Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - unclassified
Castletown (ballybrit By.), County Offaly, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Castletown (ballybrit By.)
- County
- Offaly
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Castletown
- Latest-edition OS map
- Castletown
- Coordinates
- 53.06923, -7.83367
- SMR number
- OF038-045001-
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
May have been an O'Carroll castle that is described in the 1605 Inquisition post mortem of Mulrony McTeig O'Carroll as 'de Castr' Vill' et Campis de Castleton Keneleage [Castletown]' (Loeber 1998, 312). Only the bawn (OF038-045002-) survives of what appears to be an early medieval castle of possible thirteenth century date. The bawn wall encloses a square-shaped area that once provided protection for a castle building now levelled. Only the south and east walls of the bawn are still upstanding. The base batter of the bawn wall has been robbed out to show that the walls were built on top of a mud or earthen bank that formed the inner core of the base batter. The wall was then built on top of and encapsulated the earthen bank in a manner similar to Ballykilmurry castle. This construction feature has been noted at other thirteenth century castles such as at Shrule castle, Co. Mayo and at Ballylusky, Co. Tipperary.
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien.
Date of upload: 23 May 2011
References
Loeber, R. 1998 The changing borders of the Ely O'Carroll Lordship. In Timothy O'Neill & William Nolan (eds), Offaly: history and society: interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county, 287-317. Dublin: Geography Publications.
Nearby in the register
- Bawnunder 1 mi
- Enclosureunder 1 mi
- House - fortified house1 mi
- Bawn1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.