CHAPTER XI

MOTTE-CASTLES IN IRELAND

In the year 1169, when the first Norman invaders landed in Ireland, the private castle had been in existence in England for more than a hundred years, and had it been suited to the social organisation of the Irish people, there had been plenty of time for its introduction into Ireland. Nor are we in a position to deny that some chieftain with a leaning towards foreign fashions _may_ have built for himself a castle in the Anglo-Norman style; all we can say is that there is not the slightest evidence of such a thing.[1036] We have two contemporary accounts of the Norman settlement in Ireland, the one given by Giraldus in his _Expugnatio Hibernica_, and the Anglo-Norman poem, edited by Mr Goddard H. Orpen, under the title of the "Song of Dermot and the Earl."[1037] Now Giraldus expressly tells us that the Irish did not use castles, but preferred to take refuge in their forests and bogs.[1038] The statement is a remarkable one, since Ireland abounds with defensive works of a very ancient character; are we to suppose that these were only used in the prehistoric period? But if castles of the Norman kind had been in general use in Ireland in the 12th century, we should certainly hear of their having been a serious hindrance to the invaders. The history of the invasion, however, completely confirms the statement of Giraldus; we never once hear of the Irish defending themselves in a castle. When they do stand a siege, it is in a walled town, and a town which has been walled, not by themselves, but by the Danes, to whom Giraldus expressly attributes these walls. Moreover, the repeated insistence of Giraldus on the necessity of systematic incastellation of the whole country[1039] is proof enough that no such incastellation existed.

It is true that in some of the earliest Irish literature we hear of the _dun_, _lis_, or _rath_ (the words are interchangeable), which encircled the chieftain's house.

Many descriptions of royal abodes in Irish poems are evidently purely fanciful, but underneath the poetical adornments we can discern the features of the great wooden hall which appears to have been the residence of the tribal chieftain, whether Keltic, Norse, or Saxon, throughout the whole north of Europe in early times.[1040] The thousands of earthen rings, generally called _raths_, which are still scattered over Ireland, are believed to be the enclosures of these kings' or chieftains' homesteads. Were they intended for serious military defence? We are not in a position to answer this question categorically, but the plans of a number of them which we have examined do not suggest anything but a very slight fortification, sufficient to keep off wolves. At all events we never hear of these raths or duns standing a siege; the conquering raider comes, sees, and burns.[1041] We are therefore justified in concluding that they did not at all correspond to what we mean by a private castle. And most certainly the motte-castle, with its very small citadel, and its limited accommodation for the flocks and herds of a tribe, was utterly unsuited to the requirements of the tribal system.

A good deal of light is thrown on the way in which Irish chieftains regarded private castles at the time of the invasion by the well-known story of one who refused a castle offered him by the invaders, saying that he preferred a castle of bones to a castle of stones. Whether legendary or not, it represents the natural feeling of a man who had been accustomed to sleep trustfully in the midst of men of his own blood, tied to him by the bonds of the clan. The clan system in Ireland undoubtedly led to great misery through the absence of a central authority to check the raids of one clan upon another; but though we occasionally hear of a chieftain being murdered "by his own," we have no reason to think that clan loyalty was not sufficient, as a rule, for the internal safety of the community. So that a popular chieftain might well refuse a fortification which had every mark of a hateful and suspicious invader.[1042]

Unfortunately there is--or has been until quite recently--a strong prejudice in the minds of Irish antiquaries that works of the motte-and-bailey kind belong to the prehistoric age of Ireland. Irish scholars indeed admit that the word _mota_ is not found in any Irish MS. which dates from before the Norman invasion of Ireland.[1043] We must therefore bear in mind that when they tell us that such and such an ancient book mentions the "mote" at Naas or elsewhere, what they mean is that it mentions a _dun_, or _rath_, or _longport_, which they imagine to be the same as a motte. But this is begging the whole question. There is not the slightest proof that any of these words meant a motte. _Dun_ is often taken to mean a hill (perhaps from its resemblance to Anglo-Saxon _dun_), but Keltic scholars are now agreed that it is cognate with the German _zaun_ and Anglo-Saxon _tun_, meaning a fenced enclosure.[1044] It may be applied to a fort on a hill, but it may equally well be applied to a fort on the flat. _Rath_ is translated _fossa_ in the _Book of Armagh_; Jocelin of Furness equates it with _murus_.[1045] The rath of Armagh was evidently a very large enclosure in 1166, containing several streets, houses, and churches, so it was certainly not a motte.[1046] It is of course not impossible that the Normans may sometimes have occupied an ancient fortified site, but we may be sure from the considerations already urged that the fortifications which they erected were of a wholly different character to the previous ones, even if they utilised a portion for their bailey.

