St. Clerans Manor House was originally the home of a branch of the Burke family. The Burke family can trace their ancestry at St. Clerans from 1308, when a castle was built by Sir Ulick de Burgh, on the site. It was then known as Isercleran Castle. The Burke family can trace their origins from Godfrey, one of the leaders of the first military Crusade in 1097 AD, to Lieutenant Colonel John James Burke Cole, OBE, who fought in WWI and WWII. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and Military Cross. Among the most famous of this family to live at St. Clerans, was Robert O’Hara Burke, the great Australian explorer. The last Burke to inherit St. Clerans was Michael JB Cole. He was killed while flying on active service in 1954. It was then that they relinquished their beloved St. Clerans. One small bastion at St. Clerans remains in Burke Cole hands, the old Tower House.