I came across Moore Hall almost by accident on a trip to the west coast of Ireland in 2024. It was a wet and windy day and we had time to kill before our flight back to England. I saw a haunting picture of a ruined house, destroyed by fire, which intrigued me.
Moore Hall lies on the shores of Lough Carra in County Mayo and was built for the Moore family between 1792 and 1800. It was set on fire in 1923, which totally destroyed its 35 rooms set over three floors.
During the Irish War of Independence country houses, termed ‘the Big House’, became targets for Irish Nationalists as symbols of the Anglo-Irish ruling class and were often torched.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_Irish_country_houses_(1919%E2%80%931923)
I assumed that this was the case with Moore Hall but reading about its history, a different story emerged. The Moore family had always had an interest in Irish nationalism and the burning of the house didn’t come about until the Irish Civil War, when Maurice Moore allowed pro-treaty forces to billet at the house which provoked the IRA into reprisal action.
To learn more about the history of Moore Hall visit this site.
Francis Hanly Photos 