What is recorded here

North Moat is a castle mound in Naas West, built on the oldest known land in the town. It may have covered the Dún first named in 705 AD, and Maurice Fitzgerald may have shaped it after Strongbow granted Naas to him. A house and garden now sit on its flat top, while steps cut through the west side of the mound. The old fort and the new castle are both buried beneath one living roof.

According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 4, 354-5), there is no historical record of the construction of the motte, which stands on the highest point of a gravel ridge to the W of North Main Street, possibly on the site of a pre-Norman fort - the 'Dún' of Naas, first referred to in 705 AD. It was presumably erected by Maurice Fitzgerald, to whom Naas was granted by Strongbow. This large, conical, flat-topped mound (base diams. 70m N-S; 58m E-W; summit diams. 29m E-W; 27m N-S) is sharply scarped at the NE, E, and S. A modern house and garden are built on the summit and steps lead E down the side of the mound. A second motte, the 'South Moat' (KD019-030023----) may once have stood at the S end of the town. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

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