Cusack - Lady Joan de Cusack

Lady Joan De Cusack

Lady Joan de Cusack, daughter of Sir Lucas de Cusack, Lord of Killeen and Matilda Flemming, daughter of the Baron of Slane, married Christopher Plunkett of Rarhregan in 1399.

Christopker joined her as Lord of Killeen at the Castle.

Lady Joan de Cusack as an heiress brought not only the parish and the castles of Killeen and Dunsany but also the following manors and tenements to her husband. (we must remember that a manor often involved thousands of acres). In the parish of Kilskire, the townlands of Boltown, Kilskire and Robbinstown. In the parish of Killallon, Galboystown, Seraghstown and Glehalstown. These two parishes are adjacent in the Barony of Fore, Co Meath in which she also had seisen of Loughcrew. Also in what is now the Barony of Lower Navan,in the parish of Clonmacduff, she owned Ballardin and Tullahanstown. Finally the townland of Cloney closes the list.(ref Pontifico Hibernica II, pp. 210–11)

The chantry church, outside Killeen Castle, built by the last of the Cusacks in Killeen, Joan, and her husband, Christopher Plunkett, is now a national monument. It was endowed with the object of having Masses and Prayers offered for the donors, their forbears and posterity, and doutless inspired partly by the little ruin that gave its name to the castle, and also partly by the fact that Lady Joan was the last of a long line of Cusacks to live in the place. The names of the Cusacks and Plunketts on the mortuary inscriptions in the church have been listed. (ref. Beryl Moore: The Tombs in St Mary's ruined Church, Killeen)

Christopher and Lady Joan had two male children - John Plunkett, the elder, inherited Killeen Castle and Christopher Plunkett, the younger, inherited Dunsany Castle. There appears to be no record of how their mother's inheritance was shared between them however what they and their offspring, down the years, do share is the DNA of that original Norman Knight who came to Ireland in 1172 - Geoffrey de Cusack.