Lissadell House - Co. Sligo - Ireland

Land Reform: Josslyn

1903 was also significant for the enactment of the Land Act of 1903, more commonly known as Wyndham’s Land Act. George Wyndham was Chief Secretary from 1900 to 1904. He had married Lady Sybil Grosvenor, a widow and a cousin of Lady Gore Booth. The aim of the Act was to facilitate the purchase by tenants of land with support from the British Treasury of some £12 million. The Act was not without its detractors. Lenin said that the Irish peasant…

“is paying and will continue to pay for many and many a long day, millions and millions of pounds of compensation to English landlords as a reward for having robbed him of his land for many centuries and for having reduced him to continual starvation.”

Sir Josslyn Gore Booth was one of the first to avail of the scheme provided under the Act: he facilitated the purchase of 28,000 acres by tenants who had variously been identified as being between 1,000 to 1,200 in number. It was not a decision that necessarily found favour with his fellow members of the Kildare Street Club and he was the subject of much criticism. Before 1903 the Lissadell Estate numbered 32,000 acres. Josslyn reduced that to 4,000 by adopting the Wyndham Land Act scheme.

Final payments under the scheme were not made until the 1970s, by which time Josslyn’s widow and daughters were living in poverty in Lissadell (the estate was in Chancery, his eldest son being mentally incapable, and two other sons had been killed in World War II).

Constance and Casimir continued to frequent Castle functions. They attended the first State Ball in 1906, and Lady MacConnell’s dancing march, at which Constance was noted to be “picturesque in purple chiffon”. Casimir is recorded as having sung Polish songs at a musical party given later in March by the well known beauty Lady Weldon, wife of the State Steward and Chamberlain. In April 1906 Constance had a stall at the La Floralia Fete, part of the Horticultural Society Spring Show. She was aided by the twin Miss Arnotts.

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The Lissadell Estate is the family home of Edward S. Walsh and his wife Constance Cassidy with their seven young children ranging in age from 13 years to 3 years. Our objective As the owners of this remarkable part of Ireland's history and culture, our objective is to ensure that you will have a pleasant and memorable visit. A century has passed since Lissadell was home to a large family of young children. More than a century has passed since the rooms were last refurbished. This is a new beginning for Lissadell. The restoration of the house and grounds will take some time and we ask you to be patient. We look forward to seeing you again and again as work progresses. Many of you, your parents or grandparents will have special memories of Lissadell - why not write and tell us about these, to add to our living history? Future plans We plan to restore this national treasure as a family home, and to involve the children in continuing the legacy, and reverse the decline of past years. In particular, we plan to restore and recreate the flower and pleasure gardens, the Alpine nurseries, the orchards, the vegetable gardens; and to reintroduce livestock (Kerry cows, pigs). We hope to make the house and gardens a wonderful experience for visitors. Our open days encourage people to walk back in time to when Lissadell was the pride of Irish horticulture; to enjoy guided tours of the wonderful woodland walks recently uncovered; the unique Alpine Garden with its revêtment walls, terraces, ornamental ponds and fossilised rocks and pathways, and the regeneration of long buried plants and flowers within this magical setting; and the precisely squared upper walled in garden with its orchards. The Lissadell Estate is a private family home. Access to any part of the Estate is strictly by permission only. Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy Restoration The restoration of Lissadell has commenced. The project will take some three to five years during the course of which it is our intention to restore the Mansion and each of the various buildings on the estate, including the forge and gasometer, to their original state. A particular focus will be the restoration of the gardens and woodlands to their former glory. A conservation plan has been prepared by David Clarke, Architect of Moloney O'Beirne, assisted by Paul Arnold, Historical Consultant. Considerable progress has been achieved with the assistance and expert advice of Laurence Manogue, consultant to Sligo County Council who have been extremely supportive and helpful. David Skinner, expert on wallpapers of the great houses of Ireland, is replacing the original wallpapers with hand blocked period copies. The major task of restoring the gasoliers was undertaken by internationally renowned Windsor House Antiques of London led by Kevin Smith. The great hall is kept warm by a meticulously restored 1890's Danish Crown salon stove provided by Tom Keane of Ovne Stoves of Cork. The intricate paintwork has been executed by Nathaniel Clements. Dermot Gale and Rose Cronin have skilfully restored and framed the works of Yeats, Constance, Eva and Casimir and the photographic records of the arctic exploits of Leigh Smith and Henry Gore Booth. Mary Healy has accomplished all photographic restoration. The Website has been developed by 80p Web Development - New Media Specialists, 80project Design Systems, www.80p.net, specialists in graphic design, website development and design, content management systems, corporate logo identification and corporate presentations, desktop publishing and print brochures, marketing, advertising.