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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Castle - motte and bailey

Moatfarrell, County Longford, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Castle - motte and bailey, Moatfarrell, County Longford, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Moatfarrell
County
Longford
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Moat & Castle
Latest-edition OS map
Hachured
Coordinates
53.72805, -7.64440
SMR number
LF014-050----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David 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)
  • 1811 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

At the NE end of a low, prominent, NE-SW running ridge with commanding views in all directions. In the late 1970s traces of a possible stone kerb were identified running around the base of the motte on the W side (Manning 1976, 162). Its presence suggests the motte may incorporate the site of a prehistoric burial mound, which was refortified by the Anglo-Normans (Fitzpatrick 2004, 94). The monument is traditionally held to be the inauguration place (LF014-050001-) of the O'Farralls, prior to their split into two factions c. 1516. After this date the O'Farralls (Buí) of S Annaly may have continued to use it for inauguration and assembly purposes (ibid., 65–6).
The motte is an oval-shaped, high, steep-sided flat-topped mound of earth and stone (H c. 9m; dims. at base c. 34m NW-SE; c. 30m NE-SW). Upon its summit (19.6m NW-SE; 11.6m NE-SW) are an OS trigonometrical station and the grass-covered remains of a collapsed stone building, which may be the remains of a possible O’Farrell castle (LF014-050002-). The motte has been quarried into at SW. From W-NW-NNW it is encircled by a partially rock-cut, wide, deep fosse (Wth 5.7m; D 1.2m) with a very wide, very high external bank of earth and stone (Wth 20.6m; H 7m), which utilises the natural slope of the hill. Adjoining the motte from SSW-SW-W is a large subrectangular bailey (52.3m NE-SW; 31m NW-SE) defined by a bank, now reduced to a scarp (H 0.9 1.4m), with traces of an external fosse. There is evidence of a possible entrance gap in the centre of the bank along the W side. There is no dividing fosse between the motte and the bailey. The remains of a series of small fields with evidence of ridge and furrow cultivation, of unkown date, are visible in the field to the SSE. A ringfort (LF014-120----) lies c. 130m to the N, a moated site (LF014-051----) c. 380m to the E, and a church (LF014-058001-) and graveyard (LF014-058002-) c. 750m to the SSE.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 28 March 2012

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Castle - motte and bailey in Longford All County Longford records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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