Mullaghcloe

Area

20,616 m² (2.06 ha, 5.09 acres)

Buildings

No building touches it.

Zoning

No zone of a development plan covers it in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply.

Townland

Mullaghcloe

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

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 this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 3 recorded monuments.

• WM024-034 Religious house - Augustinian canons
  Description

  There are doubts about the Ordnance Survey designation of this monument which records that these buildings marked the site of 'Plary Monastery' which was an Augustinian priory of the non conventual order dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Costello 1909, 82) and known as 'Clary alias Loughsewdy'. In 1682 Sir Henry Piers recorded that the Priory of Ballymore was located on the same site as the nunnery (WM024-181----) of Lough Sewdy which would place the priory in a different location to the site marked on the OS 6-inch map. The abbey building is depicted on the 1656 Down Survey map of Ballymore parish (NLI MS 723-4) where it is shown located on the E side of the River which runs S from Lough Sewdy. On the 1656 Down Survey map of Rathconrath barony the 'ruinous abby' is depicted standing inside a D-shaped enclosure or field boundary on the E side of the river (NLI MS 723-4). On this map of Rathconrath barony a large building is shown standing in the field to the W of the river which corresponds with the upstanding building today. If the 1656 Down Survey is correct the monastery was located in the adjoining fields to the SE of the current location. If the monastery was located to the E of the river then the ruins at 'Plary Monastery' would represent the probable remains of Lough Sewdy Castle (WM024-182----). The terrier of the 1656 Down Survey map of Ballymore parish states that 'on the lands of Balllimore stands the ruins of an old abby and a ruined church (WM034-005----) there is also a towne (WM034-179----)' (NLI MS 723-4). The Urban Survey of Westmeath (Bradley et. al. 1985, 69) concluded that the remains of the buildings marked in this field as 'Plary Monastery' were in fact the remains of a stone castle (WM024-182---) which had been mistakenly identified by the Ordnance Survey as the site of the Augustinian Priory of Plary/Lough Sewdy. These masonry remains probably represents the building depicted on the 1656 Down Survey map of Rathconrath barony. According to the Urban Survey of Westmeath (Bradley et. al. 1985, 68-9) the founder and date of the foundation of this monastery are unknown but Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 153) suggest that it was established about the middle of the thirteenth century. In 1306 the ecclesiastical taxation of Ireland valued the ‘Temporalities de Cary’ as worth 30s a year (Cal. doc. Ire., 258). Gwynn & Hadcock (1970, 153) stated that there 'was a priory of Cistercian nuns here (WM024-181----) and about a half a mile from it a priory of Augustinian canons. The latter seems to have been small, with only a few canons who possibly acted as chaplains to the nuns, and it may have been connected with Tristernagh priory, which had land in Loughsewdy in the mid-thirteenth century. Gerald or Thomas, son of Nicholas Lord of Kerry, who died 1324, was prior. The mon.[astery] was burned by Cathal Og O'Conor in 1363 and by the O'Kelly family in 1394. In 1395 there is a reference in the Calendar of Papal Letters to the 'Augustinian prior and convent of Dristenach [Tristernagh] and in the similar gift of the Augustinian prioress and convent of Lochsed[Loughsewdy], in the diocese of Meath' (Cal. papal letters 4, 513). In 1508 there is a reference to William O’Daly, Prior of St. Mary’s, Loughseudy, of the order of Regular Canons of St. Austin (Costello 1909, 104). On 8 Oct. 1540, they reported from statements of the late prior, Thomas Tuyt, that there was a ruinous church, and a small stone belfry on the 1-acre site, while the possessions included 9 carucates and 3 q[ua]r[ter]s. with the tithes of 11 rectories. In 1541 the crown granted Thomas Tuite, ‘late prior of B.V.M. of Loughsewdy; of a pension of £4, issuing out of the rectories of S. Patrick of Mymor and