Dating from 1840 and designed by George Papworth, this is the Le Poer Trench Memorial in Ballinasloe, County Galway. An open-sided monument of limestone, above a raised base it comprises a fluted Doric column set on the diagonal of each square column directly behind, the whole supporting a deep frieze above which is set a domed roof with urn finials on top of the projecting corners. In the centre of the base rests a stone coffin, as the memorial was erected to commemorate the Venerable Hon. Charles Le Poer Trench who for many years served as Vicar of Ballinasloe (he was also Archdeacon of Ardagh) and who died in 1839. The Ven.Hon. Charles was a son of the first Earl of Clancarty (of the second creation) and originally, owing to its position atop a high mound, the memorial would have been visible from the family’s seat, Garbally which is located on the outskirts of the town. According to an inscription on one side of the memorial, it was raised thanks to ‘subscribers of all ranks and religious distinctions.’
What a lovely edifice. The angled columns at the corners remind me of James Wyatt’s Darnley Mausoleum.
Thank-you Robert. Very interesting as always. Nitpick – Charles was the son of the first Earl of the second creation; he was descended in the female line from one of the Muskerry McCarthys, hence his choice of that title.
Thank you: duly noted and amended. As a rule, I don’t note from which creation a title comes, as I fear it might be confusing for some readers unfamiliar with the peerage…
Robert, from the name I presume the family was of Huguenot extraction. Do you have anything further in that regard?
Actually it’s slightly more complicated than that. The original Trench is supposed to have moved from France (the Poitou region) to Northumberland in the 1570s, and his grandson came to Ireland the following century and settled in this part of the country. The Le Poer part of the surname is the Norman original of the common Irish surname Power: the mother of the first Earl of Clancarty (of the second creation) was a Power and her grandson, the second earl, chose to add the Le Poer to his own Trench surname…
How interesting, Robert. Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
I heard that the Domeville estate ( Santry, Dublin) was once owned by the La Poer family – it used to be called ” Po’s woods” locally.
Long-standing local legend has it that this monument commemorates Lord Clancarty’s pack of hunting hounds and was erected at the height of the Great Famine whilst his lordship’s tenants lay starving in the workhouse.
Perhaps if locals read the inscription on the monument, they would see that it predates the onset of the Great Famine by several years and commemorates a popular cleric.
the words on the monument i assume is latin what it says in english thanking you Robert have a nice day
Its a lovely memorial. It appeared rather neglected when I visited a couple of years ago.
Tom Crane