This work traces the fortunes of the MacGeough Bonds, a minor gentry family of County Armagh, in an area located near Moy, through the dramatic changes that occurred in rural Ireland over half a century from 1880. It investigates they ways in which they and neighbouring landlords were affected by the social and political challenges of the time. The study examines the way this particular family responded to these challenges, demonstrating why they and their property survived long after neighbouring big houses had fallen into ruin.