Shanbally Castle
Shanbally Castle | |
---|---|
Location | Clogheen, County Tipperary, Ireland. |
Coordinates | 52°17′34″N 08°02′37″W / 52.29278°N 8.04361°W |
Built | 19th Century |
Built for | Cornelius O'Callaghan |
Demolished | 1960 |
Architect | John Nash |
Shanbally Castle was located near Clogheen, County Tipperary and built for Cornelius O'Callaghan, the first Viscount Lismore, in around 1810. It was the largest house built in Ireland by the noted English architect John Nash.[1] The castle was acquired by the Irish Land Commission in 1954. On 21 March 1960 the castle, after much controversy, was demolished.
Destruction
The protests against the demolition of Shanbally Castle came from some local sources, An Taisce, a few academics such as Professor Gwynn and some political voices such as Senator Sean Moylan, the Minister for Agriculture until his death in November 1957, and TD from Mitchelstown, John W Moher. Politically, the Fianna Fáil Government had no love for houses of the ascendancy and local TD Michael Davern was in favour of its demolition.[citation needed]
For a brief period it seemed that a purchaser could be found in the form of the London theatre critic
When this sale did not happen, the
In March 1960, The Nationalist reported the final end of a building which was once the pride of the neighbourhood.[citation needed] "A big bang yesterday ended Shanbally Castle, where large quantities of gelignite and cortex shattered the building," it said. The explosion could be heard up to 10 miles (16 km) away.
A statement from the
References
- ISBN 978-0-9545691-2-9.
External links