Local history: Life on Fitzgerald estate at Turlough

By Tom Gillespie

JOHN Fitzgerald was a planter who acquired the lands at Turlough, near Castlebar, under the Cromwellian Plantation of 1656, when they had been confiscated from the Bourke clan. Fitzgerald built his fortified house on the south side of the Castlebar River. The ruins of this house are situated inside the entrance bridge to Turlough Park House.

The house, according to historian Brian Hoban, is probably best known as the home of the notorious George Robert Fitzgerald who was better known as 'Fighting Fitzgerald'.

George Robert was a controversial character who took part in many duels. He fought with his father George and brother Charles Lionel over his succession rights and quarrelled with neighbouring landowners, whom he terrorised with the aid of his company of bodyguards who he called his ‘volunteers’.

He was eventually executed in 1786 for the part he played in the murder of Pat Randall McDonnell from nearby Chancery.

The house was run as a guesthouse in the 1970s and was occupied by the Butler family up to 1991. Mayo County Council acquired the property in '91 and, in conjunction with the Office of Public Works, developed the National Museum of Country Life there.

In the publication Parke & Turlough - Yesterday & Today 1911-2011 we got an insight into what life was like in the ‘big house’ in an article by Breda Morris.

She wrote: The year was 1906 and Mary Morgan, at the age of 14, was preparing to leave her home in Edgeworthstown in Co. Longford. She was heading for the Fitzgerald estate in Turlough village, where she had secured employment as a chambermaid. This was to become her home for the rest of her life.

It was not long before she rose in rank as head of housekeeping and, later, the head cook.

At the time the head gardener on the estate was John Devaney, a handsome, hard-working man and a gifted horticulturalist. John caught Mary’s eye and the seeds of love were sown. Love blossomed and marriage followed some years later. Their home was the gate lodge at the entrance to the estate opposite the Church of Ireland.

In the years that followed they were blessed with 10 children, but their family grew unexpectedly in 1946 when Mary’s two nieces came to live with them after tragedy struck when their mother died in Liverpool.

The two girls were reared by Mary and John as part of their own family.

In 2011 the only two surviving members of the Devaney household were Mary’s two nieces - now Marie Scully and Angela Gormley, and Mary’s and John’s youngest daughter, the late Bridie Moran of Rush Street, Castlebar.

Breda Morris spoke to Bridie about what life was like growing up on the estates and living next to the big house.

Fond memories come flooding back to Bridie with the mention of Turlough and the ‘big house’.

Bridie was born in 1929, the youngest of a family of 10 children. The gate lodge was a wonderful, magical place to grow up in, surrounded by magnificent flowers, towering trees and beautiful gardens.

It was like growing up in a ‘secret garden’, with so many places to play and hide. The beautiful walled garden and manicured grounds were attributed to her father’s talented green fingers. The produce from these gardens went to supply the local shops in Castlebar.

She recalls her mother Mary being on hand to inspect the 18-foot dining-room table and the service required for whatever elaborate banquet or special occasion was in progress. The menu was always to the highest standard and home produce from the gardens was always a special treat.

Early mornings and long days were a way of life for Bridie’s parents. Listening to her description of what life was like growing up in the ‘big house’ brings to mind images of ‘Upstairs Downstairs’.

She and her brothers and sisters were intrigued and captivated by the lifestyle of the Fitzgerald family as they were allowed to run freely through the house. Like all little girls, she was fascinated by their fashion and the magnificent ball gowns worn for the many functions on the estate.

Bridie did not spend all her time at the ‘big house’. A lifelong friendship was formed between Bridie and the Fitzgerald’s cousins in nearby Charleville estate. This was home to Patrick and Shelia Fitzgerald and their two children, Edward and Heather.

Here Bridie spent most of her free time where she was treated like one of the family. Each day was a race home after school had finished to catch up with Edward who became her best friend growing up.

Their favourite hideout was down by the river. Here they could be found playing and singing on the river bank or, in Bridie’s words, ‘cruising down the river in their little canoe’. They were inseparable growing up.

After a brief illness, just a year short of his retirement, Bridie’s father John Devaney passed away. He left behind a legacy.

To this day you can see the mark of this hand in the grounds of the Museum of Country Life. His wife Mary died in 1977, at the age of 93, after a lifetime of service in the ‘big house’.

In 1953 Bridie married Paddy Moran of Lavalinree, Parke. They set up home in Castlebar and when on to open the St. Helena Bar at Rush Street, which is today run by their son John and grandson, Jonathan.