Inisfada was the North Hills,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

estate of

Nicholas Frederic Brady Nicholas Frederic Brady, Duke of the Holy Roman Church (October 27, 1878 – March 27, 1930) was a New York City businessman and philanthropist who was the first American to receive the Roman Catholic Church honor, the Supreme Order of Christ. He ...

and Genevieve Brady (''née'' Garvan), a papal duke and duchess. Nicholas Brady was a convert from

Episcopalianism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and built the mansion as his family residence. Completed in 1920, the home was later given to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. They used the building as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

and later as the St. Ignatius Retreat House. The property was sold in May 2013 to developers, and the house was demolished in December 2013.

History

The mansion was built from 1916 to 1920 and cost over $2 million. It was designed by noted Philadelphia architect

John T. Windrim John Torrey Windrim (February 14, 1866 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – June 27, 1934 in Devon, Pennsylvania) was an American architect. His long time chief designer was W. R. Morton Keast. He trained in the office of his father, architect Jam ...

. The mansion possessed 87 rooms and was built on an estate originally encompassing 300 acres. As noted by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', the house was used as a residence by visiting Catholic dignitaries, including

Eugenio Pacelli Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

(the future

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

) as a

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

diplomat in 1936. The name Inisfada is

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for "

". The house was one of the largest of the "Gold Coast" mansions on the North Shore of Long Island and was once the fourth-largest mansion in the United States.

Jesuit use

After the death of the duchess (who had no children) in 1938, Inisfada was willed to the New York Province of the Catholic

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuit) order for their use; they ran a retreat house (known as the St. Ignatius Retreat House) there starting in 1963. Prior to 1963, the Jesuits used the property as a

. On June 21, 2012, according to the ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...

'', the provincial of the Jesuits (Fr. David Ciancimino) announced by letter that Inisfada and another local Jesuit retreat house, the

Mount Manresa Jesuit Retreat House Manresa Island is a former island located in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the mouth of Norwalk Harbor in the Long Island Sound. The earliest name for the landform was Boutons Island, which dates to 1664. By the 19th century, the island had been pu ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, would be closed on June 1, 2013. The letter noted "The model of maintaining retreat houses is no longer financially viable or consistent with this new vision", and advocated "that we become more flexible and agile in the ways we share the Exercises". The closing process was the result of two years of discernment and study by "directors and board members of retreat centers, province leaders and many others." Efforts and sustained protests were made to preserve the mansion by preservation groups and activists, including an unsuccessful effort by local government leaders to get landmark status for the building. A Manhasset civic organization called the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations attempted to mount a grassroots campaign to save the building, including attempting to find an alternative buyer for the building in the Community Wellness Clinics of America, a Queens-based nonprofit health organization which claimed to be able to match other offers for the building. The Town of

North Hempstead North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...

historian Howard Kroplick stated "It is another sad day for preserving Long Island's history. It is a shame that Village of North Hills officials, in the name of 'progress', made little attempt to save this historic and unique building."

Sale and demolition

The property was sold in May 2013 for $36.5 million to the Manhasset Bay Group, a consortium of four

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-based development companies. At the time of sale, the estate was only 33 acres. The Jesuit retreat house closed in August. The last

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

was said at the retreat center on June 2, 2013. The

Saint Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre an ...

chapel, one of the main chapels from the retreat house, which contained intricate woodwork, was salvaged and is being stored under the care of

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. The property was valued at the time of sale at $44 million. Demolition of the mansion started on December 5, 2013. By December 6, 2013, ''

'' reported that almost half of the mansion was demolished. The Manhasset Bay Group plans to build a subdivision on the property, with 46 homes on lots ranging from a half acre to one acre in area. This subdivision underwent a hearing for environmental concerns in March 2016.

References

External links

Inisfada
– at the ''Old Long Island'' website
Inisfada.org
– website of an Inisfada preservation campaign {{Gold Coast mansions North Hills, New York Demolished buildings and structures in New York (state) Mansions of Gold Coast, Long Island 1920 establishments in New York (state) Houses completed in 1920 2013 disestablishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures demolished in 2013 Houses in Nassau County, New York Gilded Age mansions