IRISH SCHOOL, 17TH/18TH CENTURY 

Portrait of Cornet Matthew Pennefather (1618-1688), holding a pistol
Oil on canvas, 74 x 61cm

Provenance: Pennefather family, New Park, Co Tipperary, thence by...

IRISH SCHOOL, 17TH/18TH CENTURY 

Portrait of Cornet Matthew Pennefather (1618-1688), holding a pistol
Oil on canvas, 74 x 61cm

Provenance: Pennefather family, New Park, Co Tipperary, thence by descent

Having arrived from the family’s ancestral seat in Staffordshire, the Pennefather family settled in County Tipperary, Ireland, circa 1648. Matthew Pennefather, a Cornet in the army of Oliver Cromwell, is recorded by 1662 as holding the rank of Quartermaster in the regiment of the Earl of Mountrath, with postings at Birr (1664) and Athy (1668). He had retired from military service by 1685.

Pennefather was granted approximately 1,237 acres in the Ballylanigan and Cashel districts. Following his marriage to Levina Kingsmill, the couple resided at Gort McEllis Castle, near Cashel, before succeeding to the Ballyowen estate upon the death of Levina’s father, subsequently renamed New Park. Both Matthew Pennefather and his wife are interred at the Rock of Cashel.

Their son, also named Matthew Pennefather, married Lavina Kingsmill of New Park, thereby consolidating the family’s ownership of the estate. From this union descended three sons: Kingsmill of New Park, Matthew, and William of Marlow. Subsequent generations of the Pennefather family remained established at New Park, while junior branches settled at Ballylanigan, Knockeevan, and Lakefield.

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