ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the history of the Richards family from the mid-nineteenth century. It is deeply influenced by remarkable experiences in the United States of America the experiences have influenced and changed the two individuals, Edward Moore Richards and his daughter Adela. The story of this family throws some light not only on these individuals but also on the ambiguities and apparent contradictions of landed and religious relationships in Ireland. Edward Moore Richards was the great-grandson of the builder of the house, but as a younger son had no expectation of inheriting. Accordingly, he had established himself as an engineer, initially working on the Shannon River Navigation Schemes. In May 1847 at the age of 21 he set out on a voyage to Quebec, undertaken for his health but ironically on what turned out to be one of the so-called coffin ships carrying poor and often diseased migrants fleeing the Great Famine.
