Introduction

The parish of Cruagh in the seventeenth century appears as containing the town lands of Killakee,
Jamestown, Cruagh, Woodtown, and Tibradden. In the 18th century it contained the town lands of
Cruagh, Glendoo, Jamestown, Newtown, Orlagh, Tibradden, Woodtown and Killakee. This book
will deal with the history of each region.
In 1734 the parishes of Cruagh, Tallaght and Whitechurch were united into one parish and today
Cruagh is just a townland, consisting of 950 acres. It borders Tibradden and Newtown to the north,
and Killakee and Powerscourt to the south.

Cruagh
Early History

The earliest reference, albeit vague, is to Cruagh church from the time of St Patrick. This gives us
evidence that the church was built circa 580 AD. It is then mentioned in late 800 AD in Vita
tripartita Sancti Patricii, the earliest example of Saint Patricks Life written in the Irish language. The
reference is to Dalua of Craoibech, whom it describes as of St. Patrick's household.
There is no doubt that Craoibech was the original name of Cruagh as it is mentioned in several
documents including when it is mentioned in an Inquisition from 1620. The name Crewagh is
found in an Inquisition taken in 1562. The 6th century Saint ogan, who lived in the Wicklow hills for
a time, talks about a miracle incident in his Vita about how while going through the forest
Craoibheach, he sang fifty psalms and when his attendant answered Amen at the end of the Lord's
Prayer the trees all around also answered Amen.

The Church and the Tower

We have already learnt that the church at the current Cruagh cemetery was built in the late 6th
century. The next reference we find is in relation to ownership. In the year 1184 the church at
Cruagh was granted by Prince John, who would later be King of England, to the See of Dublin
(Archbishop of Dublin, John Comyn at the time). At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the
Church was served by the vicar of Tallaght.
The report of the 1615 Regal Visitation stated that both the church and chancel at Cruagh were in
good repair, but without books except those which the curate brought with him. Although by 1702,
we find in a list of rural parishes of the Dublin Diocese that Cruagh no longer had a church. During
these two dates, turbulent times in Ireland and the eventual union of parishes led to its falling into
lay hands and finally disuse. It has been suggested by the 19th century writer John O'Hanlon that its
foundation may have had some connection with St. Dalua of Dun Tighe Bretan (Tibradden), a
disciple of St Patrick.
A round watchtower was built c. 1820 and is situated between the ruined gables of the church. It
was constructed as an observation post so that a sentry could protect the cemetery from body
snatchers who became prevalent at the time due to the lack of cadavers for examination. Weston St.
John Joyce says in 1921; An iron-plated door leads into a low arched chamber some feet below the
level of the ground, while above is a similar apartment entered by an upper door. Today it is still in
fairly good condition structurally, although the entrance is currently bricked up and it is partially
covered in ivy.

ABOVE LEFT: Cruagh monastery as it probably looked based on the church of St.Kevin in Glendalough
built around the same time. ABOVE RIGHT: Saint Dalua, likely the founder of the church

The Down Survey Maps of 1656 show Killakee, Newtowne and give us small hint of the appearance of
Cruagh church in the seventeenth century

Ownership
We have already mentioned how in 1184 the church at Cruagh was granted by Prince John of
England to the See of Dublin. In around 1250 Waleran De Wellesley gifted the Priory of All Hallows
60 acres of land within the manor of Cruagh. During this time the church was owned by Priory of St.
John of Jerusalem in Kilmainham. In the 15th century James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond (1393-1452)
owned the manor. During the mid-1600s the land was owned by Peter Talbot of Bulloch. Other
owners include John Bermingham, Thomas Butler, Thomas Wallis, Roger Finglas, Patrick Finglas of
Dunsoghly, Richard FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Kildare (13171329) and Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam (c.15191592) who received the land during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1615 Sir John King, 1st Baron
of Kingston received the rectory from the Priory of Kilmainham.

The Area and the Mills

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland from 1837 records that Cruagh is a parish [which is
incorrect, by that time it was reduced to a townland] 6 miles from Dublin containing 1216
inhabitants, including the judge Henry Joy, who died the following year.
A map showing map showing principal industries in 1840 shows 7 mills on the Owendoher River.
Operating at the time was Millmount Mill which was mentioned in the will of Benjamin Nunn in
1773. Here the rags were processed and made into the raw material from which the paper was
manufactured. This mill closed down in 1899. Edmondstown has the only remaining mill-type
building still in operation on this stretch of the Owendoher for industrial purposes in the form of
Chemserve Ltd, which was previously Reckitts Factory which operated in the 1940s. Its on the site
of a woollen mill, Edmondstown Mill, which was operated by John Reid of Ballyboden until 1892 and
by Frederick Clayton & Sons until 1900. The mill consisted of several buildings; one of them is behind
Chemserve today, although it is no longer in use.

