Shannock
SHANNOCK (little old land)
Area 77:2:34
History
By 1641 the owners of Shannock castle were Arthur Champion who was a Dublin merchant and his wife Alice. In the rebellion of that year, it was attacked. At the time a Court Leet was being held. This was a local court which landlords such as Arthur Champion were bound to hold as part of their grant. It dealt with minor criminal matters, petty thefts, broken fences, rights of way and recovery of minor debts. When the court was over, some officials and several of the local landholders remained at the castle. The raiders obtained entry by pretending that they had caught a man stealing sheep and were bringing him to the court. They killed Arthur Champion and several of his companions and the castle was burned out. Alice fled to England where she re-married. Her second husband sold her property after her death and this may be where Sir Gilbert Eccles enters the scene. He was born in Ayrshire in 1602 and settled in Ireland with estates in Fermanagh and Tyrone. He was styled as Sir Gilbert Eccles of Shannock Manor when he served as High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1665, and succeeded by his son Daniel of Shannock, High Sheriff in 1675.
The property remained with the Eccles family connection until it was sold to the tenants via the Land Commission in 1908. Over the years, the rents of the property had been shared by an increasing number of Eccles relatives which explains why in several townlands the Lessor is “Mrs Dixon and others”. The Thomas Auchinleck here is probably part of the extended family too for a Jane Eccles of Shannock had married a Rev. Alexander Auchinleck in 1874.
Griffiths Valuation 1862
Occupier………………………… Lessor James Clerkan…………………………...Thomas Auchinleck H Os L Terence Clerkin sen……………………. Thomas Auchinleck H Os L Bernard Mohan…………………………..Terence Clerkin House Mary Maguire……………………………Terence Clerkin House William Clerkin………………………… Thomas Auchinleck H Os L Edward McAdam………………………...Thomas Auchinleck H Os L William Clerkin………………………….Thomas Auchinleck Land
1901 Census
Head of Family…………………... Landholder if different William Clerkin James Connolly Ellen Short ……………………………… James Connolly Vacant …………………………………... Thomas Clerkin of Shannock Green
Surnames in 2005
Irwin McCabe A shop was carried on here for a long number of years by Mrs Lucy Irwin and her daughter Rachel. A poster for the auction of this property is among the memorabilia at the back of this book. A copy was kindly given by Enniskillen Library.