Castle - motte

The National Monuments Service's description

Small flat-topped motte located immediately E of St. Nicholas’ R.C. Church and 70m W of the River Gaine in the village of Multyfarnham. Medieval church (WM006-061----) and graveyard (WM006-061001-) located 110m to SW. Described in 1985 as following; ‘The motte (top diam. 9.8m WSW-ENE; 12m NNW-SSE) is located on the E side of a low ridge with the River Gaine just to the E of it. It is a well preserved motte on the edge of Multyfarnham village. There is no indication of a bailey and if one existed it probably occupied the area now to the W of the motte as the natural slope is from the W to the E down to the nearby River Gaine. This area is now occupied by St. Nicholas R.C. Church’ (SMR File, 12/03/1985). A second report from 1985 recorded that the monument consisted of ‘a large roughly circular mound of earth and some stones. The N and W sides of the motte have been defaced by the boundary walls of a churchyard (on W) and by yards and gardens (on N). The E and S sides of the mound are regular and steep. A fosse-like depression at the base of the mound from SE-S-SSW continues on along the S side of the churchyard S wall’ (SMR File). The flat-topped mound may be the site of the unlocated levelled castle (WM006-060----) that is depicted on the 1659 Down Survey parish map of Multyfarnham (NLI, MS 723-4). A preservation order was placed on this monument in 1985.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 22 November 2015

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.