' of the provisional government, or who belonged to any "unlawful or seditious association". Because of the amount of looting which took place by locals who more often than not belonged to no such organisation, big house owners were hard pressed to prove the legitimacy of their loss of such chattels.

Judge Fleming K.C. adjourned the case to the Tullamore Quarter sessions of 6 June 1924. In Tullamore Mr. Shannon BL (instructed by Mr. Barry) for the applicant stated that Mr. Darby proposed to divide the property into four parts and on three of these to erect substitute buildings and that would cost £5,100. This scheme would be agreeable to everyone. He said that Mr. Darby was entitled to a substantial sum over and above the cost of building these houses as he had lost his home and he had been driven out of the country. In September 1922 Mr. Beckett (engineer) estimated that the castle was worth £22,684 but he has now valued it at £16,400 and believes that the castle had some historical value.

Mr. James Adams, examiner stated that he was the senior partner in a Dublin firm of auctioneers and valuers and had forty years experience, he valued the castle on behalf of the finance minister. He put the figure of £2,025 as the value of the castle.

Putting the annual rental value of £150 for the castle and multiplying it by 13.5 arrived at this figure. Mr. Rogers said they were not guided by any rules as to arrive at a fair figure but they had some information in certain sections of the Act. He suggested that his honour could only go in to the house market value of £2,025 and not the old medieval castle value for £16,400. The applicant would have four economic divisions of the demesne and buildings to sell, which would be of value for £6,400. Mr. Shannon asked for a generous sum over and above the £5,100 to be expended on substitute buildings. Judge Fleming KC in giving judgement said it was a difficult problem to solve. As to the contents of the castle destroyed an agreed figure of £3.050 was arrived at, he would allow £3,900 in addition to the £5,100 that was intended for the partial reinstatement, and said that his decree would be for £12,050.

If the government was not fully happy with the award given by the Co. Court judges it could appeal, consequently on 14 February 1925 the government did appeal the amount of £12,050 awarded to Jonathan Darby by the County Court judge at Tullamore quarter sessions on 6 June 1924. At the outset Mr. Shannon submitted that the minister for finance had no right of appeal, that it was a matter for the county council, district council or the ratepayers. Mr. Davitt B.L. (Instructed by Mr. Rogers) said that if the minister was entitled to a hearing the intention or meaning of the Act was that the minister had the right to appeal or the whole compensation Act would be rendered worthless.

The figure of £3,050 for contents was agreed by both sides, the only matter in the dispute was the damage to the buildings for which £9,000 was awarded of which £5,100 had a reinstatement condition attached. Mr Commissioner Swayne K.C. said that Judge Fleming was an extremely able lawyer and he saw no reason to disagree with the county court judge, He left the award at £12,050 with the partial reinstatement condition included. Jonathan C. Darby never built any houses nor did he restore Leap. The land commission took the land a month later in 1925 and subsequently divided the estate into many smaller farms to be divided between the tenant farmers. He received £6,950 of the £35,000 he originally claimed for the burning of Leap.

On 12 October 1928 the land commission completed the purchased of the lands of Jonathan C. Darby. It was bought through compulsory acquisition by the Land Commission under the terms of the 1923 Land Act, and sold back to the tenant farmers. Jonathan C. Darby received a total of £31,546 in land bonds which was payable at 4.5% per year. In all, the Land Commission purchased 3,288 acres and divided it between the tenants. Jonathan C. Darby retained some small pockets of land.

Conclusion

In 1928 after almost three hundred years of control the Darby family lost their hold on the Leap castle and estate. In 1935 Jonathan C. Darby sold a piece of land of just over one acre to the land commission for £75 and it was the last piece of land he held belonging to the Leap estate.

Jonathan C. Darby died in 1943 and was buried in Aghancon graveyard.

The castle remained as a burned out shell until 1972 when an Australian of Irish decent named Peter Bartlett initiated a project of restoring the castle, he became ill and died in 1989.

Mr. Sean Ryan subsequently purchased the castle and is now restoring it.