Castle — tower house in Croincha (lough Ennell)

According to Woods (1907,66) Cró-Inis also known as Cormorant Island was selected by the kings of Meath as one of their royal sites along with nearby Dun-na-Sgiath (WM025-145----). This royal crannóg (WM025-150----) was re-fortified when a tower house belonging to the Claffey clan was constructed on the island. In 1446 the Annals of Connacht recorded that 'Domnall O Cobthaig [O'Coffey] and his two sons were treacherously killed by Maelsechlainn son of the son of Art O Mailsechlainn and by Feidlim son of the son of Fiacha Mag Eochacain on Crowinis [Cro-Inis] in Loch Ennell, in his own house. He was a man of wide accomplishment and his house was an open guest-house' (Ann. Conn.). The wall footings of the tower house located on the centre of the island are the remains of the 'house' described in the annals. The tower house may have been re-used as a summer house or duck hide in the post 1700 period. This building was mistakenly identified as a 'Pyramid' and excavated in 1937 (Macalister 1938, 248-52). Prior to excavation the site of the building was described as 'a conspicuous flat-topped mound of earth, which obviously covered a building of some size and pretensions' (ibid., 248). The square-shaped tower house wit pronounced base batter was described in 1937 as measuring internally 4m square with a doorway located off centre to E in N wall which gave access to a ground floor with wall cupboard or aumbry (dims. Wth 1.37m x D 1.12m) located at N end of the W wall. A possible medieval landing place or harbour was described by Macalister (1937, 251) as a 'cutting running inward from the lake, 18 ft. 6 ins. [5.6m] long, and 3 ft. 6 ins. [1m] across, now much filled up with stones. This was probably meant for the landing of small boats'. In 1981 the building was described as the lower walls of a summer house standing in the centre of the island, measuring 3.3m x 3.8m with walls 1.6m thick and standing to an average height of 1.2m, with a doorway located off centre to N in E wall measuring 1.3m wide. To the summerhouse leads 2 pathways measuring 2.3m wide and consisting of limestone blocks which run from the N and E shoreline to this building. The W pathway has 4 steps leading up to the building (ASI Site Report 07/07/1981). The N pathway leads from a landing place which may represent a medieval harbour or landing place for boats in the medieval period. This crannóg was listed as Cro-Inis (Dysart 1) and described by O'Sullivan (2004, 86-8) as following; 'Located off the SW shore of Lough Ennell, 250m S of the original shoreline, in 2m water depth (3m originally). The site is overlooked by rising ground to NW, overlooked by a ringfort depicted on OS 6-inch maps as Dun-na-Sciath (WM025-145----) 300m to N. Crannóg consists of a large, circular, high-cairn site, built of large stones, horizontal timbers retained within multi-phase inner and outer palisades. There is a landing place (6.5m N-S x 1.5m E-W), defined by two stone walls, on the north side of the island (similar to known late medieval coastal landing places and possibly also of ancient design). There are also stoned-lined ‘paths’ on the northeast and east side, leading down into the water. On top of the centre of the island is the base of a mortared stone building, with walls measuring 8.5m in length, surviving to a height of 1m. This is probably the remains of a stone folly, erected on the site of a fifteenth-century tower house occupied by the O’Coffeys. This is the early medieval crannóg of Croinis, the historically attested royal seat of the Ua Maelsechlainn kings of the Clann Cholmain dynasty of the southern Ui Neill. The site was re-fortified in the early twelfth century (i.e. AD 1107 ± 9) and was probably also occupied in the late medieval period. The crannóg (WM025-150----) and ringfort (WM025-145----) are probably a royal settlement complex, strategically located out at the end of a promontory. The site was also occupied in the fifteenth century, as the Annals of Connacht for 1446 claim that Domnaill Ua Cobthaig [O'Coffey] and his two sons were murdered ‘on Crowinis in Loch Ennell, in his own house’. This was probably in a small tower-house on the island'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Aidan O'Sullivan. Date of upload: 8 March 2017