The long overshadowed story of the burning of Mitchelstown Castle
In the 1940s the land where Mitchelstown Castle had stood was sold to the co-operative movement with the Dairygold factory now sitting where the castle once stood. File picture: Dan Linehan
Given that Michael Collins was killed ten days after its demise, it’s no wonder that the story of Mitchelstown Castle may have been long overshadowed.
The biggest neo-Gothic house built in Ireland was constructed in the 1820s by the third Earl of Kingston, known as Big George.
It was the defining structure of the town, nestled against the backdrop of the Galtee Mountains, but was destroyed by anti-treaty forces during the Civil War.
Little but a ruin and parts of the 10-kilometre enclosing wall remain which surrounds 1,240 acres. However, the estate owned by the family at their peak was over 100,000 acres stretching for miles.
Big George wished to construct a house that would impress all, especially King George IV, who had promised that he would visit him in Mitchelstown. However, it seems his efforts were wasted as George IV never arrived.
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The castle had a footprint of one acre and comprised of a 30m-long gallery and 80 rooms. In August 1922 the castle was occupied by anti-treaty troops when owned by 89-year-old widower William Webber.
“[They said] they’d only stay for a few nights and they asked the family to leave, so they did,” said Historian Bill Power, adding that assurances were given that no harm would be done.
The family moved to houses close by in King Square and Kingston College while the troops occupied the castle for the next six weeks.
“At the end of the six weeks, they began looting from the castle, then on August 12, as an act of vengeance, but also to cover the looting, they burned the entire building,” he said.
The acts went against the ideals of the IRA, with then chief of staff Liam Lynch trying to get the
stolen valuable items returned, but to no avail.
He said: "They didn’t have the vision to understand that this castle, those stones were put here by poor people. They were paid for by the rents of the tenants so it belonged to all of us and people didn’t understand that at the time. They just saw landlords, Anglo-Irish, English, Protestant [and said] ‘time to get rid of them’."
Mr Power said attitudes have changed and there is now an understanding that it should not have been done. However, 20 or so years ago “there was still that thinking that they were right to burn the place”.
“Imagine somebody coming into your home, taking everything out of it and then burning it. That’s what happened to him and if you leave the politics out of it, the human factor is a tragedy,” he said.
In the 1940s the land was sold to the co-operative movement with the Dairygold factory now sitting where the castle once stood.
“They saw themselves as the new landlords of Mitchelstown in the sense that they were going to be the dominating force and that’s why they chose this site, it was an act of triumphalism,” said Mr Power.
The entire story of the burning of Mitchelstown Castle will be told on RTÉ’s Nationwide on Friday evening.
