What is recorded here

Donaghmore Castle is a flat-topped grass mound standing 2.5m high on the northern edge of a plateau, likely marking a forgotten medieval stronghold. A rectangular patch of lighter grass to the east still hints at a lost bailey, while a stone obelisk on the summit commemorates Charles Brindley, a local huntsman dead since 1879. The mound has outlived its builders, its name and its purpose, yet it remains the tallest artificial point in the field, holding the sky and the memory of every hand that built it.

Situated on a rise at the N edge of a plateau with a small SW-NE stream c. 200m to the NW, and the parish church of Donaghmore (ME045-008----) is c. 400m to the NE. This feature is described as a ‘Mound’ on the 1836 and 1908 editions of the OS 6-inch map. It is a subcircular, flat-topped and grass-covered mound (dims of top 17m E-W; 15m N-S; dims of base c. 28m N-S; c. 22m E-W, H 2.5m). There is no visible fosse, but a rectangular area (dims 30m E-W; 28m N-S) immediately to the E has lighter grass growth that could mark the location of a bailey (SMR file). The Brindley memorial, an obelisk, was erected on its summit in 1880 to commemorate Charles Brindley who was the huntsman of the Ward Union Hunt from 1844 until his death in 1879. (Feeley 2001, 37-8, No. 19, 21) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 10 July 2007 Amended: 17 December 2021

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