Destruction of Irish country houses (1919–1923)

The destruction of country houses in Ireland was a phenomenon of the Irish revolutionary period (1919–1923), which saw at least 275 country houses deliberately burned down, blown up, or otherwise destroyed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The vast majority of the houses, known in Ireland as big houses, belonged to the Anglo-Irish upper class known as the Protestant Ascendancy. The houses of some Roman Catholic unionists, suspected informers, and members or supporters of the new Irish Free State government were also targeted. Although the practice by the IRA of destroying country houses began in the Irish War of Independence, most of the buildings were destroyed during the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Today, most of the targeted buildings are in ruins or have been demolished. Some were restored by their owners, albeit often smaller in size, or were later rebuilt and re-purposed.

The Big House as a target

Ballynastragh House depicted in 1826, typical of the "Big Houses" targeted by the IRA.

By the start of the Irish revolutionary period in 1919, the Big House had become symbolic of the 18th and 19th-century dominance of the Protestant Anglo-Irish class in Ireland at the expense of the native Roman Catholic population, particularly in southern and western Ireland.

The Anglo-Irish, as a class, were generally opposed to Irish republicanism and held key positions in the Dublin Castle administration. The Irish nationalist narrative maintained that the land of Irishmen had been illegally stolen from them by the Anglo-Irish aristocracy, who had mostly arrived in Ireland as Protestant settlers from Great Britain during the plantations of Ireland. The Anglo-Irish big house was at the administrative centre of the estates of the landowners, as well as being the family seat from which the Anglo-Irish exerted their political control over the island.

This perception was popularly held by nationalists, despite a considerable increase in Irish landownership in the previous decades due to the Irish Land Acts. Whereas in 1870, 97% of land was owned by landlords and 50% by just 750 families, by 1916, 70% of Irish farmers owned their own land. Catholics had been emancipated in 1829 and the political dominance of the Anglo-Irish in Ireland had consequently declined following the electoral successes of the Catholic nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party through much of the 19th century.

The former Protestant Ascendancy had lost its economic power following the Great Famine of 1845-49, and the Long Depression of the 1870s; and then lost its political power after the Representation of the People Act 1884. By 1915 the Irish Land Commission had transferred over 60% of Irish farmland to tenant farmers, leaving most of the former landed gentry with a house and a home farm known as a "demesne". The former landlords could afford to employ gardeners and household staff as they had received, as a group, the equivalent of over €60 billion (in 2019 euro) in compensation from the British government. Burning country houses from 1919 was therefore a largely symbolic act.

Irish War of Independence

In the destruction of the country houses of the aristocracy and landed gentry, the IRA hoped to overcome a culture of deference towards the landowning class. As early as 1918, IRA organiser Ernie O'Malley had his Volunteers train in demesne grounds to "rid them of their inherent respect for the owners".

During the Irish War of Independence, big houses were often targeted in reprisal for the destruction or defacement of houses owned by suspected IRA members or sympathisers by British forces (most commonly the Black and Tans and Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary). Anglo-Irish landowners typically held no influence over British counterinsurgency policies in any given area, and reprisal attacks on big houses by the IRA were bolstered by the assumption that their owners were always unionists. "In April 1921, north Cork IRA leader, Liam Lynch, enraged by the destruction of several houses in reprisal for an IRA ambush declared, 'six big houses and castles of their friends, the Imperialists will go up for this.'"

At least 76 country mansions were destroyed in the Irish War of Independence; 30 big houses were burned in 1920 and another 46 in the first half of 1921, mostly in the conflict's Munster heartland, i.e. the counties of Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick.

Historian James S. Donnelly stated in a study of the burning of over 50 country houses in County Cork from 1919 to 1921 that although there may have been agrarian or sectarian animosities at work, most of the houses targeted by the IRA were burnt either to deny them as potential billets to British forces or as reprisals for house burnings committed by British forces. Similarly, a study of the border region of counties of Louth, Cavan and Monaghan found no such burnings until June and July 1921, coinciding with a sizeable British Army offensive in the area and that the main motive was to deny the soldiers potential billets. "In this region at least it was the guerrilla tactics of the IRA and not agrarian motives that were main motive for targeting the Big Houses".