It is of course difficult to decide in some cases (both in Ireland and elsewhere) whether a mound which stands alone without a bailey is a sepulchral tumulus or a motte. There are some mottes in England and Scotland which have no baileys attached to them, and do not appear ever to have had any. In Ireland, the country of magnificent sepulchral tumuli, it is not wonderful that the barrow and the motte have become confused in popular language. It would appear, too, that there exist in Ireland several instances of artificial tumuli which were used for the inauguration of Irish chieftains, and these have occasionally been mistaken for mottes.[1047] As Mr Orpen has shown, there are generally indications in the unsuitability of the sites, in the absence of real fortification, or in the presence of sepulchral signs, to show that these tumuli did not belong to the motte class. Magh Adair, for example, which has been adduced as a motte outside the Norman boundary, is shown by Mr Orpen to be of quite a different character.

At many sites in Ireland where the Normans are known to have built castles at an early period of the invasion there are no mottes to be seen now. It is probable that where the Norman conquerors had both money and time at their disposal they built stone keeps from the first, and that the motte-castles, with their wooden towers or _bretasches_, were built in the times of stress, or were the residences of the less wealthy under-tenants. But we know from documents that even in John's reign the important royal castle of Roscrea was built with a motte and bretasche,[1048] which proves that this type of castle was still so much esteemed that we may feel reasonably certain that when Giraldus speaks of "slender defences of turf and stakes" he does not mean motte-castles, but mere embankments and palisades.[1049]

But there is another reason for the absence of mottes from some of the early Norman castle sites. Those who have examined the castles of Wales know that it is rare to find a motte in a castle which has undergone the complete metamorphoses of the Edwardian[1050] period. These new castles had no keeps, and necessitated an entire change of plan, which led either to the destruction of the motte or the building of an entirely new castle on a different site. The removal of a motte is only a question of spade labour, and many sites in England can be pointed out where mottes are known to have existed formerly, but where now not a vestige is left.[1051] There are many other cases where the Edwardian castle shows not a trace of any former earthworks, but where a motte and bailey a little distance off probably represents the original wooden castle.[1052]

The passion for identifying existing earthworks with sites mentioned in ancient Irish history or legend has been a most serious hindrance to the progress of real archæological knowledge in Ireland. It is not until one begins to look into this matter that one finds out what giddy guesswork most of these identifications of Irish place-names really are. O'Donovan was undoubtedly a great Irish scholar, and his editions of the _Book of Rights_ and the _Annals of the Four Masters_ are of the highest importance. The topographical notes to these works are generally accepted as final. But let us see what his method was in this part of his labours. In the _Book of Rights_, he says very naïvely, about a place called Ladhrann or Ardladhrann, "I cannot find any place in Wexford according with the notices of this place except Ardamine, on the sea-coast, where there is a remarkable _moat_."[1053] No modern philologist, we think, would admit that Ardamine could be descended from Ardladhrann. In the same way O'Donovan guessed Treada-na-righ, "the triple-fossed fort of the kings," to be the motte of Kilfinnane, near Kilmallock. But this was a pure guess, as he had previously guessed it to be "one of the forts called Dun-g-Claire." To the antiquaries of that day one earthwork seemed as good as another, and differences of type were not considered important.[1054]

* * * * *

The following list of early Norman castles in Ireland was first published in the _Antiquary_ for 1906. It is an attempt to form a complete list from contemporary historians only, that is, from Giraldus Cambrensis and the "Song of Dermot," and from the documents published in Sweetman's _Calendar_, of the Norman castles built in Ireland, up to the end of John's reign.[1055] Since then, the task has been taken up on a far more philosophical plan by Mr Goddard H. Orpen, whose exceptional knowledge of the history of the invasion and the families of the conquerors has enabled him to trace their settlements in Ireland as they have never been traced before.[1056] Nevertheless, it still seems worth while to republish this list, as though within a limited compass, consistent with the writer's limited knowledge, it furnishes an adequate test of the correctness of the Norman theory, on a perfectly sound basis. The list has now the advantage of being corrected from Mr Orpen's papers, and of being enlarged by identifications which he has been able to make.[1057]

*ANTRIM[1058] (_Cal._, i., 88).--A royal castle in 1251. Present castle modern; close to it is a large motte, marked in 25-inch O.M.

AQ'I (_Cal._, i., 13).--Unidentified; perhaps an _alias_ for one of the Limerick castles, as it was certainly in the county of Limerick.

ARDFINNAN, Tipperary (_Gir._, v., 386).--Built in 1185, immediately after John's coming to Ireland. No motte; castle is late Edwardian and

## partly converted into a modern house; one round tower has ogee windows.

[B. T. S.]

ARDMAYLE, or ARMOLEN, Tipperary (_Cal._, i., 81).--A castle of Theobald Walter. A motte with half-moon bailey, and earthen wing walls running up its sides, exactly as stone walls do in later Norman castles. Ruins of a Perpendicular mansion close to it, and also a square tower with ogee windows. [B. T. S.] Fig. 45.

