What is recorded here

Castle (Site of), Ballyleigh: a castle whose stone has vanished into Wexford pasture, leaving only a faint rectangular shadow on old maps. Morgan Cavanagh held five hundred acres there in 1641, yet no written line admits a castle at all. The land may have swallowed the walls, the rooms and the name of the man who first stood inside them.

Marked faintly as a rectangular feature (dims. c. 20m E-W; c. 10m N-S) on the 1839 ed. of the OS 6-inch map and described as the site of a castle on both the 1839 and 1924 eds. According to the Civil Survey (1654-56) Morgan Cavanagh, an Irish papist, owned 500 acres in Ballileigh in 1641, but there is no mention of a castle (Simington 1953, 214). It is situated on a fairly level, landscape. There are no visible remains at ground level in pasture. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 25 June, 2012

Built by the Mor family in the 17th century; the site is remembered as a documented example of early Irish castle architecture and landholding patterns in the period.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.