What is recorded here

Mairgréad Ni Gheróid, the famous Countess of Ormond, may have raised this strong castle in Glenmagoo or Firoda Lower, leaving behind cellars and a square rampart defended by a deep fosse. The rectangular earthworks still command the western slopes, though a modern laneway has cut through the southern half and field drains have recut the ancient ditch. What remains is a ghost of authority, buried beneath poor land and forgotten roads, waiting for someone to imagine the countess walking its walls before they fell.

On a flat terrace, commanding the W slopes of Glenmagoo, in fairly poor land. The main road c. 200m to W is known as the ‘new road’. A roughly rectangular area (dims. 70 NNE-SSW; 49m E-W) enclosed by a low, wide bank (int. H 0.2m; ext. H 1.3m; overall Wth 5.6m) and external fosse (Wth 4.8m) which is best preserved at W. Traces of an outer bank (int. H 0.45m; ext. H 0.2m; Wth 7m) survive along the N and W sides. The southern half of the monument is transected by a modern laneway, running E-W. S of the laneway the fosse has been recut at W and S to form a modern field-drain, and banks have been levelled at E, though traces of the fosse (Wth 4m) are still visible. In the NE corner of the interior there is a raised area (dims. 7.6m N-S; 7m E-W) which may represent the remains of a castle (KK005-069001-). There is a gap (Wth 6m) in the inner bank, 15.5m from the NE corner, which is possibly the original entrance. The remainder of the interior is flat. It would appear that this monument is the previously unlocated castle (KK005-050001-) and bawn (KK005-050002-) described by Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 161). According to Carrigan (ibid.) in Glenmagoo or Firoda Lower, ‘There was a strong castle here, about 200 yards east of the new road from Castlecomer to Ballyragget. If tradition be reliable it was founded by Mairgréad Ni Gheróid, the famous Countess of Ormond. Portion of the walls stood till 1824. The cellars still remain beneath the surface. The site is enclosed by a square rampart defended by a deep fosse’. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 17 May 2017

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