Castle Kelly (in Ruins)

In pasture, located on a small headland projecting into the NE end of Lough Conn. A 20m wide strip of flat rocky ground, wooded with ash and hazel trees, now separates the motte from the lake edge. The N side of the headland, c. 150m from the castle, is bordered by a stream-fed inlet of wet ground. Gently rising pastureland stretches to E-SE. This motte is named ‘Castle Kelly (in Ruins)’ on the 1838 and 1930 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a substantially raised, roughly circular flat-topped mound/platform (diam. 20-25m; H 4.8m) enclosed at its base at N–SE by a broad fosse (Wth top c. 8m, base c. 3m; ext. D 1.7m, at N). On the outer edge of the fosse at N there is a broad, low poorly defined rise; this may be the remnants of an external bank, but it cannot be traced elsewhere. The platform has broadly sloping sides (Wth slope 10m) on the E half, but on the W half the sides drop almost vertically, and have an eroded appearance. This suggest that in the past the lake waters reached the base of the motte on its W side. There is no surface evidence for a fosse on this side. The flat top (14-15m N–S; 11m E–W) of the platform retains remnants of an enclosing wall on it outer edge at N–E. The wall is evident as low sod-covered wall footings (Wth 0.6-1m; H 0.4m). Loose stone is visible protruding from the slopes of the platform on its E arc, probably tumble from the wall. Remnants of a building stand on the SE side of the platform top: Two walls, in an L-shaped arrangement, represent the W and N walls of a small rectangular or subrectangular building. The W wall (L 7.5m; Wth 1.1m; H 0.5m) retains two intact courses of external stone facing; the N wall (L 4.7m E–W) survives as a low, sod-covered stony rise, which extends E as far as the edge of the platform. A sod-covered conglomeration of stones lodged on the E slope of the platform may be a tumbled section of masonry wall from the building. At the base of the SE slope of the platform, beneath the building, a narrow, stony causeway-like feature (Wth 2.5m) extends SSE from the platform. It is bordered on the E side by the fosse, and on the W side is faced by stone walling, which is part of a field wall extending SE along the shoreline. Low surface undulations are visible immediately to E of the platform on an area of level gently elevated ground, but there is no clear evidence for a bailey. There is a rath (MA039-004----) c. 300m to E. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 4 September 2019

Built in the early 13th century by the de Burgo family, Castle Kelly is remembered as a strategic Norman stronghold in west Connacht, reflecting early medieval expansion into the region.