Castle Gore (or Old Castle, Deel Castle), Ballina, Co Mayo – lost 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 69. “ (Bourke/LGI1899; Gore, Arran, E/PB; Cuff, Tyrawley, B/DEP) Deel Castle, a C16 tower-house of the Bourkes close to the northern end of Lough Conn, passed, after Col Thomas Bourke has fought on the side of King James in the Williamite War, to the Gore family, afterwards Earls of Arran, who renamed it Castle Gore. The tower-house had a large C18 wing wiht a handsome rusticated doorway added to it; possibly incorporating a C17 range. The front was flanked by a wall and a low office range which probably included parts of the old bawn. In the later C18, the estate somehow became alienated to 1^st Earl of Arran’s sister’s son, James Cuff, MP (afterwards 1^st and last Lord Tryawley), who built a new house a short distance from the old castle ca 1790; a typical late C18 block of three storeys over basement. Three bay entrance front; tripartite doorway with engaged Tuscan columns and pediment extending over door and sidelights. Plain five bay garden front. Hall with frieze of delicate late-Georgian plasterwork. Long and narrow staircase hall at back of main hall, lit by very tall round-headed window; also with plasterwork frieze. Drawing room with niches on either side of fireplace. Low service wing; office court with stone arcade for coaches; barrel-vaulted underground service tunnel, passing beneath the formal garden. Many-arched bridge over Deel River. The house was severely damaged and the original staircase destroyed during the Rebellion of 1798. Lord Tyrawley left Castle Gore to his illegitimate son, Col James Cuff, who scandalized the County by keeping a French mistress here. After his death, the estate reverted to the Earls of Arran. The house was burnt 1922 and not rebuilt; in recent years the local authority tried to dynamite the ruin, regarding it as unsafe; but it proved so well built that only one corner was blown off. The old castle, which was still intact earlier this century, is now also a ruin.” 

Listed in Vanishing Country Houses of Ireland by The Knight of Glin, David J. Griffin and Nicholas K. Robinson, published by The Irish Architectural Archive and The Irish Georgian Society, 1988. 

Castle Gore (Old Castle, formerly Deel Castle), Ballina: “A sixteenth century tower house with a wing added in the mid 18C. This wing has a simple rusticated doorcase. Seat of the Gore family, afterwards Earls of Arran. Now a ruin.”

and “Castle Gore, Ballina, County Mayo: A large plain house built c. 1790 for James Cuffe M.P. 1st Lord Tyrawley. The house was severely damaged in the 1798 rebellion. Very fine granite Doric pedimented doorcase. Burnt in 1922. Now a ruin.” \

http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/10/castle-gore.html

THE EARLS OF ARRAN WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MAYO, WITH 29,644 ACRES

This family deduces from

GERARD GORE (c1516-1607), citizen, Merchant Taylor, and Alderman of the City of London at the close of the 16th century, who married Helen, daughter of Ralph Davenant, of Davenant Land, Essex.

He died at the advanced age of 91, having had eight sons, of whom,

RICHARD, the eldest, MP for London, d leaving 7 daughters;
JOHN (Sir), 4th son, Lord Mayor of London, 1624;
PAUL (Sir), of whom presently.

The youngest son,

SIR PAUL GORE (1567-1629), captain of a troop of horse, went over to Ireland with his regiment in the reign of ELIZABETH I, and obtaining large grants of land, which he condensed into a manor, designated Manor Gore, settled there.

Captain Gore wedded Isabella, daughter of Francis Wickliffe, and niece of Thomas, Earl of Strafford, and had issue,

RALPH, ancestor of the extinct house of GORE, Earls of Ross;
ARTHUR, of whom we treat.

Sir Paul’s second son,

ARTHUR GORE (c1640-97), of Newtown, County Mayo, was created a baronet in 1662, designated of Newtown, County Mayo.

He wedded Eleanor, daughter of Sir George St George Bt, of Carrick, County Leitrim, and had (with seven daughters) four sons, viz.

PAUL, predeceased his father;
Arthur;
William, of Woodford, MP for Co Leitrim;
George, an eminent lawyer.

Sir Arthur was succeeded by his grandson (son of Paul), 

SIR ARTHUR GORE, 2nd Baronet (c1682-1741), MP for Ballynakill, 1703-13, Donegal Borough, 1714-14, County Mayo, 1715-42, who married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Maurice Annesley, of Little Rath, County Kildare, and had four sons and three daughters,

ARTHUR, his heir;
Paul Annesley;
William;
George;
Anne; Eleanor; Elizabeth.