Clonkyshe’ (Nicholls 1994, 25). In 1542 a 21 year lease was issued to Walter Tirrell, a Dublin merchant ‘of the site of the priory of loghsewde’ (Nicholls 1994, 37). In 1542/3 the crown granted ‘Hugh Dale, conventual person of the late priory of the B.V.M. of Loghsewde; of a pension of 26s 8d. out of the possessions of the priory’ (Nicholls 1994, 39). In 1545 three churches of Tristernagh were appropriated to the newly created cathedral of Loghsewdy or Ballymore. In 1542 the 'abbey' had a church with belfry, a dormitory, hall, three chambers, kitchen and two stables. A lease to Francis Shaen in 1593 includes the priory of Clare (r. Plare), al. Loughseaudy [Lough Sewdy], val. £18' (Gwynn & Hadcock 1970, 160). In 1597 the crown regranted an 86 year lease to Francis Shaen of Ballymore Loughsewdy ‘of the site of the priory of the B. V. M. of Clary alias Loughsewdy’ (Nicholls 1994, 300). In 1612/13 King James I granted Sir Francis Shane ‘the late monastery or priory of the B. V. Mary of Clarie otherwise Loghsewdy, with all the site thereof, a church and steeple, with other buildings, containing 1a of the great country measure, and a large garden near the said site, Clonibane, 1 plowland, containing 120a of the great measure; Farrenecrosse otherwise Crosse-lands, 4 plowlands, with the tithes thereof’ (Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Jas I, 244). In 1682 Sir Henry Piers described the priory as ‘adjoining to this town is the old dissolved monastery of Plary; here was formerly both a friary and nunnery (WM024-181----), but in separated buildings, both of the Cistercian order; the land hereunto belonging are said to belong to the bishop of Meath, yet are witholden from the see, either by the adventurer, or the Lord Netterville' (Vallancey 1786, 79-80). According to the Urban Survey of Westmeath (Bradley et. al. 1985, 69) the 'site marked on the Ordnance Survey maps as Plary is the one pointed out to O'Donovan in 1837 but there are difficulties in the identification. The surviving remains seem to be those of a castle (WM024-182----) rather than a monastery and O'Donovan was troubled by this because he remarks that 'though it presents all the appearances of a strong military tower, [it] is insisted on by tradition to be a part of the monastery of 'Plary' (Walsh 1957, 16)'. Described in 2009 as 'Directly south of the village of Ballymore and Lough Sewdy is the small ruined tower held as a Jacobite outpost. It represents the surviving ruins of Plary Monastery as marked on the 1837 and 1910 editions of the OS 6-inch map. A newly built housing estate has encroached somewhat on the visual aspect of this site, although the tower itself remains greenfield'.(Report on the Battlefield of Ballymore Co. Westmeath 2009, 10). The site of a medieval church (WM024-005----) is located 446m to the north, while a 17th century bastioned fort (WM024-004001-) and an Anglo-Norman motte (WM024-004----) are located 700m and 985m to the north respectively. The clustered settlement of Ballymore (WM024-179----) is located 210m to the north. In 1598 Brian O'Rorke destroyed Ballymore Castle and its fortifications when he had wasted the country from the borders of Annaly to Mullingar and then westwards to Ballymore (Butler 1942, 73). It is not clear if these ruins represent the remains of an Augustinian priory or the remains of a castle as it is depicted on George Story's sketch map of Ballymore 1691 as 'The round Castle' where it is illustrated as a circular shaped castle with the ruins of a structure immediately to the east of the circular castle (Story 1693, 318). According to Story in 1691 the 'a Serjeant and fifteen men being in an old Castle nigh a quarter of a mile to the south-west of the Fort [WM024-004001-), after all hopes of being relieved, was cut off; the Serjeant fired upon some of our men and killed one or two, for which, as soon as the Castle was surrendered, he was hanged, (Story 1693, 88-9). Although these remains are indicated as 'Plary Monastery (in Ruins)' on the ordnance survey 6-inch map this designation appears to be a mistake and are in fact the remains of a circular tower house. No ecclesiastical buildings are indicated in this area on George Story's sketch map of Ballymore

