Castle - motte and bailey

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a rise on the floor of a closed valley with higher ground all around within 400m - 1.2 km, and overlooked by Kilcash church (WX002-001001-), c. 800m to the NNE. It is marked on the 1841 ed. of the OS 6-inch map as a mound (diam. of base c. 40m) with a subcircular enclosure (dims. c. 30m NW-SE; c. 20m NE-SW) just to the SW. It is described by Kinahan (1879-88, 154–5) and Westropp (1904, 321) as a motte and bailey, and Kinahan records a midden (WX002-052----) in the fosse of the motte at SW. Orpen (1907, 136; 1911, 270–71) regarded it as the inauguration site of the Uí Cinsealaigh, and it is very likely that it was used in this manner with a prehistoric mound at its core (FitzPatrick 2004, 91-2, 104). However, it may have been adapted later as a motte and bailey, which would be its final manifestation. It is not visible at ground level as it has been removed by quarrying. Standing stone (WX002-004003-) and the cist and pit burials (WX002-004002-) are at the same location.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 27 January 2012

References

FitzPatrick, E. 2004 Royal inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c.1100-1600: a cultural landscape study. Studies in Celtic History 22. Woodbridge. The Boydell Press.

Orpen, G.H. 1907 Motes and Norman castles in Ireland. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 37, 123-52.

Westropp, T.J. 1904 On Irish motes and early Norman castles. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 34, 313-43.