William King, Sir John King and Saint ogan of Ardstraw

TOP ABOVE: Gamekeepers lodge on Cruagh Mountain, 1906

ABOVE: 1760 map showing Krugh church

Tibradden

History
Tibradden is first mentioned in late 800 AD in Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii, which was mentioned
earlier. As well as referring to 'Dalua of Craoibech' it then goes on to mention Dalua Tigh Bretan.
After the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century we find the lands of Tibradden the property
of the Priory of St. John at Jerusalem, which was mentioned earlier. This is why a former name of
Tibradden was "Kilmainham Begg" (referring to the priory that was situated in Kilmainham). It
remained under the ownership of Kilmainham Priory until the 14th century.
By the time of Henry VIII we find that the lands at Killakee had been given to Sir Thomas Luttrell,
probably around 1530. Next, Tibradden is first mentioned in a manuscript from 1541 as
Teghebrodan. On the southern slopes of Tibradden Mountain, along the R116 road is a stone with
the inscription, O'Connell's Rock, 23 July 1823. Daniel O'Connell gave an address to the local
populace from this rock as they celebrated Garland Sunday (the annual day of pilgrimage) that year.
It is first called Tibradden in 1837 and in 1841 the area had a population of 243, the 3rd most
populated area in the Whitechurch parish. A 1907 list of exhibitors at the Irish International
Exhibition in Dublin records a lace school in Tibradden, who had 4 hands and a ready market. It is
also mentioned in documents from 1903 to 1912.
Tibradden House
The original Tibradden House was described in 1837 as being a large house in tolerable repair in the
occupation of Mr. J. Jones. At this time the nearby Cloragh House was the residence of Charles
Davis. Tibradden House was presumably demolished within the following twenty years, as the
present house was constructed in 1859. Thomas Hosea Guinness, a solicitor of Castleknock, married
Mary, daughter of Charles Davis and as a wedding present her father had Tibradden House built for
them.
Up the road from Tibradden House is Larch Hill, a one-time fine estate of about 100 acres, originally
the property of John O'Neill, a city merchant who only lived there during the summer months. In
December 1937 it was purchased by the executive of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland for the use
of its members as a centre for camping and other scouting. It is still used by them today although the
house is no longer standing.
Prehistoric monuments
Close to the summit of Tibradden Mountain is a chambered cairn with a cist burial at the centre. It
was excavated in 1849 by members of the Royal Irish Academy who found a stone-lined cist
containing a pottery vessel and cremated remains. Local tradition associates it, incorrectly, with
Niall Glndub, a 10th century King of Ireland; although it is possibly the burial place of Brdin, after
whom the mountain is named (Tibradden : Thigh Brdin, meaning " the house of Brdin").

View looking east from Tibradden house in 1871

The cairn at Tibradden today

Killakee
The Hell Fire Club
The building now known as the Hell Fire Club was built around 1725 as a hunting lodge by William
Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It was named Mount Pelier by Conolly, hence
the name of the mountain it is situated on ; Montpelier Hill. Shortly after it was built the slated roof
was blown off one night in a violent storm. Local people believed that the roof had been blown off
by the devil on account of the owner's sacrilegious conduct in altering a passage grave, of which
there some of it remains today. Conolly next built a tremendously strong arched roof. The house as
built had a parlour, drawing room and hall on the upper floor. On the ground floor was the kitchen,
off which were the servants' quarters. The hall door was reached by a fine flight of stone steps,
which were later taken away when the house fell into decay and used for Mount Pelier House (which
will be mentioned later).
Members of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which was active in the years 1735 to 1741, used Mount Pelier
lodge as a meeting place. One of the fantastic stories connected with the place concerns a black cat
which was kept there as Satan's representative, who the members worshiped. A story connecting
the cat features a young clergyman crossing the Dublin mountains at night who sought refuge there
during a snowstorm, believing the building to be no more than a farmhouse. On entering, he found
the club members having a meal, the guest of honour being the cat. Upon being told its identity he
tried to kill the animal, but the cat jumped on to an overhead chandelier which fell, setting the
building alight. It is doubtful this is the true story of the fire, although a fire did take place. Following
it, the club relocated further down the hill to The Stewards House. However, the club's activities
declined after this incident.
The club was revived in 1771 and meetings took place once again at the lodge for a short time
before the club decline in near the end of the 18th century. By 1799, the antiquarian Austin Cooper
visited the house and found it in a state of disrepair. The General of the United Irishmen, Joseph
Holt, spent a night in the ruin while on the run following the 1798 Rebellion. Holt wrote of his
experience, "I lay down in the arched room of that remarkable building. I felt confident of the
protection of the Almighty that the name of enchantment and the idle stories that were told of the
place had but a slight hold of my mind."
The Conollys sold the lands to Luke White in 1800. They passed through inheritance to the Massy
family and when the family became bankrupt, the lands were acquired by the State. Today, the
building is maintained by the state-sponsered company Coillte, who manage the forestry plantations
on Montpelier's slopes, who have installed concrete stairs and iron safety rails across the upper
windows.