The "Big Houses" did not become the subject of a concerted campaign until the Irish Civil War. In this period there was also an increase in the level of violence towards protestant members County Cork. Of the 122 assassinated as "spies", 44, or about 36% were Protestants: about twice the percentage of Protestants in the civilian population of Cork. Mrs Mary (or Maria) Lindsay, an elderly Protestant from Coachford, was shot and killed, with her driver, in an outbuilding while her house was burning, after the authorities refused to commute the capital sentences of six IRA volunteers who were executed after Mrs. Lindsay had informed the authorities of a pending nearby ambush, after her efforts and that of a local priest to stop the pending ambush were ignored by the IRA. The degree to which such IRA violence can be categorised as sectarian as opposed to politically motivated is still the subject of much debate.

Irish Civil War

The ruins of Woodstock House in County Kilkenny, which was attacked on 2 July 1922 during the Civil War.

It is believed that 199 country houses were destroyed during the Civil War. Some mansions were destroyed in the fighting of the early months of the war, but the campaign against them began in earnest in late 1922. The leadership of the Anti-Treaty forces orchestrated a campaign of Big House destruction across Ireland. The order to burn houses of Free State supporters and "Imperialists" (as the IRA called the Anglo-Irish upper class) was given after the Irish Free State government embarked on a policy of executions of anti-Treaty Republican fighters.

Liam Lynch, anti-Treaty IRA Chief of Staff, after the execution of four senior Republicans in Mountjoy Prison, issued a General order on 8 December 1922 that, "all Free State supporters are traitors and deserve the latter's stark fate, therefore their houses must be destroyed at once", and, on 26 January 1923, issued another order for property destruction and possible killing of Free State Senators in reprisal.

The ostensible reason for the coordinated attack on the "Big Houses" therefore was that many of their owners were senators in the Senate or Seanad. However, others were targeted because the IRA listed them as "Imperialists" or in some cases "Freemasons". Most country houses were isolated and in rural areas, and targeting them forced the National Army to allocate their stretched resources to protecting landowners, while also creating an atmosphere of panic among Anglo-Irish people, as well as unionists in general. As such, the country house was regarded by the IRA as a "soft target".

Attacks were planned and organised, and generally focused on Irish peers who had sat in the House of Lords, members of the Senate of the Irish Free State and former Irish Unionist Party politicians. The assault on the "Big Houses" was part of a wider campaign against Free State supporters as a reprisal for the executions policy of the Government. In Dublin for instance, out of 28 homes burned by the IRA between 10 December 1922 and the end of April, nine could be counted as Big Houses or mansions associated with the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. As well as members of the gentry, the houses of newspaper owners and editors, members of the National Army and former British Army officers, and justices of the peace were also targeted.

Some Free State TDs, such as Liam Burke and Seán McGarry, were targeted; in the case of the latter causing the death of his seven-year-old son, Emmet. The former's home was demolished but the latter rebuilt his property. The Ballyboden home of the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, W. T. Cosgrave, was burned down in January 1923. The Foxrock, County Dublin home of the Anglo-Irish politician Sir Horace Plunkett, a distant relation to Count Plunkett, was burnt down in 1923, despite his reputation as a social reformer.

Coolbawn House, near Rathnure in County Wexford, was burned in February 1923 and not repaired or rebuilt

Some houses, such as Ballycarty House, were purportedly also attacked to prevent their being used as garrisons by Free State forces. The size of the buildings targeted ranged from small to palatial. Most were destroyed by being set on fire, their interiors having been doused in petrol, although in some instances houses were blown up using high explosives. The attempt to burn down Burton Hall, Stillorgan, the home of Henry Guinness, in March 1923 failed when a mine planted there failed to explode.

In most cases, no one was injured during the destruction of the house. It is recorded that in several cases, members of the IRA helped the targeted family to remove their possessions from the house before it was destroyed. When the home of Dermot Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo, was attacked on 29 January 1923, he described the IRA guerrillas as being "excessively polite" and apologetic. Nonetheless, there were incidents of violence and deaths in such attacks. The Church of Ireland Gazette recorded numerous instances of Unionists and Loyalists being shot, burned out or otherwise forced from their homes during the early 1920s.

