What is recorded here

Pallas Castle stands as a ruined tower house on a lake-facing ridge in County Offaly, where ancient earthworks still circle the foundation. The surviving southwest corner and collapsed masonry hint at a bold medieval build inside an older fort, perhaps belonging to the Molloy line. Water and height guarded the site, suggesting people valued both visibility and defence when they shaped this place.

Situated on S facing slope of a high ridge running E-W, a lake protects the S side of the site which has good views to the S, E and W. This site consists of a circular platform (OF024-015002-) defined by an earthen bank which is evident at W only with two wide flat bottomed fosses with high intervening earthen bank. The outer defences of the site have been greatly altered on the N and E sides while the lake provides a natural defence at S. Causeway entrance at W. In the centre of the platform are the ruins of a tower house (max. ext. dims. 10m N-S; 10m E-W; wall T 1.5m) with only the SW corner surviving to any height with wall footings elsewhere. A collpased portion of masonry displays evidence of wicker centring. No architectural features evident. This site may originally have been a large bivallate ringfort with later medieval Tower house built in the centre due to its defensive location on the side of a lake. Ancient fort of the Molloy's (Shaw 1971. 36). Early 17th centurybarony map of Ballyboy (PRO, MPF 268) shows small building at Pallas near the lake (Loeber 1988, vol. 5, 51) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

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