Destruction of Irish country houses (1919–1923)
The destruction of country houses in Ireland was a phenomenon of the Irish revolutionary period, which saw at least 275 country houses deliberately burned down, blown up, or otherwise destroyed by the Irish Republican Army.
The vast majority of the houses, known in Ireland as Big Houses, belonged to the Anglo-Irish aristocracy of 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. 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
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 the notions of Irish independence and held key positions in the British administration of Ireland. The Irish nationalist narrative maintained that the land of Irishmen had been illegally stolen from them by the landowning aristocracy, who had mostly arrived in Ireland as Protestant settlers of The Crown during the late 16th and 17th centuries. The 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. Burning country houses from 1919 was therefore largely symbolic, and removed the former landlords' capital from the Irish economy when they emigrated, as well as ending the employment of thousands of their staff, with an inevitable knock-on effect on local economies.
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, country houses were often targeted in reprisal for the destruction of houses by the British Army, who took to burning or defacing the homes of nationalists engaged in actions against the British administration in Ireland. Usually the local Big House and landowner had no influence over British military policy in the area, and the reprisal attack by the IRA would be carried out on the assumption that all Anglo-Irish were loyalists. "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 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. counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick.
Historian James S. Donnelly stated in a study of the burning of over 50 country mansions in County Cork in 1919–21 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 the British forces or as reprisals for house burnings committed by the British forces. Similarly a study of the border region of counties 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 them garrisons. "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 a significant level of violence against southern Irish Protestants. In County Cork, between 1920 and 1923, the IRA shot more than 150 civilians. 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 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
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' was given after the 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 the Anglo-Irish, 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 gentry. 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.
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 County Kerry was the home of Mary Spring Rice, a nationalist activist, and the building was used by the IRA as a safe house.
Aftermath
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 Kilcronagh 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. In The Last September, 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 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, Bt., and his only son, James, 48, were murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army attackers. The house was then burnt to the ground. The bodies of the father and son were later recovered from their blazing home.List of houses destroyed
| Year | Wikipedia | Dooley 2001 |
| 1920 | 14 | 30 |
| 1921 | 50 | 46 |
| 1922 | 21 | 82 |
| 1923 | 29 | 117 |
| Total | 114 | 275 |
Note: 18 houses being investigated as burnt in 1920 - Ballintubber House, Ballyclough/Ballyclogh House, Ballyvary/Bellavary House, Beechlawn House, Birdhill in Marlfield, Castlelambert/Castle Lambert House, Coolkellure/Coolkelure House, Crotto/Crotta House, Davidge estate in Listowel, Doolin House/Castle, Dunsland House, Glenart Castle, Glenfarne Hall, Hermitage, Kilturra, Malin Hall, Moorock House, Saunders Grove.
O/N = Overnight
| House | Location | 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 | A. N. Sheridan JP | 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 |
| 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 John Henry Leslie | 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 |
| 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 | July 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Ballywater House | Castletownroche | County Cork | S.G. Penrose Welsted | 30 April 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Bearforest | Mallow | County Cork | Major Charles Purdon Coote | 1 June 1921 | Rebuilt |
| Beech Park House | Ballyboden | County Dublin | W. T. Cosgrave | January 1923 | Demolished |
| Bellevue House | Ballyhogue | County Wexford | Lady Jane Emma Power | February 1923 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Bessborough House | Piltown | County Kilkenny | Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough | February 1923 | Rebuilt 1929 |
| Burgatia House | Rosscarbery | County Cork | Thomas Kingston | February 1921 | Demolished |
| Cahermore House | Rosscarbery | County Cork | Hungerford family | June 1921 | Demolished |
| Cappoquin House | Lismore | County Waterford | Lady Adelaide Keane | 1923 | Rebuilt |
| Castleboro House | Castleboro | County Wexford | Robert Carew, 3rd Baron Carew | April 1923 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Castlehacket | Tuam | County Galway | Bernard Percy Broderick | 1923 | Demolished; smaller house built on the site |
| Castle Cooke | Fermoy | County Cork | Colonel William Cooke-Collis | 7 June 1921 | Demolished |
| Castle Bernard | Bandon | County Cork | James Bernard, 4th Earl of Bandon | 21 June 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Castle Gore | Crossmolina | County Mayo | Arthur Gore, 6th Earl of Arran | 1922 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Castle Mary | Cloyne | County Cork | Colonel Mountifort J.C. Longfield | 19 December 1920 | Demolished |
| Castleshane House | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Coolcower House | Macroom | County Cork | Richard Christopher Williams | 11 July 1921 | Rebuilt; now a hotel |
| Cor Castle | Innishannon | County Cork | Mrs Caroline Stephenson | 25 June 1921 | Rebuilt |
| 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 | 1922 | Demolished |
| Derry House | Rosscarbery | County Cork | Alexander Sullivan | 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 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Derryquin Castle | Sneem | County Kerry | Colonel Charles Wallace Warden | 1922 | Demolished 1969 |