Senator John Philip Bagwell was kidnapped during the attack on his home. Country houses were often looted during and following their destruction, and in most cases a family's possessions were entirely destroyed. Homes of pro-Treaty Catholic nationalists, such as Oliver St John Gogarty and George Moore were targeted. The former was rebuilt, but the latter was not. The library of Moore Hall, County Mayo, containing ancient manuscripts relating to Irish and world history, was entirely destroyed in February 1923.

Not all such houses were regarded by the IRA as targets, depending upon their ownership. Mount Trenchard House in Foynes, County Limerick was the home of Mary Spring Rice, a nationalist activist, and the building was used by the IRA as a safe house.

Aftermath

The ruins of Moore Hall, County Mayo, which was abandoned after being burnt down by the IRA in 1923.

Most of the properties targeted by the IRA were abandoned following the attacks. The widespread use of petrol and other incendiaries ensured that most of the buildings were completely gutted by fire and rendered uninhabitable. The state of the buildings, as well as fear of a repeat attack, meant that few of the country houses were rebuilt. Most were demolished, while others remain as ruins. Most of the owners sought compensation from the Irish Free State government. Ebenezer Pike claimed £62,000 for the destruction of Kilcrenagh House, arguing his losses were "enormous, for valuable furniture, paintings, and art treasures were all consumed in the flames."

Both of Sir Augustus Digby Warren's properties in County Cork were destroyed. William Downes Webber sought compensation from the Irish Free State totalling £149,000 for the rebuilding and £18,000 for the contents of Mitchelstown Castle; £27,500 for the building and the full £18,000 for the contents were eventually awarded by Justice Kenny in 1926. Webber deemed the award for rebuilding too small and relocated to Dublin.

The period of the destruction of the Big Houses came to play an important part in Irish culture. William Butler Yeats decried the targeting of big houses in the poem Meditations in Time of Civil War (1924). In The Last September (1929), Elizabeth Bowen mythologised the big houses as an ideal of civilisation and order, yet one which had its origins in injustice and could not be expected to survive in the modern world. The destructions were also haphazard and case-by-case. Some mansions like Dunsany Castle, owned by Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, were spared because of his fame and because the house contained holy relics of the martyred Saint Oliver Plunket, that were revered and visited by local people. Other families such as the Shackleton family or the Guinness family were unaffected because of their local popularity, even though they were not supporters of Irish independence.

Resurgence during the Troubles

During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the practice of targeting the big house was revived by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, although there were relatively few of these in the six counties. Most notoriously, Tynan Abbey was attacked on the night of 21 January 1981. The 86-year-old Sir Norman Stronge and his only son James, (both former MPs), were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The house was then burnt to the ground. The bodies of Norman and James were later recovered from their burning home.

On 5 November 1973 a 50 lb (23 kg) bomb wrecked a milking parlour on the grounds of Cappoquin House, home of Sir Richard Keane, at Belmont, Cappoquin, County Waterford. The attack took place amidst a dispute between Sir Richard and his 65 tenants in Cappoquin over ground rents. The Official IRA were believed to be responsible

On 16 May 1981 Killeen Castle in Dunsany, County Meath was extensively damaged in an arson attack carried out by republican sympathisers. The men involved spread petrol in several rooms before setting it alight. The attack came at the height of the H-Block campaign for political status for republican prisoners in Northern Ireland and an ongoing hunger strike. The castle was by that point owned by an Irish businessman, Basil Brindley; one of the men accused of carrying out the attack later said he would not have burned the house if he knew it was owned by an Irishman.

On 11 May 1991 a Provisional IRA unit armed with assault rifles and machine guns sprayed Caledon House in County Tyrone. An IRA statement released afterwards claimed that British soldiers guarding the house were the intended target and the unit involved had fired over seven hundred rounds. Previously, a bomb attack on 10 November 1972 had caused extensive damage to the building. The 40 lb (18 kg) bomb demolished a wall, blew out windows and caused other damage. Police believed the residence was targeted because Lord Caledon was a company commander in the Ulster Defence Regiment. On 14 March 1973 a British Army Technical Officer discovered two bombs inside a monument on the grounds of the estate dedicated to the 2nd Earl of Caledon. The 80 foot tall monument was destroyed when the soldier attempted to neutralise the two bombs in a controlled explosion, instead detonating the devices.

