Mignon, Clancy Strand, Limerick Asking price: €590,000 Agent: Murphy O’Connor (061) 279 300
The same trauma and anxiety experienced by residents of the Ukrainian town recaptured in the recent counteroffensive came to the citizens of Limerick a century ago when Free State forces tried to take the city from the anti-treaty IRA.
In July 1922, irregulars expelled from Dublin were massing in Munster during the second phase of the Civil War. The IRA of the Mid Limerick Brigade, led by Liam Ford, held four barracks and most of the town.
At the same time, Free State forces, led by Michael Brennan and Doncad O’Hannigan, occupied Customs, the prison, the courthouse, the RIC barracks on Williams Street, and the Cruise Hotel.
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Anti-Treaty IRA gathers at Limerick’s George Hotel
The Strand Barracks in Clancy Strand, on the north bank of the River Shannon, is occupied by anti-treaty forces led by Cornelius McNamara (Connie Mackie). Residents of adjacent houses, such as Mignon, must have feared the inevitable outburst of hostilities in his four-bedroom red-brick terraced house two doors from the barracks.
On 15 July, the barracks came under sustained attack from Free State forces, who were stationed across the river and using the bell tower of St. Mary’s Cathedral as a vantage point.
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Aisne Murphy outside her Clancy Strand home
On July 17, General Eoin O’Duffy arrived with another 1,500 Free State soldiers and 18-pounder field artillery, the sights of which were soon trained at Strand Barracks. A late Victorian red brick house next to the barracks, Mignon dodged artillery shells but was repeatedly raked by small arms fire during his five-day battle that eventually led to the barracks’ surrender and Limerick was abandoned due to anti-treaty. Army on July 20th.
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Pointing to bullet holes in 1922
Today, the house retains its battle scars with brick walls studded with a dozen bullet holes on both floors.
Standing in the front yard of Mignon’s owner, Aisne Murphy, pointing across the river to the bell tower of St. Mary’s Cathedral and, from half a kilometer away, to various bullet holes in her bricks. . The impact was enough to shatter the bricks in the corner with one shot.
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Close-up of a brick in a shattered corner of a minion
“A former occupant sued the Free State government for the cost of damage to the brickwork. He got £500, which today is equivalent to €39,000,” she said. say. Its occupants have apparently had something to do with money and have left the historic bullet holes untouched.
The influence of the Civil War on the house is clear, but its origins with French ties are less evident, as evidenced by the name “Mignon” and the mosaic spelled “Bien Venue” on the entrance porch floor. It’s not clear. The house next door, Les Charmilles, also has a strong French influence and features a mansard dormer roof. “Mignon’s name and his message on the porch welcome suggested that Mignon was once the property of a French architect,” says Murphy.
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Double Bedroom in Mignon, Clancy Strand, Limerick City
Mignon survived the Battle of Limerick. Additionally, the four-bedroom terraced home overlooking Shannon retains many of its original Victorian features. It has just been launched on the market with a guide price of 590,000 euros.
Murphy’s family was born into rags and owned Eve’s, a famous fashion boutique on Roche Street. She loves horses, so she went to Kildare and spent time with the famous Iris She Kellett, who trained Irish show jumping stars such as Eddie McKenn and Paul She Dollar. She returned to Limerick and rented a small stallion farm from Shannon Her Development in Smithtown, Cochlear. She then joined her family business and has dedicated herself ever since to teaching English to foreign students.
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Living room with high ceilings and wooden floors
“My cousins lived here and always looked after the house when they weren’t around and looked after their cat, ‘Quilty. I fell in love with the place and asked them to give me a first refusal if they decided to sell. It seemed like fate. I just had to have Quilty on a little stipulation, but it didn’t matter. “
The ‘service’ door or servants’ entrance to the right of the main entrance is a testament to the stratified society that existed at the time it was built in the 1890s. The room behind the service door has become a utility. As you walk through the main door, to your left is the living room with bay window and ornate tiled fireplace. The room to the left was originally a dining room, but is now a bedroom. There is also an ornate tiled fireplace.
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Views along the Shannon River in front of the house
In the back is a bright kitchen/dining area with sashes and Velux windows in an extended space from the original home. I have a room. Original features include a tiled fireplace, high ceilings, ornate cornices and covings, tiled walkways, and cast iron railings in the vestibule. Improvements made by the currently sold-out Eisne include new windows and a new roof. “We decided to leave the bullet holes alone,” she says. O’Connor Murphy wants her €590,000.
