Servants of Domville Households in Dublin from 1768-95

This is a list of 76 household servants employed by  the Domville family in  County Dublin from 1768 to 1795. They are abstracted from a small record book among the Domville Papers in the National Library of Ireland [1]. The records are in the format ‘X was hired on (date) at (salary)‘; dates of payment; and date of discharge.  Some examples of the individual wage accounts are in Fig. 1. The author of the wages book is probably Charles Pocklington Domville who inherited the house and estate in 1768, when the records start. 

He seems to have been a hard task-master as almost all staff are discharged after a short period of years or even months. No reasons for discharge are given. The 'hiring and firing' was most active between 1768 and 1773. From 1774 to 1785 there was very little activity and it picked up again in 1786. It is difficult to get an impression of the workings of the Domville household from these records. Analysis of wages books of other estates has provided interesting perspectives on aspects of household life. This particularly applies to the Baron Clonbrock household in Galway (2); and the Flower estate in Durrow (3). It is possible that Charles Domville may have been away from Templeogue for part of this period. There are occasional references to payment of some of the footmen below in London. How long the staff were in London rather than Dublin is not clear.

The staff occupy 14 roles, most of which are well known (butler, cook etc.) but also include Postillions who are part of the team managing a coach. They sat on one of the horses in the

Fig 1. Example of wage record

team to guide them. The wage rates are mainly quoted in guineas (i.e. one pound and 1 shilling) but some are in pounds. The highest wages were for a male cook (24 guineas per annum) and Gardeners (or Gardiners as spelled here), while coachmen and grooms are also well-paid at up to 12 guineas per annum. Lowest paid are kitchen maids and housemaids at 4 or 5 guineas per year. This is consistent with wage rates in other contemporary estates such as Baron Clonbrock (2) and the Earl of Fingal (4) .

The Domville estate occupied over 6,000 acres in County Dublin and included two residences: Templeogue House, (where most of the staff were located) and Santry Court, to the north of the city. The family left Templeogue in 1780 and moved to Santry Court.

The staff include some with names that are uncommon in Ireland including Dennis, DeCourcy, Duffield, Codner and Askin.

The columns below show the roles and names of staff; the year(s) of employment and the wage (where stated):

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Position (& name) Years of employment Wage per year

Unspecified

John Dennis 1768 not stated

Richard Doyle 1768-71 not stated (at ‘Pucks Castle’ (See5))

Butler

Charlton Sheridan 1770-81 8 Guineas (See note 6)

William Goold 1781-83 14 Guineas

Thomas Stokes 1783 14 Guineas

Cook

James Dalton 1768-69 24 Guineas (see Fig.1)

Catherine Ford 1771–72 13 Guineas (See Fig 1)

Hannah Burke 1772 12 Guineas

Margaret Leary 1773 8 Guineas

Footman

Richard De Courcy 1768-69 8 Guineas

James Corrogan 1769-71 £8

Richard Callaghan 1772-72 “

John Kennedy 1772-73 “

William Magrath 1773 “

Robert Duffield 1775 “

Robert Devereux 1781 “

John Marshall 1768-9 “

James Walsh 1769-70 “

Dennis Bray 1771-73 “

Michael Curtis 1773 not stated

Patrick Boyd 1775 not stated

Maurice Moore 1784-87 £9.2.0

James Martin 1787-87 £9.2.9

Michael Connolly 1785 “

Michael Flanagan 1788 “

John Kenny 1789-90 £9.2.6

John Gallagher 1790 £9.2.9

Laurence Russell 1790 “

Connor Reedy? 1790 not stated

Porter

Patrick Bourke 1768-69 £8

John Laurence 1770-76 “

Coachman

Thomas Doyle 1768-69 12 Guineas

Thomas Evers 1770-71 “

Richard Williams 1781 13 Guineas

Arthur Hughes 1786-90 “

John Warren 1790 “

Groom

William Byrne 1768 -70 £10

James Short 1771-72 10 Guineas

Lawrence Quin 1773-75 12 Guineas

Andrew Kennedy 1775 12 Guineas

Postillion

George Taaffe 1768 -71 6 Guineas

Thomas Byrne 1783 “

Thomas Ball 1768 -73 “

Charles Goldfinch 1786 -89 “

Luke Ryan 1789 -90 not stated

Helper

James Jennings 1769 £6

John Magrath 1769-79 “

Housemaid

Peggy Morris 1768 -9 5 Guineas

Mary Askin 1769-9 “

Mary Booth 1769-70 “

Jane Hely (Jenny) 1770-71 “

Catherine Cardiff 1772 “

Ann Coleman 1768-69 ”

Catherine Cary 1769 not stated

Frances Kennedy (Fanny) 1769-70 not stated

Bridget Cahill 1770-71 not stated

Elizabeth Cahill (Betty) 1773 not stated

Eleanor Gammell (Santry) 1769 5 Guineas

Elizabeth DeRoche (Santry) 1769-70 (see below)

Upper Housemaid

Bridget Byrne 1769 £6

Kitchen Maid

Elizabeth Foreman (Betty) 1768 -69 5 Guineas

Bridget Cahill 1769 -70 not stated

Jane Connor 1770-71 not stated

Margaret Leary 1772 not stated

Mary Quin 1773 £4

Bridget McDermott 1772 “

Dairy Maid

Mary Matthews 1768-70 £6

Elizabeth Cavenagh 1771 not stated

Gardiner (or Gardener)

James Gammell 1769 10 Guineas

Philip DeRoche (at Santry) 1769 -70 12 Guineas

James Codner ? (at Santry) 1785 -86 £20

John Flanagan (at Santry) 1786 -95 16 Guineas

Laundry Maid

Margery Walsh 1771 6 Guineas

Mary Kenny 1772-72 £6

Bridget Styles 1773 not stated

If this glimpse into one of Ireland’s lesser‑known records has sparked new questions about your own family story, Ancestor Solutions is here to help. Reach out anytime for expert support with your Irish genealogical and family history research - hello@ancestorsolutions.ie

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Notes and references

(1) Accounts, mainly wages of household servants, 1769 - 1789. Domville Papers. National Library of Ireland Ms 11,844.

(2) Ryan, James G, (2025) Male servants of Robert Dillon of Clonbrock, Co. Galway, 1777-95. J. Galway Arch. & Hist. Soc. Vol. 77 pp 149-156. Available at James G Ryan

(3) Ryan, James G, (2024) Servants of Castle Durrow, Laois, Ireland from 1720-1748. Laois Heritage Soc. J. Vol 11 pp. 67-76 Available at James G Ryan

(4) Petty accounts, trademen’s and servants’ wages and domestic expenses of Earls of Fingal. National Library of Ireland Ms. 3640.

(5) This castle was on Domville property, but it is not clear what role was played by this man.

(6) The account notes that Charlton Sheridan died in service in 1781 and that his remaining wages were paid to Mary Tynan (widow) who was his sister and administratix of his will.

James G Ryan - https://jimryan43.academia.edu/