What is recorded here

Gortnalee means field of the calf, and the castle sat on a ridge above that small life. Green stone walls, four to five feet thick, once enclosed a room thirty by twenty feet, large enough for heat, argument and the smell of cooking. That much has gone. What remains is a name, a shape in the ground and the certainty that someone stood there watching the road to Killismestia chapel.

Marked on the 1841 and 1908 editions of the OS 6-inch maps. Situated on a ridge immediately SE of ringfort (LA028-018002-). Constructed of green stone, it's remains stood to height of 1.2m only (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 140). No visible surface remains. Described by Carrigan as 'a castle in Gortnalee (field of the calf) near the road from Donnaghmore to Killismestia chapel. The walls, built of green stone, remain to a height of 4 ft., but are very ruinous; they are from 4 ft. to 5ft. Thick. Internally the building was 30ft. By 20 ft.' (Carrigan 1905, vol. 2, 140). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

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