The Hell Fire Club in a likely early 20th century photograph ABOVE RIGHT: 1841 sketches showing
that not much has changed of the lodges condition.

The Hellfire club in 1779, before reaching its current ruinous state

The Stewards House

Further down the hill, along the Military Road, is a two-story house, known as The Stewards House.
Built around 1765 by the Conolly family as a hunting lodge, it has a reputation for being haunted,
particularly by the black cat. On once occasion, a carpenter saw a door opening to admit an
enormous black cat which glared intently at him and then disappeared. Another time, artist Tom
McAssey was confronted by a black cat with glowing red eyes. McAssey painted a portrait of the cat
later. When the noises at night made sleep impossible, it was finally decided to have the house
exorcised in the early 1970s. The house operated as a restaurant in the 1990s before closing in 2001;
it is now a private residence. The remainder of a stone structure next to the house was a pavilion
built by Richard Parsons, 1st Earl of Rosse around 1720. It was later destroyed by a fire.

TOP: McAsseys painting of the cat ABOVE BOTTOM: The Stewards House

In the early part of the twentieth century, the house was visited regularly by George Russell ,
George Moore, W B Yeats and Katherine Tynan. Countess Markievicz recommended the house to
men on the run from British forces, because its unexpected stairways, leading to convenient exits,
made it an ideal hide-away.

Killakee Estate
On the other side of the Military Road is the remains of Killakee Estate, now known as Lord Massys
Estate. These lands were first granted to Walter de Ridleford after the Norman invasion and later
given to Sir Thomas Luttrell, an ancestor of Hell Fire Club member Simon Luttrell, by Henry VIII.
After being passed to Dudley Loftus, it was in the hands of William Conolly, who was mentioned
earlier. In 1800, the Conolly family sold the estate to Luke White.
The White family built Killakee House circa. 1806. This was a two-storey, thirty-six roomed house.
Luke White's second son, Colonel Samuel White, inherited the estate on his father's death in 1824. A
map from the early 1800s shows White living in considerable style on an estate of some 2,900 acres
at Killakee, half of which was let out to tenants. In 1838 he laid out the gardens at Killakee in
exquisite splendour. Terraced lawns were laid out with shrubs and trees. A large water fountain
graced the front lawn, the remains of which can still be seen today. Adjacent to the house was a
terraced rose garden with a statue of Neptune and another garden contained fountain and several
glasshouses. He died in 1854 and is buried in Whitechurch Parish churchyard.
When Samuel White's widow died in 1880 she gave the estate to her husbands nephew, John
Thomas Massy. Massy used Killakee House to entertain guests while shooting game at Cruagh and
Glendoo. He also used the house to host parties where long lines of guests' carriages could be seen
stretched along the road leading to the house. The last game shoots recorded in Lord Massys game
book for Killakee were 1st October, 1915 when Lord Massys son-in-law, shot 2 woodcock. Massy
died one month later and was in considerable debt. By mid-1919 the familys financial situation was
extremely grim with large debts still outstanding from the John Thomass time. In July 1919 huge
quantities of silver plate; jewellery; furniture; and a large art collection were sold in an auction that
lasted several days. On the night of 19th July 1922, a day after the telephone wires to Killakee House
had been cut and their car stolen, Hamon Massy went downstairs at Killakee house to meet a man
who had requested to see him. A noisy verbal altercation developed between the two men. When
the man refused to leave Massy took a revolver out of a drawer fired a shot over his head. There was
a struggle, another shot rang out, and the man fell mortally wounded. Massy sent for a doctor and a
priest but the man had been killed.
Following the unexpected death of Lady Ellen Ida Massy, it became clear that the bank had no
confidence in the capacity of either the 7th Baron or his son Hamon to deal with the familys
financial problems. On Thursday 15th May 1924, an Under-Sheriffs Officer and two assistants arrived
to take possession of Killakee House. Massy, who was unwell, was lifted out of his bed by the
Sheriffs men, carried along the upper driveway on his mattress and deposited on the nearby public
roadway in front of a group of bemused locals who had gathered to witness the unfolding drama.
Friends then took him and his wife in a private car to a city hotel. The incident was widely reported
in the national newspapers. They initially moved into the Stewards House before taking up residence
in Beehive Cottage, the estate's gate lodge. For thirty-four years following his eviction he spent his
time pottering about the Killakee Demesne and was regularly to be seen collecting timber for his
kitchen fire in the nearby woods with the help of a box cart that he made himself.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Hugh Hamon Charles Massey, John Thomas Massey, Samuel White and Luke White

