Though dense overgrowth now makes it impossible to properly examine, this mysterious earthwork appears to have undergone significant changes during the 19th century, when it was landscaped and a cottage was built into its northern side. Whilst heavy forestry activity and Victorian modifications have obscured its original form, the mound’s strategic location and shape suggest it could well be a Norman motte, one of those artificial hills the Anglo-Normans built across Ireland as bases for their wooden castles.

The site gained archaeological fame through a remarkable discovery, though exactly where the find was made remains contentious. A carved stone statue of a horseman, now in the National Museum of Ireland, was reportedly unearthed here in 1844. The figure, carved from yellow sandstone, depicts a stocky rider with sword, sitting atop a powerful horse in a high-backed medieval saddle. Dating from the 14th or 15th century, the craftsmanship is exceptional; the rider wears a tight cap and loose overcoat, whilst his mount stands in the classical equus admissarius position. The statue was impressive enough to be displayed at Dublin’s Great Industrial Exhibition in 1853, where it was described as possibly representing Eochaidh, a pagan deity believed to protect cattle and horses.

However, confusion surrounds the statue’s provenance. T.L. Cooke’s 1875 history claimed it was found in a rath on nearby Knocknaman hill, whilst the 1853 exhibition catalogue and later sources insist it came from this very motte at Castle Bernard, now Kinnitty Castle. The medieval dating of the horseman would certainly fit better with discovery at an Anglo-Norman motte rather than an earlier Irish ringfort, supporting the theory that this overgrown mound is indeed a Norman fortification, despite nature’s best efforts to reclaim it.