| Moore Hall | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Moore Hall,c. 1880s | |
 Interactive map of the Moore Hall area | |
| General information | |
| Status | Derelict |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Location | County Mayo, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°42′48″N9°13′35″W / 53.7134°N 9.2264°W /53.7134; -9.2264 |
| Estimated completion | 1795 |
| Destroyed | 1923 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 over part-raised basement[2] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Roberts[1] |
Moore Hall is a ruined 18th-century manor house located nearCarnacon inCounty Mayo,Ireland. Built around 1792, it became the ancestral home of the Moore family, including the novelistGeorge Augustus Moore.[2] The house was burned during theIrish Civil War in 1923 and remains a ruin.[3] The surrounding forested estate is now managed byCoillte as a public amenity,[4] while the house and parts of the former estate are owned byMayo County Council.[5]
Built for the Moore family, who had purchased land in the area in the early 1790s,[6] Moore Hall was completed betweenc. 1792 and 1795.[7] The house was commissioned by the wine merchant George Moore (1727–1799) and built to the designs of the architectJohn Roberts.[8] TheGeorgian house had three-storeys (over a part-raised basement) and was five bays wide and three bays deep.[2] The front elevation's design features a full-height breakfront with a Doric portico on the groundfloor.[2]
Used as their primary residence until the early 20th century,[3][6] members of the Moore family associated with the estate includeJohn Moore (1763–1799), the politicianGeorge Henry Moore (1810–1870), writerGeorge Augustus Moore (1852–1933) and soldier and senatorMaurice George Moore (1854–1939).[6]
The house was vacant by 1921 and was burned down in 1923 during the Irish Civil War.[2] It was burned by theAnti-Treaty Irish Republican Army, during a period in whicha number of other Irish country houses were destroyed, as the then owner andIrish Free State Senator, Maurice George Moore, was perceived to hold a Pro-Treaty stance.[7][9]
The Moore Hall estate ultimately came into the ownership of the state, with the forested areas managed byCoillte.[4] In January 2018,Mayo County Council announced, that it had acquired parts of the estate, including the ruined 18th-century house and approximately 80 acres of woodland.[5] As of 2023,Coillte reportedly retained ownership of 300 acres at Moore Hall.[10] In March 2023, Mayo County Council, in conjunction withCoillte and theNational Parks and Wildlife Service, published a "draft masterplan" for the proposed redevelopment of the house and lands.[11]