Sir Arthur was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR ARTHUR GORE, 3rd Baronet (1703-73), MP for Donegal Borough, 1727-58, who was created, in 1758, Baron Saunders, of Deeps, County Wexford, and Viscount Sudley, of Castle Gore.

His lordship was advanced to an earldom, in 1762, in the dignity of EARL OF ARRAN, of the Arran Islands, County Galway.

He espoused Jane, heiress of Richard Saunders, of Saunders Court, and relict of William Worth. 

• Arthur Saunders Gore, 2nd Earl (1734–1809);
• Arthur Saunders Gore, 3rd Earl (1761–1837);
• Philip Yorke Gore, 4th Earl (1801–84);
• Arthur Saunders Gore, 5th Earl (1839–1901);
• Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore, 6th Earl, KP (1868–1958);
• Arthur Paul John James Charles Gore, 7th Earl (1903–58);
• Arthur Strange Kattendyke David Archibald Gore, 8th Earl (1910–83);
• Arthur Desmond Colquhoun Gore, 9th Earl (b 1938).

ARTHUR CHARLES JOCELYN CHARLES [GORE], 6th Earl, KP, PC; Knight of St Patrick, 1909; Privy Counsellor, 1917; Lord-Lieutenant of County Donegal, 1917-20.
The 6th Earl is pictured above, wearing the robe, sash and insignia of the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick. 

“We, the Tenants on your Lordship’s Mayo Estate, and their friends, have heard with the utmost pleasure of your Marriage, and in meeting assembled, unanimously and with sincere and cordial feelings have passed the following resolution …” 

The Earls of Arran were a “Patrick family”, the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Earls all having been appointed to the Order of St Patrick. 

The present Earl and Countess of Arran live at Castle Hill House, near Barnstaple, Devon.

*****
CASTLE GORE, or Deel Castle, near Crossmolina, County Mayo, is a 16th century tower house of the Bourkes.

It is close to the northern end of Lough Conn.

After Colonel Thomas Bourke had fought on the side of JAMES II in the Williamite War, the property was forfeited and given to the Gore family, afterwards Earls of Arran, who renamed it Castle Gore.

The tower-house had a large 18th century wing with a handsome rusticated doorway added to it, possibly incorporating a 17th century range.

They also acquired the manor of Belleek from the O’Haras, Barons Tyrawley, and owned estates in County Donegal.

The castle along with other lands was leased to James Cuff, Lord Tyrawley, towards the end of the 18th century; occupied by the Cuffs’ steward for part of the 19th century.

James Cuff, Lord Tyrawley, built a house beside the Old Bourke Castle in 1791.

The house was burnt in 1922 when the Arrans removed to England. It was not rebuilt.

The old castle, which was still intact in the early 20th century, is now a ruin.

The Earls of Arran’s London residence was The Pavilion, Hans Place. 

First published in October, 2012.   Arran arms courtesy of European Heraldry.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31303006/castle-gore-originally-deel-castle-deelcastle-co-mayo

Detached three-bay (three-bay deep) three-storey over basement country house, built 1789-92, on a symmetrical plan with five-bay full-height rear (west) elevation. Damaged, 1798. Occupied, 1911. Burnt, 1922. In ruins [complete], 1942. In ruins [partial], 1978. Roof now missing with remains of paired limestone ashlar central chimney stacks having corbelled stepped capping supporting yellow terracotta octagonal pots, and no rainwater goods surviving on ivy-covered dragged cut-limestone stepped cornice retaining cast-iron downpipes. Creeper- or ivy-covered fine roughcast walls on benchmark-inscribed dragged cut-limestone chamfered cushion course on rendered plinth. Square-headed central door opening in tripartite arrangement with steps now missing, cut-granite doorcase with engaged Tuscan columns on stepped plinths supporting “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” pediment on blind frieze centred on dragged cut-limestone panel. Square-headed window openings (basement) with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed drag edged tooled cut-limestone block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Square-headed window openings (remainder) with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed red brick block-and-start surrounds with no fittings surviving. Interior in ruins including (ground floor): central entrance hall retaining decorative plasterwork cornice to ceiling on foliate- or vine-detailed frieze. Set in unkempt grounds. Additional photography by James Fraher 