The end of Killakee House came in 1941 when the bank, which had maintained a caretaker, Edmund
Burke, on the premises for 17 years, and unable to find a purchaser, sold the house to a builder for
salvage. Having removed the slates, roof timbers, floors and other saleable items, the builder
demolished the house.
In 2001, Charles Guinness of Tibradden House recalled the demolition of Killakee House;
In 1941, as a young boy, I walked up to Killakee with my mother when it was being demolished. The
monkey-puzzle trees remained impressive and the huge glass-houses were still standing but
vegetation had broken through the roofs. There was a melancholy atmosphere of decay and
desolation. We salvaged a piece of stone and walked home sadly.
Nothing now remains above ground of the beautiful Killakee House, although some of the basement
passageways can still be accessed. On close examination loose ends of the great fountain and other
garden ornaments can be located. Beehive Cottage is still to be seen, as is the main gateway and
gate lodge at the Rockbrook/Cruagh entrance to the demesne. A stone cottage on the Cruagh Road,
at the upper end of the demesne, was once the gamekeepers house and is still lived in by his
descendants. Thankfully, the woods are still substantially intact and in the care of Coillte, the
Forestry Service, which has restored the woods to their former glory and develop a number of
nature trails. The woods are frequented by growing numbers of walkers and families, few of whom
have any knowledge of the history of the Whites or the Massys.
Early in May 1931 Killakee House was rented from the bank by the Detective Unit the Garda
Siochna to combat irregular military activities. On the night of 23rd April 1931 Rupert Young, a
Trinity student had been shot and killed by IRA men while walking near the Hell Fire Club with a
friend. The next month a massive explosives dump was found at Killakee in a concrete bunker
buried in an overhanging bank of the Owendoher River. It contained rifles, revolvers, Lewis guns,
thousands of rounds of ammunition and a large quantity of explosives. A trap-mine was found at the
bottom of the inner stairs, wired to explode if anybody walked into a tripwire located on the stairs.
The dump was blown up by the army, the explosion being heard in the city.

Killakee House in 1920

LEFT: The attractive demesne of the house RIGHT: The Beehive Cottage, where Hugh Hamon Charles
lived for 34 years until 1958

Mount Pelier House

Mount Pelier House was built in 1763 as a hunting residence by Henry Loftus, the 1st Earl of Ely. The
building was originally two stories high with bow windows each side of the hall door, above which
was the Ely coat of arms. The rooms contained marble chimney pieces and stuccoed ceilings. Behind
the house were extensive outbuildings, barns, stables and a plantation of trees covered the slope of
the hill behind. After the house had been abandoned as a residence by the Ely family it was let to a
tenant named Jack Kelly who cut down the trees and treated the house with such neglect that it
soon became uninhabitable.
The place had been a ruin for over a century when, in 1950, what remained of the house was
demolished and the materials removed. Only the tower at the western end is now standing. The
tower is strangely named McCarthys Castle, despite not being a castle or having ever been owned
by anyone named McCarthy. The house was originally called Dollymount House, after the Earls first
wifes aunt; Dolores "Dolly" Monroe

A sketch of Dollymount House, presumably in the 19th century; definitely before 1905

ABOVE LEFT: The house shortly before its demolition in 1950 ABOVE RIGHT: The remains today

