Park or Dunamase

21 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Park or Dunamase, from 27 m² to 438,126 m² (43.81 ha, 108.26 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 42 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Park or Dunamase in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 28 Apr 2026Conditional

  retain 2 no. domestic use shed structures

  Retention · Laois County Council, 2660239

• 21 Apr 2026N/a

  retain 2 no. shed structures on my property

  Retention · Laois County Council, 2660221

• 31 Oct 2023N/a

  Construct new dwelling house, domestic garage, septic tank and percolation area, new site entrance and all associated works

  Permission, 1 home · Laois County Council, 2360459

• 22 Dec 2020Conditional

  renovate and extend existing cottage, remove evergreen trees, connect to existing services on-site and all associated site works

  Permission, 1 home · Laois County Council, 20710

• 17 Feb 2020Conditional

  construct an extension to existing dwelling house, internal and external alterations, new domestic garage, ancillary site services and associated site works

  Permission, 2 homes · Laois County Council, 2080

• 14 Feb 2020N/a

  construct an extension to existing dwelling house, internal and external alterations, new domestic garage, ancillary site services and associated site works

  Permission · Laois County Council, 2077

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Rock Of Dunamase 000878
• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Dunamase Woods 001494

Recorded monuments

• LA013-051001 Settlement deserted - medieval
  Description

  Reference to an ancient village here (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 272). The earthworks of the borough lie on raised ground to the W of Dunamase Castle (LA013-052). Surviving features consist of low earthen banks, faint traces of a N-S hollow way (L. c. 40m, D c. 0.3m), and a rectangular-shaped enclosure (dims. 35m N-S, 46m E-W) defined by a bank (Wth c. 6.7m, int. H c. 0.8m, ext. H c. 0.5m) at N, NE and E and elsewhere by a scarp. No evidence of fosse or original entrance. Possible remains of two small rectangular house platforms to NNE of enclosure plus cultivation ridges. Ringfort to NW. These earthworks mark the site of the borough of Dunamase (Bradley et al. 1981, 24). The placename is derived from Dun-Masc, 'fort of Masc', said to have been built by Cainen Masc (Hogan 1910, 386). In 843-4 Dun Masc was according to the Annals of the Four Masters plundered by the Vikings, resulting in the death of Aedh, abbot of Terryglass and Clonenagh. The site is best known for the great Anglo-Norman castle which crowns the rock of Dunamase (Urban Survey 1986, 22). Dunamase was apparently granted to Strongbow by Diarmait Mac Murchada as part of the dower of his daughter Aoife. It became the most important Anglo-Norman manor in Laois and was retained as demesne land by Strongbow's heirs. For a time after the death of Strongbow and prior to William Marshall's arrival in Ireland, the manor was held by Meiler Fitzhenry (Orpen 1911-20, I, 381). In the partition of Leinster in 1247, Dunamase went to Roger de Mortimer, husband of Maud, William Marshall's grand-daughter (Sweetman 1875-86, ii, no. 933). In 1302 Edmund de Mortimer was given licence to grant the castle and manor of Dunamase to Theobald de Verdon on his marriage with Edmund's daughter, Matilda (Sweetman 1875-86, v. no. 67). From the mid fourteenth century, Dunamase was in Irish hands and the borough probably declined rapidly (Urban Survey 1986, 22). It has long been suggested that the borough of Dunamase is to be indentified with the Newtown of Leys, frequently mentioned in thirteenth and fourteenth century documents (Orpen 1911-20, iii, 104). This identification is not certain however and other places in the county such as Lea Castle (LA005-006-) have been suggested. In the partition of 1247 Roger de Mortimer received the borough of Dunamase (Sweetman 1875-86, ii, no 933) but in the extent made on his death there are no burgage returns for Dunamase. The earliest reference to the Newtown of Leys as a borough occurs in 1232 when it was listed as part of the dower offered by Earl Richard Marshall to the countess of Pembroke (Sweetman 1875-86, I, no. 1950). An inquisition of 1323 recorded that the manor of Dunamase was waste and only a few burgages remained in the Newtown of Leys (Otway-Ruthven 1968, 252). No further references to the borough are known indicating that it declined soon after this date (Urban Survey 1986, 24). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-051002 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on S-facing slope on high ground NW of deserted medieval village (LA013-051001-). Slightly dished circular area (diam. c. 17m) defined by an earth and stone bank (H c. 1m) and external fosse. Fosse (Wth c. 3m) best defined at N. Entrance at NE. Sally's Bower has been previously described as a tree ring (Urban Survey 1986, 24). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-052 Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
  Description

