Mill

In flat grassland. Motte and bailey (TS053-042002-) c. 50m to NW, fortified church and graveyard (TS053-042001-; TS053-042004-) c. 170m to N. Visible earthworks (TS053-042003-) extended eastward from the graveyard wall. It would appear from historical sources that Ballysheehan was a sub-manor of Ardmayle and an extent of 1305 states that John, son and heir of William Hackett, held land in Ballysheehan (O'Donovan and Duffy 2002, 34). An extent of the same year for Ballysheehan states that there are no buildings there of any profit, but mentions two mills (ibid., 34-5). In 1999, during the redevelopment of the stud farm, these earthworks, which possibly represents the remains of a deserted medieval village, were partially buried in topsoil to make the land safe for livestock (Purcell and Gowen 2000, 283). A digital terrain model of the earthworks, prior to this, revealed several features, however, a possible mill pond S of the graveyard and adjacent to the Arglo River mentioned by O'Donovan and Duffy (2003, 39-40) is not indicated. Earthworks to the N and E of the church and graveyard show up on aerial photographs (CUCAP 1967, ATA 64; CUCAP 1971, BGO 11). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 12 August 2015