| Desart Court | Callan | County Kilkenny | Hamilton Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart | 1923 | Demolished |
| Dunboy Mansion | Castletownbere | County Cork | Henry L. Puxley | June 1921 | Abandoned as ruins; Partially restored in 21st century |
| Dripsey Castle House | Dripsey | County Cork | Mrs Georgina Bowen-Colthurst | pre 11 June 1920 | 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 | Abandoned as ruins? |
| 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 | Demolished |
| Gaulston House | Rochfortbridge | County Westmeath | RF Wilson of Stillorgan | 4 June 1920 | Demolished |
| Gola House | Tydavnet | County Monaghan | William Black | March 1921 | Demolished |
| Graiguenoe | Thurles | County Tipperary | Clarke family | 1923 | Demolished |
| Innishannon House | Innishannon | County Cork | Brigadier General F.W.J. Caulfeild | 25 June 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Kellistown House | Kellistown | County Carlow | Elizabeth Pack-Beresford and sister | 23 March 1923 | Rebuilt, now the Brophy family home |
| Kilboy House | Nenagh | County Tipperary | Henry Prittie, 4th Baron Dunalley | 1922 | Partially rebuilt |
| Kilbrittain Castle | Kilbrittain | County Cork | Daniel O’Riordan and Denis F. Doyle | O/N 25/26 May 1920 | Partially rebuilt |
| Kilcolman House | Bandon | County Cork | Mrs. E. M. A. Longfield | 28 June 1921 | Rebuilt |
| Kilcronagh House | Carrigrohane | County Cork | Ebenezer Pike | 25 May 1921 | Demolished |
| 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 | 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 | January 1923 | Demolished |
| Leemount House | Coachford | County Cork | Mrs Mary Lindsay | 2 March 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Lanesborough Lodge | Belturbet | County Cavan | Charles Butler, 7th Earl of Lanesborough | 4 June 1921 | Demolished |
| Leap Castle | Roscrea | County Offaly | Darby family | 29 June 1921 | 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 | 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 | Rebuilt; now a hotel |
| Marlfield House | Marlfield, Clonmel | County Tipperary | John Philip Bagwell | January 1923 | Rebuilt; now houses luxury apartments |
| Merton House | Rosscarbery | County Cork | Emily and Beatrice Whitley | June 1921 | Demolished |
| Mitchelstown Castle | Mitchelstown | County Cork | William Downes Webber | 12 August 1922 | Demolished |
| 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 | O/N 14/15 June 1920 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Mount Talbot House | Tisrara | County Roscommon | W.J. Talbot | 1922 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Moydrum Castle | Athlone | County Westmeath | Albert Handcock, 5th Baron Castlemaine | 3 July 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Myshall Lodge | Myshall | County Carlow | Cornwall Brady family | 1922 | Demolished |
| Newberry Manor | Mallow | County Cork | John Pretyman Newman | 3 June 1921 | Rebuilt; now a nursing home |
| Oakgrove | Carrigadrohid | County Cork | Captain Bowen Colthurst | pre 7 June 1920 | Demolished; smaller house built on the site c1930 now known as Oakpark House |
| Old Court House | Strangford | County Down | Una Ross, 26th Baroness de Ros | 20 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 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Phillipsbury Avenue | Fairview | County Dublin | Seán McGarry TD | December 1922 | Rebuilt |
| Puxley Mansion | Castletownbere | County Cork | Henry W. L. Puxley | 9 June 1921 | Ruined; partially renovated |
| Ravensdale House / Park | Ravensdale | County Louth | Thomas Archer | 18 June 1921 | Demolished |
| Renvyle | Connemara | County Galway | Oliver St. John Gogarty | February 1923 | Rebuilt; now a hotel |
| River View House | Innishannon | County Cork | Colonel Francis C. Godley | 25 June 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| 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 | Liam Burke TD | March 1923 | Demolished |
| Rockmills House | Glanworth | County Cork | Charles Deane Oliver | 30 April 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Rosslevan House | Kilraghtis | County Clare | Hon. Edward O'Brien | 1922 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Roxborough Castle | Moy | County Tyrone | James Caulfeild, 8th Viscount Charlemont | 1922 | Demolished |
| Roxborough House | Killinan | County Galway | Dudley Persse | 1922 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Runnamoat House | Roscommon | County Roscommon | Major Raleigh Chichester-Constable of Burton Constable Hall | 5 May 1920 | Abandoned as ruins, later demolished. Burnt 1933 |
| Rye Court | Moviddy | County Cork | Tonson Rye family | 13 June 1921 | Demolished |
| St Austin's Abbey | Tullow | County Carlow | Doyne family | 1922 | Later partially demolished |
| Shanton House | Ballybay | County Monaghan | Fitzherbert family | 8 July 1921 | Demolished |
| Sillahertane House | Kenmare | County Kerry | Sarah S. Lowe | 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Skevanish House | Innishannon | County Cork | Ethel Peacocke | 14 June 1921 | Abandoned as ruins |
| South Park House | Castlerea | County Roscommon | Major Michael Joseph Balfe | 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 |
| Summerhill House | Summerhill | County Meath | John Hercules William Rowley, 5th Baron Langford | 4 February 1921 | Demolished |
| Templemore Abbey | Templemore | County Tipperary | Carden baronets | Early 1922 | Demolished |
| Temple Hill | Terenure | County Dublin | Stephen Gwynn | February 1923 | Demolished |
| Timoleague House | Timoleague | County Cork | Travers family | 2 December 1920 | Abandoned as ruins, new house built to the north in 1924 |
| Tore House | Rochfortbridge | County Westmeath | Henry John McKenna | 11 June 1922 | Destroyed; little more than the facade and few walls of Tore House remain. |
| Tynan Abbey | Tynan | County Armagh | Sir Norman Stronge, Bt | 21 January 1981 | Demolished |
| Tyrone House | Kilcolgan | County Galway | St George family | 9 August 1920 | Abandoned as ruins |
| Warrensgrove | Bandon | County Cork | Sir Augustus Digby Warren | 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 | March 1923 | Abandoned; ruined |
| Woodbrook House | Ballymanaugh | County Galway | Bray family | January 1923 | Abandoned as ruins then demolished |
| Woodpark House | Scarriff | County Clare | R.F. Hibbert | June 1921 | Demolished |
| Woodstock House | Inistioge | County Kilkenny | Tighe family | 2 July 1922 | Abandoned as ruins |