Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - unclassified
Waterstown, County Westmeath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Waterstown
- County
- Westmeath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Old Castle (in ruins)
- Latest-edition OS map
- Old Castle (in Ruins)
- Coordinates
- 53.46075, -7.84919
- SMR number
- WM022-043----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated on an irregular-shaped island (dims. 42m E-W; 35m N-S) possibly a crannóg in the centre of Waterstown Lough, which has been greatly reduced in size due to drainage. Cox (1972, 29) mentions that in the year 1393 O’ Maelachlainn and his allies broke down the castle of Baile Bhaiter [Waterstown], which stood on an island in a small lake near Glasson, Co Westmeath. Monument described in 1981 as a roughly square-shaped tower defined by rubble walls standing on marshy land which was once the centre of a much larger lake as depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map. There is no cut stone visible, although any features could be obscured by the heavy overgrowth. There are traces of a few horizontal beams off the northern shoreline of the island, which may have come from the castle. The castle was probably built on the site of a crannóg (WM022-043001-).
Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien
Date of upload: 17 July 2019
References
Cox, L. 1972 The O Maeleachlainn Kings of Meath. Ríocht na Mídhe V, 2,22-53.
Nearby in the register
- Crannogunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Barrow - bowl-barrowunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.