Mountshannon House was a large mansion in Lisnagry, near

Castleconnell Castleconnell (, historically ''Caisleán Uí Chonaing'') is a village in County Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon. It is from Limerick city and near the boundaries of County Clare and County Tipperary. History The ruins of the Cas ...

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, built in the mid-18th century. It was the home of the 1st Earl of Clare,

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

1789-1802. It was burnt down during the

Anglo-Irish war The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along wi ...

in 1920. Today it is mostly a ruin.

History

The house was built sometime in the mid-18th century, and was first occupied around 1750. It was subsequently purchased by John FitzGibbon (''c.'' 1708-1780), whose descendants were later to become the

Earls of Clare Earl of Clare was a title of British nobility created three times: once each in the peerages of England, Great Britain and Ireland. The title derives from Clare, Suffolk, where a prominent Anglo-Norman family was seated since the Norman Conques ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. The estate covered of land, being bounded to the south by the

Mulkear River The River Mulcair, or Mulkear, rises in the Slieve Felim Mountains and Silvermine Mountains in Ireland, and flows through the east of County Limerick before joining the River Shannon near Annacotty. It flows through Counties Limerick and Tippe ...

, the Shannon to the west, and extending some 2 and a half miles along the main Limerick to Castleconnell road from

Annacotty Annacotty () is a small village on the outskirts of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from the centre of the city. It is situated where the old N7 road (Ireland), N7 main road between Limerick and Dublin crosses the Mulkear River, upstr ...

to Newgarden. Many parts of the boundary wall still exist today, on the modern Mountshannon road. Mountshannon house interior

John FitzGibbon (1748-1802), who was created the Earl of Clare (third known creation) in 1795, was appointed

Attorney-General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...

in 1783, and was later promoted to being the

, in 1789 (in which capacity he was first promoted to the peerage, as the 1st Baron FitzGibbon, becoming the 1st

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

FitzGibbon in 1793). He was a controversial figure in Irish history, being described variously as a Protestant hardliner, a staunch anti-Catholic, and an early supporter of Union with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

(which finally happened shortly before his death). Lord Clare is said to have been an early opponent of measures for Catholic political relief (meaning the removal of some or all legal disabilities against Catholics) in both Ireland and Great Britain, and may have been the first to suggest to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

that the King would violate his coronation oath if he consented to the admission of Catholics to Parliament. He lived in this house for most of his life and career. Despite this hardline reputation, the FitzGibbon family was 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 Catholic emancipation.

Architecture

The house was built in

neo-Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Republic of Venice, Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetr ...

style. The front 7-bay entrance was adorned by four

ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

, 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. Images of both the current ruins and the building before destruction can be found on Limerick City's library site: Front of the hous

Rear of the house, with the conservator

Ruined façad

Interior photo of the Librar

References

Village by Shannon: the Story of Castleconnell and its Hinterland by Joe Carroll and Pat Tuohy Mountshannon House and the Fitzgibbons: by Carole Gurnet

Limerick City Museu

{{coord missing, County Limerick Buildings and structures in County Limerick