Carrigaholt in the late 18 Century.

Ownership of the Lands of Moyarta.

The lands of Moyarta which were forfeited by the O’Briens were given to a Dutchman Joost van Kepler ( Earl of Albermarle) in 1697.There were plans that Westminster Parliament was going to revoke grants given to Dutchmen by King William so Van Keppel sold his land to to a group of three. Nicholas Wesby bought Kilbaha , Francis Burton bought Carrigholt and James McDonnell bought the Kilkee section. They got the lot for £2500. When the Act of Parliament passed , revoking the grants, the three then had to repurchase it for £10161.Still great value even by the standards of the time.
The Burtons were all already established land owners in Burton Hall , Co Carlow. The last Carrigaholt Burton , William , died in 1919, without issue.He held the office of Justice of the Peace in his lifetime. Due to the Land Acts of the late 1800s and early 1900s most of the Burtons lands were in the possession of their tenants by the 1920s.

The Burton Family.

Francis Burton was a member of a partnership who purchased the forfeited estates of Viscount Clare from the Earl of Albermarlein 1698. His partners were Nicholas Westby and James McDonnell. The Burtons also acquired lands from from the Ingoldbys and the Earl of Thomand.

Francis’s son , another Francis Burton married Mary Conyngham and their son , Francis Pierpoint Burton, succeeded his uncle as 2nd Baron Conyngham. The 2nd Baron married Elizabeth Clements and they had twin sons.

One of the twins ,Henry, became Marquess of Conyngham and the other  Francis ,was the  father of Henry Stuart Burton of Carrigaholt Castle, who owned an estate consisting of 14 townlands in the parishes of Kilmacduane, Moyarta and Kilrush, barony of Moyarta , County Clare in the mid 19th century.He also had some land in the parish of Killeen, barony of Islands. He had 3 sons and 4 daughters but none of his sons had any children the male line died out in 1919. His eldest son Francis N. V. Burton of Carnelly and Carrigaholt , owned an estate of 9,669 acres in the mid 1870s. His wife was Marie, daughter and heiress of Savory, Duke de Roving..

One of the legacies of the Burtons was the Burton Arms Hotel which ceased trading in the first half of the 20th Century. It was situated on the right side of the road to Kilcreadaun just below the church.

There was a mail car daily at 9am for Kilkee which returned at 11.50am.

There was three big fairs every year on 1st June, 5th July, and the 19th August with a Pig Market every 2nd Tuesday in Autumn and Winter.

Petty Court sessions were every Tuesday and sergeant Bernard McGrath was the officer in charge of Carrigaholt Police Station

John Fogarty , Michael O’Donohue ,Patrick Brennan , John Vaughan and Patrick Glynn were the the Parish Priests and Curates of Carrigaholt Parish from 1878 to 1900

Burton Arms was run by a Margaret and John Behan.

Dr John Studdert was the doctor and lived at Rahona House.

There was 8 Publicans ( Vintners) in the village. Margaret Behan, Michael Brick,Michael Cahill, Patrick Carmody, Patrick Keane, Laurence Fennell, Timothy Hehir and Thomas O’Shea.

There was four Drapers. Thomas and Bridget Roughton , John McInerney and James Roche ran a drapery business along with pub.

There was 2 grocers. Thomas Keane and John Blake.

There was a fishing industry present with hookers of 7 tons and a large amount of  curraghs with a lot of people been employed during the herring season which started in July. The harbour also exported firkins of butter, grain and pigs and hides to Limerick.

There was also a small mill where wheat was ground into corn.

All in all Carrigaholt was a busy market town in the times just before independence when all changed.