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
Dublin–Cork railway line Dublin–Cork railway line The Dublin–Cork main line is the main InterCity railway route in Ireland between Dublin Heuston and Cork Kent. It is one of the longest in Ireland at 266 km. The line is utilised by both InterCity and Commuter services. Services to Waterford branch off at Cherryville Junction, after Kildare, and to Westport and Galway after Portarlington. Although there are some direct services to Limerick, most services require a change at either Limerick Junction or Ballybrophy traveling onward via the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line. Services to Tralee via Killarney and Farranfore (for Kerry Airport) run from Mallow. Commuter services