Raheens Estate
Raheens House (sometimes spelled Rahins, Rahin, or even Rahiens) is located in Islandeady, approximately four miles to the west of Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The existing house, dating from the early nineteenth century, replaced an earlier, fortified dwelling. Situated along a canalised river, which connects Lough Lannagh to Islandeady Lough, the demesne originally contained a gate-lodge, an oak forest of nearly 100 acres, extensive parklands, a walled garden, and numerous outbuildings. An urn-topped obelisk, a cenotaph to Maria O’Donel Browne, was erected in 1809, and there is a small family graveyard near the lakeshore. The house was originally home to the Brownes. This family, related to the Marquess of Sligo, were a lesser branch of the Brownes of the Neale. Today the house, which was abandoned in 1933, lies in ruins.
When Raheens was a functioning estate, it comprised lands of over 1000 acres. Touring the area in 1801, James McParlan wrote that “the demesne itself of Rahins, nearly on a level with the lake, is very handsome”. A number of features can still be seen near the house, including a large stable-block beside the river, built in 1784 by Dodwell Browne. His initials, DB, are on the keystone over the arched main door |
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