Overview
Indicated — Donaghmoyne is recorded as Castle — motte and bailey in Monaghan. This is a National Monument occupying almost all of a NW-SE drumlin ridge (Harbison 1970, 200). Morris (1908-11, 265-8) speculates that in origin this monument was a power centre for the three McColla kings who broke the power of the Ulaidh and established Airgialla as the dominant power in south Ulster in the mythological early history of Ireland.
Who built and held it
The saved account records: 70) and a castle, undoubtedly the motte and inner bailey, is recorded as being built at Domhnaigh Maighen in 1193.
Attack, change and use
The saved account records: This is a National Monument occupying almost all of a NW-SE drumlin ridge (Harbison 1970, 200).
What survives
The saved account records: The stonework of the castle encases the top of the motte, provides a masonry causeway between the motte and the inner bailey, and perhaps the remains of a gatehouse is on the SE side of the inner bailey.
Why it mattered
Indicated — Donaghmoyne matters because material evidence was found or examined here, allowing the place to answer questions that its name alone cannot. The source records: Beneath a disturbed topsoil (D c. 0.5m) much of the S part of the outer bailey had been devoted to industrial purposes and vast quantities of slag were recovered as well as two working surfaces, one of which is interpreted as a forge. The examination or finds give physical evidence for date, use or human activity rather than leaving the account as guesswork.
History checked 15 August 2026 against the named sources below.
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