Moore Hall | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | House |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Classification | Derelict |
Town or city | Carra, County Mayo |
Country | Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°42′48″N9°13′35″W / 53.7134°N 9.2263°W |
Estimated completion | 1795 |
Technical details | |
Material | limestone |
Floor count | 3 over basement |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | John Roberts |
Moore Hall, or Moorehall, the house and estate of George Henry Moore and family, is situated to the south of the village Carnacon in the barony of Carra, County Mayo in a karst limestone landscape.
Named for the aristocratic Irish family who built the estate between 1792 and 1795, Moore Hall lies on Muckloon Hill overlooking Lough Carra. [1] The house was designed by the Irish architect John Roberts. Several members of the Moore family played major parts in the social, cultural and political history of Ireland from the end of the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. The house was burned down in 1923 by anti-Treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War as Maurice Moore was viewed as pro-Treaty. [2] [3] [4]
The Moores were an aristocratic Irish family who built Moore Hall between 1792 and 1795. The first Moore of Moore Hall was George Moore, a name borne by many members of the family down the generations. The Moores were originally an English Protestant family but some became Catholic when John Moore married a Roman Catholic, Jane Lynch Athy of Galway, and when their son, George, married Katherine de Kilikelly (a.k.a. Kelly), an Irish-Spanish Catholic, in 1765. [5] [6]
Notable members of the Moore family, associated with Moore Hall, include:
The house at Moore Hall was designed by John Roberts, an architect from Waterford who also designed Tyrone House in County Galway in a similar style. It was built between 1792 and 1796, [10] and was occupied by various members of the extended Moore family until the turn of the 20th century. [11]
Moore Hall house was burned down on 1 February 1923 during the Irish Civil War. An account of the burning was given shortly afterwards by the owner in a letter to the press. [12]
The house, lake, farm, and estate is now owned by the forestry company, Coillte, and it is a visitor attraction in the area. The house is not open to the public due to its poor condition – it has not been refurbished since it was burned. Non-native forestry grows on the estate lands along with areas of natural regeneration of clearfell areas recently cut by Coillte. Trees have begun growing over the farm walls and buildings behind the ruins of the grand house. Local people who lived and worked on the Moore Hall estate remembered it fondly. [1] [13] The estate passed to the Irish Land Commission upon the death of George Moore, and a campaign to restore the house has been waged. [2]
In 2018 the Mayo County Council purchased the 80-acre site with the intent of turning it into a tourist destination. [14] The project is being undertaken as a strategic partnership between the Mayo Council, Coillte, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. [15] As of 2020, the first phase of work was underway, and included restoration of the Walled Garden, and new visitor facilities including walkways, seating, play areas and signage. Storyboards telling the story of Moore Hall, the Moore Family and their role in the history of the Irish nation are also planned for the site. [16]
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.
Westport is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Ireland. Westport is a tourist destination and scores highly for quality of life. It won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition three times in 2001, 2006 and 2008. In 2012 it won the Best Place to Live in Ireland competition run by The Irish Times.
Castlebar is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. With a population of 12,318 in the 2011 census, Castlebar was one of the fastest growing town in Ireland in the early 21st century.
Newport, historically known as Ballyveaghan and for many years also known as Newport-Pratt, is a small town in the barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo, Ireland. The population was 626 in 2016. It is located on the west coast of Ireland, along the shore of Clew Bay, north of Westport. The N59 road passes through the town. The county town of Castlebar is approx 18 km east of Newport. The Black Oak River flows through the centre of the town and there are walking paths along its banks.
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George Henry Moore was an Irish politician, co-founder in the 1850s of the Tenant Right League, of the Catholic Defence Association and, as the Member for Mayo in the United Kingdom Parliament, of the Independent Irish Party. Although an advocate of tenant rights, and renowned for his relief efforts during the Great Famine, at the time of his death in 1870 Moore was defending his rights as a landowner against an oath-bound tenant society, the Ribbonmen.
Ballinrobe is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786.
Swinford is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield and Meelick. It is just off the N5 road, located 18 km (11 mi) from Ireland West Airport Knock. Situated on a tributary of the River Moy, Swinford is known for its fishing waters, including the Callow lakes and the lakes of Conn and Cullin. Swinford was bypassed in 1993 by the N5 route and was the first town in Mayo to be bypassed.
Straide, or Strade, is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located on the N58 national secondary road between Foxford and Castlebar. The name Strade is an anglicisation of the Irish words an tsráid, meaning the street.
Coillte is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a 'land solutions' division, and a wood panel manufacturing business called 'Medite Smartply'.
Carra is one of the nine baronies of County Mayo in Ireland, located in the mid-south area of the county. It is sometimes known as Burriscarra. It incorporates the town of Castlebar, the villages of Tourmakeady, Belcarra and Turlough, where the National Museum of Country Life is situated.
John Moore was an Irish rebel leader, a United Irishman appointed in August 1798 "President of the Government of the Province of Connaught" by the commander of a French invasion force, General Humbert.
Lough Carra is a limestone lake (marl) of 4,000 acres (16 km2), in County Mayo, Ireland, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Castlebar. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and varies in width from 400 yards (370 m) to one mile (1.6 km). The average depth is 6 feet (1.8 m), with a maximum of 60. It drains into Lough Mask via the Keel River.
Binghamstown is a townland and village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the R313 regional road on the Mullet Peninsula, near the town of Belmullet. The townland of Binghamstown has an area of approximately 3 square kilometres (1 sq mi), and had a population of 106 people as of the 2011 census. Binghamstown is in the electoral division of An Geata Mór Thuaidh.
Castlebar was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1614 to 1800. The area is in County Mayo. Between 1725 and 1793 Catholics and those who were married to Catholics could not vote.
Tyrone House in County Galway is a ruined manor house, built in the 1770s on a promontory by the estuary of the Kilcolgan river, about 2 miles (3 km) from the village of Kilcolgan, County Galway, Ireland.
Islandeady is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, about halfway between the towns of Castlebar and Westport.
Olivia Knight also known as Mrs Hope Connolly was an Irish-Australian poet, essayist, translator and teacher. She also published under the names "Thomasine" and "Celtica".
John Browne, 1st Earl of Altamont, known as The Lord Mount Eagle between 1760 and 1768 and as The Viscount Westport between 1768 and 1771, was an Irish peer and politician. He began the building of Westport House and the town of Westport.
Carnacon or Carrownacon is a village, townland and area in central County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated about 12 miles (19 km) from Castlebar, and is about 8 miles (13 km) from Claremorris and Ballinrobe.
Slater refers to it as the seat of George A. Moore in 1894