Griffith College is the largest and longest established private third level higher education college in Ireland. Established in , with campuses in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, Griffith College is the largest independent higher education institution in Ireland with a student population of around 7, with 1, overseas students from over 77 countries. Two miles from Donemana stands the impressive ruin of Altnachree Castle, one of the finest Victorian mansions to have been constructed in Ireland.
Only son of Leslie Ogilby Esq. William was an Irish Barrister and Zoologist whose family roots lay in Aberdeenshire. He was well known to Charles Darwin, and served with him on a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science charged with drawing up rules for standardising zoological nomenclature.
Desmond, p. He was also High Sheriff of County Tyrone in Thereafter they moved to a location between Dunamana and Ballyneaner, County Tyrone. There William undertook the construction of the family home. He started building Altnachree Castle in the s, just as the Great Famine struck.
The castle was completed in the s. Unlike many landlords, William kept on all his workers and fed them by importing grain. Seemingly, he carried out intensive land improvements and is reputed to have planted 11 acres of Cedrus Deodara at Altinaghree castle, which is a species of cedar trees that live in the western Himalayas and eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and north-central India.
William aged 22 married Matilda Doria di Spineto aged William passed away on 1st September , at age of 65 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Claude William Leslie Ogilby. Williams oldest son, Claude William Leslie Ogilby is listed as the castle occupier in Not much information is available on Claude, however I believe he was a Lieutenant in the 31st Regiment of Foot. The 31st Huntingdonshire Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Claude William Leslie Ogilby who is listed as the castle occupier in was reputed to be something of a spendthrift and fell heavily into debt.
