Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a rise in an area of rush-grown, damp pasture. There are good views NW−SE, restricted by rising ground to S−SW.
Named ‘Murneen Castle’ on the 1838 and 1920 OS 6-inch maps. Little is known about its history. In 1585 ‘the castle of Mornyne’ along with Brees Castle (MA091-010001-) and large tracts of land in Clanmorris barony were in the possession of Richard MacMorys, who was chief of Clan Morris and descended from the Anglo-Norman Prendergasts. In December of that year, as part of the Composition of Mayo, he transferred his property to Francis Barkley, Marshall of Connacht, reserving for himself a life interest in the castle and lands at Murneen, where he died in 1607 (Blake 1913, 45).
The castle is greatly ruined, but it is possible to trace the outline of a rectangular structure (c. 11.8m N−S; c. 18m E−W) of mortared limestone rubble, with an entrance in the centre of the S wall. Only the ground floor remains, but there was originally at least one upper storey.
The W half of the building has collapsed, the walls reduced to low, grassed-over wall footings and the interior is filled with grass-covered rubble. The E half is still outlined by upstanding walls at S, E and N. The E half of the S wall (L 8m E-W; H 3.3m; T c. 2.2m) survives, retaining at it W end the reveal of an arched entrance, with two off-sets suggesting that it was double gated. The E wall is intact for its full length (L c. 11.8m N−S; T c. 2.4m) and survives to a height of 3m, however, the exterior masonry facing is missing on the upper part of the wall, exposing the rubble core. An opening in the exterior wall face at the S end of the E wall is a garderobe shute descending from the missing upper storey. At the N end of the E wall there is a short return (L 5.9m; H 1.6m) to W of the N wall, which has lost its exterior wall facing.
An internal E−W wall subdivides the E half of the building into twin chambers, long axis E−W. The S chamber (int. 4.4m E−W; 3.23m N−S; H 2m) is largely intact, retaining its S and E walls, and most of its N wall and vaulted ceiling; the W wall is missing. A ragged hole (H 1.5m; W 1.2m) roughly in the centre of the E wall may be a broken out window. The N chamber must also have been vaulted, but although its E wall and a portion of the N wall are standing, the ceiling has collapsed and the internal area is now filled with grassed over heaps of fallen masonry. It was lit by an inwardly splayed window in the N wall, 2.5m W of the NE angle.
The ground floor, therefore, appears to have been subdivided into a number of vaulted chambers, probably pierced by a central N−S passage opening from a double gated entrance in the S wall. The upper storey was furnished with a garderobe at the SE angle.
The castle stands at the SE end of a rectangular enclosure or possible bailey (MA091-017004-) which utilises a natural linear rise. To W and S of this, are slight traces of earthworks (MA091-017002-) which were first recorded by Knox (1913-14, 200-202).

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 11 February 2022

References

Knox, H.T. 1913-14 Three more Mayo earthworks. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 8, 199-206.

Blake, M.J. 1913 Notes on the Place Names mentioned in Browne’s map of Mayo, 1584. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 8, 39-55