The Purcells were Kanturk’s most influential family for much of the eighteenth century as its members retained the land-agency of the Egmont estate for close on a century and were tenants for a huge swathe of land around Kanturk. The most important member was Richard, junior, son of John Purcell (he leased Pulleen from Gethin in 1681 but under Percival he is mentioned for grazing only in 1685).
John Purcell built a strong two-storey stone slate-roofed house, probably during the last decade of the seventeenth century. Known as Kanturk House, it was demolished in 1853 and its site most likely coincides with the retail buildings on the northern edge of the County Council car park off Watergate St. In the view of George Bolster – writing in 1908 – the adjacent stone walls may be the only remaining relics of Kanturk House, which included a walled-in garden.