A little mausoleum located in woodland and set into the side of a hillock on the edge of the former Bawnboy estate, County Cavan. The now-ruinous house here was built in 1790 by John Enery whose family then owned the property, but at some point before the end of the 19th century it appears to have passed into the ownership of the Johnstones: in 1899 Robert Henry Johnstone, whose forebears had come from Swanlinbar elsewhere in the county but was now a Justice of the Peace and Vice-Chairman of Bawnboy Board of Guardians declared himself to be a land agent and landlord. As can be seen by the plaque inside the mausoleum, he died in 1934 (and his wife Mary five years before him) and it appears that the building was erected around that time. The estate was sold in the late 1950s and subsequently broken up by the Land Commission.
I had a cousin whose wife’s family were this family.Her sister had a house nearby and I gather,in the 1970’s the mausoleum was being used to hide arms.There was a glass dome on top.She had it sealed up to stop this.That was the story
Thank you for your message. I have been contacted by a member of the family who assures me that this mausoleum was never used to hide arms or ammunition at any date: the glass dome had been broken and was replaced by the present covering to stop cattle gaining access to the site.