Mr Luke White and the Lords Anally

When the property at Luttrellstown was sold the purchaser was a Dublin bookseller name Luke White, who resided in Dawson Street. White had become wealthy through having procured a lottery ticket which en titled him to a prize of many thousands of pounds. He changed the name of the estate to Woodlands, in an effort to eradicate the hated name of Luttrell from the area, although it resumed its former name at the wish of Lord Annaly at the beginning of this century. Luke White was the ancestor of the Lords Annaly later owners of the estate. An extract from 'The illustrated London News' of January 23rd 1864 describes a series of festivities `at Woodlands, the beautiful seat of the Rt Hon. Henry White, the newly created Lord Annaly. These festivities consisted of theatrical and social entertainments. A new theatre was built especially for the occasion and the festivities lasted for a fortnight. The plays `Still Waters Run Deep' and `Samuel in Search of Himself' were performed, and a ball to which `most of the principal families of Dublin and the neighbourhood received invitations', concluded the festivities.

Queen Victoria paid two visits to Luttrellstown, the first in 1844 as she passed through to visit the Duke of Leinster at Carton, and the second in 1900 when she stayed at the Viceregal Lodge. To commemorate these visits Lord Annaly erected an obelisk made of six blocks of granite from the Dublin mountains, which together measure 8 feet, 6 inches in height. It is at the head of the Glen, near the Waterfall, where her Majesty drank some tea!

(Excerpt from Cnucha, A History of Castleknock by James O' Driscoll)