Bawn, Toberavaddy, Co. Roscommon
Toberavaddy's fortified house sits on the southwest-facing slope of a ridge, about 180 metres from where the River Suck winds its way through the landscape.
Bawn, Toberavaddy, Co. Roscommon
The house appears to occupy the southern corner of what was once a bawn, a defensive wall that would have enclosed and protected the property during more turbulent times. These protective walls, now visible only as subtle grass-covered footings, stretched approximately 55 metres from northeast to southwest and 30 metres from northwest to southeast.
The remains tell a story of strategic placement and careful planning typical of Irish defensive architecture. A grass-covered roadway still traces its path east-southeast from the eastern corner of the bawn, hinting at the comings and goings of centuries past. This combination of fortified house and bawn was a common arrangement in Ireland, providing both comfortable living quarters and necessary protection during the plantation period and beyond.
The site has been recognised for its historical significance and is protected under a preservation order issued in 1990. While time and nature have softened the harsh defensive lines into gentle undulations in the grass, the basic layout remains readable to those who know what to look for; a reminder of when even rural Irish households needed to balance daily life with the very real possibility of attack.