Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Bawn
Pallaspark, County Offaly, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Pallaspark
- County
- Offaly
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Latest-edition OS map
- Pallas Castle (in Ruins)
- Coordinates
- 53.22703, -7.60542
- SMR number
- OF024-015002-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated on S facing slope of a high ridge running E-W, a lake protects the S side of the site which has good views to the S, E and W. This site consists of a circular platform (diam. 70m E-W) defined by an earthen bank which is evident at W only with two wide flat bottomed fosses (Wth 3m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 2m) with high intervening earthen bank (int. H 3m; Wth 1m). The outer defences of the site have been greatly altered on the N and E sides while the lake provides a natural defence at S. Causeway entrance (Wth 3m) at W. In the centre of the platform are the ruins of a tower house (OF024-015001-) with only the SW corner surviving to any height with wall footings elsewhere. No architectural features evident. This site may originally have been a large bivallate ringfort with later medieval tower house built in the centre due to its defensive location on the side of a lake. It has been suggested by Shaw that this earthwork was the ancient fort of the Molloy's (Shaw 1971. 36). Alternatively the enclosure may have been built as a contemporaneous defensive earthwork or bawn protecting the medieval tower house.
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
Date of upload/revision: 29 December 2011
Nearby in the register
- Castle - tower houseunder 1 mi
- Designed landscape - tree-ringunder 1 mi
- Graveyardunder 1 mi
- Churchunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.