Baron de Freyne - The Frenchs of French Park

The Frenchs of French Park

The French family is descended from John French, of French Park, County Roscommon, nicknamed "Tierna More" (the great landowner). He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Carrick, County Galway and Tulsk. His son, Arthur French, represented County Roscommon in the Irish Parliament. His elder son, John French, was a member of the Irish Parliament for County Roscommon. He was about to be raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Dangar in 1775 but died before the peerage was formally created. His younger brother Arthur French (1728–1799), member of the Irish Parliament for County Roscommon, refused the offer of the peerage originally intended for his brother. His son Arthur French (d. 1820) was also a member of the Irish House of Commons for County Roscommon. His eldest son was the first Baron de Freyne. Fitzstephen French, youngest brother of the first Baron, was Member of Parliament for County Roscommon.

The ancestral seat of the Barons de Freyne was the French Park Estate, near Boyle, County Roscommon, in the Republic of Ireland. The manor house, originally built in the mid-17th century before being rebuilt in the Georgian style in the 18th century was demolished after the sale of the estate by the French family to the Irish Land Commission in 1952. The Land Commission removed the roof of the buildings in 1953 and eventually demolished the remaining structures in ca 1975.