What is recorded here

Kilkeeran is a ruined tower house on a prominent mound in County Mayo, Ireland, where deep foundations suggest a hidden basement beneath the earth. The mismatched stones and scattered rubble create a jagged outline rather than a clean room, forcing the mind to build the missing walls before it can see them. A later house stands nearby with fireplaces still warm in memory, while faint field banks hint at a medieval village that vanished into the green.

Poor remains of a tower on a prominent mound with good aspect. So deep are the present ruins in the mound, that it must have contained a basement. Sections of all but the E wall are evident giving an overall outline 9m N-S by 10m E-W. Nowhere do outer and inner facing stones correspond while rubble fills the area within and outside the building to a considerable depth. A later residential building (int. dims. 18m N-S; 5.5m E-W) stands close to the N end of the tower. It contains two fireplaces and a gable chimney at its S end. The low remains of field banks and walls to the E, S, SW, and W survive of a possible associated medieval village. The above description has been derived from D. Lavelle (compiler), An Archaeological Survey of Ballinrobe and District including Lough Mask and Lough Carra. Lough Mask and Lough Carra Tourist Development Association (1994), No. 717. Date of upload: 24 December 2014

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.