History of the House / 1844 to 1864 - Cornelius Egan

Previous / Next: 1864 to 1878 - Bunbury McClintock

Earlscliffe Connections 1844 to 1864

The first person we believe owned Earlscliffe was Alderman Cornelius Egan.

Cornelius Egan

Family history

Egan Family Tree
Egan family tree

Cornelius Egan was born circa 1800 into a prominent Roscrea family engaged in the brewing and distilling industries. His father, Stephen Egan, a brewer of some standing, had married Margaret Coffee around 1776, and together they had eight children. Stephen operated both a brewery and a distillery in Roscrea, enterprises later managed by two of his sons, Daniel and Stephen. Growing up within this environment of production, trade, and local commercial influence, Cornelius was immersed from an early age in the economic and social networks associated with brewing and distilling—an exposure that would shape the trajectory of his professional life.

Brewing Rivalries in Roscrea

Roscrea in the early nineteenth century was marked by a pronounced commercial rivalry between two brewing families: the Catholic Egans and the affluent Protestant distillers, the Birches. This tension culminated in 1816 when the local Protestant curate and magistrate, Rev. John Hamilton, accused the Egans of conspiring to murder Protestant members of the community. He alleged that shots had been fired at him as he sat at his window in prayer—an accusation that, if upheld, amounted to a capital offence.

A protracted legal process followed. Ultimately, the case collapsed due to numerous contradictions in the evidence, and it became evident that the accusations had been orchestrated by a rival Protestant brewer intent on damaging the Egan family’s business. The charges were dismissed, but the episode remains a telling reflection of the commercial and sectarian tensions of the period. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Move to Dublin and Early Career

By 1824, Cornelius had established himself in Ringsend, Dublin, working as a corn merchant. His business activities placed him in the midst of Dublin’s expanding commercial sector during a time of urban growth and political agitation.

In 1831, Cornelius and his brother Stephen joined the National Political Union of Ireland, an organisation formed to advocate for parliamentary reform and greater political representation at a time when reformist sentiment was mounting across the British Isles. [5]

Marriage and Family Life

On 29 June 1832, Cornelius married Grace Cahill in Booterstown, County Dublin. The couple settled initially in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), where they were living by 1834, and they went on to have ten children, establishing themselves as a substantial family in the expanding coastal suburb. [6] [7]

Civic and Commercial Advancement

Cornelius’s prominence increased steadily through the 1830s and 1840s. In 1841, he was elected and Alderman of Dublin City Council, a position that placed him among the city’s leading civic figures and reflected both his business success and his standing within the community. [8]

By 1843, he had relocated his residence and business operations to 27 Bachelors Walk, in the commercial heart of Dublin. The following year, he founded Cornelius Egan & Co., a wholesale merchant firm specialising in hops, seed, malt, and corn. The company occupied a strategic niche within the supply chains of breweries, distilleries, and agricultural enterprises, and its establishment marked the culmination of the skills and experience Cornelius had acquired from his Roscrea upbringing through to his decades of commercial activity in Dublin. [8]

The Construction of Emily Cottage / Emily House / Earlscliffe

The house now known as Earlscliffe is believed to have been constructed around 1845, most likely by Cornelius Egan. While there remains a slight possibility that the building was erected by the Earl of Howth, this has not yet been confirmed. The available evidence, however, aligns most consistently with Egan’s involvement.

It is probable that the property was built as a rental residence, intended primarily for seasonal occupation. The mid‑nineteenth century saw significant improvements in transport to Howth, including the expansion of the road network and the arrival of the railway. These developments transformed the peninsula into a favoured summer retreat for affluent Dublin families seeking coastal air and respite from the city. In this context, the construction of a well‑appointed residence for short-term or seasonal tenants would have represented a sound commercial decision for a property owner such as Egan.

