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| Allan Pollock, a Scotsman with money from a shipping venture to invest, made an extensive purchase of land, up to 30,000 acres, in counties Galway and Roscommon about the famine time. This was mainly the bankrupt estate of the Eyres of Eyrecourt which was put to auction by the Encumbered Estates Court. Pollock's first objective was to clear the tenants off and let it out in large tenures. He anticipated no difficulty in this but soon found that he would have to resort the courts, and that it would be less costly to offer some compensation rather than having a prolonged litigation. Faced with the threat of eventual eviction in any case the tenants took the money and left, heading for the towns or the emigrant ship. But the Ballymana tenants remained and tradition has it that his title to this area was not clear and the alternative threat could not be made. It is also said that evacuated cabins were demolished and ploughed over within the day. He took the plough around the property and spent much money on drainage, setting up a brick factory at Kylemore to make soil pipes. He built houses and erected gates and farm buildings. There were nine farmyards on the property. |
| Rows of cottages were built for his farm labourers at Newtown, Crowsnest and elsewhere. Then he divided the estate into huge farms which he leased to Protestant tenants at 21 year terms. His son-in-law Gardner, acted as his agent and farmed 2,000 acres. Some thousands of Catholics had been sent adrift.. It was almost a latterday plantation. Even the old tenants who suffered to remain were discrimicated against. Many of them were forced to do seasonal work in England or Scotland to make up the rent. They were made to pay the whole country cess. |  |
| For newcomers, Pollock paid half the cess as well as providing them with houses and every other amenity as in the English system. The old tenants received little no consideration from him. He never acknowledged that they had any interest in their holdings, but paid them for their stock or crop to get rid of them. For this he was ostracised by the county landlords but lived it down. His Lismany property was divided by the Land Comission in the nineteen twenties. |
| During his time in Ireland, Pollock lived in Lismany, near Ballinasloe. The laying of the first stone was recorded in "The Western Star" of March 29th 1856. Lismany House was burnt down during the 1920's. |
| About twelve o'clock on Monday last, the weather being most propitious the ceremony of laying the first stone of a mansion for the residence of John Algie, Esq. took place at Lismany, within three miles of Ballinasloe. There was a large concourse of people present on the occasion, when the carriages conveying the propietor, Allan Pollock, Esq. and the principal visitors arrived and at 1 o'clock the stone that was previously prepared and brought to the position for settin gwas laid by Mrs. Pollock, amidst the acclamations of people present. Mr. Pollock came forward, and in a most liberal manner, have the foreman two sovereigns for the men to regale themselves for the remainder of the day. Mr. Madden, the contractor, being present, spoke in very eloquent terms on the auspicious event, he called for three cheers for the founder and the settler of the first stone of the Lismany mansion which was most cordially received. Mark Byrne, Esq of Dublin after the laying of the stone called for a cheer for the Misses Pollock, which was received with the same enthusiasm as the other announcement. Three cheers being called for Mr. Algie and family, Mr. Pollock came forward and expressed his most ardent desire that Mr. Algie would live long with his family to manage in this locality his property, which he was happy to say, had prospered so much under his superintendence. On the occasion there were present, Mrs. Pollock and Misses Pollock, Miss Algie, Alan Pollock, Esq., Mark Byrne, Esq., Allan Algie, and James Algie, E'qrs, ---- Gardiner, Esq., William Maxwell CE, and Mr. Francis Madden, the contractor. The building will possess many architectural beauties, and is rather creditable to Mr. Madden that he has been employed as contractor. |
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