Castle — tower house in Ballymascanlan

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Situated in low-lying ground close to the W bank of the Ballymascanlan River. It is constructed with coursed rubble granite and has only parts of its S and E walls remaining. The walls have been defaced except for a small portion of the S face of the only remaining angle (SE). The walls appear to have been built against a raised area but this impression may be due to a build-up of collapse inside the structure. The walls are about 4m high externally, 2m high internally, and 1.5-2m wide with a slight batter. The present length of the E wall is c. 13m but it appears to have run further N. The S wall is c. 15m long and runs W into the slope of the natural hill. The remains are featureless but it almost certainly belongs to the late medieval period and could well have been a tower house. A castle is marked in this area by the Down Survey, appears on a map of the escheated counties of Ulster in 1609 (CLAJ 1929, 65), and is marked also on a map of c. 1568 (CLAJ 1985, 43).