Today, you’ll find nothing but corporation housing and warehouses built since 1954, but historical maps tell a more intriguing story. The 25-inch Ordnance Survey map marks this spot as ‘King John’s Castle (Supposed site of)’, complete with hachures showing the southeastern portion of what appears to be inner and outer curved defensive scarps. These earthwork features seem to continue northward, their lines now hidden beneath modern property boundaries.

The mystery deepens when you consider that this supposed castle doesn’t appear on the earlier 1840 six-inch OS map at all. No historical documents mention a castle at this location, and with no visible remains at ground level, archaeologists can’t determine what type of fortification once stood here, or even confirm its existence with certainty. The King John attribution is particularly puzzling; whilst the English monarch did campaign in Ireland and his name is attached to several Irish castles, there’s no documentary evidence linking him to this particular site.

What remains is an archaeological puzzle hidden beneath suburban development. The curved scarps suggested by the old maps could indicate a ringwork castle, a motte and bailey, or perhaps something else entirely. Without excavation or the discovery of historical records, the true nature of this site remains tantalisingly out of reach, a ghost of Ireland’s turbulent medieval past that may or may not have existed at all.