Lord Lansdowne desoribed in a letter to the Times on
Monday the destruction of his beautiful Irish home, Derreen, in County Kerry. Nothing could better illustrate the present state of Ireland. Derreen, which has been in Lord Lansdowne's possession for over fifty years, was a small house, but fully and charmingly equipped. It contained many articles whose value cannot be expressed in ordinary terms of value. The gardens have long been known among the most attractive in the United Kingdom. The surrounding hills were covered with thriving plan- tations. Now all this resembles a devastated area in Belgium or France. On various occasions the plantations had been plundered and the house and grounds raided, but the climax was reached on September 2nd. The house was broken into and utterly wrecked. The gardener's house and various other buildings were burnt to the ground. Absolutely every- thing was either stolen or destroyed. The attempts of a few people to stop these activities were unavailing. "I do not even know whether the criminals called themselves Free Staters or Republicans," said Lord Lansdowne. "There was no enemy for them to dislodge, unless it were possible so to describe an aged housekeeper, who remained gallantly at her post to the last." There was no question of a dispute between landlord and tenant, for the rents since the end of 1920 have been withheld, and no steps have been taken to enforce payment.
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