Camlin House

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Camlin House, located adjacent to the village of Ballinameen (south of Boyle) is steeped in local history.

ORIGINS

The name Camlin [cam linn] means 'crooked line or crooked pond' which lends its name to the townland and the river running through it. Camlin townland had long been the property of the McDermotts of Moylurg until Cromwell's Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, when it was then awarded to Lloyd of Croghan, for services to the crown.

IRWIN ESTATE

It became the seat of the Irwin family the early 1700’s and the centre of a vast estate of many thousands of acres of land.

The first Irwin to settle there was Thomas Irwin (1673 - 1744) husband of Anne Walker (m.1700).

At the time of the 1749 Census of Elphin John Irwin (1716 - 1791) lived at Camlin with his wife, Rebecca Phibbs. Camlin House was commissioned by their son, Andrew Irwin (1758-1832).

In 1814 it was the seat of John Irwin (1762–1842). At the time of the 1st Ordnance Survey, Camlin was being leased by John Irwin from the estate of Guy Lloyd and was described as "a good house of three stories". In 1837 Lewis also recorded Camlin as the seat of the Irwin family. In June 1839, John Iriwin was still residing there when the house was rated at £28 in the primary valuation.

At the time of Griffith's Valuation in 1857, the representatives of John Irwin, a minor, were leasing a house at Camlin, valued at £14, to James Badger. Earlier, in March 1852, the estate of Thomas Irwin, the elder, at Granny East, barony of Boyle, was offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates court. This included a "comfortable residence" depicted in the sale notice.

CAMLIN TODAY

Camilin House is a stone-built, north-facing property, totalling 375 sq.m. It comprises a basement (with wine cellar) and 3 upper floors (that include 3 living rooms & potentially 8/10 bedrooms). It is currently in the process of restoration as a private residence.