The Brownes, whose head was Lord Kilmaine, and who occupied the estate up to 1934, claimed to have a pedigree going back to the Battle of Hastings. These Brownes were of the same origin as the Brownes of Breaghy, the Neale, and Lord Sligo (Westport House). The Brownes came to the area and took over the estate at the time of the Cromwellian Plantations (1652-1660) in return for a favour. The local folklore suggests that Cromwell gave it to one of his soldiers who did not fancy it and he offered it to anyone who would give him a horse. The tale goes on to say that a soldier named Browne gave him an old white horse and received the estate in return.
"The Brownes of The Neale, Castlemagarrett, Breaghy and Rahins when the old faith was proscribed, following the breaking of the Treaty of Limerick , did publicly Read the Recantations. Despite stories to the contrary and that a son came to oust the father, the head of the Westport family did not publicly deny the faith, as the law required, and take on the new religion. It was forced on the heir when a child and the whole family followed what was the new fashion."
The original estate consisted of over 1000 acres and the residence of the Brownes, now a ruin, was once a fine mansion. It stood in beautiful parkland and was reached by a winding avenue over a mile long and bounded by charming groves. A large section of the estate south west of the Big House was divided up by the Land Commission and was divided among adjoining tenants. The Browne residence stood in Islandeady parish.
" Elizabeth Browne wife of Dodwell Browne of Rahins and daughter of James Cuffe of Ballinrobe, who died on 13th March 1777 aged 44years and her daughter Elizabeth who died June 5th 1781 aged 18yrs."
Elizabeth was sister of James Cuffe who became Baron Tirawley. He was a notorious character, and died without issue and was buried in Ballinrobe.
Dodwell married Maria O Donel (a Catholic), in his second marriage. She was daughter of Sir Nial O Donel of Newport. There is a monument erected some distance from the house and is in alignment with the old Elizabethan mansion which was pulled down in 1835 by Mr. Henry Browne who built the house, a portion of which still remains. A moat and four bastions surrounded the original house.
Some years after her marriage Maria became ill and was taken to Dublin for medical attention. She reached Dublin and died shortly afterwards. Her husband Dodwell erected a cenotaph in her memory. This obelisk was erected at a time when the Brownes were powerful and wealthy. It was common at the time among aristocratic families to erect such monuments in memory of lost loved ones.
"SIORD THU DOD CUIMHNE M'CARA O MO MUIRNIN DILIS D'IMTHIGH COIDHCHE DO LAITHIR GO BRATH A IARADH UIRM".
"This cenotaph was built in memory of Maria Browne O Donel, second daughter of Sir Neal O Donel."
After the death of Dodwell in the 1830's his son Henry Browne took over the estate. He planted trees on both sides of the avenue and planted much of the wasteland in the demesne under forestry. During the Famine in 1847 he built the present house and stables and retained the kitchens of the original mansion. He used the local peasants as cheap labour paying them as little as four pence per day. He had no sympathy for the peasants who were starving and dying and went as far as depriving them of drinking water. The burden of all the construction work left him with no choice other than to mortgage the estate. He became ill and on his death his brother Neil became owner in 1870.
Neill had been commanding officer of the Warwickshire regiment of the British army that surrounded Kilclodny wood near Cork during the Fenian rising in 1867 and killed O Neill Crowley, a local rebel. He did not run the estate for very long and passed it on to his son, Dodwell, who was popularly known as "The Judge". Dodwell had spent 34 years in colonial service in Ceylon where he served some time at the Bar and the remainder as a High Court Judge. He returned from Ceylon in 1905.
He unsympathetic to the cause of home rule and strongly opposed Sinn Fein and the IRA It was his under his ownership that the estate was divided up and given to local farmers under the Compulsory Tillage Act. In return he was paid a yearly rent.
Dodwell had 3 sons - Dodwell, Keppel and O Donnell and a daughter Lucy. Keppel died as a boy, and Dodwell and O Donnell were educated at Trinity College. O Donnell became a doctor and took up practice in Naas, Co. Kildare while Dodwell moved to Australia where he also practised medicine.
On his fathers death in 1920 Dodwell became owner of the estate. As the days of the landlord were gone he returned to Australia in 1923. Lucy joined him in Australia following the death of her mother in 1932 and she went on to marry a man named Wright who owned tea plantations in Ceylon.
Dodwell was highly regarded locally. Patients came to see him on his visits home and queued to see him outside the mansion.
He engaged the services of Mr. Will Larkins, the most noted steeplejack in the world to carry out repairs to the monument. Some ash seedlings had become embedded in the masonry and as it grew it displaced several of the stones. The steeplejacks erected scaffolding and replaced the urn and globe using steel cables. This work was completed in a few days.
In 1933 the furniture, fixtures and fittings of the house were sold. The place was allowed to become derelict as Dodwell did not pay wages to his workers or pay rent and rates on the property. In 1941 a Mr. Mc Kenna purchased the estate from the land commission.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists visited the estate on at least three occasions. In his diaries he refers to what he saw on one visit when George Robert Fitzgerald was hanged. On another occasion he preached under the lime trees on the lawn outside the house. His last visit was on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone on the Wesleyan church on the Mall, Castlebar on 2nd May 1785.
Le General Humbert, Ordonne au tout officiers, sous-officiers &soldats, composant son armee de proteger de tout leur pouvoir le Citroen Browne demeurant a Rahins.
"The General Humbert's compliments to Mrs. Browne is fully sensible of her very polite and proper conduct, takes this opportunity of telling her so and also of assuring her his protection; hopes Mrs. Browne will be able to succeed in tranquilizing the minds of the other ladies, and also that she will be so good as to have his horse taken care of. The General depends on the promise of Mr. and Mrs Browne of having the honour of their company at dinner this day at one o'clock. "
It is reported that General Humbert visited the Brownes on at least three occasions. In another letter he states how much he values the horse as it had once saved his life. He also got Mrs. Browne to have some laundry work done for him.