What is recorded here

Killinlastra means a flaming wood, fitting a place where a fair house vanished without a trace. George Cunningham built it on a low rise overlooking the countryside, but a roadway and farmyard now occupy the site. The castle surrendered its stones to the living world, leaving only the name and the memory of fire in the wood.

On a low rise affording good views over the surrounding countryside. A castle-type building is indicated on an early 17th-century map of Ardagh barony (BL, Cotton MS Augustus I.ii.25). Named ‘Castle of Keillen’ on the OS Fair Plan. It may be the site of a house recorded by Nicholas Dowdall, in 1682, as ‘George Cunningham Esqr. Hath built a fair house at Killinlosorogh which signifies a flaming wood’ (Gillespie and Moran 1991, 210). The house has been levelled and no visible surface trace survives. The site is now partially occupied by a roadway and a farmyard. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 4 November 2012

The castle, known as the 'Castle of Keillen' on the Ordnance Survey, was likely built in the early 17th century, as indicated by its appearance on a map of Ardagh barony. Its strategic location on a low rise suggests it may have served a defensive or observational role in the region.

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