Sir John Piers, 6th Baronet

[2] By the time of his descendant Sir John Piers, the Abbey had been demolished and incorporated into a house which had itself fallen into disrepair, and which was allegedly the inspiration for Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent.

The couple had seven children: Henrietta, Henry, John Edward, William Stapleton, George, Louisa, and Florence, born between 1803 and 1819.

Moreover, it was established that Piers had seduced Lady Cloncurry as part of a bet:[5] if he succeeded, a sum of money would be deposited in his bank account by a person whose identity was never revealed.

The evidence included letters in which he addressed Lady Cloncurry, sensationally by the standards of the time, as his "beloved Eliza", and referred to her husband as a "poor tame wretch".

The "preoccupied" couple had been observed by an Italian mural-painter, Gaspare Gabrielli, who was working in the same room at the Cloncurrys' country house, Lyons Demesne, on a ladder.

He was not, however, necessarily able to avoid his old ways, as he is recorded as appearing before the Deemster along with two others (Major-General Stapleton and Captain Edwards) after they started a fight while part of a theatre audience.

over a bet made at dinner; Meredith fired early, missing Piers, who "advanced towards him, and ordered him to go down to his knees and beg, for pardon and life".

[10][9] Hannah Bullock, who in 1816 published the History of the Isle of Man, commented that from the arrival of Piers and his associates "peace spread her wings, and for many months was heard of no more [...] I am not exaggerating when I assert that every evening closed upon a quarrel".

[16] After spending several years on the Isle of Man, Piers returned to Tristernagh, where a house was built for him surrounded by a high wall to keep out his creditors.

case, The Bold Bad Baronet, produced for BBC Northern Ireland and presented by Frank Delaney.