Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on N facing slope of rising ground in upland area. Unusual castle consisting of a polygonal shaped bawn (OF047-010001-) enclosed by a roughly coursed mortared wall of rubble masonry with musket opes visible and the wall foundations of two possible house sites in the S sector of the bawn. One of these buildings may have been the site of a castle. Externally the bawn is enclosed by a wide flat berm delimited by a wide deep fosse with causewayed stone line entrance to E. Modern road intersects outer defences at N. Possibly the site of a medieval bawn with tower house (now destroyed) built on top of an earlier earthwork. Site may have given its name to the townland Castleroan. Polygonal shaped bawn is similar to the bawn at Ballinlough Castle (OF046-020----). Depicted as Caiseal Roan on the Down Survey (1654-7) (NLI MS 716; Loeber 1988 vol. 2, 26).

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: 23 May 2011

References

NLI, MS 716 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey, of Offaly attested by W. Petty, in 1657. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 33 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.

Loeber, R. 1988 Field notes and references for Co. Offaly Sites. Vol. I-V. Unpublished.