Assassination of Mrs. Smyth of Newpark Country House

In 1830 Newpark House had passed back to Elizabeth the daughter of Mathew Lyster as she had become his sole heir, she married Ralph Smyth, and after her death the property passed to her second son Henry Mathew Smyth J.P of Barbavilla & Newpark.

The Rev. H.L.L.Denny, in his memorials of 'An Ancient House' , notes that Henry M. Smyth, was the target of an assasination attempt. Reading the memorials it appeared that Mr Smyth was one of the most popular landlords in the heart of Ireland, and a group of assassins chose him as their target in the hope that it would send out the message that nothing could save the landlords in Ireland from extermination.

On the 2nd April 1882, driving back to Newpark from the local parish church at kiltoom in their brougham carriage with a guest, a group of assassins waited in the woods close to the gatehouse of Newpark, Mr Smyth and his wife had exchanged seats to accomodate their guest, the brougham carriage was a small four wheeled covered carriage, that could comfortably carry two guests but could be addapted to carry extra passengers with foldaway seating as it had a narrow space underneath the drivers seat, obviously the assassins had assummed Mr. Smyth would be sat in his usual seat of the carriage and therefore fired their shots with this intention in mind, the consequences of this event was the murder of Mrs.Smyth.

After this tragedy Mr.Smyth sold the property to Murtagh the Miller who later sold it to Marcus Levinge in 1879 who refurbished the building after it had been gutted by fire in 1860.