Dangan House — Dangan (bunratty Upper By.)

On a S-facing slope, in a small area of mixed woodland, enclosed by undulating pasture. This structure is named on all OS historic mapping as 'Dangan House'. It is depicted as a T-shape in plan on the 1840 edition of the OS 6-inch map. According to the Landed Estates Database website (Moore Institute, NUIG), Dangan House was the main residence of the Creagh family in the 18th and 19th centuries. The family descended from Pierse Creagh who was Lord Mayor of Limerick in 1651 and died at Dangan in 1670. The house was held in fee by Cornelius Creagh when it was valued at over £25. It was sold in the 1920s and had fallen into ruin by the 1940s. According to local information, the house was demolished in the late 1940s. An addition was added in the SW angle as shown on the OS 25-inch map, forming a squared SW-corner. The structure appears to have been E-facing, whereby a front porch or staircase is shown as a projection to the front elevation on the OS 25-inch map. The monument consists of the ruinous remains of a rectangular structure (c. 26m N-S; c. 7m E-W) defined by the rising or basement walls (min. H 0.65m; max. H 1.7m; T 0.8m). The walls have been cut into the prevalent S-facing slope at the N end and raised higher at the S end in order to provide a level foundation. The walls are collapsed and covered in sod and vegetation. Most of the stone appears to have been robbed for reuse elsewhere and some has fallen into the interior of the structure. A number of trees grow across the former house and the E-wall has bowed outwards due damage from upstanding and fallen trees. The earlier T-shaped outline can be traced on the ground and also the later addition in the SW corner. The main E-facing portion of the T-shaped structure can be traced at basement level and seems to comprise several small rooms. A relieving arch of stone voussoirs and a separate square-headed cut stone window/door opening are evident just above the external ground level at the southern end of the E-elevation. The upper portion of the cut stone window/door opening is also partially visible on the interior. The rear of the T-shape is also traceable where it projects (c. 7m E-W) from the back of the house and appears to comprise three rooms. A blocked opening is evident in the rear wall of the main house, where the later addition was added to form the SW corner. No other features are evident as much of the stone has been robbed out with the remainder collapsed into the basement. A number of architectural fragments in the form of finely cut and dressed stone are lying loose immediately outside the E-wall and some within the interior. A small, low-walled rubble stone enclosure having a bowed end to W, contains a draw-well and a modern pump-house, c. 4-5m to S of the house. A long, rectangular walled garden is adjoining to W of the house. A gardener’s shed adjoins the E-side of the walled garden, c. 25m to S of the house. A farmyard complex including a herdsman’s house and the remains of a farm shed are c. 60m to SSE. The entrance avenue approaches from E, where a cut stone bridge crosses a stream. The northern parapet wall of the bridge bears a plaque having a coat of arms dated 1853 and an inscription below, ‘Creagh Esq. Dangn’. The corresponding parapet wall has a plaque bearing a horse’s head. The following images have been uploaded: CL035-081----_01.jpg From NE. General view of front E-facing elevation of Dangan House. CL035-081----_02.jpg From E. E-elevation of Dangan House at N-end. CL035-081----_03.jpg From NE. E-elevation of Dangan House at S end. CL035-081----_04.jpg From W. General view of rear aspect of house. CL035-081----_05.jpg From E. E-wall: Relieving arch of stone voussoirs at S-end. CL035-081----_06.jpg From W. E-wall: Square headed cut stone window/door opening, off-centre to S. Compiled by: Mary Tunney, Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 14 March 2018