Adam's The Irish Library Wednesday 17th April 2019

126 The Laidlaw Family and Somerton House. Somerton was a mid Georgian house which was enlarged by Sir George Brooke (from a branch of the Fermanagh family). Such was WKH ODYLVKQHVV RI 6LU *HRUJHȇV (GZDUGLDQ KRVSLWDOLW\ WKDW WKH SURSHUW\ DGPLUDEO\ VLWHG KLJK RYHU WKH QRUWK EDQN RI WKH /L΍H\ KDG WR be sold in 1911. ΖW ZDV ERXJKW E\ 7KRPDV .HQQHG\ /DLGODZ D ZHDOWK\ *ODVJRZ LURQ IRXQGHU DQG KLV ȵDPER\DQW 6FRWV $PHULFDQ ZLIH %HVVLH %DOIRXU Clark, described in an American newspaper “as pretty a fair–haired violet-eyed Scotch lassie as ever wandered among the heather of her native land”! Her father William Clark owned the Clark Thread Company (later Coates and Clark) with mills on the Passaic River and employing some eight thousand people on a site of over one hundred and thirty acres in Newark, New Jersey. The Clark family mansion still stands at 340 Mount Prospect Avenue, Newark . In pursuit of their joint passion for horses and dogs, the Laidlaws moved to Ireland, renting Simmonscourt Castle, then Luttrellstown DQG ȴQDOO\ DFTXLULQJ 6RPHUWRQ ZKLFK WKH\ VHW DERXW IXUQLVKLQJ E\ EX\LQJ WKH EHVW RI ZKDW WKH 'XEOLQ DQWLTXH WUDGH KDG WR R΍HU 7KRP - as Rohan describes in his book ‘Confessions of a Dealer’ (1924), - “Dublin, of the early days of this century, was a happy hunting ground. One could go down the quays most days and pick up something rare and beautiful.” 7 . /DLGODZ ZDV DSSRLQWHG +LJK 6KHUL΍ RI &RXQW\ 'XEOLQ DQG WR WKH 3ULY\ &RXQFLO 0RUH LQWHUHVWLQJO\ KH ZDV 6HQLRU 6WHZDUG RI 7KH Turf Club from 1921 to 1923. Hunting, breeding and running of horses was taken to a high level as recorded by the equestrian artist, Lynwood Palmer. The personal assurances of W.T.Cosgrave ensured the Laidlaw family did not leave Ireland because of the anarchy of the Civil War. They UHWDLQHG 6RPHUWRQ XQWLO ZKHQ VRPH RI WKH ODUJHU DQG VXUSOXV SLHFHV ZHUH R΍HUHG IRU VDOH DW &KULVWLHȇV DQG +DPLOWRQ 2VERUQH King at Castlegar, Co. Galway, 24/24 May 1988. 7KH IROORZLQJ ORW R΍HUV D YDOXDEOH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR DFTXLUH UDUH SLHFHV WKDW KDYH EHHQ LQ IDPLO\ RZQHUVKLS IRU ZHOO RYHU D FHQWXU\