Duneel

47 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Duneel, from 95 m² to 351,504 m² (35.15 ha, 86.86 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 18 neighbouring parcels touch it.

No zone of a development plan covers Duneel 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.

• 11 Jul 2019Conditional

  to construct a house, septic tank and domestic garage

  Permission, 1 home · Westmeath County Council, 197143

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

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: Ballymore Fen SAC 002313

Recorded monuments

• WM017-092 Souterrain
  Description

  Situated on a ridge, in undulating, hilly pasture. Monument not depicted on any OS historic maps. Described in 1984 as the entrance to a souterrain which has been blocked up. The location would have been suitable for a ringfort. Souterrain not visible on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 20 December 2018

• WM024-009 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated just S of the summit of a prominent hill, in pasture with excellent views to E and SW. Monument described in 1971 as an oval-shaped area (33m N-S; 28.8m E-W) enclosed by a low poorly preserved bank and shallow external fosse best visible from WSW-W-NNW. The scarp and a portion of the interior have been quarried away from S-SW-WSW. There is a slight gap (Wth at top 8m; basal Wth 3.6m) in the bank at E, however this may not be the original entrance. The interior has a very gentle N-facing slope and a small area of rock outcrop toward the centre. See attached profile of monument surveyed and drawn by the ASI. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 30 July 2019

• WM024-010 Castle - ringwork
  Description

  Situated on a slight natural rise, in low-lying wet pasture. Bivallate ringwork described in 1971 as a roughly circular-shaped area enclosed by an inner bank, an intervening fosse, an outer bank and an external fosse with entrance gap at SE . The earthen banks are both large and widely spaced with the slight remains of a fosse outside each. Both banks are gapped in places and the ground is disturbed by quarrying outside the inner bank at SE. The monument is bisected by a modern field fence running ENE-WSW. The site of Doon Castle (WM024-010001-) is located within the S half of the interior. Circular ringwork appears to form the bawn or courtyard of Doon Castle. Outline of monument clearly visible on oblique aerial photographs (CUCAP AOY093/094)taken 12/07/1966. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 30 July 2019

• WM024-010001 Castle - unclassified
  Description

  Situated on a slight natural rise, in low-lying, wet pasture. Depicted on the 1913 ed. OS 6-inch map as ‘Doon Castle (Site of)’. Monument described in 1971 as a large subrectangular-shaped enclosure located within the S half of ringwork (WM024-010----). It is enclosed by a low, broad grass-covered bank and divided internally by faint traces of a grass-covered earth and stone bank. Outline of monument clearly visible on oblique aerial photographs (CUCAP AOY093/094)taken 12/07/1966. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 30 July 2019

• WM024-011 Castle - tower house
  Description

  Situated in a farmyard, in gently undulating pasture. Tower House type castle depicted in 'Dooneild' on Down Survey map of Killare parish (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of this parish map stated that in 'Clare, Dooneild, Rathskeagh, Killinbrack, Bishopsland Ballikenny on each of them stands a Castle' (ibid.). On this map the castle is shown standing on lands belonging to Richard Dalton in 1640. Depicted on the 1837 OS 6-inch map as a rectangular-shaped structure annotated ‘Duneel Castle’. Monument described in 1978 as a number of wall fragments some of which are incorporated into field fences. A relatively well-preserved portion of wall (approx. H 2m) is visible at the SW corner. The outer face of this wall is missing and the core is exposed. The inner face inclines gently inwards which may signify the springing of a barrel vault. On the side of the laneway there is a large piece of cut stone which appears to be part of a doorway. There is no other cut stone visible and there are no obvious earthworks noted within the vicinity. Possible tower house. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 30 July 2019

• WM024-205 Enclosure - large enclosure
  Description

  Oblique aerial photograph from the Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs (CUCAP AOY093) dating from the late 1960s, taken from the north-east, the site of Doon Castle with the circular earthwork (WM024-010----) around it, is in clear view. The possible large enclosure is visible at background left, where it appears as an oval-shaped field, its slightly rounded profile raised somewhat above the surrounding land. The OS 6-inch and 25-inch maps of 1838 and 1913 show the outline of a possible large oval enclosure at Duneel, the curving double-line at top of the 1838 map mirrors the curving crop/grass mark on the aerial photograph.  The approximate dimensions of the possible enclosure are 255m north-south by 110m east-west, and as the 25-inch map indicates, it covers an area of approximately 5.8 acres (2.34 hectares). The large oval field may be no more than a natural drumlin delimited by a field boundary: it is notable that it has roughly the same footprint and orientation as Duneel Hill, 1km to the north-west. But for the curving double-line on the 1838 OS map, it is in many respects unremarkable.   Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on report submitted by archaeologist, Paul Gosling.   Date of Compilation: 10 November 2025

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. 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).

No address of the register names Duneel with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Westmeath.

Name

Duneel

Area

1,749,899 m² (174.99 ha, 432.41 acres)

Civil parish

Killare, and its townlands

Barony

Rathconrath

Electoral division

Templepatrick, the unit of the census

Neighbouring townlands

Ballydavid, Ballymacallen, Clonboy Or Ballinacor, Clonnalynagh, Killeenboy, Maddadoo, Mullaghcloe, Rathskeagh Upper

Placenames

Duneel on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, 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.