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Rathdoony

Castle, motte
Rathdoony
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What is recorded here

Rathdoony More is a six-metre conical mound on a Sligo ridge, possibly the vanished castle of Ath-na-Gail built by MacWilliam Burke in 1265 and destroyed by Aedh O Connor in 1270. Its broad flat top, deep fosse and southern ramp suggest a sturdy defensive work rather than a buried tumulus. The oval hollow in the eastern half may mark a well, a cellar or the footprint of a lost tower.
On top of a ridge, in undulating pasture. A circular conical mound (H c. 6m) with a flat top (diam. 29m), enclosed by a fosse (Wth 8m) with an external earthen bank (Wth 3.5m; int. H 1.8m; ext. H 2m). The entrance (Wth 3.5m) is at S where there is a ramp up to the side of the mound. There is an oval hollow (L c. 5m) in the E half of the top of the mound. Knox (1911, 222-3) considered the site had 'the appearance of a high Norman mote', and it is listed as a motte by Glasscock (1975, 109). This may be the site of the castle of Ath-na-Gail, erected in 1265 by MacWilliam Burke and demolished in 1270 by Aedh O Connor (Graham 1988, 121). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

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What survives
Recorded monument

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