Cultural references

• Moydrum Castle in County Westmeath, burned in July 1921, provided the background cover art image for the 1984 long-player release The Unforgettable Fire by the rock band U2.

List of houses destroyed

Year	This list	Dooley 2001
1920	16	30
1921	51	46
1922	23	82
1923	41	117
Total	130	275

Additionally, 21 houses are being investigated as burnt in 1920: Ballintubber House, Ballyclough/Ballyclogh House, Ballyvary/Bellavary House, Beechlawn House, Birdhill (Marlfield Co Tipperary), Castlelambert/Castle Lambert House, Coolkellure/Coolkelure House, Crotto/Crotta House, Crowsnest, Doolin House/Castle, Glenart Castle, Glenfarne Hall, Hermitage House (Co Limerick), Kilturra, Malin Hall, Moorock House, Mount Massey/Massy House, Roxborough House, Saunders Grove, Tanavalla/Garryantanvally.

Note: The 'Date of attack' is assumed to be overnight, either late at night on that day, or continuing/beginning in the early hours of the next day, unless clarified by the notation p.m. or a.m.

House	Standort	County	Owner or occupier	Date of attack	Current state
Aasleagh Lodge	Aghagower	County Mayo	George Browne, 6th Marquess of Sligo	1923	Rebuilt
Annaskeagh House	Dundalk	County Louth	Augustus N. Sheridan JP	11 February 1923	Demolished
Antrim Castle	Antrim	County Antrim	Algernon Skeffington, 12th Viscount Massereene	28 October 1922	During a grand ball on 28 October 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed. Although much of the evidence pointed to arson by the IRA, the official verdict was not conclusive, thus no insurance claim was paid out. The castle remained as a ruin until its demolition in 1970. Only a slightly raised grassed platform as well as a freestanding Italian tower which was built in 1887 and a gatehouse remain.
Ardamine House	Gorey	County Wexford	Major A. W. Mordaunt-Richards	9 July 1921	Demolished
Ardfert Abbey (Ardfert House)	Ardfert	County Kerry	John Burrell Talbot-Crosbie	22 August 1922	Demolished
Ardtully House	Kilgarvan	County Kerry	Raymond William Orpen	1921	Abandoned as ruins
Artramon House	Wexford	County Wexford	Sir George Le Hunte	February 1923	Rebuilt; now a hotel
Ballybay House	Ballybay	County Monaghan	Edward Henry John Leslie	2 June 1921	Demolished
Ballycarty House	Tralee	County Kerry	Nash family	January 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Ballydonnellan Castle	Killalaghtan	County Galway	Donnellan family	January 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Ballydugan House	Kilrickle	County Galway	Burke family	15 June 1922	Rebuilt by the original family
Ballygassan House	Ballygassan	County Louth	John Russel	3 February 1923	Rebuilt
Ballynastragh House	Gorey	County Wexford	Sir Thomas Esmonde, 11th Baronet	9 March 1923	Demolished; smaller house was later built on the site
Ballyrankin House	Bunclody	County Wexford	Walter Clarmont Skrine and Moira O'Neill	8 July 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Ballywalter House	Castletownroche	County Cork	S.G. Penrose Welsted	30 April 1921	Rebuilt smaller
Bearforest	Mallow	County Cork	Major Charles Purdon Coote	1 June 1921	Rebuilt
Beech Park House	Ballyboden	County Dublin	W. T. Cosgrave	13 January 1923	Rebuilt 1924
Bellevue House	Ballyhogue	County Wexford	Lady Jane Emma Power	31 January 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Bessborough House	Piltown	County Kilkenny	Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough	22 February 1923	Rebuilt 1929
Burgatia House	Rosscarbery	County Cork	Thomas Kingston	2 February 1921	Demolished
Cahermore House	Rosscarbery	County Cork	Regan (merchant), previously Hungerford family	c16 June 1921	Demolished