Orlagh

The Area
The smallest of the townlands in the parish with just 41 acres, Orlagh is first mentioned in 1734 in a
registry of deeds. In 1841 population records Orlagh containing 20 individuals. In 1901 the
population was 18, and by 1911 it had increased to 32. In those years there were only 3 people
whose occupation is not related to Orlagh College, which will be mentioned below.
Orlagh House
On the northern slope of Mount Pelier, just below the ruins of the Hell Fire Club, lies the house now
known as Orlagh. It was built in 1790 by Mr. Lundy Foot, eldest brother of Geoffrey Foot, head of the
celebrated firm of Lundy Foot & Company, well known snuff and tobacco merchants. Foot sold
Footmount, as it was called at the time, to Nathaniel Calwell and moved to Co. Kilkenny. While out
walking he was attacked and beaten to death by a man carrying a stone in 1835. Calwell, who was
governor of the Bank of Ireland, sold Orlagh to Carew O'Dwyer in 1836. It is not clear exactly when
the name of the house was altered but it was probably during O'Dwyer's time. The name Orlagh has
been translated as 'hill of gold'. O'Dwyer was a great friend of Daniel O'Connell and he was
entertained there on a number of occasions.
The house was sold to the Augustinian Order on 16th July 1872. Upper stories were added to the
centre wing of the house in 1872-1873 to provide room for the novices and a new wing was added in
1887. Eoin MacNeill was given refuge and slept in the college was given refuge and slept there for
the first few days of the Easter Rising. Another famous visitor to the house was Patrick Pearse.
Today, it is a retreat and conference centre run by the friars.
The Well
In a field opposite Orlagh House is the ancient well of St. Colmcille. This holy well had been
honoured locally but was little known outside the district. In 1914 as a result of the interest shown in
the well by Father Michael Hughes of Orlagh, a committee of local people collected funds for a
statue of St. Colmcille. The unveiling of the statue and the inauguration of the Shrine took place on
the Sunday following the Saints feast-day, 9th June, 1920. Crowds of joyful people came from the
city, the villages and the hillsides, including the Saint Colmcille's fife-and-drum band from Firhouse,
preceded by someone carrying a banner of the Saint. In 1968, the Derry Association in Dublin
planted an oak tree beside the well. Numerous cures have been attributed to the use of the waters.
Patrick Pearse, when headmaster of Saint Enda's, visited the well on a number of occasions.

LEFT: Orlagh House and its surroundings RIGHT: St Colmcille's well

The unveiling of the well in 1920

Glendoo

Glendoo is described in the 1837 Ordnance Survey Name Book as 'a rough cold mountain with a
great quantity of turf with only one house in which Mr. White's [of Killakee, probably Henry White,
1st Baron Annaly] gamekeeper lives. It has changed little in 150 years being still devoid of houses.
Glendoo Mountain is 1919 feet, the highest land in the area. Other spellings are Glendugh and
Glendough. In 1841 it had a recorded population of 10, the smallest of all the town lands of the
parish of Whitechurch. It was first mentioned in a document from 1642 as Clonduffe.

Jamestown
Little is known of the history of Jamestown, although during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 it suffered
heavy losses of goods and cattle. The old name for Jamestown is possibly Drom Riabhach, the grey
ridge, which may have been anglicised to Rockbrook. We know that it was previously called
Gamesland from an inquisition of 1620, where the land was granted to Sir Adam Loftus, who built
Rathfarnham Castle. Early in the eighteenth century the Loftus lands were sold to Speaker Connolly
and later to the White family, who were mentioned previously.

Newtown

Some sources say that the proper name for Newtown is in fact Craobhach Na cloichethe branchy
or leafy place of the cloch, the cloch in question being the cloch togala (dolmen of Mount Venus,
mentioned earlier). We find it first mentioned in a Calendar to faints of Henry VIII from 1564. The
reference is to William Wulverton of the Newtowne. In 1841 it had a population of 243.
Edmondstown School is built on the site of Newtown Great Paper Mill, founded early in 19th century
by Mr. Pickering of the London House of Magnay Pickering. He owned it in 1836 but some years later
it was operated by a Mr. Brown. At this time it employed 100, although when in full work, more than
600 were engaged. It closed down in 1886 when Mr. Brown went to America. Next are the ruins of
Newtown Little Paper Mill, the building for which Robert Randel got a grant of 300 in 1757. This
was converted into a cloth mill later and it ceased operation around 1836.

