The Decline of the Big House in Ireland

This is a history of Ireland's big houses from the post-famine years until the 1950s.

A riveting social history documenting the "big houses" in Ireland and those who lived in them, this book covers the period from 1850 (when these estates enjoyed an economic revival as the country began to recover from the Famine) to 1950 - by which time most had for decades been in decline or had been sold off. Opening the window on lives as they were led in these large estates, historian Terence Dooley reclaims a part of Irish heritage which has tended to be overlooked. Chapters include "The Social Life of the Landed Class" and "The Changing Fortune of the Irish Landlords".