Appraisal 

The shell of a country house erected for James Cuff MP (1747-1821), first and last Lord Tyrawley (DIA), representing an important component of the late eighteenth-century domestic built heritage of north County Mayo with the architectural value of the composition, ‘a fine modern residence’ recalling the near-contemporary Clogher House (1770), Clogher (see 31310001), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking gently rolling grounds and the meandering Deel River; the compact near-square plan form centred on a Classically-detailed doorcase ‘similar in style to Enniscoe [see 31303803]’ (Craig and Garner 1976, 35); and the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression. Although reduced to ruins during “The Troubles” (1919-23), and thereafter unsuccessfully dynamited in the later twentieth century (Bence-Jones 1978, 69-70), the elementary form and massing survive intact together with remnants of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior including, remarkably, some decorative plasterwork enrichments highlighting the now-modest artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1838); a walled garden (see 31303007); an ivy-enveloped icehouse (see 31303008); and a ruined Episcopal church (see 31303010), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a fragmented estate having historic connections with the Cuff family including the hermetic Colonel James Cuff MP (1778-1828) ‘who, aspiring to parliamentary honours, was publically taunted by Daniel “The Liberator” O’Connell [1775-1847)] as to his questionable parentage’ (ITA 1942); and Colonel St. George Cuff (1796-1883), ‘late of Deelcastle County Mayo’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1883, 177); the Earls of Arran including Arthur Saunders Gore (1839-1901), fifth Earl of Arran and one-time Lord Lieutenant of County Mayo (fl. 1889-1901); and Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore JP DL (1868-1958), sixth Earl of Arran; and a succession of stewards including James Dunbar (1843-1920), ‘Farm Steward’ (NA 1901); and Thomas Vaughan (—-), ‘Steward [and] Caretaker’ (NA 1911). 

https://theirishaesthete.com/2022/10/31/castle-gore/

‘Many a time I walked for three or four hours without meeting even one human being. Here and there a stately mansion, around it the gate lodge of the serf, the winding avenue, the spreading oaks, and the green fields in which no man was visible. Landlordism, the willing instrument of British rule, had wrought this desolation. I renewed my resolve to do my share in bringing about the change that must come sooner or later.’  
Dan Breen, My Fight for Irish Freedom (1924)

https://theirishaesthete.com/2023/11/06/deel-castle/

The ruins of the late 18th century Deel Castle, otherwise known as Castle Gore, in County Mayo have featured here before (see Sent Up in Flames « The Irish Aesthete) but rather confusingly the remains of a second, older building with the same name stand close by. The original Deel Castle – which might be classified as the real Deel – is a tower house sitting above the river Deel, thought to date from the 16th century when constructed by the Bourke family, then dominant in this part of the country. Like so many other such buildings, it is rectangular but larger than usual, of four storeys and with a substantial bartizan on the south-west corner of the roofline, above which rise tall, narrow chimneystacks. As is also typical of tower houses, there is only one point of access, a modest arched doorcase on the west side. It remained in the possession of the Bourke family until the late 17th century when, after Colonel Thomas Bourke had fought on the side of King James in the Williamite Wars, the property was forfeited and granted to Sir Arthur Gore.

Born in London, Paul Gore (created a baronet in 1622) had come to Ireland in the late 16th century in the service of Elizabeth I as commander of a troop of horse and eventually settled in County Donegal, representing Ballyshannon for a number of years in the Irish House of Commons. Arthur Gore (created a baronet in 1662) was his second son, and likewise both a soldier and politician, becoming High Sheriff of both Mayo and County Galway, and later of Leitrim. Having settled in Mayo, he received the Bourkes‘ former property, Castle Deel and in due course, his son having predeceased him, passed this to his grandson, also called Arthur Gore. When Mrs Delany visited the place in 1732, she noted, ‘tis an old castle patched up and very irregular, but well fitted up and good handsome rooms within. The master of the house, Arthur Gore, a jolly red-faced widower, has one daughter, a quiet thing that lives in the house with him; his dogs and horses are as dear to him as his children, his laugh is hearty, though his jests are course.’ The second baronet’s son, yet another Arthur, was created Earl of Arran in 1762. It would appear that the family continued to live in Deel Castle but towards the end of the 18th century, the estate was leased to James Cuff, first (and last) Lord Tyrawley who built the now-ruined house within sight of the old castle. Cuff’s mother Elizabeth was a sister of Lord Arran, which helps to explain why he should have been granted a lease on the place. Lord Tyrawley had no legitimate heirs, although he had two illegitimate sons by an actress, one of whom, James Duff, lived in the new Deel Castle until his death in 1828, after which that building reverted back to the third Earl of Arran. As for the old castle, it was occupied by Colonel St George Cuff, thought to have been the illegitimate son of James Cuff; the colonel’s wife Louisa Maria Knox Gore, was descended in the maternal line from the second Earl of Arran, making the family connection clearer. It was only after the colonel’s death in 1883 that the old castle likewise returned to the Gores and remained with them until after 1921 when the new house was burnt by the IRA and left the ruin still seen today.