  National Monument No. 615. Known as Dun Masc, the fort of Masc, from Masg, son of Augen Urgruidh, 4th son of Sedha Sithbhaic King of Leinster. It was the stronghold of the O'Mores, Kings of Leix. In 1170 Diarmait MacMurchada gave it to Strongbow, as part of his daughter Aoife's dower and it passed to Roger de Mortimer inthe partition of Leinster in 1247. In 1609 it was granted to Donat O'Brien, earl of Thomond. In 1641 it was taken by Sir Charles Coote but it was recaptured by Eoin Rua O'Neill in 1646. It was dismantled by the Cromwellian generals Hewson and Reynolds in 1650. Sir John Parnell constructed banqueting halls and other buildings here in 1795 (O'Leary 1909-11, 161). Leask states that the castle was built c.1250 by William de Braose, however he had been dead since 1247, when the Marshall lordship was partitioned (Bradley et. al. 1986, 25). An inquisition of De Mortimers lands in 1323 found that the castle had been burned by the Irish, and in 1342, on the death of Laoighseach O Mordha it was recorded that he had destroyed the castrum nobile de Dunmaske and usurped De Mortimers power (O'Leary 1909-11, 165). Dunamase castle is specifically mentioned in the 1538 submission of Piers Mac Maolsheachlainn O Mordha which he made as part of the policy of surrender and regrant (Bradley et. al. 1986, 25). The castle is co-extensive with the rock outcrop and it consists of a Keep with an inner ward, a middle ward with a sallyport in SE side of the curtain wall and a twin-towered gatehouse, an outer ward with gatehouse, and an external traingular shaped bailey (int. dims. 80m by 60m). The keep appears to be the earliest building dating from c. 1220 and may be as early as 1180 (Bradley et. al. 1986, 25). The castle appears to have developed in a number of stages. The initial defences consisted of the rectangular Keep (ext. dims. 19.8m E-W; 21.3m N-S) and the inner ward (wall T 0.9m; H 2.2m) which fortified the summit of the rock. On the 1790 plan of Dunamase Castle drawn by Ledwich, the inner ward was protected by three mural towers of which today only the foundations of one survives at W (Bradley 1986, 28-9). The middle ward was added to this and subsequently the outer ward and its gatehouse, both of which were constructed in the thirteenth century. The middle ward was entered through a twin-bastioned gatehouse located on the E side of the castle. There is evidence for a square mural tower along the curtain wall of the middle ward at S. Wall footings of a rectangular hall along inner face of curtain wall of middle ward just inside gatehouse to N. The outer ward was entered through a gatehouse located at SE side of castle and accessed by a stone causeway which bridged the deep rock cut ditch that defends the castle at S. This causeway is a later feature and replaces an earlier drawbridge which provided access across the rock cut ditch and into the gatehouse of the outer ward (Bradley et. al. 1986, 31). The Keep was substantially remodelled c. 1600 and is the only part of the castle to have been altered in the seventeenth century (Bradley et. al. 1986, 25; Leask 1941, 64-5). Excavations on behalf of the OPW, in and around the barbican gatehouse of the castle, took place over a three-week period in October. At the rear of the gatehouse, a cobbled area was exposed running along the inside of the surviving section of the east curtain wall. This is believed to be the original courtyard level. Analysis of the standing fabric of the gateway showed that this level originally continued out to the rebate for the door towards the front of the passage and that the original road level had been reduced, more or less, to that seen at the start of excavation. At the same time parts of the passage walls were refaced down to the new level. On the outside of the door rebate was a drawbridge pit which was cut into a redeposited clay layer forming the surface to which the road level was cut. The pit was divided into two halves by a stone wall standing to a height of c. 0.8m, which ran out to another wall which closed off the front of the gatehouse. This cross wall was not explored to its full depth but the outer face curved across the opening of the gatehouse and had an external batter. On either side of the passageway at the base of the door rebate was a posthole and these postholes were interpreted as receiving the jambs for the modified gate. There was some evidence to suggest that the gatehouse may have been placed on an earlier earthwork but the short duration of the excavation did not allow this possibility to be pursued further. There was also evidence to show that the gatehouse and surviving portion of the east curtain were built earlier than the west curtain. There was no artefactual evidence to date the various phases of the gatehouse. The existence of a drawbridge pit, a 13th-century introduction, would suggest a mid to late 13th-century date for the building of the barbican, while the modifications to the gatehouse probably post-date the Cromwellian slighting of the castle. The second season of excavations for the OPW concentrated around the inner gatehouse and the adjacent sections of curtain wall. The area excavated included a large area on the inside of the curtain both west and east of the gatehouse, the gatehouse passage, the front of the gatehouse and the area in front of the curtain wall east of the gatehouse. As expected, the gatehouse was found to be square fronted. Three new arrow loops were identified in each of the chambers flanking the gate-passage, and the position of the portcullis was located. There was no trace of any form of drawbridge arrangement. There was, however, evidence that the portcullis slot had been defaced and that, at a slightly later date, a fire had been set in the front of the passage and within the eastern flanking chamber. It appears that there was a period of steady decay both before and after the main phase of dismantling the front of the tower. To the east of the gatehouse an earlier gatehouse was revealed. This was a rectangular stone building measuring 10m by 8m, with opposed openings c. 2m in width set slightly west of centre in the long wall. The walls stand to a height of between 1m and 3m. The defences of this gateway consisted simply of the gate itself, presumably protected from the wall head. The passage rose through the building and there was no evidence to suggest any internal division of the ground floor level and, in the absence of any trace of vaulting, it is believed that the upper floors were wooden. In the second phase of the building, stone batters were added against the south wall on either side of the gate and to the north-east corner of the building. That at the north-east corner was built around a square wooden upright which was possibly part of the wooden stair for access to the upper stories. In the third phase, which is contemporary with the building of the new gatehouse, the gate was blocked off and an arrow loop inserted into the blocking and a second loop cut into the south wall east of the gate. The batter was also continued across the blocking and the north door was narrowed down. At the same time the inside of the building was levelled up with a thick layer of crushed sandstone. The ground level to the north of the building had risen by this time and it was necessary to insert a step down into the building and a drain which ran across the building to open out through the new batter. With the blocking of the early gatehouse the south wall was adapted to become part of the new curtain, while the inside of the building seems to have been used for ancillary purposes. For a time it appears to have been a smithy and then for a short while it was divided into three, with raised platforms at either end. Then, at a time when its roof is believed to have been off, a circular daubed wicker structure c. 2.8m in diameter was inserted into the north-west corner. The function of this is not clear, but char

