Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a S-facing slope of Skreen Hill. The motte at Skreen (ME032-047001-), located c. 80m to the SSW, became the caput of the de Feipo manor of Skreen (Otway-Ruthven 1964, 117), but at some stage a tower house was built. By the sixteenth century the manor had passed to the Marwood family, and in the late sixteenth century it passed to the Nugent family through the marriage of William Nugent with the heiress, Margaret Marwood (Hickey 1973). According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) Thomas Nugent of Rosse and others including Francis Dillon of Proudstown owned 640 acres at Skreen, of which Thomas owned the greater part. The two castles in Skreen were owned by Francis Dillon and George Lowther, a Protestant (Simington 1940, 67).

The castle is now a three storey rectangular building with a circular tower at the SW angle. A three-bay, three storey house was built to the N of the castle c. 1780, which was re-modelled c. 1850 with the addition of a porch, and the tower house may have received its modern battlements and pointed windows at this time (see: http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/Surveys/Buildings/). The ground floor of the tower house is entered by a wide pointed doorway (c. 1.5m) from the house to the N and the large fireplace, protruding on the outer face of the W wall is thought to be original. The two upper floors are modernised, but a mural stairs in the W wall of the second floor leads to a newel stairs in the circular tower at the SW angle, which rises to the modern battlements.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 6 July 2016

References

Otway-Ruthven, A.J. 1964 Parochial development in the rural deanery of Skreen. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 94, 111-22.

Hickey, E. 1973 A description of the Marward stone at Skryne and a discussion of John Cusack who sculpted it. Ríocht na Midhe, 5, 3, 49-55.

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1940 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. V: county of Meath. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.