Meet The Henry Children
Mitchell and Margaret Henry had nine children, who also play an important part in the timeless story of Kylemore. Today we will be talking about four of the children.
Pic 1: Alexander Henry banner in the long room of the Abbey.
Alexander Henry was the fourth born child to Mitchell and Margaret Henry. Alexander, who trained with the London Fire Brigade, sought to run his own. This led to the establishment of the Kylemore Voluntary Fire Brigade. Check out three interesting facts about it!
- Kylemore Voluntary Fire Brigade was made up of volunteers, who each had their own navy uniform, a brass helmet, and a Henry coat of arms broach (a lion holding a crown) to signify their involvement.
- Kylemore Voluntary Fire Brigade was the one and only fire brigade to ever be established in Kylemore, and there was only one fire that required extinguishing in its entire existence.
- The fire brigade’s existence came to a rapid halt, when a blazing fire broke out in the brigade’s engine room where all of the necessary equipment was to extinguish the fire. This led to all of their equipment being destroyed. Kylemore Voluntary Fire Brigade ceased to exist after this occurrence took place.
Pic 2: Example of what the fire brigade brass helmets looked like.
Lorenzo Henry was an established inventor and spent much of his time at Kylemore experimenting for the creation of inventions. Check out some info on some of his ambiguous inventions!
Pic 3: Lorenzo Henry banner in Abbey long room. (Zoom in to look at the huge tuna fish!)
- Lorenzo created a piece of equipment to facilitate the capturing of an 852lb tuna fish, which was a record at the time. Our Abbey long room showcases a photograph of Lorenzo, the fisherman, and the enormous record breaking fish!
- His most successful invention was the Henrite shot-gun cartridge. Described as being the first smokeless gun, it became a popular phenomenon amongst sports men because of its practicality.
Pic 4: Portrait of Florence Henry
Florence Henry was the last remaining child of the Henry family to live in the area, she lived here in her home in Bunoboghee Lodge (2 miles from Kylemore) until her passing in 1952. Florence was a well known character around the area. Read some fascinating facts about Florence!
- Florence opened and ran a soup kitchen in Dublin during World War I, feeding families of men gone to war. She won an OBE award for her efforts.
- Florence left behind a lasting legacy on the area, and left some of her and her families belongings to us. Thanks to Florence, we have so many original belongings of the Henry family on display today.
Pic 5: Portrait of a young Florence Henry & her Opera cape that was gifted to Miss Bridie Hester and kindly given to us to display.
Pic 6: Geraldine Henry Wedding.
Geraldine Henry was the 'flower of Mitchell Henry’s flock'. Sadly her life ended in tragedy. Read some both poignant and profound things about the life of Geraldine Henry.
- Geraldine was widely known to be a talented horsewoman since a child.
- She married Edward Hooker Gilbert, and moved to Ware, Massachusetts. There, she went on to have two children, who unfortunately passed away during infancy.
- Geraldine moved to Kylemore to raise her third child; Elizabeth in the clean and fresh air of Kylemore. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when she was killed in an unfortunate carriage accident on Derryinver Bridge above the Dawros river, local to Kylemore.
Pic 7: Glass case on display in the Abbey showcasing some of Geraldine Henry's original belongings.
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the many characters of Kylemore's rich history.
Stay tuned!
Ciara Nee - Marketing Team.