The Knox Family of Moyne Abbey

Introduction

The Knox family of Moyne Abbey formed an important connection within the wider network of families associated with the Seskinore estate and the interconnected landed families of Tyrone and Ulster.

This connection was established through the marriage of Samuel McClintock (1790–1852) to Dorothea (“Dora”) Knox, linking the McClintock family of Seskinore to the extensive Knox family network of Ireland.

Although the Knox family did not hold the Seskinore estate itself, their influence can be seen in the lineage, naming traditions, and wider family alliances of the later McClintock family. The connection is also significant because branches of the Knox family later became intertwined with the Browne family of Aughentaine through the Knox-Browne line, thereby indirectly linking the McClintock, Browne, and Eccles families.

Origins of the Family

The Knox family of Moyne Abbey, County Mayo, belonged to a prominent Anglo-Irish landed family with roots extending back to seventeenth-century Scotland and Ireland.

The Moyne Abbey branch descended from the wider Knox family network associated with:

Prehen, County Londonderry
Rappa Castle, County Mayo
Mount Falcon, County Mayo
Grace Dieu, County Dublin

The family acquired extensive landed interests throughout Ireland and became closely associated with the Protestant landed class of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

In 1741, Dorothy Knox obtained a long lease of Moyne Abbey, in the parish of Killala, barony of Tirawley, from James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, helping establish the family’s Mayo seat.

The Knox Family in Ireland

By the nineteenth century, the Knox and related Knox-Gore families held substantial landed estates across multiple counties.

Notable members included:

Henry Blake Knox of Moyne Abbey and Dalkey, County Dublin
Ernest Edward Knox, landowner in County Roscommon
Lieutenant-Colonel William Knox of Brittas Castle, County Tipperary
branches associated with Prehen, Mount Falcon, and Rappa Castle

The family occupied an important position within the Irish landed gentry and maintained extensive marriage connections with other prominent families throughout Ireland.

Connection to the Seskinore Estate

The connection between the Knox family and Seskinore was established through the marriage of:

Samuel McClintock (1790–1852)

and

Dorothea (“Dora”) Knox

Through this marriage:

the Knox family became incorporated into the McClintock lineage
the Seskinore family gained additional connections within the wider Irish landed network
the Knox name and identity continued into later generations of the McClintock family

This alliance reflects the close interrelationship of landed families during the nineteenth century, where marriage reinforced social position, inheritance networks, and regional influence.

The Knox-Browne and Eccles Connection

The Knox connection is further significant because the Browne family of Aughentaine later adopted the additional surname Knox-Browne through marriage and inheritance connections with the Knox family.

Through subsequent intermarriages between the Browne, Browne-Lecky, and Eccles families, the Knox connection indirectly linked:

Seskinore
Aughentaine Castle
Ecclesville

This wider network helps explain the repeated family alliances between the McClintock, Eccles, Browne-Lecky, and Knox-related families during the nineteenth century.

Family Connections: Knox, McClintock, Browne-Lecky & Eccles

Knox Family
(Moyne Abbey / Prehen / Rappa Castle)

↓

Dorothea (“Dora”) Knox
married
Samuel McClintock of Seskinore

↓

Colonel John Knox McClintock
(1864–1936)

Separate branch of the wider Knox family:

Knox-Browne Family of Aughentaine

↓

Thomas Richardson Browne of Aughentaine

Children included:

Caroline Frances Browne
married
John Stewart Eccles of Ecclesville
Annie Henrietta Eccles
married
Conolly William Lecky Browne-Lecky

↓

Amy Henrietta Frances Eccles

married

Colonel John Knox McClintock

Continuation of the Knox Name

The importance of the Knox connection is reflected in later McClintock naming traditions.

Colonel John Knox McClintock (1864–1936)

grandson of Samuel McClintock and Dorothea Knox, preserved the maternal surname within the family.

Such naming practices were common among landed families and reflected the importance attached to maternal lineage, inheritance connections, and family alliances.

Significance

The Knox family is significant within the history of Seskinore because it demonstrates:

the integration of the McClintock family into a wider Irish landed network
the importance of marriage alliances in estate society
the interconnected nature of the McClintock, Browne, Browne-Lecky, and Eccles families
the role of maternal lineage in family identity and naming traditions