ARDNURCHER, or HORSELEAP, King's Co. (_Song of Dermot_ and _Cal._, i., 145).--A castle of Meiler Fitz Henry's, built in 1192.[1059] An oblong motte with one certain bailey, and perhaps a second. No masonry but the remains of a wall or bridge across the fosse. [B. T. S.]

ARDREE, Kildare (_Gir._, v., 356, and _Song_).--The castle built by Hugh de Lacy for Thomas the Fleming in 1182, was at Ardri, on the Barrow. There is an artificial mound at Ardree, turned into a graveyard, and near it a levelled platform above the river, on which stands Ardree House.[1060] On the west bank of the Barrow, opposite Ardree, is a low circular motte with ditch and bank, but no bailey. A piece of Norman pottery with green glaze was found by Mr Stallybrass, one foot below the surface in the counterscarp bank. Mr Orpen thinks this motte may have been the castle of Robert de Bigarz, also mentioned by Giraldus as near Ardree, on the opposite side of the Barrow.

ASKEATON, or HINNESKESTI, Limerick.--Built in 1199, probably by Hamo de Valoignes.[1061] An excellent instance of a motte-and-bailey castle, where the motte is of natural rock. The splendid keep and hall are of the 15th century, but there are two older towers, which might date from 1199. This natural motte has been identified with the ancient Irish fort of Gephthine (Askeaton = Eas Gephthine), mentioned in the _Book of Rights_. But this work does not mention any _fort_ at Gephthine, only the place, in a list which is clearly one of lands (perhaps mensal lands), not of forts, as it contains many names of plains, and of tribes, as well as the three isles of Arran.[1062]

*ASKELON, or ESCLUEN (_Cal._, i., 91).--Castle _restored to_ Richard de Burgh in 1215; the site is placed by Mr Orpen at Carrigogunell, which is in the parish of Kilkeedy, Limerick.[1063] Carrigogunell has the ruins of a castle on a natural motte of rock.

*ATHLONE, Roscommon (_Cal._, i., 80).--Built in 1210 by the Justiciar, John de Gray. The keep is placed on a lofty motte, which has been revetted with masonry. Turlough O'Connor built a _caislen_ at Athlone in 1129, but it was not even on the site of the Norman castle, for which John obtained land from the church, as already stated.

BAGINBUN (_Gir._, i., 13; _Song_, 1406).--Mr Orpen has proved that this was the spot where Raymond le Gros landed and entrenched himself for four months.[1064] It is a headland on the sea-coast, and headland castles seldom have mottes, as they were not needed on a promontory washed on three sides by the sea. Moreover, Baginbun was of the nature of a temporary fort rather than a residential castle, and it is to be noted that Giraldus calls it "a poor sort of a castle of stakes and sods." Still, the small inner area, ditched off with a double ditch, and the large area, also ditched, roughly correspond to the motte-and-bailey plan. [B. T. S.]

BALIMORE EUSTACE, Kildare (_Cal._, i., 28).--A castle of the Archbishop of Dublin. A motte, with a remarkable platform attached to one side (_cf._ Wigmore Castle). No bailey now; no stone castle. [B. T. S.]

CAHERCONLISH (Karkinlis, Kakaulis, _Cal._, i., 81).--Castle of Theobald Fitz Walter. There is nothing left above ground but a chimney of late date. A few yards from it is a hillock, which has very much the appearance of a mutilated motte. [E. S. A.] Mr Orpen, however, thinks that Theobald's castle may have been at Knockatancashlane, "the hill of the old castle," a townland a little to the north of Caherconlish.[1065]

CARBURY, Kildare.--The _Song_ says Meiler Fitz Henry first got Carbury, so the castle was probably his. It is a motte with two baileys, one of imperfect outline, the other a curious little half-circle. A 15th-century castle is built against the side of the motte. [B. T. S.]

CARLINGFORD, Louth (_Cal._, i., 95).--Apparently a royal castle (_Cal._, i., 156), first mentioned in 1215. It stands on a rock, which might possibly have been a former motte. There certainly has been a former castle, for the present ruin is Edwardian in plan and in every detail. [E. S. A.]

CARRICK, Wexford (_Gir._, v., 245).--This again seems to be one of the temporary forts built by the first invaders (in this case Fitz Stephen), in a strong natural situation, and Giraldus applies to it the same contemptuous language as to Baginbun. There is no motte, but an oval area of 45 yards by 25 is ditched and banked; a modern imitation of a round tower stands within the enclosure. [B. T. S.]

