Eyrecourt Castle facts for kids
Eyrecourt Castle, also known as Eyre Court, was a large house in Galway, Ireland, built in the 1600s. It was once a grand home but became a ruin in the 1900s. The house, the land around it, and the nearby town of Eyrecourt were all named after Colonel John Eyre. He was an Englishman who received a lot of land as a reward for his part in a military campaign in Galway during a time called the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Before this house, there was an older, strong house or castle on the same land.
What Eyrecourt Castle Looked Like
Eyrecourt Castle was one of the first big, fancy country houses built in a classical style. It was a two-story house with seven sections, built in a balanced way. A large staircase and hall in the middle took up almost a third of the whole house. It was a very impressive and modern home for its time.
In 1731, a visitor named Mary Granville said the parkland around the house had "a great many fine woods and improvements that looked very English." Later, Richard Cumberland described it as a "spacious mansion," meaning a very large house, though it wasn't in the best condition. The land around the house is now called a demesne, which is a common word in Ireland for a large estate. The old gates to the estate were bought and fixed up in the 1990s.
Special Features of the House
The most amazing parts of Eyrecourt Castle were its detailed wood carvings, huge door frames, and a famous fancy staircase. This staircase was one of the first grand staircases in Ireland. It had beautiful carvings of acanthus leaves coming out of funny faces and rolling down the banisters. It's thought to be the most amazing wood carving from the 1600s that still exists. People believe that Dutch artists worked on these carvings, and a French artist from Dublin named James Tabary might have helped too. One of the fireplaces was designed in a style by a famous artist named Sebastiano Serlio.
Over the door to the main hall, there was a motto that said, "Welcome to the house of liberty." The house also had its own small chapel, built in 1677. Local stories say that the grounds of the castle were used as a camp by Ginkell's army after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.
The Castle's Story
In 1662, Colonel John Eyre was given about 800 acres (320 hectares) of land at Eyrecourt. He was allowed to make it into a private park. This was his reward for his part in a military campaign in Ireland. He built the house in the 1660s or early 1670s. John Eyre later became a Member of Parliament for Galway and was the High Sheriff of County Galway in 1681.
When John Eyre passed away in 1685, his oldest son, also named John, inherited the property. The house then passed down through several generations of the Eyre family. Many of them also served as High Sheriffs of County Galway. One of them, John Eyre, was made a Baron, becoming Lord Eyre. He passed away in 1781 without children, so his special title ended.
The house was then inherited by his nephew, Lieutenant-Colonel Giles Eyre. He spent a lot of money trying to win elections, but he wasn't successful. He left the house to his oldest son, John (1794–1856). This John was killed while hunting, and the house went to his son, another John (1820–1890). When this John passed away in 1890, the house went to William Henry Gregory Eyre.
By 1883, the Eyre family was having money problems, and the estate was put up for sale. In the 1920s, the house started to fall apart. Around 1950, the famous staircase was bought by William Randolph Hearst, a very wealthy American. Since then, the house has been left to collapse. The beautiful staircase is now kept in storage at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the United States.
