Bawn, Castlerea, Co. Longford
In the countryside near Castlerea, County Longford, the remnants of a medieval bawn surround an old tower house, offering a glimpse into Ireland's fortified past.
Bawn, Castlerea, Co. Longford
The bawn, a defensive enclosure typical of medieval Irish settlements, forms a rectangular plan measuring approximately 52 metres northwest to southeast and 44 metres northeast to southwest. While much of the structure has succumbed to time, its northwestern and northeastern walls still stand as field boundaries, reaching heights of up to 0.9 metres. The southeastern and southwestern sides have largely been levelled, leaving only grass-covered foundations and a slight scarp to mark their former positions.
The tower house itself stands within the northwestern section of the enclosure, positioned about 4.5 metres from the northwestern wall. Historical mapping from 1836 shows the site surrounded by a subcircular drainage ditch, roughly 75 metres north to south and 70 metres east to west, which once diverted water away from the interior. Today, this ditch survives only partially, visible from the southeast around to the southwest, whilst elsewhere it has been filled in over the years.
Just beyond the northeastern wall lies what appears to be a medieval building, its gable wall still visible beneath a covering of thorn bushes. This rectangular structure, measuring 11 metres by 7 metres, sits alongside what may be the original cobbled roadway into the bawn. Given its position flanking the entrance route, this building likely served as a gatehouse or forebuilding, providing an additional layer of defence for those entering the fortified enclosure. Both this structure and the roadway appear on the 1836 Ordnance Survey maps, confirming their longstanding presence in the landscape.