Pailis Greine, Cloghaderreen, Co. Limerick

Pailis Greine, Cloghaderreen, Co. Limerick

At Pallas Greine in Cloghaderreen, County Limerick, you'll find the remains of an Anglo-Norman motte fortification that once stood guard over the surrounding countryside.

Pailis Greine, Cloghaderreen, Co. Limerick

This earthwork monument rises approximately 8 metres high with steep sides, crowned by a sub-rectangular platform measuring roughly 20 metres across. The motte is encircled by a defensive ditch, still visible today at 2 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep, though centuries of erosion have softened its original sharp edges.

The strategic positioning of this fortification reveals both its strengths and vulnerabilities; whilst it commands excellent views to the north-east and east, allowing its defenders to spot approaching threats, the higher ground to the north-west and south would have presented tactical challenges. Archaeological surveys from the late 1950s recorded evidence of a rectangular structure measuring 8.2 by 7.3 metres in the north-east quadrant of the summit, though this feature has since become obscured by vegetation and time.



To the west of the motte, separated now by a modern lane, lies what appears to be a bailey; the outer enclosure that would have contained domestic buildings, workshops, and storage facilities essential to medieval life. This area remains heavily overgrown and largely inaccessible, though traces of its own enclosing ditch can still be detected. Together, these earthworks represent a typical motte-and-bailey castle design introduced to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans in the late 12th century, part of their systematic effort to control and colonise the fertile lands of Munster.

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O’Dwyer, M. 1958-61 A survey of the earthworks in Old Pallasgrean, Co. Limerick. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 8, 69-78, 111-15. Bradley, J., Halpin, A., and King, H.A. 1989 Urban archaeological survey – county Limerick (3 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.
Cloghaderreen, Co. Limerick
52.54349391, -8.3519931
52.54349391,-8.3519931
Cloghaderreen 
Mottes & Baileys 

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