Mountshannon House
| Mountshannon House | |
| County Limerick | |
|---|---|
 Ruins of Mountshannon House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | R65025908 |
| Location: | 52°40’55"N, 8°31’5"W |
| History | |
| Built c. 1750 | |
| Country house | |
| Neo-Palladian | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruins |
Mountshannon House was a large, Georgian mansion in Lisnagry, near Castleconnell, County Limerick. It was built in the mid-18th century and later became the home of the Earls of Clare. It was burnt down during the Irish Rebellion in 1921 and today it is mostly a ruin.
History
The house was built at some time in the mid-18th century for Silver Oliver of Kilfinane who took occupation in 1750. Around 1765, John Fitzgibbon acquired the estate around 1765, and it was inherited by his son, also named John, and who was later to become Earl of Clare. The estate covered 900 acres, bounded to the south by the Mulkear River, the Shannon to the west, and extending some two and a half miles along the main Limerick to Castleconnell road from Annacotty to Newgarden. Many parts of the boundary wall still exist today, on the modern Mountshannon road.
John FitzGibbon, later ennobled as the Earl of Clare, was Attorney-General for Ireland in 1783, then Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1789, (in which capacity he was first promoted to the Irish peerage). He was a controversial figure historically: a Protestant hardliner, a staunch anti-Catholic, and an early supporter of Union with Great Britain (which finally happened shortly before his death). He is said to have been an early opponent of measures for Roman Catholic political relief from legal disabilities in both Ireland and Great Britain, and may have been the first to suggest to George III that the King would violate his coronation oath if he consented to the admission of Roman Catholics to Parliament. He lived in this house for most of his life and career.
Despite his hardline political reputation, the Fitzgibbon Family were known locally to be fair landlords. This local reputation, however did not prevent Lord Clare from being known as "Black Jack Fitzgibbon" nationally, apparently because of his hardline opposition to lifting the disabilities affecting the majority population.
The last owner of the house was Dermot O'Hannigan. In 1921, the house was burnt down, as were many of the great houses of Ireland during the vicious war that led to the independence of the Irish Free State. The estate was taken over by the Land Commission and divided into farm holdings.[1]
Architecture
The house was built in neo-Palladian style. The front 7-bay entrance was adorned by four ionic columns, the rear had a large conservatory.
Following its destruction in 1920, it has stood as a ruin, and has been partly demolished. However, the front columns still stand, as well as most of the main wings of the house.
References
- Mountshannon: The Irish Aesthete
- Carroll, Joe and Tuohy, Pat: 'Village by Shannon: the Story of Castleconnell and its Hinterland'
- Gurnett, Carole: Mountshannon House and the Fitzgibbons
- Pictures from the Limerick Archive:
