Belgard

Principal Places in the Parish.

Belgard.

Belgard, a hill close to Tallaght, was formerly the property of the Talbots, an ancient and noble family, whose members, for many centuries, have been distinguished in history In former times, Belgard was one of the border fortresses of the Pale. [The Pale began at Dalkey, and, enclosing Kilternan and Kilgobbin, it crossed in a westerly direction to Tallaght. Thence it went on to Naas. See Ball and Hamilton’s *Parish of Taney, *pp. 8, 237.] It was a strong, large castle, well fortified, surrounded by a deep fosse, very similar to Malahide Castle, which belonged to another branch of the Talbot family. Often did the lords of Belgard and the chieftains of Imaile contend in deadly combat. The details of these affrays would be most interesting if rescued from the obscurity of the dusty shelves and receptacles where so many unpublished records of Ireland moulder away.2

[In a poem entitled *Emmeline Talbot: a Ballad of the Pak, *Mr. Thomas Davis has given an account of the abduction of a daughter of the house of Belgard by a chief of the O’Byrnes. He relates how she was captured by the kerns on Glenasmole, and rescued from them by their chief Connor O’Byrne; how she and her lover were seized by her father’s followers, and carried off to Belgard: and how, having released Connor from the dungeon in which he was confined, she accompanied him back to his tribe, and was married to him. - Davis’s National Ballads, Songs, and Poems.]

In 1637 John Talbot died at Belgard. He was a colonel in the army, and was buried at Tallaght. His son John Talbot fought in King James’s army at the Battle of the Boyne, as the head of a regiment of cavalry, which he raised and equipped at his own expense. Having been included in the capitulation of Limerick, he effected the preservation of his estates, and passed the remainder of his life at Belgard Castle, which he much repaired and beautified. He had no male heir. His daughter, in 1696, married Thomas Dillon, of Brackloon, in the County Roscommon, grandson of Theobald Viscount Dillon, of Costello Gallen. Thomas Dillon died at Belgard, at an advanced age, and his son Henry inherited his estates. Henry’s daughter Catherine married Dominick Trant, who, on the failure of male issue, became entitled to the estates, which thus came into the Trant family. Her son Dominick Trant married Margaret Bellew, niece of Lord Bellew of Duleek, and had issue, Henry Dillon Trant, who owned Belgard. He did not reside there, and leased it to a Mr. Cruise, who, being rather miserly, died very wealthy. Dr. E. Kennedy is the present proprietor. [Dr. Kennedy was succeeded by his grandson, the late Sir Henry Lawrence, Bart.; and his widow, Lady Lawrence, now (1899) occupies the place.] The old castle of Belgard withstood the fury of the elements and the ravages of war for nearly 600 years. Towards the end of the last century it became ruinous, and partly taken down and was partly taken down. The moat was filled up, and the present mansion erected on its site. [Austin Cooper, who visited Belgard in 1782, says:- “At Belgard, near Clondalkin, is a small, high, square castle, with a house and other improvements.”] The demesne is well planted, and is surrounded by a wall built by Mr. Cruise. It is badly supplied with water, being on a hill, and the limestone rock being only a few feet beneath the surface in most parts of the demesne. Newlands, formerly the residence of Lord Kilwarden, who was so barbarously murdered in Emmet’s rebellion, adjoins Belgard on the Clondalkin side. This place was held for many years by a colony of White Quakers, who carried on their peculiar performances as long as their money lasted.

[An underground passage is supposed to connect the Castle of Belgard with that or Ballymount. The latter is outside Tallaght parish. The ruins are very extensive and the massive walls show it to have been a strongly fortified place. On a mound are the remains of a watch tower, with a spiral staircase part of which was blown down in the storm of 1839. The castle was originally surrounded by a deep fosse. Beranger explored the underground passage for a considerable distance from the Ballymount end, and says it branched off in various directions. He found that it was well built, and thought it was originally an aqueduct for supplying the fortress with water. - See Wilde’s *Memoir of Gabriel Beranger. *Mr. Dix, in *The Irish Builder *for January, 1898, describes the castle.]

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