Stokestown Castle

A castle at Clontail (4) in Mitchelstown parish and Slane barony is depicted on the Down Survey (1656-8) barony map adjacent to the church (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/). According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) the John Stoakes owned 194 acres at Mitchelstowne and Clontoule in 1640, which together comprised the whole parish, and ‘a stone house, a corn mill, a tuck mill, and some cabins’ were on the Stokes property (Simington 1940, 358). Stokestown Castle is depicted as a fragment of a wall on the 1836 ed. of the OS 6-inch map c. 60m E of the parish church (ME012-007----). There is a slight rise in a gently undulating landscape. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 8 June 2016

Stokestown Castle, Clontail was built by the Stow family in the 17th century and is recorded in the Down Survey (1656-8) and the Civil Survey (1654-6). It is remembered as an example of early Irish plantation architecture and as part of the historical landscape of Mitchelstown parish.