CARRICKFERGUS, Antrim (_Cal._, i., 107).--This was probably one of the castles built by John de Courcy, the conqueror of Ulster. The gatehouse and mural towers are late, but the keep may well be of De Courcy's time, and furnishes an excellent instance of a castle on the keep-and-bailey plan, built by the Normans in stone from the beginning. [E. S. A.]

CASTLETOWN DELVIN, Westmeath (_Gir._, v., 356).--Castle of Gilbert de Nungent. A motte, with a garden at base, which may have been the bailey; near it the stone castle, a keep with round towers at the angles, probably not as early as John's reign. [B. T. S.]

CLONARD, Meath (_Gir._, v., 356).--Built by Hugh de Lacy about 1182. A motte, with broad ditch and curious little oblong bailey; no remains in masonry. [B. T. S.]

CLONMACNOISE, King's Co. (_Cal._, i., 94).--First contemporary mention 1215; the _Annals of Loch Cè_ say it was built in 1214 "by the foreigners." A royal castle. A large motte with bailey attached; the wing walls of the bailey run up the motte. The importance of the castle is shown by the fact that a stone keep was added not very long after it was built. [B. T. S.]

*COLLACHT (_Gir._, v., 355).--Castle of John of Hereford. Collacht appears to be a scribal error for Tullaght, now Tullow, Carlow.[1066] The site of the castle is marked on the 6-inch O.M.; it has been visited by Mr G. H. Orpen, who found very clear indications of a motte and bailey. (See Appendix L.)

CROMETH (_Cal._, i., 91).--Castle of Maurice FitzGerald. Supposed to be Croom, Limerick, though the identification is by no means certain.[1067] There are the ruins of an Edwardian castle at Croom; no motte. [E. S. A.]

DOWNPATRICK, Down (_Gir._, v., 345).--The traveller approaching Downpatrick sees a number of small hills which no doubt have once been islands rising out of the swamps of the Quoyle. On one of these hills stands the town and its cathedral; on another, to the east, but separated from the town by a very steep descent and a brook, stands a motte and bailey of the usual Norman type. It occupies the whole summit of the small hill, so that the banks of the bailey are at a great height above the outer ditch, which is carried round the base of the hill (compare Skipsea). The motte, which is not a very large one, has had an earthen breastwork round the top, now much broken away. Its ditch falls into the ditch of the bailey, but at a higher level. The bailey is semilunar, extending round about three-quarters of the circumference of the motte. There is not the slightest sign of masonry. As the size of this work has been greatly exaggerated, it is as well to say that when measured on the 25-inch O.M. with a planimeter, its area proves to be 3.9 acres; the area of the motte and its ditch .9, leaving 3 acres for the bailey. [E. S. A.] Fig. 45.

This thoroughly Norman-French castle, which was formerly called a Danish fort, has lately been baptised as Rathceltchair, and supposed to be the work of a mythical hero of the 1st century A.D. Mr Orpen, however, has disposed of this fancy by showing that the name Rathceltchair belonged in pre-Norman times to the enclosure of the ancient church and monastery which stood on the _other_ hill.[1068] We may therefore unhesitatingly ascribe this motte-castle to John de Courcy, who first put up a slender fortification within the town walls to defend himself against temporary attack,[1069] but afterwards built a regular castle, for which this island offered a most favourable site.[1070] A stone castle was built inside the town at a later period; it is now entirely destroyed.

DROGHEDA, Louth (_Cal._, i., 93).--First mention 1203, but Mr Orpen thinks it probable that it was one of the castles built by Hugh de Lacy, who died in 1186. A high motte, with a round and a square bailey, just outside the town walls;[1071] called the Mill Mount in the time of Cromwell, who occupied it; he mentions that it had a good ditch, strongly palisadoed.[1072] No stone castle, though much of the bailey wall remains; a late martello tower on top of motte. [B. T. S.] Fig. 45.

[Illustration: FIG. 45.--IRISH MOTTE-CASTLES. Ardmayle. Downpatrick. Drogheda. Castlenock.]

DULEEK, Meath (the castrum Duvelescense of _Giraldus_, v., 313).--Probably first built by Hugh de Lacy; restored by Raymond le Gros in 1173. The motte is destroyed, but an old weaver living in the village in 1906 says that it existed in the time of his father, who used to roll stones down it in his youth. It was in the angle between two streams, and there is still a slight trace of it. No stone castle. [B. T. S.]

DUNAMASE, Queen's Co. (Dumath, _Cal._, i., 100).--First mentioned in 1215 as a castle of William Marshall's, which makes it not unlikely that it was originally built by Strongbow. The plan of this castle is the motte-and-bailey plan, but the place of the motte is taken by a natural rock, isolated by a ditch. There are three baileys, descending the hill. The stone keep on the summit is of the 15th or 16th century. [B. T. S.]

