Burning the Big House: The Story of the Irish Country House in a Time of War and Revolution

by Terence A.M. Dooley

The gripping story of the tumultuous destruction of the Irish country house, spanning the revolutionary years of 1912 to 1923

During the Irish Revolution nearly three hundred country houses were burned to the ground. These “Big Houses” were powerful symbols of conquest, plantation, and colonial oppression, and were caught up in the struggle for independence and the conflict between the aristocracy and those demanding access to more land. Stripped of their most important artifacts, most of the houses were never rebuilt and ruins such as Summerhill stood like ghostly figures for generations to come.
 
Terence Dooley offers a unique perspective on the Irish Revolution, exploring the struggles over land, the impact of the Great War, and why the country mansions of the landed class became such a symbolic target for republicans throughout the period. Dooley details the shockingly sudden acts of occupation and destruction—including soldiers using a Rembrandt as a dart board—and evokes the exhilaration felt by the revolutionaries at seizing these grand houses and visibly overturning the established order.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Irish Literature

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 19, 2022

About the author

Dr. Terence A.M. Dooley is an Irish historian and educator. He received his Ph.D. from Maynooth University (NUI Maynooth) in 2001 and was NUI Fellow in the Humanities and Social Sciences 2001-2003. He had previously earned an M.A. and a Higher Diploma in Education, also from NUI Maynooth.

Professor Dooley's areas of specialisation are Irish social and political history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly the history of Irish country houses and the landed class; land and politics in independent Ireland; the working of the Irish Land Commission from 1881 to 1992; the revolutionary period 1916-23; and local history in Ireland. He teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses as a Senior Lecturer in the history department at NUI Maynooth.

Professor Dooley is also Director of the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, which is under the auspices of NUI Maynooth’s history department.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thought-provoking book. It covers the burning of large houses belonging to mostly the Ascendancy in southern Ireland during the years of the war of independence and the civil war (1919-23). As most of the owners were, or had been until recently, owners of large estates and landlords to many tenant farmers, and crucially were often Protestant and closely associated with the British, they were seen as 'the enemy' by those struggling for independence in Ireland. That's the usual explanation, but Dooley adds another dimension: this was another act in the Land War in which those at the bottom of the social pile were seeking to gain secure tenure, through direct ownership, of land to farm. There had been various acts of the British parliament from the late 1870s onwards which sought to redress the balance between the large landowners and their tenants who often barely had enough land to sustain their families, let alone make a small profit to better themselves. Burning the Big House would often prompt the occupants to move to England and their land would be up for grabs, sometimes illegally occupied by those who had burnt the house down. In some cases during the civil war the anti-treaty forces would burn a big house down in order they said to prevent the pro-treaty (Irish government) forces from occupying it as a strong point in the war. This was disingenuous, Dooley claims. Agrarianism (seeking to gain more land) was often in the mix of motives.
Dooley covers a lot of detail in individual cases of houses burnt down, so you are sure that he has done his research and his conclusions are generally safe. There are a good number of photos of hosues before and after burning and from a purely aesthetic point of view it is tragic that so many beautiful houses were destroyed and many still stand as ruins to this day. A very few were rebuilt, but most were not. And not all were targeted, as Dooley explains, giving reasons why they were not. An interesting book which adds further to the reader's appreciation of the motives behind many of the individual acts of violence and destruction seen during these troubled times in Irish history.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. Viewing the War of Independence and the Civil War through the burning of the Big Houses. If you’re interested in 20th century Irish history it’s well worth a read.

[Gareth Russell]

An interesting and provocative analysis, both on the downfall of the Ascendancy and on the historical credibility of Ireland's "two revolutions" historiography. Were the landed classes dead but not yet buried thanks to the Irish social revolution of 1879-1903 and were they really only targeted for political motives during the political revolution of 1916-23?

Note: Reviewed in full for The Times, 19/3/22, for which a copy of "Burning the Big House" was received.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well written. Very detailed and may not be for the lay reader.

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy entretenido. Aborda un tema poco estudiado como el impacto del proceso revolucionario irlandes en la aristocracia anglo-irlandesa. A traves de varias causas: movimiento agrario, trabajo, recelos localas, nacionalismo, etc. explica la violencia contra la propiedad como un medio para la distribucion de la tierra y el exito de las campañas belicas y politicas. Hace falta quizás algo de experiencia en Historia de Irlanda, pero resume muy bien los principales acontecimientos de la epoca. Le pongo menos nota porque el autor valora la propiedad privada por encima de la desigualdad social, y constantemente apela a el daño en la aristocracia. Anda y que le den a los terratenientes 9/10

[Tim O'Mahony · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting subject and full of fascinating detail and loads of anecdotes but somehow I found this book hard going and breathed a sigh of relief when I finished it. Not a bad book by any means, it covers much more than actual burnings during the 'Troubled Times', taking up the story of the big house and the landed gentry from the Land War of the 1880s.

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and well-researched account of the torching of some of Ireland's biggest estate houses particularly during the Troubles in the 1920s. The author explores not just the politics and the War of Independence followed by the Civil War, but long-standing landlord-tenant disputes and desire for land reform and resentment of the aristocracy.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terence Dooley has a great way with words and describes things in a way that makes the story easily understandable.
I would highly recommend this book, as an Irish person it really opened my eyes to so much that I didn't know about.

[Frieda Harkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative and readable, book.

[AshleyS]

DNF ~page 100

Too dry for me. Seems to really feel for the aristocracy, which grates a little. I like nice houses as much as the next person, but not at the cost of massive inequality.

[Martin Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. The preface to Murnaghans art collection was written by his nephew not his niece. The interpretation taken by the author would be different to my reading of it.

[Eva O’Beirne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous expansion of Dooley’s previous work. Equally entertaining, informative and accessible to those even with limited knowledge of the civil war.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burning the big house is an excellent piece of historiography from our tumultuous war of independence time. This book slams 1914 to 1923 and is packed full of interesting facts and information on the burning of the big house during that period. During this period, nearly 300 houses were burned and this book sets out to explore why and also what happened to Ireland landed aristocracy.

The book doesn't start straight away with the burnings but instead explores the impact of the first world war on these families and houses. I found this section extremely fascinating as it didn't shy away from the realities that a lot of these families suffered significant debts at this point and also the effects of wounded sons/nephews and even their deaths impacted the future of these houses and estates.

The big houses became sitting targets for political and agrarian unrest at the time. The houses were seen as powerful symbols of colonial oppression. Some were targeted for agrarian reasons so the estate lands could be redistributed while others for the revolutionary cause. This is all explored in different case studies with the book. We see the looting and destruction of these houses and the aftermath. The aftermath includes either the abandonment of the house or the process to rebuild and get reparations from the government. Many today still sit in ruins across Ireland including Tyrone House featured above.

Overall, a fantastic book that I would definitely recommend if you want to understand more on this time period and on the burnings and motivations of the burnings of these houses.