Laragh

69 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Laragh, from 38 m² to 362,325 m² (36.23 ha, 89.53 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 35 neighbouring parcels touch it.

No zone of a development plan covers Laragh 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.

• 30 Apr 2026Conditional

  construction of a new dwelling, domestic garage, septic tank & percolation area, new road entrance and all ancillary site works

  Permission, 1 home · Westmeath County Council, 2660224

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

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Laragh.

Recorded monuments

• WM031-057001 Castle - tower house
  Description

  Situated on a small, low ridge running N-S, in pasture, with good views in all directions. Laragh Castle ruins stand in the NW quadrant of a possible earth and stone bawn (WM031-057002-). Depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a large rectangular-shaped building (long-axis N-S) standing on the N side of a triangular-shaped earthwork or enclosure. The earthwork is shown on the revised 1910 ed. OS 25-inch map as a circular-shaped earthwork, with a only a stretch of the S wall of the castle upstanding along with a short return on SW angle. Laragh castle is depicted as a tower house type structure on the 1654-56 Down Survey map of Moycashel barony (NLI, MS 723-4). According to Cox (1969, 67 and 81), ‘Melaghlin, Lord of Kenaleagh, was murdered in 1478 in the Castle of Laragh. Connla Bui Geoghegan was said to be the last occupant of the castle, some remains of which existed in the last century. Monument described in 1980 as the ruin of a long rectangular-shaped building which is defined by the upstanding remains of the S wall (L 11m; T 1.1m; max. H 6m) and SW corner. The walls are built of roughly coursed undressed limestone comprising of small sized boulders bonded with mortar. The slight remains of wall footings defined the line of the N wall. There is a small quarry depression just outside the projected line of the E wall. The S wall is about three stories high and there are the remains of a partly blocked window or doorway at ground level and two large window openings at first floor level. These window openings have round heads and an internal splay with the remains of some plaster. The E end of the ground floor level is approx. 1.75m lower than the remainder of the interior and may be the remains of a cellar. There may have been a vault over the ground floor but this is uncertain. The wall narrows at first floor level, forming a ledge which supported the first floor joists. There are no decorated or cut stones visible in the surviving ruin. This appears to be the remains of a 16th or 17th century house which may have been built on a ringfort. Partially levelled castle ruins visible today standing inside circular-shaped enclosure with triangular-shaped earthwork attached to SE side on Digital Globe aerial photography. Laragh Castle and bawn described by Salter (2004, 151) as following; 'A D-shaped bawn [WM031-057002-] platform 28m across extends 20m to the south of the two storey high 12m long south wall 1.8m thick of a McGeoghegan tower beside a public road'. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 21 November 2019

• WM031-057002 Bawn
  Description

  Situated on a small, low ridge running N-S, in pasture, with good views in all directions. The remains of Laragh Castle (WM031-057001-) are visible in the NW quadrant. Depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a triangular-shaped earthwork with pointed top forming the SE corner. Shown on the 1910 ed. OS 25-inch map as a subcircular-shaped earthwork (approx. dims. 34m NE-SW; 28m NW-SE) which is cut by the public road across the N sector. Monument described in 1980 as a roughly circular-shaped earthwork enclosed by the remains of a low bank best preserved from WSW-W-WNW. A field bank running NW-SE cuts close to the perimeter of the earthwork at SW and the public road cuts the N sector. A low mound of stones lies near the base of the bank at E. There is an enclosure at the base of the bank at S. There is an outer scarp at SE and S and this continues as an outer fosse at W. The ground is disturbed to E and S of the earthwork. There are faint traces of a low scarp running to SSW from the bank at SE, which may have formed the E side of the triangular-shaped enclosure/earthwork shown on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map. This may have been a ringfort that was reused as a bailey or bawn of Laragh Castle. Monument is visible today as a partially tree-lined circular-shaped earthwork with triangular-shaped bastion type feature attached to SE on Digital Globe aerial photography. Laragh Castle (WM031-057001-) and bawn described by Salter (2004, 151) as following; 'A D-shaped bawn platform 28m across extends 20m to the south of the two storey high 12m long south wall 1.8m thick of a McGeoghegan tower beside a public road'. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 21 November 2019