DUNGARVAN, Waterford (_Cal._, i., 89).--Granted to Thomas Fitz Antony in 1215. To the west of the town is a motte called Gallowshill; it has no bailey, but some trace of a circumvallation. The castle east of the river is not earlier than the 14th or 15th century. [B. T. S.]

*DURROW, King's Co. (_Gir._, v., 387).--A castle of Hugh de Lacy's; he was murdered while he was building it, because he had chosen the enclosure of the church for his bailey.[1073] A plan in _Journ. R. S. A. I._, xxix., 227, shows clearly the motte and bailey, though the writer mistakes for separate mounds what are clearly broken portions of the vallum. It is possible that the bailey may have followed the line of the ancient _rath_ of the church, but it would almost certainly be a much stronger affair.

*FAVORIE = FORE, Westmeath.--I owe this identification to Mr Orpen. As Hugh de Lacy founded or endowed the monastery at Fore,[1074] this was probably one of his castles, but the first mention is in 1215 (_Cal._, i., 95). Mr Westropp mentions the oval motte of Fore with its bailey in his list of "complex motes."[1075]

FERNS, Wexford (_Gir._, v., 326).--A castle was built by Walter the German _near_ Ferns. Ferns is spoken of as a city in the time of King Dermot. There is no motte at Ferns; the stone castle has a keep, which is certainly not earlier than the time of Henry III. [B. T. S.]

*FOTHERET ONOLAN, castle of Raymond le Gros (_Gir._, v., 355).--Mr Orpen identifies this with Castlemore, near Tullow, Co. Carlow. There is an oval motte, and a rectangular bailey with indications of masonry.[1076]

GALTRIM, Meath.--Identified by Mr Orpen with the castle of Hugh de Hose, or Hussey, mentioned in the "Song of Dermot." Destroyed in 1176; no stone castle. An oval motte; bailey indistinctly traceable. [B. T. S.]

GEASHILL, King's Co. (_Cal._, i., 30).--Mentioned in 1203 as a castle of William, Earl Marshall. There are remains of a motte, on which stands a 14th-century keep; but the whole site has been so pulled about in making a modern house, drive, and gardens, that nothing more can be made of the plan. The motte, however, is plain, though mutilated. [E. S. A.]

GRANARD, Longford (_Cal._, i., 95).--Built by Richard Tuit in 1199.[1077] A magnificent motte, with a very wide ditch, and a small fan-shaped bailey. Foundations of a shell wall round the top of the motte, and of a small round tower in the centre. [B. T. S.]

*HINCHELEDER, or INCHELEFYRE (_Cal._, i, 95).--Said by Butler (_Notices of Trim Castle_, 12) to be Inchleffer, Meath, a castle of Hugh de Lacy. No further information.

JOHN DE CLAHULL'S CASTLE.--Mr Orpen believes this to be Killeshin, Queen's Co., as it corresponds to the description in the _Song_, "entre Eboy et Lethelyn." There is a motte there, and traditions of a town.

*KARAKITEL, or CARRICKITTLE, Limerick (_Cal._, i., 14).--Castle of William de Naas in 1199. There was a remarkable natural motte of rock here, with the foundations of a castle upon it, now destroyed.[1078]

*KILLAMLUN (_Cal._, i., 53).--Identified by Mr Orpen with Killallon, Meath, where there is a large motte. There is a stone passage into this motte, but no evidence has been brought forward to prove that it is of the same nature as the prehistoric _souterrains_ so common in Ireland.[1079] In England there is a remarkable instance at Oxford of a well-chamber built inside a motte.

KILLARE, Westmeath (_Gir._, v., 356).--A castle of Hugh de Lacy, built in 1184;[1080] burnt in 1187. A good motte, with ditch and well-preserved bank on counterscarp; no bailey. No stone castle. [B. T. S.]

KILBIXIE, Westmeath.--Identified by Mr Orpen with Kelbery, given to Geoffrey de Constantin (_Song_, 3154); the castle is mentioned in a charter of Walter de Lacy, as well as in the _Annals of Loch Cè_, which state that it was built in 1192. A motte, with a broad ditch, and no bailey; but on the W. side the counterscarp bank of the ditch widens out into a sort of narrow half-moon terrace. This peculiarity may be noted in several other Irish castles. Foundations of an oblong shell on top of motte, and of a small square tower in the centre of this ward. [B. T. S.]

*KILFEAKLE, Tipperary (_Cal._, i., 29).--A castle of William de Burgh. Built in 1193.[1081] A motte and bailey; trace of a stone wing wall down the motte.[1082]

*KILMEHAL (_Cal._, i., 44).--Mr Orpen regards the identification of this castle with Kilmallock as extremely doubtful.

*KILMORE (_Cal._, i., 95).--Restored to Walter de Lacy in 1215. Identified with Kilmore, near Lough Oughter, Cavan.[1083] Mr Westropp mentions the motte at this place, which is outside the Anglo-Norman area. The castle was wrecked in 1225 or 1226, and no more is heard of it. The Anglo-Norman advance in this direction failed.

