This roughly oval platform measures about 47 metres from north-northwest to south-southeast and 16 metres from east-northeast to west-southwest. The southern edge is defined by a steep scarp between 2 and 4.5 metres high, accompanied by a wide defensive ditch, or fosse, that’s 4 metres across and about a metre deep. Curiously, this ditch fades away as it curves towards the east and west, with no trace visible along the platform’s northern arc.

Historical records suggest this could be the site of Newtown Castle, which met a violent end in 1295 when it was razed by Sefraid O’Ferrall, as noted in the Annals of Connacht. The flat-topped mound certainly fits the profile of a medieval motte, though its history becomes murkier in more recent centuries. The 1837 Ordnance Survey map shows the site covered in a grove of trees, whilst by the 1911 edition it appears as a raised rectangular area with scattered trees still growing on top.

There’s some debate about whether this is genuinely a medieval fortification or perhaps a later landscape feature created for Newtownbond House, which stands about 650 metres to the southeast. No clear entrance to the platform has been identified, which adds to the mystery. Whether ancient castle mound or Georgian garden folly, the earthwork remains an intriguing feature of the Longford landscape, compiled and recorded by researcher Caimin O’Brien in March 2012.