Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Possible site of an Anglo-Norman castle located beside Finnea Bridge (WM001-052---) which is an important fording point over the Inny River. The placename Finnea is derived from the Irish Fiodh an Átha meaning the wood of the ford. In 1397 the annals recorded that 'a castle was built by the Earl [Roger Mortimer] at Fiodh an Átha' (Ó hInnse 1947, 161; Manning 1997, 31). 'Finnag Bridg' is depicted on the 1657 Down Survey map of Fore Barony (NLI, MS 723-4). On the 1657 Down Survey map of Foyran parish a ruinous tower or castle is depicted standing in the field to the N of the road crossing the bridge (WM001-052----) and a cluster of dwellings (WM001-059---) stand either side of this roadway representing the medieval village or settlement of Finnea (ibid.). A possible castle site is marked at this location on an OPW Survey field map, it is not clear where this source of information comes from (SMR File). In his memoirs, the Earl of Castlehaven refers to a skirmish at this bridge in 1644 and to the fact that it was built of stone and had a castle (WM001-001----) at its southern end (Castlehaven 1815, 70). In 1644 the Earl of Castlehaven wrote that he commanded 'a colonel with 5 or 600 foot, and 100 horse, to defend the bridge of Fienaugh (WM001-052----), that I might not be pursued; it was of stone, and a castle on our end. I sent with him shovels, pickaxes and spades, with plenty of ammunition'(ibid.) There is no visible trace of a castle site in this field (SMR file 23/07/1979).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 18 November 2016

References

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.

Ó hInnse, S. (ed.) 1947 'Mac Carthaig's Book', Miscellaneous Irish Annals (AD 1114-1437). The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Castlehaven, Earl of 1815 The Earl of Castlehaven's memoirs; or, his review of the Civil Wars in Ireland. Dublin.

Manning, C. 1997 The Bridge of Finnea and the Man Who Built It. Archaeology Ireland, 11, 1, 29-31. Wordwell.