*KILSANTAN, Londonderry (_Cal._, i., 70).--Built by John de Courcy in 1197.[1084] Now called Kilsandal, or Mount Sandal, a large motte on the Bann, not far from Coleraine. The castle of Coleraine, inside the town, was built in 1214, apparently of stone,[1085] and probably superseded the castle of Kilsandal.

KILTINAN, Tipperary (_Cal._, i., 94).--Castle of Philip of Worcester in 1215. No motte; a headland castle overhanging a river valley. The castle has not only undergone a late Edwardian transformation, but has been cut up to make a modern mansion and farm buildings. No fosses or earthworks remain. [E. S. A.]

KNOCK, or CASTLEKNOCK, Dublin (_Cal._, i., 81).--Castle of Hugh Tyrrel. An oval motte, walled round the top, carrying on its edge a smaller motte (with traces of a ditch) on which stand the ruins of an octagonal keep. No other bailey; ditch and bank double for more than half the circumference. [B. T. S.] Fig. 45.

*KNOCKGRAFFAN, Tipperary (_Cal._, i., 27).--Castle of William de Braose in 1202. One of the finest mottes to be seen anywhere. Built in 1192, at the same time as the castle of Kilfeakle.[1086] The motte is 55 feet high, has a wide ditch and high counterscarp bank, which is also carried round the ditch of the "hatchet-shaped" bailey, in proper Norman fashion. "There are indications of a rectangular stone building on the flat summit of the mote, and there are extensive stone foundations in the bailey."[1087]

*LAGELACHON (_Cal._, i., 95).--Probably Loughan or Castlekieran, in which parish is the great motte of Derver.[1088]

LEA, Queen's Co. (_Cal._, i., 30).--Castle of William, Earl Marshall, in 1203. A motte with two baileys; motte entirely occupied, and partly mutilated by a 13th-century keep, with two large roundels. [B. T. S.]

LEIGHLIN, Carlow.--Mr Orpen has shown that the fine motte of Ballyknockan answers to the description given by Giraldus of the site of the castle of Lechlin built by Hugh de Lacy.[1089] There is a trace of a possible bailey. The stone castle called Black Castle at Leighlin Bridge is of very late date. Those who believe that we have authentic history of Ireland in the 3rd century B.C. will be able to believe with Dr Joyce that the description of the annalists identifies this motte with the site of the ancient palace of Dinn Righ, burnt by the chieftain Maen at that date! [B. T. S.]

LISMORE, Waterford (_Gir._, i., 386).--About a quarter of a mile from Lismore, above a ford of the river, is an excellent specimen of a Norman motte and bailey, called the Round Hill. The name of the prehistoric fort of Dunsginne has lately been applied to it, but purely by guesswork.[1090] The _Song_ says that Henry II. intended to build a castle at Lismore, and that it knows not why he put it off. Possibly he may have placed these earthworks here, and never added the wooden castle, or else this is the site of the castle which was built by his son John in 1185. The castle inside the town is certainly later than the time of John, as although much modernised it is clearly Edwardian in plan. The Norman fragments incorporated in the walls probably belonged to the abbey of St Carthagh, on the site of which the town castle is said to have been built. The so-called King John's Tower is only a mural tower, not a keep. [B. T. S.]

*LOUTH, or LUVETH (_Cal._, i., 30).--A royal castle in 1204, but it must have been in existence as early as 1196, when the town and castle of Louth were burnt by Niall MacMahon.[1091] This was probably the "Fairy Mount" at Louth, of which a plan is given in Wright's _Louthiana_. This plan shows "the old town trench," starting from opposite sides of the motte, so that the castle stood on the line of the town banks. The motte was ditched and banked round, but the plan does not show any bailey or any entrance.

*LOSKE (CAL., i., 30).--Mr Orpen has pointed out to the writer that this cannot be Lusk, which was a castle of the Archbishop of Dublin, while Loske belonged to Theobald Walter, and is not yet identified.

*LOXHINDY (_Cal._, i., 95).--Mr Orpen identifies this name with Loughsendy, or Ballymore Loughsendy, Westmeath, where there is a motte.[1092]

NAAS, Kildare (_Gir._, v., 100).--The _dun_ of Naas is mentioned in the _Book of Rights_, p. 251, and in the _Tripartite Life of St Patrick_. By the _Dindsenchas_ it is attributed to the legendary Princess Tuiltinn in 277 A.D. On this "evidence" the motte at Naas has been classed as prehistoric. But as we have seen, a _dun_ does not mean a motte, or even a hill, but an enclosure. Naas was part of the share which fell to the famous Anglo-Norman leader, Maurice FitzGerald, and the earthworks are quite of the Norman pattern;[1093] a good motte, ditched and banked, with trace of a small bailey attached. The terrace round the flank of the motte may be no older than the modern buildings on the summit.[1094] [B. T. S.]

