The Moat — Glasnamullen

Situated on SE edge of a plateau overlooking the Vartry River to the E. The 'Moat' was described in 1838 by John O'Donovan as a ‘remarkable round and pretty high hillock which they call a moate, but which, however, has no sign or vestige of a moate on or about it’ (O'Flanagan 1928, 81). It is depicted as a steep side hillock on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map with OS trig. station marking spot height of 907 ft. OD on the summit of the mound. The revised 1907 ed. OS 25-inch map shows that by this time a gravel pit had been opened in the W quadrant of the hillock and that the profile of the earthwork had been severely altered. This earthwork was visited in 1989 and described as a 'natural sand deposit whose interior has been almost completely removed through quarrying leaving a flat central area (dims. 160m E-W x 120m N-S)surrounded by the undug edge of the natural mound. No trace of any artificial features other than those created by quarrying (discontinued)' (ASI Field Report 09/11/1989). Two urn burials discovered in 1981 when they were exposed on the E side in the section of a natural hillock known locally as 'Sutton's Moat' (Cahill and Sikora 2011, Vol. 1, 656-63). Local folklore from Calary National School recorded that 'The Moate in front of my home was believed to be a "Fairy-Moate" (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0912, Page 239). Compiled by: Claire Breen Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 24 July 2012