Eyrecourt Castle
Eyrecourt Castle (Eyre Court) was a 17th‑century classical country house near the village of Eyrecourt in County Galway, built for Colonel John Eyre. It was noted for ambitious wood carving, massive doorcases and an early grand Baroque wooden staircase. The house fell into decline and was largely ruined in the 20th century; the carved staircase was removed in the 1920s and later given to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Its prime
1731
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1731
What Eyrecourt Castle looked like in its prime.
A symmetrical seven-bay, two-storey classical country house with regularly spaced window bays and a central entrance leading into a broad central hall; the plan placed a large stair-and-hall block taking up roughly a third of the interior. Interiors prominently featured exuberant carved woodwork: massive doorcases, richly carved door and stair surrounds, and a dramatic Baroque wooden staircase with acanthus leaves issuing from grotesque masks along the banisters. A small private chapel stood to one side and the house sat within parkland and fine woods.
Its story
The story of Eyrecourt Castle.
In 1662 Colonel John Eyre, an Englishman, was granted the 800 acres of Eyrecourt land, with the power to empark it, as reward for his part in Cromwell's campaign in Galway. On land that had held an earlier fortified house he raised an early example of a classical country house in Ireland, seven bays and two storeys, its central staircase and hall taking up nearly a third of the plan, and house, estate and the nearby town all took his name.
Its glory was the woodwork: ambitious carvings, massive doorcases and one of the first grand Baroque staircases in Ireland, acanthus leaves rolling down the banisters from grotesque masks, "by far the most exuberant piece of wood carving surviving from the 17th century". Dutch craftsmen are believed to have worked there. Over the main hall door ran the motto "Welcome to the house of liberty", and local tradition says Ginkell's Williamite army camped in the grounds after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.
The house descended through generations of Eyres, including "Proud Eyre" and a Baron Eyre whose peerage died with him, childless, in 1781, and fell into decline, becoming a ruin in the twentieth century. The famous staircase was removed in the 1920s and later given to the Detroit Institute of Arts; the demesne gates were bought and restored by the National Heritage Council in the 1990s.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1731.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Eyrecourt Castle, including 5 interiors: main hall (central hall), baroque carved staircase, massive carved doorcase and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Eyrecourt Castle.
The families that held Eyrecourt Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Eyre
Granted to Colonel John Eyre in 1662; the Eyres held Eyrecourt into the late 19th century.