NAVAN, Meath.--The _Song_ says Navan was given to Jocelin de Nangle, and it is known that the castle of the Nangles was at Navan. A lofty motte, with a very small semilunar platform below, formed by broadening out a part of the counterscarp bank of the ditch. (Compare Kilbixie.) [B. T. S.]

NOBBER, Meath (_Cal._, i., 104).--A castle of Hugh de Lacy. A motte, with traces of a breastwork round the top, and wing banks running down to what remains of the bailey on the S. Two curious little terraces on the N. side of the motte. No masonry. [B. T. S.]

RATH' (_Cal._, i., 95).--This castle, evidently one of the most important in Ulster, but hitherto unidentified, has been shown by Mr Orpen to be the famous castle of Dundrum, Down.[1095] This castle is situated on a natural motte of rock, no doubt scarped by art, with a deep ditch cut through the rock, and a bailey attached. The top of the motte contains a small ward fortified in stone, and a round keep. It is very doubtful whether this keep is as old as the time of John de Courcy, to whom the castle is popularly attributed; for the round keep without buttresses hardly appears in England before the reign of Henry III. [E. S. A.]

RATHWIRE, Meath.--Rathwire was the portion of Robert de Lacy (_Song_, 3150), and a castle was built here by Hugh de Lacy.[1096] There is a motte and bailey, with considerable remains of foundations in the bailey, and one wing bank going up the motte. [B. T. S.]

*RATOUTH, Meath, now RATOATH (_Cal._, i., 110).--A castle of Hugh de Lacy. There is "a conspicuous mount" near the church, about which there is a legend that Malachy, first king of all Ireland, held a convention of states (Lewis). It is marked in the map.

*ROKEREL (_Cal._, i., 81).--Unidentified.

ROSCREA, Tipperary (_Cal._, i., 81).--A motte and bretasche were built here in King John's reign, as is recorded in an inquisition of 29 Henry III. (_Cal._, i., 412). There is no motte now at Roscrea, but an Edwardian castle with mural towers and no keep; a 14th-century gatehouse tower. Here we have a proved instance of a motte completely swept away by an Edwardian transformation.[1097] [E. S. A.]

SKREEN, Meath.--Giraldus mentions the castle of Adam de Futepoi, and as Skreen was his barony, his castle must have been at Skreen. In the grounds of the modern castellated house at Skreen there is a motte, 11 feet high (probably lowered), with a terrace round its flank; some slight traces of a bailey. [B. T. S.]

SLANE, Meath.--The _Song_ relates the erection of a motte by Richard the Fleming: "un mot fist cil jeter pur ses enemis grever."[1098] It also tells of its destruction by the Irish, but does not give its name, which is supplied by the _Annals of Ulster_. Probably Richard the Fleming restored his motte after its destruction, for there is still a motte on the hill of Slane, with a large annular bailey,[1099] quite large enough for the "100 foreigners, besides women and children and horses," who were in it when it was taken. The motte has still a slight breastwork round the top. The modern castle of the Marquis of Conyngham, below, incorporates half a round tower of 13th-century work, belonging no doubt to the stone castle which succeeded the motte.[1100] [B. T. S.]

THURLES, Tipperary (Dorles, _Cal._, i., 81).--A castle of Theobald Walter. Thurles Castle has a late keep with trefoil windows, and according to Grose was built by the Earl of Ormond in 1328. From information on the spot it appears that there used to be a motte in the gardens behind the castle; mentioned also by Lewis. [B. T. S.]

TIBRAGHNY, or TIPPERAGHNY, Kilkenny (_Gir._, i., 386; _Cal._, i., 19).--Granted to William de Burgh in 1200; built by John in 1185.[1101] A motte, with ditch and bank, and some trace of a half-moon bailey to the north. About 200 yards away is the stone castle, a late keep with ogee windows. [B. T. S.]

TIMAHOE, Queen's Co. (_Gir._, i., 356).--Built by Hugh de Lacy for Meiler Fitz Henry. A motte, called the Rath of Ballynaclogh, half a mile west of the village. The bailey, the banks and ditches of which seem remarkably well preserved, is almost circular, but the motte is placed at its edge, not concentrically. There are wing-banks running up the motte. Near it are the ruins of a stone castle built in Elizabeth's reign (Grose). [B. T. S.]

TRIM, Meath.--The _Song_ tells of the erection of this castle by Hugh de Lacy, and how in his absence the _meysun_ (the keep--doubtless wooden) was burnt by the Irish, and the _mot_ levelled with the ground. This express evidence that the first castle at Trim had a motte is of great value, because there is no motte there now. The castle was restored by Raymond le Gros,[1102] but so quickly that the present remarkable keep can hardly have been built at that date.[1103] [B. T. S.]

