Glencar House - Our History

Though the precise date of the house has yet to be determined, we know the history of the House began in the late seventeenth century as a hunting lodge for Sir William Petty, Surveyor-General of Ireland. Petty was a founder of the Royal Society and was physician general to the army of Ireland in 1652. His survey of the Irish estates appropriated by Oliver Cromwell, begun in 1654, was the first attempt at scientific surveying on a large scale. He won favour with Charles II, was knighted (1662), and became surveyor general of Ireland. In 1673, his detailed map of Ireland was completed. His eldest son was created Baron Shelburne in 1688, while his daughter, Anne Petty, married Lord Kerry (Earl of Kerry). Their son, John FitzMaurice, inherited the Petty estates on the death of Petty’s youngest son, and changed his branch of the family's surname to "Petty" in place of "FitzMaurice". He was created Earl of Shelburne in 1753.

John FitzMaurice (Petty) eldest son, William Petty (Viscount Fitzmaurice) was born in Dublin in 1737 and spent most of his childhood in Kerry before attending Christ Church, Oxford. William Petty (1737-1805) became a distinguished British politician, who briefly served as Prime Minister between 1782-83 and was created Marquess of Lansdowne in 1784, having already inherited the title, Earl of Shelburne, from his father. These two titles, Shelburne and Lansdowne, began synonymous with landed estates in Kerry and throughout other parts of Ireland. The estate in Kerry amounted to 96,500 acres in the wild and majestic scenery that stretches from Kenmare to Beara with blocks of land scattered around the towns of Waterville, Cahirciveen, Glencar, Killorglin and Lixnaw.

Throughout the nineteenth century the House was remodelled and converted into a hotel and since then, there have been a number of additions, which has transformed much of its early origins.