Cork’s ‘Robin Hood’ who robbed rent collectors and inspired a Bob Dylan tune
Kilmurry House – now hidden in the trees(Image: The Cinematic Country)
18th century highwayman Willy Brennan made a living by robbing the rich – prowling the mountains after being kicked out of a North Cork mansion that today lies in ruins.
Kilmurry House was built in the late 1700s, overlooking the River Blackwater. For 250 years it was home to a wealthy merchant family, the Grants of Waterford – and briefly to the infamous highwayman Willy Brennan, who worked for them. Now it’s an overgrown ruin with a fascinating history, and a rare glimpse of the stately home has been provided by historian Hugh Wright, who posts online as The Cinematic Country.
Narrating over sweeping drone shots of the Georgian home, Hugh explains that Brennan worked for Grants until he was caught trying to steal a watch. After that, he fled to the Kilworth mountains and became an outlaw, robbing estate rent collectors at gunpoint with his band of fellow highwaymen. It’s believed that he even once robbed the Mayor of Cashel, Tipperary. You can watch Hugh Wright’s video about Kilmurry House and Willy Brennan below:
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Brennan’s exploits – and his mugging of the mayor – were immortalised in the mid-19th century ballad ‘Brennan on the Moor’, but the highwayman’s own life was cut short when he was caught and hanged at some point in the 1800s. The ballad celebrates Brennan as a Robin Hood-style figure, stealing gold from wealthy members of the elite. A hundred years later, Bob Dylan would borrow the melody of the ballad for his song ‘Rambling, Gambling Willie’.
The historical truth of Brennan’s life is less certain than the ballad, but what we do know is that Kilmurry House belonged to the Grant family for centuries. During the Great Hunger, owner Thomas St. John Grant paid into a relief fund, and even hosted a “summer festival” on the grounds of Kilmurry House to try and boost community morale – though it’s unknown how effective he was in lifting the mood. He would later become the High Sheriff and then Deputy Lieutenant of County Cork.
The house was eventually sold in the 1930s and used as a seminary. It was partially destroyed by fire in the 1950s, and plans to turn it into a nursing home came to nothing. By the 1990s, members of the ‘New Age’ community briefly set up camp in the crumbling mansion, and now it stands as an overgrown ruin. A rifle used by Brennan is believed to have been kept at the house until the 1940s.
Historian Hugh said: “Today, Kilmurry House is a striking ruin with spectacular views over the Blackwater. Although silent and weather-beaten, it still bears the memory of centuries of Grant family history, and perhaps, one day, it may live again.”
The historian has documented a number of ancient and mysterious structures here in County Cork. including the remains of a castle poking out of a river near Ballincollig, and a flooded Ice Age forest just outside of Macroom.