Hilltop enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on top of a drumlin. This enclosure is depicted on McCrea’s map of Co. Monaghan (1793). The enclosure is a large subcircular area (int. dims 95m N-S; 85m E-W) planted with mature deciduous trees, which is defined by an earthen bank (at S: Wth c. 10m; int. H c. 2m; ext. H c. 3.5m) and outer fosse (at S: Wth of top c. 10m; ext. D c. 1m). The original entrance (Wth of base 3.5m) is at ESE.
The enclosure was the location of a skirmish which took place on March 13, 1688 (Lewis 1837, vol. 1, 657; Shirley 1879, 130), although the year might be 1689 or 1690, between John McKenna and Mathew Anketell, who had relieved a Protestant population at Glaslough. Although it was a minor encounter both principals lost their lives as a result of it, Anketell on the field and McKenna in captivity. A metal-detection survey carried out for Dr. Siobhán McDermott as part of a PhD thesis in NUI Galway identified two clusters of metal alloy signals, thought to represent lead shot, outside the E edge of the enclosure, which was McKenna’s position, and on a small N-S ridge c. 200m to the E.

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

Date of revision: 30 August 2017

References

McCrea, W. 1793 A map of the county of Monaghan. National Library of Ireland, Manuscripts 16.1.10 (1-4).

Shirley, E.P. 1879 (Reprint 1988) The history of the county of Monaghan. London. Pickering.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.