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KILTINAN-LEIGHLIN

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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, OF 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.' 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."

*LAGELACHON (Cal., i., 95).—Probably Loughan or Castlekieran, in which parish is the great motte of Derver.3

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

1 Annals of the Four Masters, vol. iii. See Orpen, Journ. R. S. A. I., vol. xxxix., 1909.

2 Orpen, Eng. Hist. Rev., xxii., 448. A place called Graffan is mentioned in the Book of Rights, and on the strength of this mere mention it has been argued that the motte is a prehistoric work. Trans. R. 1. A., vol. xxxi., 1902. 3 Mr Orpen.

given by Giraldus of the site of the castle of Lechlin built by Hugh de Lacy.' 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.]

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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. 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

1 Giraldus' words are: "Castrum Lechliniæ, super nobilem Beruæ fluvium, a latere Ossiriæ, trans Odronam in loco natura munito." V., 352. See Eng. Hist. Rev., xxii., 245.

2 See Orpen, Eng. Hist. Rev., xxii., 456, and Journ. R. S. A. I xxxvii., 140.

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Niall MacMahon.1 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."

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 lengendary 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; 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. [B. T. S.]

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1 Orpen, "Motes and Norman Castles in County Louth," Journ. R. S. A. I., xxxviii., 241, from which paper the notice above is largely taken. 2 Eng. Hist. Rev., xxii., 242.

The castle is casually mentioned by Giraldus, v., 100, and the date of its erection is not given.

4 As far as the writer's experience goes, terraces are only found on mottes which have at some time been incorporated in private gardens or grounds.

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 breast work 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.' 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. 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

1 Journ. R. S. A. I., vol. xxxix., 1909.

2 Piers, Collect. de Rebus Hib., cited by Orpen.

ROKEREL-SLANE

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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.' [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.]

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SLANE, Meath.-The Song relates the erection of a motte by Richard the Fleming: "un mot fist cil jeter pur ses enemis grever.' 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, 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

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1 Mr Orpen says: "The castle was 'constructed anew' in the sixth and seventh years of Edward I., when £700 was expended." Irish Pipe Rolls, • 8 Edward I., cited in Eng. Hist. Rev., xxii., 454.

2 Line 3178.

3 The annular bailey, with the motte in the centre, is a most unusual arrangement, and certainly suggests the idea that the motte was placed in an existing Irish rath.

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