Castle

Situated on a low rise, in pasture. Tower House type castle depicted in 'Lockardstowne' on Down Survey map of Rathconrath barony (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of the Down Survey map of Conry parish stated that 'upon Lockardstowne standes a Castle' (ibid.). On this map the castle is shown standing on lands belonging to Edmund Garret and Richard Dalton in 1640. Depicted and mentioned in the terrier of the Down Survey Parish Maps. Depicted as a ruin, possibly a castle, on Larkin's 1808 Map of Co. Westmeath (NLI, MS 46,580). Monument described in 1978 as the ruin of a small rectangular building defined by the remains of four upstanding walls (max. H 1.5m). There is rubble stone within the interior and exterior of the structure. A low bank extends from the ruin at N and NE and a wide, deep trench crosses the field, to NW. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 31 July 2019

Built as a tower house in the 17th century, likely by a local Gaelic or Anglo-Irish landholding family. It is remembered as part of the defensive and territorial landscape of early modern Ireland, reflecting the transition from traditional Gaelic lordships to English colonial control.