Cappoquin House	Lismore	County Waterford	Lady Adelaide Keane	19 February 1923	Rebuilt
Castleboro House	Castleboro	County Wexford	Robert Carew, 3rd Baron Carew	5 February 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Castlehacket	Tuam	County Galway	Bernard Percy Broderick	1923	Demolished; smaller house built on the site
Castle Bernard	Bandon	County Cork	James Bernard, 4th Earl of Bandon	21 June 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Castle Bernard	Kinnitty	County Offaly	Captain Caulfield French	1922	Restored in 1928 by means of a Government grant of £32,000
Castle Cooke	Fermoy	County Cork	Colonel William Cooke-Collis	7 June 1921	Demolished
Castle Gore	Crossmolina	County Mayo	Arthur Gore, 6th Earl of Arran	3 Sep 1922	Abandoned as ruins
Castle Mary	Cloyne	County Cork	Colonel Mountifort J.C. Longfield	19 September 1920	Abandoned as ruins, stable courtyard converted into new home
Castleshane House (Castle Shane)	Monaghan	County Monaghan	John Harford Stanhope Lucas-Scudamore of Kentchurch Court	15 February 1920	Abandoned as ruins. Note: Later official reason for burning was 'accidental', possibly for insurance claims
Cavananore	Hackballscross	County Louth	Senator Bernard O'Rourke	18 Feb 1923	Rebuilt
Cecilstown Lodge	Mallow	County Cork	Esther Jane and Annie Jones	3 June 1921	Rebuilt
Charlemont Fort	Charlemont	County Armagh	James Caulfeild, 8th Viscount Charlemont	30 July 1920	Demolished, only the gatehouse remains (derelict)
Clonyn Castle	Delvin	County Westmeath	Hon. Patrick Greville-Nugent	9 March 1923	Rebuilt
Comeragh House	Kilmacthomas	County Waterford	Captain Fairholme	1923	Rebuilt
Convamore House	Ballyhooly	County Cork	William Hare, 3rd Earl of Listowel	30 April 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Coolbawn House	Rathnure	County Wexford	James Richard Dier JP	February 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Coolcour / Coolcower House	Macroom	County Cork	Richard Christopher Williams	c4 July 1921	Rebuilt; now a hotel
Cor Castle	Innishannon	County Cork	Mrs Caroline Stephenson	25 June 1921 a.m.	Rebuilt 1998-2001
Crookstown House	Crookstown	County Cork	Robert Warren	13 June 1921	Rebuilt
Currygrane House	Ballinalee	County Longford	Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet	10 August 1922	Demolished
Derreen House	Kenmare	County Kerry	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne	5 September 1922	Rebuilt in a similar style in 1924-6
Derry House	Rosscarbery	County Cork	Alexander Sullivan	pre-12 April 1921	Demolished; but attached Myross Wood, where the family continued to live, remains standing.
Derrylahan Park	Borrisokane	County Tipperary	Lieut. Colonel Charles O. Head, JP	2 July 1921 a.m.	Abandoned as ruins
Derryquin Castle	Sneem	County Kerry	Colonel Charles Wallace Warden	28 August 1922	Abandoned as ruins, demolished 1969
Desart Court	Callan	County Kilkenny	Hamilton Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart	22 February 1923	Rebuilt by 1926, sold 1934, stripped 1945, demolished 1957
Downhill House	Ballina	County Mayo	Mr. John Garvey, CS, O.B.E., D.L.	18 February 1923	Demolished; new house built
Dripsey Castle House (Dripsey House)	Dripsey	County Cork	Mrs Georgina Bowen-Colthurst	15 February 1923 (remains: early June 1921)	Rebuilt
Dromagh Castle	Mallow	County Cork	William N. Leader	10 March 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Dromgowna House	Berrings near Dripsey	County Cork	Miss Peggy Bowen-Colthurst	pre 11 June 1920 (remains: early June 1921)	Abandoned as ruins?
Dunboy (Puxley) Mansion	Castletownbere	County Cork	Henry L. Puxley	9 June 1921	Abandoned as ruins; Partially restored in 21st century
