What is recorded here

Castle is a tree-planted earthen mound in Glenboy, County Meath, with a flat top wide enough for a small hall and a crescent-shaped bailey attached to its west. The mound rises above a dug fosse and external bank, while the bailey keeps its own shallow scarps and grassy floor. Together they form a compact defensible place on an esker ridge, the kind of building where a local lord might have lived, watched the land and been watched in return.

Located on an esker ridge that extends off to the W and ESE. This is a subcircular or subrectangular flat-topped earthen mound (dims of top 24m NW-SE; 17m NE-SW; H 6.1m at SW to 7.5m at NE; dim. of base 45m NE-SW) planted in trees. It is defined by a fosse (Wth of top 8-12m; ext. D 2.2-3m), with an external bank (at NE: Wth 7m; ext. H 1.3m) N-S-WSW. There is a crescent-shaped, grass-covered bailey (dims c. 40m NE-SW; 27m NW-SE) defined by scrub-covered scarps (at NW: Wth 4m; H 1.5m), attached to the WNW of the motte. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 7 June 2016 Amended: 15 December 2022

Built by a Norman lord in the 12th century, Castle, motte and bailey in Glenboy is important as a typical example of early medieval military architecture in Ireland, reflecting the expansion of Norman influence into the region.

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