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
Irish Land and Labour Association original association". In 1905, Dillon's loyal "Redmonite" ally and ILLA secretary J. J. O'Shee was tasked with forming a break-away 'party-subservient' organisation in answer to Sheehan's domination of the original one. Sheehan had however created that domination on order to realize the great democratic principle of the government of the people by the people and for the people in the teeth of party autocracy. A larger section, mainly in counties Cork, Limerick, Kerry and Tipperary, followed Sheehan who renamed it the 'Land and Labour Association' (LLA). Its members sat on most Rural and District County Councils. Splitting-off and in-fighting became