Moore Hall Pathway
Moorehall is situated on the shores of Lough Carra in South West Mayo, two miles from the village of Carnacon, equidistant from the towns of Castlebar, Claremorris and Ballinrobe. The house itself is now in ruins having been burned down during the civil war.
It was the ancestral home of the Moore family, many of whom become noteworthy in Irish and International events. The novelist George Moore is possibly the best-known family member. John Moore became the first President of Connacht after the French landing in Killala in 1798. My favourite however is George Henry Moore (1810-1870). He, like most of the family, had a huge interest in horses. His brother Arthur Augustus was killed after a fall from 'Mickey Free' in the 1845 Aintree Grand National. In 1846 at the height of the famine, he entered a horse called Coranna for the Chester Gold Cup. Long odds and a betting coup netted Moore £17,000. He used his winnings to import thousands of tons of grain to feed his tenants. A cow was also given to each tenant family. There were no deaths from famine on the Moore estates during the famine and no evictions, a situation unequalled anywhere in Ireland at the time.
