Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated atop natural hillock in grassland. Medieval castle of 'Cominstowne' is depicted standing atop a flat-topped hillock on the 1654-9 Down Survey map of Moygoish barony (NLI, MS 723-4). The castle is depicted on the Down Survey map of Kilbixy parish where it is shown standing on the lands of Robert Uriell who is listed as an 'Irish papist' (ibid.). The terrier of Kilbixy parish map stated that the parish 'hath two castles one in Cominstown and another in Killbixy' (ibid.).
Depicted on the 1837 OS Fair Plan map as a rectangular ruin and annotated as ‘Site of Old Castle’ in an area annotated as the ‘Castle Field’. Deserted medieval settlement earthworks (WM011-155----) 250m to NE. Townland boundary with Baronstown 75m to E. A levelled castle depicted as a square shaped structure on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map standing in S quadrant of field known as the 'Castle Field'. The location of the castle on the subsequent editions of the OS 6-inch maps appears to be incorrect as the cartographers appear to have marked the castle site further to the W of the location marked on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map. A small square shaped area (approx. dims. 9m x 8m) defined by two grass-covered wall footings, one running E-W and another at right angles forming a roughly square shaped plan. A low scarp is visible to the E. This castle site is located immediately SE of a large circular enclosure visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011.

Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 16 June 2017

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.