Kildare Gentry : Books Ireland Summer 2005 by Hugh Oram
NEW BOOK TELLS STORY OF ARISTOCRACY OF KILDARE
[This] book about the aristocracy and landed gentry of County Kildare seems to tell the story of an effete tribe indeed. However many of the histories deserve narrating, and Turtle Bunbury unearths an amazing amount of information about the families concerned. The story of the Barton family of Straffan who once owned the great house that’s now the K Club is intriguing not least for their connection with the Bordeaux wine trade. The involvement of the Guinness family in brewing and of the La Touche family in banking is also thoroughly researched. Bunbury is right up to date; in documenting the More O’Ferrall family, the famous More O’Ferrall outdoor advertising firm is there. It started in 1936 and was sold to the US multinational Clear Channel media in 2002.
There are many curious little anecdotes, like the fact that an ancestor of Chris de Burgh commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry in Normandy. The research in this book is very thorough; no stone or layabout has been left unturned.