LEFT: 1816 map of the area showing the Newtown mills, Millmount and Krugh church

Using the 1843 Ordnance Survey Maps, we can imagine accurately where the mills were situated.
The Little Cloth Mill is located on Rathfarnham Golf Course and Edmondstown School is built on the
site of the Great Paper Mill

Woodtown
The Area
Woodtown (Baile Na Coille or Town of the Wood), a townland containing just under 500 acres,
appears in records as far back as 1562. Here it is mentioned alongside Crewagh in an inquisition. In
1841, Woodtown is recorded as containing 166 inhabitants, and in 1911 it contained 299. Often
referred to as the "Mount Venus Dolmen" there is a portal tomb in Woodtown, on land belonging to
the DSPCA. The giant capstone, which measures 6m in length, has slipped off the portal stones. It
was described by the 19th century antiquarian William Copeland Borlase as one of the most
magnificent in the world.
Woodtown Park
Near the entrance to Rathfarnham Golf Club, is Woodtown Park, which is believed to be built
circa.1700 as a farm house. In the early 1800s George Grierson, who was King's Printer, turned his
attention to farming and cattle breeding at Woodtown House, later known as Woodtown Park. The
house was then owned by the Henry Joy, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. Following his death, the
estate was offered in 1861. The residence was described as being a large house containing a
handsome parlour and drawing rooms, study, 11 bedrooms, kitchen and servants' hall,
housekeeper's rooms and servants' apartments. The out-offices provided stabling for 12 horses. The
estate itself comprised of 52 acres.
In 1896, the Reverend Walter A Hill started a school at Woodtown Park. It lasted some years and
was the first boarding school in Ireland which kept boys only up to the age of thirteen. The house
was unoccupied by 1915, about which time it came into the possession of the MacNeill family. It is
believed that final plans for the 1916 rising were drawn up here. Twenty years later the house was in
the occupation of the historian Arnold Marsh and in the 1980s it was occupied by his daughter and
his family.
Woodtown Manor
On the opposite side of Stocking Lane to Woodtown Park is Woodtown Manor, onetime residence of
Samuel White, who once owned Killakee Estate. Believed to have been built around 1720, a map of
the Woodtown demesne drawn up by John Byrne in 1806 shows the estate to have consisted of 132
acres, including a deer park. The painter Morris Graves lived here until 1964 when Garech Browne
purchased it. He lived here until 1997 when the businessman Sen Dunne purchased it for 1.4
million. Dunne failed to turn the house and estate into a 98-bedroom hotel, conference and leisure
centre in 2004 and by 2014 it was for sale at 2.25 million.

Woodtown House in 1864

Mount Venus Cromlech in 1781

Woodtown Manor in 2002 and (right) in 2014

Chronology

3500 BC- The cairn at Tibradden constructed around this time

580- Cruagh Church is built around this time
800- Dalua of Craoibech is mentioned in a manuscript
1641- Jamestown suffers during the rebellion
1700- Woodtown House is built as a farmhouse
1700- Cruagh Church ceases operation around this time
1725- What is now known as The Hell Fire Club is built
1734- Cruagh, Tallaght and Whitechurch are united into one parish
1763- Mount Pelier House is built by the Earl of Ely
1765- The Stewards House is built
1790- Orlagh House is built
1799- The Hell Fire Club is found to be in ruin
1806- The White Family build Killakee House
1820- Round watchtower of Cruagh built around this time
1849- The cairn at Tibradden is excavated
1859- Tibradden house is built
1872- Orlagh House is sold to the Augustinian Order
1900- The last mill of the area closes
1902- St Colmcille's well is unveiled
1924- The Masseys are evicted from Killakee House
1941- Killakee House is demolished
1950- Mount Pelier House is demolished

Bibliography

Edward Perceval Wright - The journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1901
Francis Elrington Ball - A history of the County Dublin: the people, parishes and antiquities 1905
Weston St. John Joyce - The Neighbourhood of Dublin 1921
Ernie Shepherd - The story of Whitechurch district in south County Dublin 1983
ICA Knocklyon - Knocklyon Past and Present 1992
Patrick Healy - Rathfarnham Roads 2005
Frank Tracy If Those Trees Could Speak - 2005
Patrick Healy - Glenasmole Roads 2006

A 1795 aquatint (a variant of etching) of Rockbrook by Francis Jukes