The queen-mother had at this time fallen in love with Henry Stewart, second son of Lord Avondale, whom she married immediately after obtaining her divorce from Angus in 1527.
The picturesque ruins of Avondale Castle are situated on Powmilion Burn, a stream that runs through Strathaven to join the Avon, a mile below the town.
At the beginning of 1892 a heavy blow fell upon the queen in the death of the prince of Wales's eldest son Albert Victor, duke of Clarence and Avondale.
Among other prominent buildings are the Oddfellows' temple (completed 1894), the public library, the art museum (1886), a Jewish synagogue (in Avondale), and the (Jewish) Plum Street temple (1866), Moorish in architecture.
Most of the conference was based at Avondale House, a modest stately pile where Charles Stewart Parnell lived, in the Wicklow hills.