View of main entrance to Gilltown Stud.
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Gilltown is the Aga Khan's public stud in Ireland where the
sires Daylami, Kalanisi and Sinndar are to be found. The area
is steeped in history and reflects the lore of the past. Gilltown
and the adjoining Sallymount are the sites of two ancient
forts dating back, respectively, to Neolithic and Viking times.
In the 12th century, they were part of a very large land holding
which Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster, presented to the
Cistercian monks of Baltinglass Abbey. The monks were displaced
in the 16th century when Henry VIII, who had declared himself
head of the Church in Ireland, enacted legislation in parliament
suppressing the monasteries. By the end of the century Gilltown
had passed into the possession of the Borrowes family who
had received a baronetage from Charles I. Borrowes' descendants
lived at Gilltown into the twentieth century.
Gilltown assumed a new role when it became a stud farm, first
under Captain RB Brassey and then Viscount Furness. When the
farm was acquired by the late Aga Khan, he retained the services
of its then stud manager Georges Smithwick and after his death,
Smithwick's widow. Great attention is paid to the overall
care and upkeep of these studs. Today Gilltown, Sallymount
and Sheshoon are nature sanctuaries with a great variety of
wildlife, flowers and rare mature trees. The Aga Khan thinks
of these properties as part of Ireland's national heritage
and a legacy for future generations.
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