Dunsland	Glanmire	County Cork	Joseph Pike, D.L., J.P.	p.m. 29 August 1920	Partially rebuilt by June 1925
Durrow Abbey (Durrow Castle)	Tullamore	County Offaly	Otway Toler, Earl of Norbury family	29 April 1923	Rebuilt 1926 less top storey and porte-cochere
Forest House	Macroom	County Cork	Lieutenant Colonel Isaac W. Burns-Lindow/James Gollock	7 July 1921	Demolished
Frankfort House	Montenotte Hill	County Cork	Sir Alfred Dobbin	25 May 1921	Villa. Rebuilt
Gardenmorris House	Kill	County Waterford	Richard Power O’Shee	22 February 1923	Rebuilt, omitting a third storey at one end
Gaulston House	Rochfortbridge	County Westmeath	RF Wilson of Stillorgan (previously Baron Kilmaine until 1918) (vacant 2 years)	4 June 1920	Demolished
Glenmona Lodge / House	Cushendun	County Antrim	Ronald McNeill	20 May 1922	Rebuilt 1923 by architect Bertram Clough Williams Ellis. Now owned by National Trust.
Gola House	Tydavnet	County Monaghan	William Black	25 February 1921 (or by 5 March)	Demolished
Graiguenoe	Thurles	County Tipperary	Clarke family	28 February 1923	Demolished
Innishannon House	Innishannon	County Cork	Brigadier General F.W.J. Caulfield (occupant), Hugh Moreton Frewen (owner)	25 June 1921 a.m.	Demolished
Kellistown House	Kellistown	County Carlow	Elizabeth Pack-Beresford and sister	23 March 1923	Rebuilt, now the Brophy family home (aka Kellistown Cottage or The Glebe house)
Kilboy House	Nenagh	County Tipperary	Henry Prittie, 4th Baron Dunalley	2 August 1922	Partially rebuilt
Kilbrittain Castle	Kilbrittain	County Cork	Daniel O’Riordan and Denis F. Doyle	25 May 1920	Partially rebuilt
Kilcolman House	Bandon	County Cork	Mrs. E. M. A. Longfield	28 June 1921 a.m.	Abandoned as ruins
Kilcrenagh House (aka Woodside)	Carrigrohane	County Cork	Ebenezer Pike	25 May 1921	Demolished, smaller house built on site
Kilmore House	Kilmurry McMahon	County Clare	Hickman family	30 July 1922	Demolished. Note: 8 or 18 May 1921 fire with minor damage
Kilmorna House	Listowel	County Kerry	Sir Arthur Vicars (owned by sister Edith)	a.m. 14 April 1921	Demolished
Kiltanon / Kiltannon House	Tulla	County Clare	Colonel Molony	15 September 1920	Abandoned as ruins
Kilteragh House	Foxrock	County Dublin	Sir Horace Plunkett	30 January 1923	Partially restored as several houses
Knockabbey or Thomastown Castle	Tallanstown	County Louth	O'Reilly	2 March 1923	Rebuilt and now open to the public.
Leemount House	Coachford	County Cork	Mrs Mary (or Maria) Lindsay	circa 10 March 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Lanesborough Lodge (Quivvy Lodge)	Belturbet	County Cavan	Charles Butler, 7th Earl of Lanesborough	4 June 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Leap Castle	Roscrea	County Offaly	Darby family	30 July 1922 a.m.	Ruined; partially restored
Lisheen Castle	Thurles	County Tipperary	John F. O'Meara	29 June 1921	Rebuilt; now a hotel
Lohort Castle	Cecilstown	County Cork	Sir Tim O'Brien, 3rd Baronet	5 July 1921	Abandoned as ruins
Lydacan Castle	Carnmore	County Galway	James Greated	28 October 1922	Abandoned as ruins
Macroom Castle	Macroom	County Cork	Baroness Ardilaun	18 August 1922	Abandoned as ruins, mostly demolished in 1967
Mayfield House	Bandon	County Cork	Hewitt R. Poole JP	28 June 1921 a.m.	Demolished, 3 bay house on SE corner
Marlfield House	Marlfield, Clonmel	County Tipperary	John Philip Bagwell	9 January 1923	Rebuilt; now houses luxury apartments
Merton House	Rosscarbery	County Cork	Emily and Beatrice Whitley	c19 June 1921	Demolished
Massbrook House	Lahardane	County Mayo	Frederick James Peregrine Birch	3 Sep 1922	Rebuilt
