Hermitage was a large Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 mansion

Mansion

A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 in Castleconnell

Castleconnell

Castleconnell is a scenic village on the banks of the River Shannon, some from Limerick city and within a few minutes walk of the boundaries with counties Clare and Tipperary....

, County Limerick

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It was built circa 1790 for George Evans Bruce, a local banker who was subsequently disgraced. It was situated in a spectacular location overlooking the Falls of Doonass on the River Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

. It became the home of several generations of Lord Massy

Baron Massy

Baron Massy, of Duntrileague in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Hugh Massy, who had previously represented County Limerick in the Irish House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, also represented this constituency in the Irish Parliament...

 until 1915, and was subsequently destroyed by fire during the Irish war of independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

. The ruins stood until the 1970s, when they were demolished.