Burning down Ireland’s stately homes

Professor Terence Dooley, author of Burning the Big House, tells Ellie Cawthorne why so many of Ireland’s grand homes were subjected to arson during the early 20th century, revealing a complex web of disputes over land, protests against imperialism and IRA reprisals.

Terence Dooley is the author of Burning the Big House: The Story of the Irish Country House in a Time of War and Revolution (Yale University Press, 2022)