What is recorded here

Castle hunting is half imagination. The hill in Conaghy is real, the castle is not, and that difference is the whole game. An unknown castle may have stood there, but no visible castle remains for you to point at.

A local tradition recorded in the Schools Collection of the Irish Folklore Commission relates that the ruins of Mahon’s castle were on land then (1930s) owned by George Manly, on top of a hill in Conaghy. See this web-page accessed on 20/04/2016. http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4723854/4719271 Another page records that the castle was beside a fort http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4723854/4719305 There is no other record of this castle. Conagh (5) is marked on the Down Survey (1656-8) map parish map, for which see this web-page http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php#bm=Dartry&c=Monaghan but no structures are depicted there. No fort or castle at Conaghy is know from the OS 6-inch maps, but a fort is indicated there on William McCrea’s map of Co. Monaghan (1793) on top of a hill. The hill is easily identified but the exact positions of either the castle or ringfort are not known. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 20 April 2017

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.