h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What an airbrushing of history. The beautiful Monivea was immorally bulldozed by the Irish Government in 1938, after having been left to the Irish Government for a home for educators and artists. (There were actually quite a lot of ffrenches from the previous 2 generation before Robert around at the time) The poverty of the irish government at the time and deep rooted hatred of the anglo-irish gentry probably contributed to this, but what a waste. I used to feel sad that Ireland had so little in the way of significant historical sites but the reality is that it mostly had itself to blame. The first building ever purchased by the National trust was in Ireland and subscribers to Monivea's preservation could have been sought in Australia and America. Waxing rhapsodisical about a mausoleum of limited architectural merit built in 1896 when a stately home built in the 17th cent was bulldozed on the site is a touch insensitive to the ffrench family.

The FFrench family were dab hands at airbrushing history themselves! Their claim that the FFrench family bought the lands and castle at Monivea from the Kelly clan in 1609 is bogus in my opinion.
According to John O'Donovan in his 'Tribes and Customs of Hy-many', published in 1843, the O'Mainnin's (Mannion's), were still owners of the townland of Menlach, Monivea 'on which stood a castle and bawne' in the year 1617, as well as a considerable number of other town lands in the area.
On page 164 he records an inquisition taken at Kilconnel on the 26Th September 1617, before Sir Charles Coote, where the town lands held by the Mannion family are listed. The link below gives the names of all the town lands owned by the Mannions at that time.

http://www.archive.org/stream/tribescustomsofh00odonuoft#page/164/mode/1up