Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - ringwork
Pollardstown, County Kildare, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Pollardstown
- County
- Kildare
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Latest-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Coordinates
- 53.18108, -6.84183
- SMR number
- KD023-004----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1799 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1830 · V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. C. Kon: Ireland. a. Prov: Leinster. Counties: 1-12 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
On a narrow gravel ridge and levelled in the course of gravel extraction. A rougly circular (est. ext. diam. c. 80m), raised area was enclosed by an earthen bank, a deep external fosse and a second, outer bank. Limited archaeological excavation (Fanning 1973-4, 251-61) produced iron objects (including horseshoe nails, blades, an arrowhead, a buckle and a stirrup) which were interpreted as suggesting the monument was constructed and occupied between the 12th and 14th-century; although it was acknowledged that several finds might date to the 15th-century. While both Fanning (op. cit.) and O'Conor (1998, 35) interpret the monument as a possible ringwork castle, Fitzpatrick (2009, 282) argues that this interpretation ignores the possibility of the native Irish occupying a rath and sharing the material culture of the colonist, or, of incoming manorial tenants occupying an existing rath.
Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy
Date of upload: 17 April 2012
Nearby in the register
- Barrow - ring-barrowunder 1 mi
- Burialunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Enclosureunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.