Ballysaggartmore Towers

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One of Ireland's most striking architectural follies sits 3.5km northwest of Lismore in woodland that was once the demesne of Arthur Keily-Ussher, a harsh Anglo-Irish landlord who evicted Famine-stricken tenants. In 1834, his wife demanded an estate to match her sister-in-law's, so he ordered the construction of two Gothic-style gate lodges as a prelude to a huge mansion. But Keily-Ussher ran out of money, and, to the delight of locals given his mistreatment of tenants, the house was never built.


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