Robert Blennerhassett (High Sheriff)

[1] He was the son of Captain John Blennerhassett and Martha Lynn.

He was probably born at the family estate at Ballycarty Castle, County Kerry.

Robert's grandfather Robert Blennerhassett (who accompanied his elderly father Thomas) settled in Kerry in the reign of Elizabeth I as part of the Munster Plantations.

Blennerhassett served as an officer in the Cromwellian army during the Irish Confederate Wars, ensuring that his lands remained intact.

In doing so he came into the possession of Castle Conway in Killorglin, which would subsequently become the manor of the Blennerhassett's 7,000 acre Kerry estate.