Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

This is a castle of the Mc Keoghs, descendents of Donnchad Mac Niocal Og (Moore 1974-5; 1987). The castle of Castlesawson had been lost by Melaghlin McKeogh to Irish rebels by 1596 (Cronin 1980, 117) but was sold by his death in 1604 to Thomas Dillon of Curraghboy (Moore 1978, 56). Over 400 acres at Castlesampson was owned by Richard Dillon in 1640, which he retained in the 1660s (Simington 1949, 104).
Situated on a rise in an undulating landscape. The base of the walls, except the N, of a rectangular structure (int. dims 13.2m E-W; c. 10m N-S) survive. The S wall partly survives (max. H 5m) with a base-batter and evidence of an E-W barrel vault. The SE angle projects and probably contained a garderobe. The remains of a bawn (RO051-017002-) (dims 18.3m E-W; 11.7m N-S) defined by stone spreads is attached to the S, and some dressed stone (RO051-017003-) is found in nearby field walls. Archaeological testing (06E0775) c. 80m to the W produced no related material (Tierney and Maginness 2006). A full suite of remote sensing surveys conducted in the vicinity produce evidence of a palimpsest of possible cut or stone features, some of which may be agricultural or geological in original but which testify to a potentially complex development history, including a possible enclosing fosse (Gimson and Regan 2014).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 6 February 2017

References

Moore, A. 1974-5 Mac Keoghs of Moyfinn. (Part 1) Journal of the Old Athlone Society, vol. 1, No. 4, 234-7.

Gimson, H. and Regan, D. 2014 Investigations into a possible Chamer-tower, Castlesampson (RO051-017001-), Athlone, County Roscommon: on behalf of Ms K. Dempsey. Detection Licence No. 14R0113. Unpublished report, Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics, Claremorris

Tierney, M. and Maginness, C. 2006. Archaeological testing at Castlesampson, County Roscommon. Licence No. 06E0775. Unpublished report. The Archaeological Company

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1949 Books of survey and distribution. County of Roscommon. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Moore, A. 1978 MacKeoghs of Moyfin. (Part 2) Journal of the Old Athlone Society 2 (5), 56-70.

Cronin, T. 1980 The Elizabethan colony in Co. Roscommon. In Murtagh, H. Irish midland studies: essays in commemoration of N.W. English, 107-20. Old Athlone Society.