Henry Ponsonby (b. 1952)

Track 1: The background to the Ponsonby family at Kilcooly Estate. Henry Ponsonby recalls taking over the running of the Ballynatray Estate from his father in 1976. Track 2: Memories of his early days growing up at Killcooly Abbey. The maternal side of his family. Track 3: A discussion on Kilcooly Abbey, and the movement of the Palatines from Limerick to Urlingford in the 18th century. Track 4: The management of the Kilcooly Estate by his grandfather. A forestry plantation, sawmills, a railway line and a piggery on the estate are described. Track 5: The reasons why the estate was not burnt by the IRA during the Troubles. Track 6: The Wyndham Act and its effects for his grandfather. Henry’s father was invalided out of the World War II. Track 7: The Ponsonby property at Crotta, in North Kerry, rented out to the Kitcheners. His father’s great success with racehorses. He was a member of the Turf Club, and a senior steward. Track 8: His marriage to Fiona Brotchie, whose people owned the property in Tramore where he now lives. His inheritance of Ballynatray, the running of the estate, and the fish traps on the Blackwater. Track 9: The family’s determination to stay on the estate. Track 10: Killcooly Estate and Farm. Track 11: The Ponsonby family today.