Castle - motte and bailey

The National Monuments Service's description

Levelled in the 1960's but described by Wright (1758, bk I, 6) as having a double fosse and a triple vallum, one of which appears to have been constructed of stone. He also states that in the internal area there still remained the ruinous foundations and part of the walls of two stone buildings (LH004-021002-). These he illustrates (pl.IV) as rectangular and octagonal buildings, the latter being sited on top of oval mound, the former in a crescentic bailey. Tempest visited the site shortly before 1908 and mentioned the bailey as being a half-moon-shaped mound and that there was a fosse between it and the banks of the middle vallum. He also said he could trace two walls of the octagonal buildings but could see no trace of the rectangular one (Ua Coinn 1908, 88). Aerial photography (CUCAP: ALK 18) clearly shows the remains of this large enclosure as a cropmark. (Wright 1758, bk I, 6, pls III, IV)

The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 17 July 2007

References

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

Wright, T. 1748 Louthiana: or an introduction to the antiquities of Ireland. London. Thomas Payne.

Ua Coinn, S. Two Memorial Wayside Crosses - Taffe's and MacMahons. County Louth Archaeological and historical Society Journal, vol. 2, 1, 83-4.