*TRISTERDERMOT (_Gir._, v., 356).--Castle of Walter de Riddlesford. Tristerdermot is now Castledermot; there used to be a _rath_ of some kind here close to the town. But Mr Orpen inclines to believe that the castle Giraldus alludes to was at Kilkea, another manor of De Riddlesford's, where there is a motte, near the modern castle. "In the early English versions of the _Expugnatio_ Kilcae is put instead of Tristerdermot as the place where Walter de Riddlesford's castle was built."[1104]

*TYPERMESAN (_Cal._, i., 110).--Mr Orpen writes that this name occurs again in a list of churches in the deanery of Fore, which includes all the parish names in the half barony of Fore, except Oldcastle and Killeagh. He suspects that Typermesan is now known as Oldcastle, "where there is a remarkably well-preserved motte and raised bailey."[1105]

WATERFORD (_Cal._, i., 89).--We are not told whether Strongbow built a castle here when he took the town from the Ostmen in 1170. The castle is not mentioned till 1215, when it was granted by John to Thomas Fitz-Antony. Waterford was a walled town in 1170, and had a tower called Reginald's Tower, which seems to have been the residence of the two Danish chieftains, as they were taken prisoners there. Here too, Henry II. imprisoned Fitz Stephen.[1106] It is possible that this tower, as Mr Orpen supposes,[1107] may have been considered as the castle of Waterford. But the existing "Ring tower" on the line of the walls, which is sometimes called Reginald's Tower, is certainly a round mural tower of the 13th century; there are others of similar masonry on the walls. [B. T. S.]

*WEXFORD (_Gir._, v., 314).--Probably built by Maurice Prendergast; first mentioned when taken from his sons in 1176. Mr Orpen writes: "The site of Wexford Castle is an artificial mound. Two of the scarped sides still remain, and the other two are built up above streets. When recently laying some drainpipes, the workmen came upon no rock, but only made earth."

WICKLOW (_Gir._, i., 298).--Existing when Henry II. left Ireland in 1173; he gave it to Strongbow. The Black Castle at Wicklow is a headland castle; it preserves the motte-and-bailey plan, though there is no motte, as there is a small triangular inner ward (about thirty paces each side) several feet higher than the outer bailey, from which it is separated by a very deep ditch cut through the rock. [B. T. S.]

We have here a list of seventy-two castles mentioned in the contemporary history of the Norman invasion. If the list is reduced by omitting Aq'i, Kilmehal, Loske, Rokerel, and Incheleder, which are not yet identified, and five castles of which the identification may be considered doubtful, Caherconlish, Croom, Clahull's Castle, Lagelachan, and Typermesan, sixty-two castles are left, and out of these sixty-two, fifty-two have or had mottes.[1108] In five cases the place of the motte is taken by a natural rock, helped by art; but as the idea and plan are the same it is legitimately classed as the same type.

This list might easily have been enlarged by the addition of many castles mentioned in the various Irish annals as having been built by the Normans. But this would have involved the identification of a number of difficult names, a labour to which the writer's limited knowledge of Irish topography was not equal. The greater number of these sites have now been identified by Mr Orpen, and to his papers, so frequently cited above, we must refer the reader who wishes to study the fullest form of the argument sketched in these pages.

One can easily sympathise with the feelings of those who, having always looked upon these mottes as monuments of ancient Ireland, are loath to part with them to the Norman robber. Many of us have had similar feelings about the mottes of England, some of which we had been taught to regard as the work of that heroic pair, Edward the Elder and Ethelfleda. But these feelings evaporated when we came to realise that it would have been highly unpatriotic in these founders of the British empire to have built little castles for their own personal safety, instead of building cities which were "to shelter all the folk," in the words of Ethelfleda's charter to Worcester. In like manner, wretched as were the intertribal wars of Ireland, it would have been a disgrace to the Irish chieftains if they had consulted solely their own defence by building these little strongholds for their personal use.

The Irish motte-castles furnish us with interesting proof that this type of castle was commonly used, not only as late as the reign of Henry II., but also in the reigns of his sons, Richard I. and John;[1109] that is to say, at a time when castle-building in stone was receiving remarkable developments at the hands of Richard I. and Philip Augustus of France. This, however, need not surprise us, since we know that as late as 1242, Henry III. was building a motte and wooden castle in the Isle of Rhé, at the mouth of the Garonne.[1110] But those who imagine that the Normans built stone castles everywhere in England, Wales, and Ireland, will have to reconsider their views.

_Note._--Mr Orpen's work on _Ireland under the Normans_ did not appear until too late for use in this chapter. The reader is referred to it for a more careful tracing of the history and archæology of the Norman settlements in Ireland.

##