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Mountshannon House was a large mansion in Lisnagry, near Castleconnell, County Limerick, built in the mid-18th century. It was the home of John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare. It was burnt down during the Anglo-Irish war in 1920. Today it is mostly a ruin.
The house was built sometime in the mid-18th century, and was first occupied around 1750. It was subsequently purchased by John FitzGibbon, who descendants were later to become the Earls of Clare. The estate covered 900 acres (3.6 km2) of land, being bounded to the south by the Mulkear River, the Shannon to the west, and extending some 2 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 known as Earl of Clare or Lord 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 in Irish history, being described variously as 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 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 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.
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.
Images of both the current ruins and the building before destruction can be found on Limerick City's library site:
The Knight of Glin, also known as the Black Knight or Knight of the Valley, was a hereditary title held by the FitzGerald and FitzMaurice families of County Limerick, Ireland, since the early 14th century. The family was a branch of the FitzMaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty commonly known as the Geraldines and related to the now extinct Earls of Desmond who were granted extensive lands in County Limerick by the Crown. The title was named after the village of Glin, near the Knight's lands. The Knight of Glin was properly addressed as "Knight".
Bunratty Castle is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village, by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage as tourist attractions.
Castleconnell is a village in County Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon. It is 11 km (6.8 mi) from Limerick city and near the boundaries of County Clare and County Tipperary.
Earl of Clare was a title of British nobility created three times: once each in the peerages of England, Great Britain and Ireland.
Mountshannon is a village in east County Clare, Ireland. It is part of the Catholic parish Mountshannon-Whitegate. The village is on the western shore of Lough Derg, north of Killaloe. Mountshannon won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1981.
Thomond, also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenagh and its hinterland. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Dál gCais people, although there were other Gaels in the area such as the Éile and Eóganachta, and even the Norse of Limerick. It existed from the collapse of the Kingdom of Munster in the 12th century as competition between the Ó Briain and the Mac Cárthaigh led to the schism between Thomond and Desmond. It continued to exist outside of the Anglo-Norman-controlled Lordship of Ireland until the 16th century.
John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare KP GCH PC was an Anglo Irish aristocrat and politician.
John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare PC (Ire) was Attorney-General for Ireland from 1783 to 1789 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1789 to 1802.
John Fitzgibbon or FitzGibbon may refer to:
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Limerick.
Bunratty is a village in County Clare, Ireland, near Bunratty Castle. It is connected by the N18 road to Limerick and Galway. The Raite river defines the parish's eastern boundary and flows into the Shannon Estuary, which defines the southern boundary.
Major Robert Louis Constantine Lee-Dillon FitzGibbon RSL was an American-born Irish-British historian, translator and novelist.
The White Knight is one of three Anglo-Norman hereditary knighthoods within Ireland dating from the medieval period. The title was first conferred upon Maurice Fitzgibbon in the early 14th century. The other two knighthoods, both in the Fitzgerald family, are the Knight of Glin, which has become dormant after 700 years, and the Knight of Kerry, which is held by Adrian FitzGerald, 6th Baronet, 24th Knight of Kerry.
Fitzgibbon, FitzGibbon, Fitz-Gibbon and Fitzgibbons are Irish surnames of Anglo-Norman origin. FitzGibbon and its variants have long been widespread and important surnames within Ireland. The surnames were first found in 12th century Ireland, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland, in which two distinct families were established in Limerick and Mayo.
The High Sheriff of Limerick was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Limerick, Ireland from the 13th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Limerick County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However, the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Limerick unless stated otherwise.
Gerald FitzGibbon was an Irish barrister and judge, who is regarded as one of the outstanding Irish jurists of his time. He came from a family which produced three generations of eminent lawyers, with the father, son and grandson each bearing the name Gerald FitzGibbon.
William Odell was an Irish Member of Parliament for Limerick.
Arabella Jeffereyes was an Irish landowner and social radical.
Richard Hobart FitzGibbon, 3rd Earl of Clare was an Anglo-Irish politician and noble.
John FitzGibbon was an Irish lawyer and politician.
Village by Shannon: the Story of Castleconnell and its Hinterland by Joe Carroll and Pat Tuohy
Mountshannon House and the Fitzgibbons: by Carole Gurnett
