Background to the murder of Major Denis Mahon, Strokestown Park, County Roscommon on 2 November, 1847.

The Mahon family have resided at Strokestown Park since the latter 17th Century. King Charles II rewarded Nicholas Mahon with two grants of land at Strokestown, County Roscommon, for services rendered to the crown. The estate continued within the family through turbulent periods of Irish history. In 1800, Maurice Mahon was bestowed with the title of first Baron Hartland of Strokestown. This peerage was a further reward by the British crown for voting for the Act of Union. However, the prestigious title became extinct in 1845 on the death of Maurice, grandson of the first Baron Hartland. The estate, which consisted of approximately nine thousand acres, was inherited by his nephew Major Denis Mahon. He is distinctly memorable on account of his contentious murder on 2 November 1847. Major Mahon was unfortunate to inherit the estate during the turbulent famine years. He was not a man to embrace reform of the landed system. His views remained fervently within the undefined relationship between landlord and tenant. He continued oblivious to the real situation of County Roscommon and was unaware of the high rate of agrarian unrest among the rural population