Enclosure

Situated on a gently undulating landscape. According to the Civil Survey (1654) Anne Hussy, described as an Irish Papist, owned 338 acres at Moynalvy in 1640, and on the land were a stone house, an old castle and 10 cabins. She also owned 60 acres in Crickstown, and other members of the Hussy family owned land in the barony of Deece (Simington 1940, 148-9). Earthwork banks and ditches covering about 64 acres (c. 25.5 ha) in nine fields are visible on a vertical aerial photograph (GSIAP: N 299) from the 1970s. The banks (Wth c. 3m; H 0.2-0.8m), ditches (Wth c. 2-2.5m; D 0.2-0.3m) and scarps create small rectangular or irregular fields (dims c. 60m x c. 50m). This is a large oval enclosure (dims c. 210m NE-SW; c. 135m NNW-SSE) enclosing a small hillock. It is defined by an earthen bank (at NW: Wth of base 6m; int. H 0.3m; ext. H 1m) W-NE and a scarp E-SSW but the perimeter is slightly curtailed by modern field banks elsewhere. The moated site (ME043-025---) is at its W extremity. 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. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 21 August 2019

A large early-medieval fairy fort (ringfort/rath) in Moynalvy, likely dating to between the 6th and 10th centuries. The site is associated with local folklore of fairy dwellings and may have been a defensive or agricultural homestead, with later historical references to an old castle and stone house on the land in the 17th century.