Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle

The National Monuments Service's description

This is a National Monument situated on a NW-SE ridge (Harbison 1970, 200). When Murrough O’Carroll, king of Oriel, died c. 1188 a peaceful Anglo-Norman settlement of much of the territory that became Co. Louth seems to have occurred (Otway-Ruthven 1968, 52). Farney, as well as the even more remote Monaghan baronies of Cremorne and Dartree, was included with Ardee in the grant to Peter Pipard c. 1190 (ibid. 70), and a castle, undoubtedly the motte and inner bailey (MO028-118001-), is recorded as being built at Domhnaigh Maighen in 1193.

In 1228-34 labour services were recruited by Ralph FitzNicholas, the custodian of Pipard minors, to fortify the castle of Dunelamein. The older castle had been burnt and this new castle was mandated to be a stone castle. By 1244 the stone castle was completed and FitzNicholas’ son, Ralph, was proprietor, probably through marriage with a Pipard ward. However, it proved difficult to hold this outpost and in 1302 the Pipards surrendered the grant of Farney to the King, effectively abandoning it to the native Irish inhabitants (Orpen 1908, 263-5).

Subsequent leases to Walter de Cusack in 1317, John Clinton in 1333, and Roger de Gernon in 1372, the last with instructions to build or re-build the castle, failed to secure Farney. In 1401 Eochaidh Mac Mahon even held the lease, specifically without Donaghmoyne castle, but Farney was confirmed to a Roger de Gernon in 1414. From then on the castle is no longer mentioned in leases of the barony, and the lease of ‘Donaghmyne and Farney’ in 1424 to John Saynleg is the last until 1572 when the barony was let to the first Earl of Essex. By this time the castle was entirely forgotten, and when the second earl built a castle as a strong-point in Farney in 1628-33 he built it at Carrickmacross (MO031-034----).

The motte (MO028-118001-) is a truncated conical mound (diam. of base c. 45m; H 8.8m at NW to c. 12m at SW) with a rather rectangular flat top encased in the masonry of the castle (dims 17.8m NW-SE; c. 15m NE-SW). The walls are c. 1.5m thick and only the basal courses survive internally, although externally the walls extend down the top of the motte (at NW: H c. 2m). There is a surviving portion (L c. 2m; H 2m; T 1.2m) of a NE-SW cross-wall, and outside the castle structure at SE is a fallen fragment of a barrel vault (dims c. 2m x 2m; T c. 1m) with plank centring on the underside.

A ramp extends down the side of the motte at SE and crosses the fosse to the inner bailey (dims 35-40m NW-SE; 28m NE-SW; H at SW 6.6m over 8.5m) by a stone-faced causeway (L 9.5m; Wth 4m; H 2-3m), with a wall (Wth 0.8m; H 0.4m) surviving on the NE side. There are traces of a stone wall on the perimeter of the inner bailey at SW, and a cairn (diam. c. 9m; H 1m over the bailey) on the SE side of this bailey may have been a gatehouse associated with the masonry castle. Excavation (99E0044) in the fosse connecting with the outer bailey recovered evidence of what might have been a wooden bridge here. (Moore 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)

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.

This is a National Monument in state ownership: No. 382

See the attached image of the survey by Kieran O'Conor in Moore (1999, fig. 3)

Revised by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 11 December 2017

References

Moore, E. 1999 Report with regard to the research archaeological excavation at the site of Mannan Castle, Donaghmoyne, County Monaghan. Locence No. 99E0044. Unpublished report, Author.

Moore, E. 2003 Mannan Castle, Donaghmoyne: Anglo-Norman Motte, baileys and stone castle. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 2001: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland. 341, No. 1073.

Moore, E. 2000 Mannan Castle, Donaghmoyne: Anglo-Norman Motte, baileys and stone castle. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 1999: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland. 252-4, No. 725.

Harbison, P. 1970 (Reprint 1992) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin. Gill and Macmillan.

Orpen, G.H. 1908 Mottes and Norman castles in County Louth. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 38, 241-69.

Otway-Ruthven, A.J. 1968 A history of medieval Ireland. London. Ernest Benn.