Celbridge Abbey is located in Celbridge, County Kildare in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

The house was built by

Bartholomew Van Homrigh Bartholomew Van Homrigh, also Vanhomrigh (d. 29 December 1703) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-born Kingdom of Ireland, Irish merchant, estate agent and politician who served as the 33rd Lord Mayor of Dublin and twice MP for Londo ...

, who at the time was the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

, in 1697. It is, however, more famous as the childhood (1688–1707) and later adult (1714–23) home of his daughter,

Esther Vanhomrigh Esther Vanhomrigh or Van Homrigh (known by the pseudonym Vanessa; c. 1688 – 2 June 1723), an Irish woman of Dutch descent, was a longtime lover and correspondent of Jonathan Swift. Swift's letters to her were published after her death. Her ...

, (1688–1723), who was

Dean Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubli ...

's 'Vanessa'. Swift was known to travel frequently to Celbridge Abbey to see her. The poem in which Swift fictionalised her as

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...

, "

Cadenus and Vanessa Cadenus and Vanessa is a poem by Jonathan Swift about one of his lovers, Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa), written in 1713 and published as a book in 1726, three years after the death of Vanhomrigh. It contains in its title an anagram and a neologism: ' ...

", was written seven years before he visited her in Celbridge in 1720. The house was acquired by Thomas Marlay, the

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

in 1723. Thomas Marlay's son, Bishop Richard Marlay, had the house rebuilt in the 1780s. Meanwhile Thomas Marlay's daughter Mary was married to James Grattan, a member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. James' son,

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

(1746–1821), a renowned 18th Irish patriot politician, lived with his uncle Colonel Thomas Marlay at Celbridge Abbey between 1777 and 1780. He afterwards wrote: "Along the banks of that river, amid the groves and bowers of Swift and Vanessa, I grew convinced that I was right." An occupant in the late 19th century was Colonel Gerald Dease, a Catholic nobleman who entertained the

Empress of Austria This is a list of the Austrian empresses, archduchesses, duchesses and margravines, wives of the rulers of Austria. The monarchy in Austria was abolished at the end of the First World War in 1918. The different titles lasted just a little und ...

and later Prince Henry of Prussia during their visits to Ireland. Since 1952, the house has been owned and managed by the

Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as O.H.), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenef ...

, providing a range of Respite, Residential, Day Services and Early Services for people with an intellectual disability.

Rock Bridge

The rock bridge in Celbridge Abbey grounds is the oldest stone bridge across the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

Notes

External links

St. John of God Community Services - Liffey Services
{{coord, 53.336380, -6.542836, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Houses completed in 1697 Celbridge Buildings and structures in County Kildare Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God Order 1697 establishments in the British Empire 1690s establishments in Ireland

History

Rock Bridge

See also

Notes

External links