What is recorded here

Conall, son of David O'More, allegedly built Ballyroan after seizing Dunamase from the English, yet no wall or stone remains visible on the local motte. The claim rests only on a marginal Irish note in a loose vellum manuscript, possibly mistaking Baile atha in roine for Ballyroan. What is left is a bare earth ridge where a kingdom may have marked its reach, now reduced to a coordinate and a doubt.

A castle is thought to have been here, as on the margin of a loose vellum manuscript in T.C.D. there is a note in Irish which states, that Conall, son of David O'More, King of Leix re-erected the castle of Dunamase (ie. Cainen Mase) after having taken it from the English; and built the castle of Baile atha in roine-supposed to be a mistake for an Irish rendering of Ballyroan. On the old map of Leix and Ophaly, Ballyrone is marked as also Tolouer, now Tullore' (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 186). No visible surface remains of any castle on top of the motte (LA024-006001-) at Ballyroan. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

Conall, son of David O'More, King of Leix, re-erected the castle in the 14th century; it is remembered for its association with the O'More family and the strategic importance of the Dunamase area in medieval Leix.

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