Esmonde of Wexford & Tipperary
The very distinguished family of Esmonde, a surviving branch of which still lives at Ballynastragh, near Gorey, began their connection with Wexford in the 12th century. It is believed that Geoffrey de Estmont was one of the thirty knights who accompanied Robert FitzStephen to Ireland in 1169 when the latter lead the advance force that landed at Bannow in that year. According to Philip Hore, Geoffrey de Estmont came from Huntington, in Lincoinshire, where a family of Esmondes survived and were ancestors of Lord Worhouse of Norfolk.[1]
[1] Hore Mss in St. Peter’s College
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