Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - motte
Bannow Island, County Wexford, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Bannow Island
- County
- Wexford
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 52.21284, -6.80342
- SMR number
- WX045-042----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUniversity Library, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1911 · Sheet 14, 1911 (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Bannow Bay is a shallow sub-triangular bay (max. L c. 7 km NE-SW; max. Wth c. 2.4 km NW-SE), with an entrance (Wth c. 1.7 km) on the S side. The S end of Bannow Island (L c. 1.4 km N-S; max. Wth c. 600m E-W) occupies the E side of the entrance to the bay, which is now greatly narrowed by sand bars attached to the shore on the W side of the entrance while the island is now attached to the shore on the E side. The first landing of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland occurred in May 1169 when Robert FitzStephen and Maurice de Prendergast with a force of about 300 landed at Bannow Island (Redmond 1899, 231-8). We are told that they made their encampment on the shore, and it is likely that they would have fortified the position immediately with a motte.
This earthwork is situated on a triangular point towards the S end of Bannow Island, with the sea to the W and a NE-SW natural valley (Wth of top c. 80-100m) to the E. This was first identified as Haarian’s Moat by O’Broin (1921, 126), and it is still known locally as this. It is a circular, grass-covered mound (diam. of base 25.2m E-W; 24m N-S), the top of which (diam. 12m E-W; 10.5m N-S) slopes down to the S. The height varies from 2m at S to 3.2m at E. There is no evidence of a fosse, but a N-S trench (Wth of base 3m; ext. D 0.7m; L 24m) at W and an E-W farm laneway dug into the slope at N (Wth of top 4.7m; D at S 1.6m; D at N 0.6m) exaggerate the apparent height of the mound on these sides (H 2.6-2.9m). A church (WX045-043----) is c. 170m to the SE, on the other side of the small valley. This mound has been identified as a possible pillow mound or rabbit warren, deriving the name from Hare-een (little hare – ie. rabbit) (Murphy 2016, 301-06).
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of revised upload: 25 January, 2017
Amended: 1 May, 2020
References
O'Broin, T. 1921 Bannow. The Past 2, 120-26.
Redmond, G. O'Connell 1899 The history and topography of the parish of Hook, Co. Wexford. Waterford and South East of Ireland Archaeological Journal 5, 26-35; 93-107; 226-42.
Murphy, P. 2016 ‘Medieval rabbit farming and Bannow Island' in I. Doyle and B. Browne (eds), Medieval Wexford: Essays in memory of Billy Colfer, 292-311. Dublin, Four Courts Press
Nearby in the register
- Churchunder 1 mi
- Middenunder 1 mi
- Historic townunder 1 mi
- Churchunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.