This unassuming mound may be all that remains of a thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman timber castle, built during a period of significant territorial change in medieval Ireland. The site consists of a raised platform about 26 metres in diameter, surrounded by a defensive ditch roughly 3.3 metres wide and 4 metres deep, with traces of an external bank that’s best preserved on the southern side. A possible ramped entrance can be seen to the north, suggesting how the castle’s inhabitants once accessed this fortified position.

The history of this site is tied to the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland. In 1185, Prince John granted Dunkerrin to Theobald Butler, and by 1200, Butler appears to have firmly established control over these lands. Under Anglo-Norman rule, Dunkerrin developed into a manorial town within the Gaelic territory of Éile, representing a frontier settlement where Norman administrative structures were imposed upon existing Irish territories. The earthwork, sometimes referred to as a ringwork, would have formed the outer defences of a timber castle; a practical fortification that could be quickly constructed to secure newly acquired lands.

Today, the site is known locally as the moat farm, and whilst it may not look like much to the casual observer, it represents an important piece of Ireland’s complex medieval past. These earthworks are tangible reminders of how the Anglo-Normans established their authority across Ireland, building defensive structures that allowed them to control and administer territories far from their initial strongholds. The strategic placement on the esker ridge wasn’t accidental; it provided the castle’s defenders with clear sightlines to spot approaching threats whilst the natural elevation added an extra layer of defence to the man-made fortifications.