As already mentioned, the original Deel Castle was a substantial tower house. To the east of this, possibly as early as the 17th century, an extension was built which was probably further improved in the 18th century. A bartizan on the south-east corner of the extension certainly suggests an early date, since it would come from a time when the occupants of the building would consider themselves vulnerable to attack. In any case, this section is of three storeys and five bays, with a limestone Gibbsian doorcase on the groundfloor. The outline of a gable on the eastern side of the facade indicates that a further building once stood here, perhaps to match that which still extends forward immediately beyond the tower house to the west, thereby creating a courtyard in front of the building. Little remains inside either the original or the later structure, the roof long gone, along with the various floors, windows and chimneypieces: the external walls alone now survive. This decay has occurred only in the past 100 years since, unlike its neighbour, Deel Castle was not burnt during the early 1920s but still occupied. Only afterwards was it abandoned, and left to fall into the present state of ruin. 

http://davidhicksbook.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-07-13T01:28:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=39&by-date=false

MONDAY, 21 APRIL 2014 

Deel Castle  

& Castle Gore 

Crossmolina, Co. Mayo 

Castle Gore is a shell of an eighteenth century building that is located between the towns of Crossmolina and Ballina in County Mayo. While strictly not a castle but a large house, it inherited the moniker of being a castle from the older sixteenth century tower house nearby. While both structures are often confusingly referred to as Castle Gore, for simplicity I shall refer to the sixteenth century tower house as Deel Castle and the eighteenth century mansion as Castle Gore.  Deel Castle is situated beside the river from which it took its name and was erected by the Burkes in the sixteenth century. It was occupied by that family up until the seventeenth century after which Sir Arthur Gore was granted possession of Deel castle and its lands. In the following years the castle was enlarged and improved with the addition of a large eighteenth century wing which possibly incorporated a seventeenth century range. 

Very few pictures exist of Castle Gore and in this previously unpublished  view, the garden front of Castle Gore can be seen which overlooked the  gardens and the river beyond. The house was built in 1791 by James Cuff,  the first and last Lord Tyrawley and to the left of the picture can be seen  the service wing which was accessed by a tunnel from the road below. Accreditation- Photo from Maurice Knox

Near the end of the eighteenth century, the Gore family leased Deel Castle and its lands to James Cuff of Ballinrobe. In 1791, James Cuff, the first and last Lord Tyrawley built a new mansion a short distance from the old Deel Castle, on the opposite side of the road overlooking the river. It was a substantial Georgian block of a house with three stories over a basement. It had a three bay entrance front which contained an impressive tripartite entrance door which had Tuscan columns on either side that supported a large pediment. The five bay garden front of the house faced the river and well tended gardens surrounded the house. The access arrangements for the servants were located on this side of the mansion and a tunnel from the road led under the manicured lawn to a courtyard and servants entrance. Arrangements like this were common, as often the upper-class residents of the house did not like the sight of servants and delivery carriages traipsing across their lawns and interrupting their view of the formal gardens. To the side and rear of the house was a low service wing and office court which housed all the ancillary parts of the household. Kitchens, laundries and areas for administration of the estate such as the Stewart’s office were all located here. James Cuff who built the house was directly related to the Gore Family, from whom he leased the lands, by his mother Elizabeth. She was the sister of Arthur Gore, the first Earl of Arran (1703-1773) and daughter of Sir Arthur Gore, second Baronet Gore of Newtown Gore (1685 -1742). In the peerage, both of these gentlemen are listed as living in Deel Castle during their life times. 

