Castle, Baskin High, Co. Westmeath
The mystery of a lost medieval castle in County Westmeath continues to puzzle historians and archaeologists alike.
Castle, Baskin High, Co. Westmeath
Historical records from the Down Survey maps of Drumraney parish, dating to the 1650s, clearly show a tower house structure standing in the townland of High Baskin, near the boundary with Baskin Low. This fortification belonged to Morris Dillon, a member of one of the prominent Anglo-Norman families who held considerable lands in the region during the medieval period.
Despite the castle’s clear depiction on these historical maps, its exact location remains frustratingly elusive. The Archaeological Survey of Ireland once proposed that the castle might have stood where an 18th or 19th century house was later built, but investigations of that site revealed no physical evidence of medieval foundations or stonework. Adding to the intrigue, Larkin’s 1808 Map of County Westmeath marks a ‘Ruin’ in roughly the same area, which some scholars believe could be the remains of the same structure; however, no surface traces of this ruin can be found at the location indicated on modern Royal Map Plans.
The disappearance of such a substantial stone structure raises intriguing questions about the fate of Ireland’s medieval heritage. Whether the castle was completely demolished and its stones repurposed for other buildings, or whether it simply awaits rediscovery beneath centuries of earth and vegetation, remains unknown. This research, compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien in July 2019, serves as a reminder that even in well-documented areas, significant pieces of Ireland’s medieval past can vanish almost without trace.