Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

On low-lying ground on the S bank of the Inny River. Depicted as a roughly sub-rectangular/trapezoidal earthwork with the designation 'Fort' on the 1837 edition of the OS 6-inch map. An eel weir is shown opposite it. Known locally as the site of a castle, it may have been one of the strongholds of the Clann Murchadha branch of the O'Ferral family who ruled over southern Longford (Verstaten Veach 2010, 58), but see also the unclassified castle (LF027-051----) in the adjoining townland of Pallas More. It is possible that this was an earlier castle that was abandoned when the latter castle was built.
A raised subrectangular earthwork (c. 30m NE-SW; c. 25m NW-SE) defined by a steep scarp (H 2–3m) with a wide, deep external fosse (base Wth 2m; top Wth 6.4m; D 1.1m). Traces of a possible ramp (Wth 3m) across the fosse at SE may mark the original entrance. A possible outer bank may be preserved in the field boundary running along the W side of the monument. The N sector of the monument has been destroyed due to OPW river-drainage works and is occupied by a massive spoil heap. Some quarrying has occurred at NW. A report in 1976 (SMR File) recorded an irregular stony area in the interior at W. The N and W walls of a building (ext. dims. 13m E-W; c. 7m N-S), possibly a levelled castle, are evident here. The N wall (L c. 13m E-W; Wall T 1.8m; H 0.6m) is better preserved and sections of the external face of its mortared rubble wall survive. The W wall (L 7m) runs along the W edge of the earthwork. An extensive series of small rectangular fields are visible on aerial photographs (SMR file) c. 180m to the SE but no visible surface traces survive as they have been recently levelled as a result of land-improvement works. This monument is similar morphologically to the ringwork castle (LF016-018003-).

Compiled by: Patrick F. O'Donovan

Date of upload: 5 October 2012

References

Veach, F. Verstraten 2010 The Ó Fearghail lordship of Anghaile. In M. Morris and F. O'Ferrall (eds.), Longford history and society: interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county, 51-74. Dublin. Geography Publications.