Located in County Mayo, the moated site at Balla represents a fascinating glimpse into medieval Irish settlement patterns.

On a low promontory overlooking Clare Island's modern harbour stands a squat tower house that once commanded this strategic anchorage.

The moated site in County Mayo represents a fascinating glimpse into medieval Irish rural life, when Anglo-Norman settlers and Gaelicised families built fortified homesteads across the countryside.

Denne Castle stands as a forgotten sentinel in Crossmolina, County Mayo, its ivy-covered walls slowly surrendering to time and weather.

In the townland of Castlereagh, County Mayo, the remains of a medieval moated site offer a glimpse into how Anglo-Norman settlers once fortified their homes in rural Ireland.

Standing on a prominent rise above the flood plain of the River Robe, the fragmentary ruins of Robeen Castle offer a glimpse into Mayo's medieval past.

Standing near the shores of County Mayo, the Bawn at Tearmann Caithreach represents a fascinating piece of Irish defensive architecture from the plantation era.

In the rolling countryside of County Mayo, the remains of Belclare Castle stand as a testament to centuries of turbulent Irish history.

Standing on the shores of Lough Conn in County Mayo, Gweeshadan Castle is a modest yet intriguing remnant of Ireland's turbulent medieval past.

The ruins of Kilkeeran Castle stand in the townland of Ballynaslee, County Mayo, a silent testament to centuries of Irish history.

In the townland of Kinturk Lower, County Mayo, stands a fortified structure known simply as a bawn.

In the southwest corner of what was once a square bawn in Creggarve, County Mayo, the only hints of a former castle are subtle undulations in the reclaimed pastureland.

The site of Carn Castle sits quietly in the Mayo countryside, its remaining earthworks offering little hint of the dramatic events that once unfolded here.

The fortified house known as Bawn stands in Cregmore, County Mayo, a testament to the turbulent centuries when Irish landowners needed both comfort and security.

At the foot of a south-southwest facing hillside along the northern bank of the Carn River, there once stood Carrickanass Castle and its fortified enclosure, or bawn.