A RARE MUD house that has stood in Co Clare for almost 200 years is set to be removed in order to facilitate improvements to a nearby road, according to Clare County Council.

Citing “road safety” reasons, the Council said that the house in Tullaroe, near Querrin, is being surveyed ahead of planned deconstruction. 

The news has been met with dismay by some locals, who have shared their frustration on the Council’s Facebook page.

The mud and stone house is one of the last of its kind in Ireland and was inhabited from 1827 until its former owner Johnnie McNamara died in 1981 at the age of 95.

In a post on its website, the Council said that in 1901 the house was home to 11 people.

The Council’s announcement quoted historian Paddy Waldron, who said: “I have brought many tour groups here over the years, including a large international group during the 2013 National Famine Commemoration.”

“Many participants were intrigued to see before their own eyes how the many mud houses left abandoned at the end of the Great Hunger had sunk back into the landscape, leaving no trace,” he said.

Archaeologist Dave Pollock said, “We do not know of many of these mud houses still standing, but there could be a handful still lived in that look like the stone cottage next door.”

Under the Facebook post announcing the deconstruction of the house, local residents expressed frustration at the move, with many asking why the road could not be built around it.

“Sick of the destruction of our history,” one commenter said.

“Why is this not a protected structure?” asked another.

An “evening of reminiscing” has been organised and will take place on Thursday, 8 May at 8pm at Myles Creek, O’Curry Street, Kilkee.

The Council said: “All are welcome, but anyone with memories of the McNamara family is especially encouraged to attend.”