• WM031-080 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a slight rise, in pasture, with good views to E, W and towards Knockastia to N. Ringfort (WM031-081----) lies c. 55m to SE. Monument described in 1977 as a roughly circular-shaped area (diam. 29m) enclosed by an earthen bank and a potential external fosse. The bank is best preserved from NNE-NE-ENE, from SSW-SW-WSW and from WNW-NW-NNW and it is absent from E-ESE-SE-SSE. There are traces of a possible fosse from NW-N-NE-ENE. A low bank is visible from NW-N-NE-ENE outside the fosse, but this seems to be a later feature and possibly part of an old field boundary. A modern field bank runs roughly NW-SE past the edge of the site at E. There are shallow gaps in the bank from NW-N and NE, although there is no indication of an original entrance. The interior is fairly level across the NW half and has a gentle SE-facing slope across the remainder. There are no obvious features visible. Monument is visible today as a roughly circular-shaped tree-lined earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 22 November 2019

• WM031-081 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a rise (360ft/110m OD), in pasture, with good views of Knockastia to N. Overlooking ringfort (WM031-080----) which lies c. 55m to NW. Depicted on the 1910 ed. OS 25-inch map as a roughly oval-shaped earthwork cut across the E sector by a post-1700 field boundary running NNW-SSE. Monument described in 1977 as a roughly oval-shaped area (dims. 32m N-S; approx. 26.5m E-W) enclosed by an earthen bank. The bank is higher from WSW-W-NW-N-NE than elsewhere. The field fence shown on the 1913 OS map has been removed recently and the whole perimeter is disturbed across the E sector and the material pushed to the edge of the site on the S where another field fence runs roughly E-W past the site. There is also a small mound of earth and stones just inside the perimeter at S. A public road runs roughly NW-SE past the site a short distance to SW. There is no indication of an original entrance. Monument is visible today as a roughly C-shaped, tree and hedge-lined earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 22 November 2019

• WM031-082 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a rise (300ft/91m OD), in pasture, with restricted views in most directions. Depicted on the 1910 ed. OS 25-inch map as a roughly oval-shaped earthwork (dims. 27.5m NW-SE; max. 29m NE-SW) cut across the NW sector by a slightly curvilinear field boundary running approx. NE-SW. Monument described in 1979 as an oval-shaped area enclosed by a bank, an intervening berm and an outer scarp. The inner earth and stone bank is low and poorly preserved where it is visible from SE-S and is otherwise reduced to a scarp. An intervening berm (Wth 11m at E; Wth 16m at NE; Wth 20m at SW) is visible from NNE-E-S-SW. An outer scarp is visible from NE-E-S-W and is incorporated in a field boundary from N-NE. There is no sign of an entrance. The interior rises slightly from the perimeter towards the centre and appears to be featureless. Monument is visible today as a tree-covered earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 22 November 2019

Architectural heritage

• House, 1840–1880 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c.1860. Hipped natural slate roof with cast-iron rainwater goods and a pair of rendered chimneystacks to the centre. Rendered walls with square-headed window openings having stone sills and two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows. Wrought-iron security bars to ground floor openings. Central square-headed doorcase to main façade (north) having a timber panelled door with a plain overlight above. Set back from road in mature grounds to the east of Rosemount.

• Bridge, 1850–1900 · Regional interest
  Description

  Single-arched railway bridge, built c.1851 and altered c.1890, carrying road over former Midland Great Western Railway Mullingar to Galway line. No longer in active use. Constructed of rusticated limestone with later steel and wrought-iron deck added c.1890. Located to the east of Rosemount.

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).

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

Name

Laragh

Area

2,530,893 m² (253.09 ha, 625.4 acres)

Civil parish

Kilcumreragh, and its townlands

Barony

Moycashel

Electoral division

Kilcumreragh, the unit of the census

Neighbouring townlands

Brackagh (Co. Offaly), Corgarve, Curraghanana (Co. Offaly), Derryhall, Kilcumreragh, Killeenycallaghan, Lisnagree, Lissavra Little, Newtown (Co. Offaly), Syonan

Placenames

Laragh 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.