Town

The National Monuments Service's description

The town of Delvin was described in the early 17th century as formerly a market town and was probably founded as an Anglo-Norman settlement in the late 12th / early 13th century by the Nugent family. A cluster of medieval monuments located at the W end of Delvin possibly indicates that the medieval settlement was concentrated at the SW end of the town. On the SE side of the main street there is an Anglo-Norman motte and bailey castle (WM014-004----), with Delvin Castle (WM014-002----) to W, standing on the E side of the main street. The medieval parish church (WM014-003----) and graveyard (WM014-003001-) lie 40m to SW of the castle. Delvin Castle was described in the terrier of the 1659 Down Survey map of Castletown parish as a ‘Greate Castle (WM014-002----) only the walls thereof standing; a ruined church [WM014-003----] a small castle [WM014-005----] in repaire with diverse small cabbins, this was formerly a market town & the Earle of Westmeaths cheife seate’ (NLI, MS 723-4).
In 1682 Sir Henry Piers recorded that ‘Delvin in the Barony for it named, a large oblong square castle high raised having at each corner a large round tower which equalleth, if not surmounteth the castle a structure speaking ancient magnificence. It is now wholly waste, without roof or inhabitants. It giveth the title of a Lord Baron to the Right Hon. Richard Nugent, Earl of Westmeath, of an antient illustrious family descended from Baron Jones, who (without the title of Lord) was of the first English conquerors and seated here’ (Vallancey 1786, 62).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 7 September 2018

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.

Vallancey, C. (ed.) 1786 Collectanea de rebus hibernicis, Volume 1. Dublin. Luke White.