Castle - motte, Ballindurrow, Co. Westmeath

Castle – motte, Ballindurrow, Co. Westmeath

In the village of Multyfarnham, County Westmeath, a small medieval motte stands just east of St Nicholas' Roman Catholic Church, roughly 70 metres west of the River Gaine.

Castle - motte, Ballindurrow, Co. Westmeath

This flat-topped earthwork, measuring approximately 10 metres across from west-southwest to east-northeast and 12 metres from north-northwest to south-southeast, represents one of the area’s surviving Norman fortifications. The mound sits on the eastern edge of a low ridge, with the ground naturally sloping down towards the river, and whilst no traces of a bailey remain visible today, archaeologists suspect one may have occupied the area where the church now stands.

The monument has endured significant alterations over the centuries, particularly on its northern and western sides where churchyard boundary walls, residential yards and gardens have encroached upon the original structure. However, the eastern and southern slopes remain largely intact, maintaining their steep, regular profiles. A fosse-like depression runs along the base from the southeast round to the south-southwest, continuing alongside the southern wall of the churchyard; this defensive ditch would have provided additional protection for the Norman stronghold. Survey records from 1985 describe the motte as comprising earth and stones, and note its generally good state of preservation despite the various modifications.



This motte may well be the site of a now-vanished castle that appears on the 1659 Down Survey parish map of Multyfarnham, though its exact identification remains uncertain. The proximity of a medieval church and graveyard, located just 110 metres to the southwest, suggests this was once an important local centre of both secular and religious power. Recognising its historical significance, authorities placed a preservation order on the monument in 1985, ensuring this remnant of Anglo-Norman settlement continues to tell its story in the Westmeath landscape.

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NLI, MS 723-4 – National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O’Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.
Ballindurrow, Co. Westmeath
53.62445497, -7.3898321
53.62445497,-7.3898321
Ballindurrow 
Mottes & Baileys 

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