Moylish House: From longhouse to learning hub in Limerick city

NOW home to Thomond Community College, the site of Moylish House has a long and storied history and continues to be shaped by the nearby Technological University of the Shannon, many housing developments and their established communities.
Situated in the north Liberties in thgle parish of Saint Munchin’s, in the townland of Moylish (meaning ‘derelict enclosure’), it was possible that Moylish House was built as an Irish longhouse. These structures were rectangular, thatched and mostly made from wattle and daub or stone. Both the inhabitants and livestock were under one roof. Longhouses were common dwellings from the medieval period up to the eighteenth century. An example of a well-known longhouses still extant is Glin Castle, Co Limerick. The west wing – was originally a thatched longhouse. Over the years, Moylish House was extended and enlarged, befitting the requirements of several owners with large fortunes.

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Moylish House appears to have been in the possession of Nicholas Mahon from the late eighteenth century. Mahon, an attorney, was known for his charitable endeavours in the city including contributing funds to a hospital for the poor that was established in a ‘plot of ground in St Francis’ Abbey, just outside the town wall’ in 1767. Mahon served as Sheriff of Limerick in 1798 and Mayor of Limerick in 1827. He died November 16, 1833 at his townhouse in the Crescent.
Following his death, the house and demesne of Moylish were offered for sale. It was sold by ‘order of the trustees for a sale under a certain marriage settlement executed upon the marriage of the late Nicholas Mahon and Miss Eliza Burke’. The land measured ‘31 acres and was held under a lease producing a rent of just over £10 per annum. The sale notice stated that the ‘house and demesne (upon which a considerable sum had been recently expended) is situated close to the city, on the road to Ennis, and commands a beautiful view of the River Shannon and the surrounding country. The house contains a parlour, large drawing room, library, dining room, six bedrooms, kitchen, storerooms, and servants’ apartments. It also had a large walled-in garden measuring one acre and planted with choice fruit trees.’
By the time of the 1901 census, Moylish House was described as a first-class house with 16 outbuildings and offices, twelve rooms and ten windows at the front.
It appears that the house was not sold and in March 1835, it was offered for sale again: ‘the house, demesne and lands of Moylish, in the north Liberties of the City of Limerick, containing 31 acres, or thereabouts, Irish plantation measure. They are situated within a half a mile of the banks, post-office, and other commercial houses of the city. Proposals to be made to Miss E. Mahon, Moylish, or to George Jackson, Esq., 41 William Street, Limerick.’
Moylish House was purchased by Arthur Gloster Esq., a wealthy landlord who had extensive land holdings. Over a period of about ten years, he spent close to £12,000 on land in Co Clare and acquired an estate at Toonagh near Spancilhill. Gloster extended the Moylish House and improved the demesne. However, he met a tragic end as he was assassinated in 1844. Close to the time of his murder, Gloster had served notice on his tenants, some of whom had large families. The Limerick Reporter intimated that Gloster was killed by a member of one of those families, although the report did not provide any evidence. Arthur Gloster was unmarried and considered very wealthy. His remains were brought from Moylish House and interred in the family vault at St Munchin’s Churchyard. Gloster was described in funeral reports as an ‘excellent grazier and extensive dairy farmer’. His property was left to his sister, Alicia who resided with him. Subsequently, his family offered an award of £800 for apprehension and conviction of his killers. It is unknown whether the assailants were ever brought to justice.
The leasehold of Moylish estate was next acquired by Laurence Kelly Esq., Town Commissioner who was resident in 1850 when Griffith’s Land Valuation was recorded. Kelly was leasing the land from John Judde. A charitable man, Kelly was the treasurer of Irish-Franco Ambulance Committee which collected over £100 for the ‘French sick and wounded’ in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. Laurence Kelly died November 8, 1882 and the entire of the Moylish estate passed to John George Kelly of nearby Clonmacken House, another large house, long since demolished. John George purchased the house and lands of Clonmacken from Lord Lansdowne in 1891 for £2,250.

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Moylish subsequently passed to Michael F Kelly. In the early years of the twentieth century, the Kellys held a lucrative contract to supply milk to Limerick Prison. The family were well-known in horsey circles and often entered point-to-point races such as in Muskery, Co Cork in 1917. From the 1930s, Lawrence O’Brien Kelly began to offer sites for sale at Moylish. By this time, the primary O’Brien Kelly home was Clonmacken. In 1954, T O’Brien Kelly offered 11 acres at Moylish for grazing. From their background in farming, the Kellys entered the legal profession, and several members of the family became solicitors and barristers.
Eventually, the area around Moylish became known as Kelly’s field and countless locals have fond memories of playing there. From 1941 to c.1960, Moylish House and land were offered for rental along with grazing rights. The exact date that the house was demolished is uncertain, but hopefully a reader of the Limerick Leader can shed some light on these details. The Technological University of the Shannon (formerly Limerick RTC), opened in Moylish at a cost of £1.5m in 1975 and continues to contribute positively to the educational landscape of the region.
Dr Paul O’Brien, assistant professor in Pedagogy of History, Faculty of Education, Mary Immaculate College