Destruction of Irish country houses (1919–1923) April 1921, north Cork IRA leader, Liam Lynch, enraged by the destruction of several houses in reprisal for an IRA ambush declared, 'six big houses and castles of their friends, the Imperialists will go up for this.'" At least 76 country mansions were destroyed in the War of Independence; 30 "Big Houses" were burned in 1920 and another 46 in the first half of 1921, mostly in the conflict's Munster heartland, i.e. counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick. Historian James S. Donnelly stated in a study of the burning of over 50 country mansions in County Cork in 1919–21
History of Limerick left the city and 26 families remained. Some went to Cork, intending to embark on ships from Cobh to travel to America. The people of Cork welcomed them into their homes. Church halls were opened for the refugees, many of whom remained. Gerald Goldberg, a son of this migration, became Lord Mayor of Cork in 1977, and the Marcus brothers, David and Louis, grandchildren of the pogrom, would become hugely influential in Irish literature and Irish film, respectively. The IRA and the independence movement of Sinn Féin gained popular support in Limerick following the repressions and executions of 1916. Royal