PICTURES: Local historian Margaret O'Sullivan launches her new book in Nenagh Library

Local historian Margaret O'Sullivan launched her latest work, Lismore Estate under William Robert Hood Rochfort, 1891 to 1902, in Counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary, at Nenagh Library on Tuesday November 18.

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The event drew a strong audience of readers and local history enthusiasts. Dr Siobhan Geraghty, former heritage officer with Tipperary County Council, introduced the author and spoke about the value of her research.

William Rochfort remains little known outside specialist circles, yet his long career as a land agent, from 1872 to 1940, placed him at the centre of rural Irish affairs. His work extended from estates in Derry to holdings in the far south of Kerry. In north Tipperary he served as land agent on the Viscount Lismore estates, particularly in the areas around Borrisokane and Roscrea.

O'Sullivan's book draws on the words of both Rochfort and the tenants of the Lismore estates in Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. It explores the land agent and tenant relationship during the years 1891 to 1902. 

The study outlines the techniques Rochfort used to examine the personal circumstances of his tenants, his treatment of them and his occasional efforts to offer discreet support to those in difficulty. The concerns expressed by tenants, presented in their own words, form a central part of the narrative and offer a vivid account of rural life at the turn of the twentieth century.

Copies of the book are available in The Bookshop, Nenagh, local bookshops and from Four Courts Press.

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