Mary Delany visited Deel Castle in 1732 and recorded her impressions, ‘tis an old castle patched up and very irregular, but well fitted up and good handsome rooms within. The master of the house, Arthur Gore, a jolly red-faced widower, has one daughter, a quiet thing that lives in the house with him; his dogs and horses are as dear to him as his children, his laugh is hearty, though his gests are course’. Whether it was James Cuff’s uncle or grandfather living in Deel Castle at this time, I can’t be sure. The Gore family’s occupation of Deel Castle may have been the reason behind the construction of the new mansion in 1791. James Cuff married Mary Levinge in 1770 and he was created first Baron Tyrawley of Ballinrobe on November 7, 1797. In the late eighteenth century, Daniel Beaufort and his wife Mary visited Castle Gore, here they met ‘several gents of the neighbourhood’ and ‘Dinner here was plain & good & well served, but one course & no desert but apples. They kill a beef every fortnight, two sheep per week, feed forty-five people daily and have a French maitre d’hotel’.  

Castle Gore was burnt down in September 1922 and has remained  a ruin since. In the 1950s the local council dynamited the building  in order to demolish it, but they only succeeded in blowing off one  corner of the building. Accreditation- Photo by David Hicks

During the rebellion of 1798, the house was severely damaged and the original staircase destroyed. Lord Tyrawley’s wife died in 1808 followed by the death of Lord Tyrawley and his title on June 15, 1821. He is listed as having died without legitimate issue but he left Castle Gore to his illegitimate son, Colonel James Cuff who scandalized the county by keeping a French mistress in the new mansion. Colonel James also left his mark on the estate, as a short distance from the ruins of Deel Castle and Castle Gore are the walls of a small church. According to local tradition it was never fully completed and only one service was ever held there. It is said that Colonel Cuff had his parentage questioned by Daniel O Connell and after this incident he cut himself off from polite society and retired to Castle Gore. The church was erected for his private use and still survives today in a ruined state surrounded by modern houses. The entrance gates to the Castle Gore demesne were located in this area but no traces of them can be found today. Colonel James Cuff died in London on July 29, 1828 and the mansion at Castle Gore returned to the ownership of the Gore family. 

The church that was said to have been erected by  Colonel James Cuff for his private use in the early 1800’s.  The gates to the estate were said to be situated nearby  but no trace of them exists today. Only one service was  ever thought to have been held in this ruinous building. Accreditation- Photo by David Hicks

In the early 1800s, the sixteenth century Deel Castle was occupied by Colonel St. George Cuff. He was born in 1796 and was said to be the second surviving son of James Cuff. His name does crop up in the national press over the years in connection with Deel Castle; in October 1861, Colonel Knox from Ballinrobe is listed as returning from a visit to Deel Castle the home of Colonel St. George Cuff and in 1876, Colonel St. George Cuff of Deel Castle is recorded as owning 3,205 acres in County Mayo. He was married to Louisa Maria, a daughter of James Knox Gore from Broadlands Park in County Mayo. Louisa Maria’s mother, was the daughter of the second Earl of Arran, thus another union that cemented the ties between the two families of Cuff and Gore. By July 1880, Colonel Cuff who is still living in the castle is described as a ‘feeble old man’ and ‘a most indulgent landlord’. By June 1883 it is recorded in the national press that he passed away in the previous years. Now the lands, Deel Castle and the mansion house were under the control of the Earl of Arran and the Gore Family. One of the people who is most associated with the new mansion at Castle Gore was Arthur Saunders William Charles Fox Gore, fifth Earl of Arran who was born in 1839 in Bath, Somerset England. 

This is what remains of the formal landscape that Castle Gore once overlooked which is situated by the banks of the River Deel Accreditation- Photo by David Hicks

In the years from 1892 to 1894, the architectural partnership of Millar & Symes carried out work for the fifth Earl of Arran at Castle Gore. It is also noted during the same period they were making regular visits to nearby Mount Falcon, a home belonging to a branch of the Knox family. A visitor to Castle Gore in August 1898, at the invitation of the Earl and Countess of Arran, recorded an interesting account of what they seen in the house. The Countess received her guest in the drawing room and afterwards the Earl conducted a tour of Deel Castle. The lawns around the house are described as ‘velvet’ and that they ‘undulate towards the river’. The visitor to Castle Gore describes a rich collection of works of art that were housed in the drawing room. There were two Gainsboroughs, a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds together with a landscape by Constable and many items of interest such as a marble burst of the Countess Sudley. In the dining room there was a painting of ‘A Large Hound’ by Velasquez, set in a carved gilt frame that hung over the mantel piece. There were numerous other paintings hanging in this room including another by Reynolds. The entrance hall of the house had a delicate frieze of late Georgian plasterwork off which there was a long and narrow staircase lit by a very tall round headed window with decorative plasterwork. The drawing room had niches on either side of the fireplace and tall windows overlooked the formal gardens and the River Deel beyond.  