Milestown House	Castlebellingham	County Louth	Major Barrow	19 January 1923	Rebuilt
Mitchelstown Castle	Mitchelstown	County Cork	William Downes Webber	12 August 1922	Demolished 1930
Moore Hall	Carra	County Mayo	Maurice Moore	1 February 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Mountshannon House	Castleconnell	County Limerick	David O'Leary Hannigan JP of Kilbolane Castle (previously Earl of Clare C18-1887)	14 June 1920	Abandoned as ruins
Mount Talbot House	Tisrara	County Roscommon	W.J. Talbot	8 July 1922	Abandoned as ruins
Moydrum Castle	Athlone	County Westmeath	Albert Handcock, 5th Baron Castlemaine	3 July 1921 a.m.	Abandoned as ruins
Mullaboden	Ballymore-Eustace	County Kildare	Bryan Mahon (British General and Irish Senator)	16 February 1923 (press report dated 17 Feb)
Myshall Lodge	Myshall	County Carlow	Cornwall Brady family (unoccupied)	1922	Demolished
Newberry Manor	Mallow	County Cork	John Pretyman Newman	3 June 1921	Rebuilt; now a nursing home
Oakgrove (Oak Grove)	Carrigadrohid	County Cork	Captain Bowen Colthurst (vacated)	pre 7 June 1920 (remains: early June 1921)	Demolished; smaller house built on the site c1930 (attached to the extant castellated wing) now known as Oakpark House
Old Court House	Strangford	County Down	Una Ross, 26th Baroness de Ros	18 May 1922	Demolished; smaller house built on the site
Palmerstown House	Johnstown	County Kildare	Dermot Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo	29 January 1923	Rebuilt without the third floor with mansard roof; now an events venue
Prospect House	Innishannon	County Cork	Michael Dennehy JP	25 June 1921 a.m.	Villa. Smaller house rebuilt, and modern house beside.
Puxley Mansion	Castletownbere	County Cork	Henry W. L. Puxley	9 June 1921	Ruined; partially renovated
Rathrobin House	Mountbolus	County Offaly	Lt Col Middleton Biddulph	18 April 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Ravensdale House / Park	Ravensdale	County Louth	Thomas Archer (previously Arthur Gore, 6th Earl of Arran)	18 June 1921	Demolished, much of the stone including the tower was reused to build the parish church.
Renvyle	Connemara	County Galway	Oliver St. John Gogarty	February 1923	Rebuilt; now a hotel
Richmount	Bandon	County Cork	Charles Sealy-King J.P.	March 1923	Site now part of Bandon Grammar School
River View House	Innishannon	County Cork	Colonel Francis C. Godley	25 June 1921 a.m.	Rebuilt
Rochestown House	Rochestown	County Tipperary	Francis H. Wise	November 1918 & February 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Rockfield	Artane	County Dublin	J.J. Reddin	1 February 1923	Demolished
Rockforest	Roscrea	County Tipperary	Seamus Burke TD	March 1923	Demolished
Rockmills House (Rockmills Lodge)	Glanworth	County Cork	Charles Deane Oliver	30 April 1921	Rebuilt by Walsh family
Rosslevan House	Kilraghtis	County Clare	Hon. Edward O'Brien	July 1922	Abandoned as ruins
Roundhill House	Bandon	County Cork	Robert Webb Sherlock	14 January 1923	Rebuilt, now part of Bandon Grammar School
Roxborough Castle	Moy	County Tyrone	James Caulfeild, 8th Viscount Charlemont	summer 1920	Dismantled
Roxborough House	Killinan	County Galway	Dudley Persse	November 1922	Abandoned as ruins
Runnamoat House (Runnimead / Runnymeade)	Roscommon	County Roscommon	Major Raleigh Chichester-Constable of Burton Constable Hall (uninhabited)	5 May 1920	Abandoned as ruins, later demolished. Burnt 1933 (per Mark Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses, 1996, but 1933 appears to be incorrect)
Rye Court	Moviddy	County Cork	Tonson Rye family	13 June 1921	Demolished
St Austin's Abbey	Tullow	County Carlow	Doyne family (unoccupied)	1922	Later partially demolished
