Curraghchase Forest Park

Coordinates: 52°35′08″N 8°53′23″W / 52.58565°N 8.88972°W / 52.58565; -8.88972

Curragh Chase is a 1,000-acre (4 km²) forest park located 20 km from the city of Limerick, between the towns of Adare and Askeaton. The land was formerly owned by poet and critic Aubrey Thomas De Vere.

John Hunt built Curragh House in the latter half of the seventeenth century but the existing house dates from the eighteenth century. Hunt was granted the land, which consisted of 380 acres (1.5 km²) plantation during the Cromwellian plantations. John Fitzgerald originally owned the land.

At this time, the estate was called Curragh. When one of John Hunt's descendants, Aubrey Hunt, changed his surname by Royal License to de Vere in 1833, he also changed the name of the property from Curragh to Curraghchase. Aubrey De Vere married Mary Spring Rice and they had a family of eight, with their son Aubrey being the best known of the family, i.e., famous poet.

The younger Aubrey recalled that the lake at the bottom of the house was rich meadow when he was in his youth. A slender stream divided this meadow. Across the lake a monument to the de Vere family stands on a small hill. Near the house, there is a small cemetery to the de Vere's family pets.

The house was accidentally destroyed by fire in December 1941. The grounds at Curraghchase were bought by the State in 1957 and the property is now used as commercial timber. Some of the state forest is used as a public amenity and includes tourist trails, camping and caravan park facilities, which make the area a popular tourist attraction.

External links

Curraghchase House & Woods

Curraghchase House Photos taken in 2009 Chris Dearkin