The sixteenth century tower house that is named Deel Castle  and is located near the ruin of Castle Gore. Copyright- Photo by David Hicks

It was customary for the tenants of the estate to make presentations to the Earl of Arran and his family on various milestones in their lives. In July 1894, Lady Esther Gore, the daughter of the fifth Earl of Arran, married William Frederick Danvers Smith, second Viscount Hambleden. She visited Castle Gore in the autumn to be presented with a wedding gift by the Earl of Arran’s tenants, who all had subscribed to the presentation. In January 1901, the home coming of Lord Dudley, son of the Earl of Arran, from the War in South Africa was also marked with gifts from the tenantry. The tenants presented him with an address of welcome and a silver cup, while the estate workmen and outdoor servants presented a silver inkstand as a mark of their personal esteem. Lord Dudley’s carriage was met at the entrance gate by the tenants and workmen, where a triumphal arch had been erected. The men removed the horses from the carriage and pulled it up to the front of house where it was warmly welcomed by the assembled mass of tenants and those employed on the estate. The Earl of Arran and his son were in the carriage and upon their arrival at the front door of Castle Gore; they were addressed by Rev. Perdue. The clergy man spoke on behalf of the tenants and expressed gratification of being able to welcome Lord Dudley back again. A tenant on the estate by the name of John Mc Givney read an illuminated address decorated in an artistic manner by James McConnell of Sackville Street in Dublin. The silver cup was presented by Christopher Armstrong on behalf of the tenants and both it and the accompanying ink stand were engraved with inscriptions recording the event. In the 1901 census, the mansion at Castle Gore is listed as being inhabited by five people and having thirty-one rooms, ten windows in its entrance front and fifteen outbuildings. Living in Castle Gore at this time is the Dunbar Family from Scotland, with James Dunbar listed as a farm stewart, his wife Jessie, daughter Hannah and two other servants. These persons living in the house at this time were probably acting as caretakers as the Earl and Countess of Arran had other homes in England that they divided their time between.  

The entrance tunnel for servants, which used to run under the  front lawn of Castle Gore that faced the garden and the river.  Servants and goods entered the courtyard to the rear of the house  in order not to disturb the beauty of the formal landscape above.  Today sections of this tunnel have collapsed and the remainder  is used for the storage of farm vehicles.  Copyright- Photo by David Hicks

Winifred, Countess of Arran, the wife of the fifth Earl of Arran, spent many months every year in residence at Castle Gore. She was the second wife of the fifth Earl and step mother to the future sixth Earl of Arran. The Countess was a former Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Christian and was in attendance on Her Royal Highness when she had accompanied Queen Victoria on her final visit to Dublin. In 1892, the philanthropic Countess of Arran established a knitting industry with a capital of £3 which provided employment to the women and girls from around the locality of Castle Gore, The work was so good that one hundred girls were kept in employment with orders for knickbockers from both England and abroad. The work was sent from Castle Gore on approval, so people could judge for themselves the merits of the work. In June 1902, an advertisement appeared in The Irish Times informing people that hand knitted socks could be procured from the Knitting Industry, Castle Gore, Ballina. The stockings fetched as much as 4s 6d a pair in London and bales of them were frequently sent to France and Italy where the work commanded very favourable prices. The Countess spent time every year, mainly during summer months, at Castle Gore until she died in November 1921. Arthur Saunders William Charles Fox Gore, fifth Earl of Arran, died on March 14, 1901 aged 62. He had homes in Hertford Street and Mayfair London in addition to his estate at Castle Gore in the west of Ireland. He left £100 to his butler Frederick Bax and his nurse Martha Hill. His diamond star of the Order of St. Patrick he bequeathed to his daughter, Lady Winifred Helena Lettice Gore together with £5000. The residue of his property went to his son Captain Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore, Viscount Sudley, now the sixth Earl of Arran with a request that he give a keepsake to each of his children. The Earls estate was valued at £44,608 4s 6d and he was buried at Windsor Cemetery, Berkshire, England.   

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore who inherited Castle Gore after the death of his father in 1901.