Shanton House	Ballybay	County Monaghan	Fitzherbert family	8 July 1921	Demolished
Sillahertane House	Kenmare	County Kerry	Sarah S. Lowe	1921	Not burnt, just repeatedly looted, abandoned as ruins
Skevanish House	Innishannon	County Cork	Ethel Peacocke	14 June 1921	Abandoned as ruins
South Park House (Southpark House)	Castlerea	County Roscommon	Major Michael Joseph Balfe (uninhabited)	5 May 1920	Demolished
Springfield Castle	Broadford	County Limerick	Robert Deane-Morgan, 5th Baron Muskerry	4 July 1921	Main house rebuilt; partially ruined
Stradone House	Stradone	County Cavan	Burrowes family	29 June 1921	Abandoned as ruins and later demolished (outbuildings remain).
Summerhill House	Summerhill	County Meath	John Hercules William Rowley, 5th Baron Langford	4 February 1921	Demolished
Templemore Abbey	Templemore	County Tipperary	Sir John Craven Carden, 5th Baronet (ADRIC until May)	19 June 1921	Demolished
Temple Hill	Terenure	County Dublin	Stephen Gwynn	February 1923	Demolished
Timoleague House and Castle	Timoleague	County Cork	Travers family	3 December 1920	Abandoned as ruins, new house built to the north in 1924 (in front of Castle, of which bottom 2 floors remain)
Tore House	Rochfortbridge	County Westmeath	Henry John McKenna	11 June 1922	Destroyed; little more than the facade and few walls of Tore House remain.
Tubberdaly House	Edenderry	County Offaly	Edward Beaumont-Nesbitt	15 April 1923	Abandoned as ruins
Tynan Abbey	Tynan	County Armagh	Sir Norman Stronge, Bt	21 January 1981	Demolished
Tyrone House	Kilcolgan	County Galway	St George family (vacated 1905, contents removed)	9 August 1920	Abandoned as ruin
Union Hall	Union Hall	County Cork	Col. William Spaight	31 March 1921
Warrensgrove	Bandon	County Cork	Sir Augustus Digby Warren	mid June 1921	Main house ruined; outbuildings renovated
Warren's Court	Macroom	County Cork	Sir Augustus Digby Warren	17 June 1921	Demolished
Wilton Castle	Enniscorthy	County Wexford	Captain P. C. Alcock	5 March 1923	Abandoned; ruined. Two storey wing and tower restored from 2006.
Woodbrook House	Belclare	County Galway	Renneworth family	January 1923	Abandoned as ruins then demolished
Woodpark House	Scarriff	County Clare	R.F. Hibbert	10 June 1921	Demolished, including all outbuildings; smaller house built on the site
Woodstock House	Inistioge	County Kilkenny	Tighe family	2 July 1922	Abandoned as ruins

See also

• Anglo-Irish big house
• Destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain
• Sale of Irish country house contents

Sources

• Dooley, Terence (2001). The Decline of the Big House in Ireland: A Study of Irish Landed Families. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN 978-0-8632-7850-1.
• Dooley, Terence (2022). Burning the Big House: The Story of the Irish Country House in a Time of War and Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-3002-6074-8.
• James S. Donnelly, Big House Burnings in County Cork during the Irish Revolution, 1920–21 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Éire-Ireland (47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12); accessed. Retrieved 17 February 2015
• John Dorney, The Big House and the Irish Revolution, The Irish Story (21 June 2011); accessed. Retrieved 17 February 2015
• Lost Country Houses of Ireland and Northern Ireland and centenaries
• Ellis Wasson, "The Irish Ascendancy: Counting Country Houses from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century" in The Role of Ruling Class Adaptability in the British Transition from Ancien Regime to Modern State (Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010) ISBN 978-0-7734-1464-8