Castle — motte and bailey in Ballybough

In pasture, fenced off all around and abutting garden of modern two-storey house from SSE-S-SSW. The motte and bailey are heavily overgrown with scrub and trees, with motte in the NE quadrant of the bailey. Motte is a high, steep-sided mound (H 6.95m on ENE side to fosse of bailey; H 5.45m on S side to fosse of motte; top dims. 7m N-S; 6.3m E-W; base dims. 15.8m (after Lyons 1938, 290)) enclosed from SE-W-NW by a fosse (Wth 3.7m; D 1.32m) within the bailey and from NW-N-SE by the inner fosse of the bailey. Roughly circular bailey area (dims. c. 47.5m (after Lyons 1938, 290)) defined by steep inner earthen scarp (Wth 6.25m; H 3.3m). There is a possible entrance (Wth c. 4.2m) at S. An intervening fosse (Wth 10.85m; D 2.2m) encloses the scarp, although access is not possible in places. A substantial outer bank (Wth 12.35m; int. H 2.2m; ext. H 3.3m) appears to continue around the entire monument, although it is heavily overgrown in places. There is an external fosse (Wth 10.45m; D 0.75m) which is dry SE-S and waterlogged S-SE-W. The exterior of the monument abuts the garden of modern house SSE-S-SW where garden debris has been thrown into the outer fosse area. Lyons (1938, 288-290), published a plan and section of the monument and comments that 'a modern excavation on the north-east side of the work ….and a modern water trench close to the west side, are ignored on the Plan' (ibid.). The arrangement of motte within the bailey is slightly unusual and may suggest that an existing monument, possibly a ringfort, was substantially modified to became a bailey with a motte built in the interior. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011