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
Fallout of the 2009 Irish government budget Brendan Smith face questions on their various roles in the budget. Over 7,000 farmers from Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Offaly, Roscommon and Wexford were involved in a mass demonstration in Ennis on 30 November 2008. Padraig Walshe, the President of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), claimed budget cutbacks would affect his union's members and would lead to a €20 million loss to farmers in the region each year. In the build-up to the budget, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea suggested that some army barracks in Ireland would be sold. Four barracks and a military hospital located along the