• LA013-109 Barrow - unclassified
  Description

  Low subcircular mound of earth (max. basal dims N-S c. 9m; H 0.75m-1m) situated 120m SSW of ringfort (LA013:051002-) on W facing slope of hill. Not marked on any edition of OS 6-inch map. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-121 Deer park
  Description

  The curving field boundaries to the NW of Dunamase Castle (LA013-052) form a large roughly circular enclosed area which may follow the line of the boundary wall or ditch of the medieval deerpark of Dunamase Castle (SMR File 2002, pers. comm. B Hodkinson). According to O'Hanlon 'the park or chase of this remarkable feudal fortress extended towards the west and lay immediately under frowning summits of limestone rock. Some traces of a walled enclosure may still be seen, and also several copsewood thickets, on rugged eminences, within this boundary' (O'Hanlon 1870, 72). In 1283 the extent of Roger de Mortimer's lands at Dunamase included 'the mountain pasture and the pasture in the park' (CDI vol.2, 466). According to Murphy and O'Conor the boundaries of the townland of park 'in places curve in a deer-park like fashion. Furthermore, two other townlands called Park Lower and Park Upper occur on high rocky ground to the east of the castle' (Murphy and O'Conor 2006, 63). This would place the medieval deerpark in the townlands of Park Upper and Lower located to the E of the castle which is in a different location to the site suggested by O'Hanlon and Hodkinson. It is possible that the townlands of Park Upper and Lower are post-medieval in date replacing the medieval deerpark to the W of the castle. Alternatively it is possible that there were two medieval deerparks at Dunamase, one of which was located to the W of the castle and a second park to the E of the castle (Murphy and O'Conor 2006, 65). Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload / revision : 16 August 2010

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Park or Dunamase.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

About 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility high, moderately high, moderately low, low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Park or Dunamase.

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Park or Dunamase with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Laois.

Name

Park or Dunamase · Carraig na Páirce nó Dún Másc

Area

1,366,161 m² (136.62 ha, 337.59 acres)

Civil parish

Dysartenos, and its townlands

Barony

Maryborough East

Electoral division

Ballycarroll, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Ballycarroll electoral division: 398 people in 130 households; 91% of households own their home; 33% of homes were built since 2001; 6% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 1% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Aghnahily, Aghnahily Bog, Ballycarroll, Dysart

Placenames

Park or Dunamase on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.