The Irish standard., 1912-06-08
NEW YORK FRESHMAN
owns IRISH ESTATE
Michael j. O'Connor has Realized
Ambition to Own Village
of Leitrim.
Will Spend Two Months of Each
Year With his Family in his
Own Irish Manor.
Would Have Sailed on Titanic Had
he Been Able to Arrange for
Stateroom.

When Michael ]. O'C onnor came to
this country twenty years ago he had
one ambition, to own the village of
his birthplace, Leitrim, in the county
of Leitrin, ireland, and to get pos
session Of Drumhierney House and
the domain of the La Touche family,
which had lorded it over the village
of Leitrim and the neighboring coun-
try since the days Of the invasion Of
Cromwell. Seven years ago O'Connor
bought the village and recently hel
got control of the Drumhierny de-
mesne at public auction. Now he
owns 425 acres of Irish land, part Of
which is on the banks of the River
Shannon, and he is happy, says the
New York Sun.
O'Connor does not intend to leave
this country and live on his Irish es-
tate. 1t is good enough for him here,
he says, but he will spend about two
months every year with his family OH
his own land, where he can fish and
hunt and not care about game war;
dens. There are trout streams, the
River Shannon and pheasants and
grouse, but more than anything else
he says he wants to develop the in
dustries of his native town that the
villagers may prosper.
ic o. h iffSy
years Did. His features are clean cut
if tri1e sharp, and he has the blue
eyes of the Celt He remembers that
his grandfather years ago attempted
to build castle in Leitrim that would
rival the glories of Drumhierney
house, but the La Touches were more
powerful and wealthy and they put
such obstacles in the way of grand
father O'Connor that the propos-
ed O'Connor castle never got above
the foundations.
Ever after that the sensational Irish
of the neighborhood called it "O'Con-
nor's folly" Young O'Connor in his
school days had other boys tell him
how foolish his ancestor had been to
attempt to dwarf the eminence of the
La Touche, whose ancestors had been
refugees from France, and the pride
of the youthful OConnor was hurt
He knew that Roderic O'Connor, the
last king of Ireland and prince of
! Breffney, had made his last stamping
| ground at Letrim, and was there any
reason not to believe that an O'Con-
nor of Leitrim must be descendant
of the Irish king?
Coming to this country, O'Connor
went to a business school for two
years. OF course anybody who can
pay $4,000 for an Irish estate has
prospeyed. Whenever he got cash he
put it aside SO that when the time
came he could step in and buy the
village of Leitrim he would not have
to hustle for ready money.
Then O'Connor bought the village
Of Lcitrim. He didn't have t. go
abroad to do this. All the negotia-
tions were carried on in Dublin, a
lawyer acting for O'Connor. Having
got the village he waited for the time
when he could buy Drumhicrney
House In December Francis La
Touche the last of the family, died.
In March one of OConnor's relatives
he has sister and a brother living
in Leitrim-cabled to him that Drum
!. hierney House would be sold at auc-
tion. Two days later he sailed on the
, Olympic. .#....
i, They welcomed O'Connor in Lett
rim with brass band and a parade
One of their own had come from the
gold -soiled land of America to buy
Drumhierney House. The posters de-
scribng the auction of Drumhierney
estate will tell YOU that the mansion
!, has six bedrooms, bathrooms and
+ three receptions rooms. with game ir
l the woods and trout in the streams
I There were no bidders against O'Con.
I nor and he got the property.
l At once he wired to the White Stal
4 Line folks that he wanted d state.
t room on the Titanic. He was tolt
e that there wasn't one left, 80 ne cam,
j. on the Mauretania of the Cunard Line