Introduction
The Delmege (or Dolmage) family of Rathkeale, County Limerick, formed part of the wider network of Anglo-Irish landed and professional families connected through marriage, military service, and inheritance.
This family is of particular relevance to the Seskinore and Ecclesville histories through its connection to Anthony Charles Stuart Delmege, whose ancestry linked together several notable Irish families, including the Delmege, Stewart, Eccles, Browne-Lecky, and associated landed families.
The surname appears in records as both Dolmage and Delmege, with Delmege becoming the more commonly used nineteenth-century form.
Huguenot Origins
The family descended from:
Adam Dolmage
An Alsatian Protestant refugee who settled in County Limerick during the reign of Louis XIV following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Like many Huguenot families who settled in Ireland, the Dolmages became established within Irish landed and professional society.
The family seat became:
Rathkeale, County Limerick
A centre of Huguenot settlement in Ireland.
The Rathkeale Family
Julius Delmege (1772–1849)
Captain Julius Dolmage (later Delmege) married:
Susanne de Gorrequer, daughter of Monsieur Philippes Fontancy de Gorrequer of Brittany.
Their descendants included several military officers, clergy, barristers, and landowners who became connected through marriage to numerous Irish landed families.
Connections to the Stewart and Eccles Networks
The Delmege family became associated with the wider network of families connected to:
- Stewart of Athenree
- Eccles of Ecclesville
- Browne-Lecky of Ecclesville
- McClintock of Seskinore
- Knox-Browne of Aughentaine
- de Montmorency of Castle Morres
These links developed through repeated intermarriage between Anglo-Irish landed families during the nineteenth century.
Anthony Charles Stuart Delmege
Anthony Charles Stuart Delmege emerged from this interconnected family network and represents a continuation of the broader associations between the Delmege family and the landed families connected with Seskinore and Ecclesville.
His ancestry reflects the merging of:
- Huguenot Delmege lineage
- Stewart family connections
- Eccles-related family associations
- Wider Anglo-Irish landed society
The inclusion of the middle name “Stuart” also reflects these family connections and naming traditions commonly used among interconnected landed families.
Wider Family Context
The Delmege family illustrates how Irish landed society operated through:
- Marriage alliances
- Shared inheritance networks
- Military and clerical careers
- Estate management
- Social and political connections
Although not direct owners of Seskinore or Ecclesville, the family formed part of the broader kinship network surrounding those estates.
Heraldry
Arms
Per chevron argent and azure, in chief two crescents issuing fleurs-de-lis, and in base a crescent issuing a fleur-de-lis, with spearhead proper.
Motto
“Inveniam aut faciam”
(I shall find a way or make one.)
Significance
The Delmege family is significant for:
- Representing the Huguenot contribution to Irish landed society
- Connecting Munster and Ulster landed families
- Demonstrating the interwoven nature of Anglo-Irish genealogy
- Providing ancestral context for Anthony Charles Stuart Delmege and related family lines