Although certain chronological details remain uncertain, documentary evidence confirms that by 1848, Egan held the land under a 99-year lease dated 1847, granted by the Earl of Howth. [9] [10] Griffith’s Valuation of 1848 (shown below) records Egan as the occupier of the lands designated 2a and 2b. While no map survives from the year of the valuation itself, an 1880 map provides the relevant parcel information, showing Earlscliffe situated on the land marked 2b. This later cartographic evidence enables a reliable correlation between the valuation records and the physical layout of the estate.

However, we have no evidence that Egan actually lived in Earlscliffe at any time.

Griffith's Valuation of 1848. The numbers and letters to the left refer to the areas marked on the map.

 

Evidence around the origins of Earlscliffe

Our evidence to date about the origins of Earlscliffe start with a number of houses that were regularly up for rent in the Sutton and Howth area from around 1846, all managed through 27, Bachelor's Walk, Dublin (the property of Cornelius Egan). The one that we believe that is now called Earlscliffe was advertised in 1846 as being built last summer which would date Earlscliffe as 1845.[17]

Each of the rental properties were re-advertised regularly over the next fifteen years. In the early years, the property we think is Earlscliffe was not named. However, the descriptions of the property and location make it almost certain to be Earlscliffe.

In 1853, the property was described as a detached large Cottage.[18] By 1860, the property was named as Emily Cottage and by 1861 was described as a large superior Detached Cottage-House.[19][20]

By 1862, the property was advertised as Emily House [21] and this was the property that the first known resident, William Bunbury McClintock, initially rented out. Correspondence from McClintock in 1863 stated the property name as Earlscliffe (possibly after the Earl of Howth who leased out the land). 

I am still researching into Emily House and if Emily House was actually what Earlscliffe was originally called. For more details of my research so far see the following:

We don't know much more about Egan and Earlscliffe, but we do know that there were legal dealings with Egan and his executors and William McDougall of Drumleck, Howth (see map above).[11]

Beachfield House today
Devonshire Terrace (now Beachfield House), Sutton today

Egan's other properties

Egan owned and was landlord for many properties around Dublin and other areas, and owned a number of properties in Howth which, we assume, he either lived in or rented out. According to Thom's Irish Almanac & Official Directory, in 1849, Egan owned Devonshire Terrace in Strand Road, Sutton (now called Beachfield House) [12] and in 1852 he also owned St Lawrence House in Howth village. [13]

We assume that, when Egan lived in Howth, it was only during the summer months, and that during the winter he lived at his main premises at 27 Bachelor's Walk in Dublin. [7]

On 26 Oct 1853, Egan's son, also called Cornelius, died tragically in Howth after his gun accidentally exploded whilst shooting. He is buried in St Mary's in Howth [14]

Alderman Egan, at this stage, was living in St Lawrence House during the summer and, we presume, if he owned Earlscliffe, he had rented the property out.

Cornelius Egan died on 2nd July 1863 in St Lawrence House in Howth and is buried at St. Fintan's cemetery in Sutton. [15] [16] He was survived by his wife, Grace, who subsequently moved to Antwerp in Belgium in 1871 and died on the 27th Aug 1874. [7]

St Lawrence Hotel
St Lawrence Hotel, Howth, date unknown

St. Lawrence House was later converted into a hotel, which closed in the summer of 2000 and is now an apartment complex.

In terms of Earlscliffe, we know that Egan owned the land up to at least 1850 [10]. However, we assume that Egan's death in 1863 prompted the sale of land, Earlscliffe (and probably his other properties).

Further information 

Back to top

List of Earlscliffe Residents

1844 to 1864 - Cornelius Egan
1864 to 1878 - Bunbury McClintock
1878 to 1896 - The Knox family
1896 to 1901 - John Randal Plunkett
1901 to 1922 - John Pentland Mahaffy
1922 to 1924 - CT Ovenden
1924 to 1927 - Robert Rooney
1927 to 1930 - Dr Ella Webb
1930 to 1945 - Sir John Lumsden
1945 to 1949 - William Martin Murphy
1949 to 1950 - Lily Margaret Graham Gough
1950 to 1952 - Stanley-Clarke
1952 to 1961 - Woods
1961 to 1969 - Knowles
1969 to today - Robinson & Foley family

References