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore succeeded his father as the sixth Earl of Arran and in the early 1900s and the new Earl and Countess of Arran divided their time among their homes in Ireland and England. During the years between 1900 and 1906 the house in County Mayo was only occasionally visited and it appears that the new Earl was not as attached to Castle Gore as his father had been. The house was only occupied during the spring and summer months and remained closed the rest of the year. Eventually it was visited less and less, as both the Earl and Countess of Arran seemed to prefer to spend a lot of time at their villa in Cowes, an English seaport town on the Isle of Wight. In the spring of 1905, they closed up Castle Gore and spent the remaining months at the villa in Cowes with the Earl returning to London on occasion for business. Castle Gore was then used for entertaining friends and family on occasion. In January 1908, the Earl of Arran entertained some friends at Castle Gore for a woodcock shoot. The best days shooting was much spoilt by bad weather, but an excellent bag was secured, namely 72 woodcocks, 130 pheasants, 3 wild ducks, 2 snipe, 16 rabbits and 2 hares. In the summer of 1910, the Earl and Countess of Arran stayed at Hyde Hall in Hertfordshire and Castle Gore was let to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his wife, Lady Walker. By the time of 1911 census, the mansion at Castle Gore was only inhabited by Thomas Vaughan and his wife Mary. Thomas has listed his profession as a steward and caretaker and Mary is described as a house keeper. Unusually at the time, he has listed his religion as Church of England whereas his wife is a Catholic. The mansion of Castle Gore is recorded as having thirty-two rooms, eight windows on its entrance front and fourteen out buildings. At the time of the 1911 census, the ancient sixteenth century Deel Castle was uninhabited and remained so until its roof was removed in the 1930s. 

The above map which dates from before 1913 shows the extent of 
the estate and also the proximity of Deel Castle and Castle Gore 

The end for Castle Gore came September 3, 1921, when a band of masked and armed men surrounded the house with the intention of burning it down. The caretaker said that sixteen men arrived at the door of the castle at 2 o’clock in the morning. When he answered the door, he was faced by a number of revolvers and placed under guard. The masked men proceeded to saturate the building with petrol and paraffin oil which ignited quickly. In a few moments the mansion was a mass of flames and by day break was in ruins. A newspaper report from the time said that the castle contained very valuable antiques and oil paintings. There were 350 paintings supposedly lost in the fire and the damage to the house was estimated at £100,000. Later the same month a claim for compensation in the amount of £30,000 was lodged with the Provisional Government by the Earl of Arran for ‘deconstruction of premises’ at Castle Gore. Given the low amount of compensation sought, possibly a lot of paintings and items from Castle Gore had been removed to England for safe keeping. This was a decision taken by many landlords at the time as they were all too well aware of the threat posed of having their houses in Ireland burnt down. As Castle Gore was let out on occasion and with the small amount of time the Earl spent there, I would imagine that the majority of personal effects and valuable items left the mansion in Crossmolina long before the fire occurred in 1921. The house continues to stand in the landscape but its gaunt walls bear little resemblance to the house that existed before 1921. The ancient Deel Castle, the Castle Gore ruins and the estate lands were eventually sold to the Land Commission who divided them up among former tenants of the estate. The Earls of Arran maybe gone from County Mayo but the estate did have a connection with another great house in Ireland. Lady Beit of Russborough House in County Wicklow was the grand daughter of Mabell, Countess of Airlie, who was a daughter of the fifth Earl of Arran, who had grown up at Castle Gore. In more recent times the ruins of the house were to suffer another indignity, when in the 1950s the local authority tried to dynamite the ruin in the interests of public safety. This act of further vandalism on Castle Gore only resulted in one corner being blown off, leaving the truncated hulk that we see today. 

Deel Castle is named after the river on whose banks on which it is situated Copyright- Photo by David Hicks

http://irishantiquities.bravehost.com/mayo/castlegore/deel.html 

Map Reference: G180184 (1180, 3184)  

This is a four-storey 16th century tower-house which belonged to the Bourkes. It was forfeited after the Williamite Wars and given to the Gore family. In the 18th century the Gores built a large house nearby which the named Castle Gore. This name was eventually applied to the old castle as well. The tower still stands to full height although the roof is missing. There are square bartizans at two adjacent corners. At some time, possibly in the 18th century, a three-storey annex was attached to the opposite wall. This was provided with a similar square bartizan at one of its free corners. It is not clear whether this new bartizan was a fully functional structure or simply a decorative architectural embellishment.