standing at a gate at Clonbrock Castle in 1900 The estate, including the 15th-century tower house, was originally owned by the O'Kelly (
Ó Ceallaigh) family until the late 16th century when it was acquired by the Dillon family. Clonbrock's
country house, now in ruin, was built in the 1780s. The head of the Dillon family,
Robert Dillon, was elevated to the
Peerage of Ireland as
Baron Clonbrock by
George III in 1790. By 1824 the then Lord Clonbrock, Luke Dillon 2nd Baron Clonbrock, was listed as a resident proprietor in County Galway. At the time of
Griffith's Valuation (1848–1864), the then Lord Clonbrock was one of the principal lessors in the parishes of
Ahascragh,
Fohanagh,
Killalaghtan and
Killosolan in the barony of
Kilconnell and Killoran in the
barony of Longford. In the 1870s, the Clonbrock estate amounted to over . The lands, house and demesne at Cahir, barony of
Clonmacnowen, owned by James Dillon, were offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court in July 1854. In 1906, Lord Clonbrock held over of untenanted land and the mansion house at Clonbrock. Sold by the Dillon family in the 1970s, the house was severely damaged by fire in 1986. In 2004, the castle was purchased by Jonathan and Beverly Baylis, who operated it as an
Airbnb. In February 2018, Clonbrock Castle was purchased by Paul Boskind, an American psychologist, business executive, LGBTQ activist, and producer. == References ==