Museum of Country Life
No Ordinary Family
By Bernie Byron
3, Nov 2012 - 08:00

The new temporary exhibition, "No Ordinary Family: Zoffany's Portrait of the Fitzgeralds of Turlough, 1764" opens to the public from Wednesday 07 November '12.

Nearly 250 years ago, a portrait of George Fitzgerald with his sons George and Charles, hung in Turlough Park House, Castlebar, the estate of the Fitzgerald family. The portrait of this infamous family has now returned to its original home and will be on display in the Museum from 07 November '12. The vibrant oil painting is on loan from the National Gallery of Ireland.

George Robert, son of George and later known as the ‘Fighting Fitzgerald', was famous for his brave and reckless horsemanship. A renowned duellist, he was found guilty and hanged for murder in Castlebar, Co. Mayo in 1786. A pair of duelling pistols will be displayed in the Landlord's Library in Turlough Park House during the exhibition, and are of a type that would have been used by George Robert Fitzgerald. The exhibition runs until April 2013.