• WM024-182 Castle - tower house
  Description

  This building represents the remains of 'The round Castle' depicted on a sketch plan of the village of Ballymore dating from 1691 (Story 1693, 88). The Ordnance Survey map incorrectly identifies the present ruins of a castle as that of 'Plary Monastery' (WM024-034----) which was located in the field to the E of the river and 150m SE of the castle ruins. The precise site of the monastery to the E of the river has not been identified but it was located in the fields adjoining the river to the E. On the 1656 Down Survey map of Rathconrath barony a 'ruinous abby' (WM024-034----) is depicted standing inside a D-shaped enclosure or field boundary on the E side of the river (NLI MS 723-4). On this map of Rathconrath barony a large building or castle is shown standing in the field to the W of the river which corresponds with the upstanding remains of the castle. In 1606 King James I granted John Wakeman ‘the castle (WM034-182----) of Balleemore-Loughsewdie, and 4 carucates of land adjoining, of which the town of Balleemore-Loughsewdie is parcel, and all the islands, fishings, mills, and weirs thereon-a Wednesday market, and a fair on the 4th, 5th, and 6th Oct. at Balleemore-Loughsewdie’ (Cal. pat. Rolls Jas. I, 90). The ruins of a 15th/16th century circular tower (int. diam. 3.8m; wall T 2.3m) standing two storeys high but originally taller with wall footings of an adjoining building and possible bawn (WM024-182001-) can be seen standing on top of a low rise of ground with good views in all directions. Medieval settlement (WM024-179----) of Ballymore with medieval church (WM024-005---) and graveyard (WM024-005001-) 175m and 450m to N respectively. Site of ‘Plary Monastery’ (WM024-034----) in field c. 150-200m to E. In 1691 this building was described as 'an old Castle nigh a quarter of a Mile [400m] to the South-West of the Fort (WM024-004001-)' (Story 1693, 88). Present remains consist of a circular tower standing two storeys high the walls of which was constructed with coursed rubble limestone rising from a low protruding foundation plinth (H 0.35m; Wth 0.27m), the walls are straight sided with no evidence of a base batter visible. The circular-shaped ground floor of the tower was entered through a broken out doorway (Wth 1.7m) at SSE, with remains of a drawbar slot (dims. 0.12m x 0.12m) visible in W face of doorway opening. Directly inside the entrance to the W are the remains of a mural stairs (Wth 0.77m) which gives access to the upper floors of the tower. The ground floor of the tower is covered by a stone vaulted roof (H 1.8m) rising from E-W with two rectangular openings visible in the underside of the vaulted roof just inside the entrance to this chamber. The nib holes for the supporting timber centring of the vault can be seen just below the springing of the arch in the E face. The ground floor is lit by two slit opes which are set into two different embrasures with different arches and set at different heights. The slit ope in the N wall is intact externally and is faced with undressed rubble which is set into a pointed arched embrasure (int. Wth 0.86m; H 1.15m) set high (H 1.9m) above the floor of the chamber. The external face of the second slit ope located in the W face of the ground floor no longer survives. This slit ope is set into a flat headed embrasure (Wth 0.69m; H 1.15m) which is set at a different height (H 1m) above the surface of the ground floor compared to the embrasure in the N face. There is no evidence of any window in the E face of the ground floor chamber. The poorly preserved first floor is accessed off the mural stairs which continues to rise above the first floor to give access to a destroyed second floor or wall walk level. At first floor level there are the remains of a broken out window embrasure visible in the E face and a possible broken out embrasure in the S face. A wall cupboard or niche is visible in the W face of the first floor chamber. The mural stairs is lit by a series of flat headed slit opes now visible as broken out openings. Traces of wicker centring can be seen on the underside of the roof of the mural stairs indicating a late medieval date for this stairs and presumably for the circular tower. The masonry of the external E face of the tower has been torn away where the walls of an adjoining building was attached. The S (H 1m; L 6.65m; wall T 0.9m) and E (H 0.6m; L 4.5m) walls of this adjoining building can be seen to the E of the upstanding tower. There are no visible remains of the N wall of this adjoining building. This building appears to have been one storey high as there are the remains of broken out window visible at first floor level in the E wall of the circular tower. The grass covered wall footings of a possible bawn (dims. c. 22m E-W) can be seen to the S (L 22m; wall T 0.8m; H 0.3m) and E (L 4.65m) of the tower and adjoining building. A gap (Wth 1.9m) in the S wall of this possible bawn may represent the entrance or gateway into the bawn of the castle. There is no evidence for the wall footings of the bawn on the N or W side of the circular tower. The Urban Survey of Westmeath (Bradley et. al. 1985, 66-7) recorded the following: 'The function of this building has not been fully established. Identified on the O.S. map as Plary Monastery (WM024-034----) (i.e. the Augustinian priory of St. Mary) the remains have none of the features of a religious house. The earliest clear reference to the structure is in 1690, during the siege of Ballymore, when it is described simply as a 'round stone castle' (Murtagh 1974-5, 244). The identification with Plary Monastery is based on a local tradition recorded by O'Donovan in 1837 but his letter suggests that he was not entirely convinced: 'no remains of any buildings are visible except one small round castle, which, though it presents all the appearances of a strong military tower, it insisted upon by tradition to be part of the monastery of Plary' (Walsh 1957, 16). If this local tradition was correct it is all the more surprising that Woods, a resident of Ballymore, should have described the building as 'Ballymore Castle' in his Annals of Westmeath, published in 1907 (Woods 1907, 197). Architecturally the structure is difficult to date. It was badly slighted in the 1690 siege and lacks diagnostic architectural features. The circular plan and the wall thickness are consistent with a late twelfth or early thirteenth century donjon but the small arrow loops on the ground floor are more typical of the fifteenth century. There is no evidence that these loops are insertions and this suggests that the the structure is late medieval and is best interpreted as a round tower house. For whom it was built, an Irish lord or a religious house, can only be determined by excavation. The remains consist of a ruined drum tower and footings. The tower has a base batter and was probably storeyed originally but only two floors now survive. It is built of roughly coursed masonry. The walls are 2.15m thick on average and the internal diameter is 3.9m. The tower is entered at ground floor level from the south through a large hole lacking any splay or jambs. It opens into a round chamber with a pointed barrell vault. Two arrow loops open to the north and north-west: these have flat lintelled rear arches and are deeply splayed internally. The angle of the roof vault appears to have necessitated the thickening of the north wall internally and the insertion of a round arch over the north arrow loop. Close to the door there are two holes in the roof. The first floor is reached by a mural stairs on the west of the entrance. The stair is barrel vaulted and lit by narrow rectangular windows with internal splay. The floor is filled with the debris from the collapsed upper parts of the tower. The internal wall faces are lacking but it probably had a large window in both the south and east walls. The stair appears to have continued

• WM024-182001 Bawn
  Description

  The ruins of a 15th/16th century circular tower (WM024-182----) standing two storeys high but originally taller with wall footings of an adjoining building and possible bawncan be seen standing on top of a low rise of ground with good views in all directions. Medieval settlement (WM024-179----) of Ballymore with medieval church (WM024-005---) and graveyard (WM024-005001-) 175m and 450m to N respectively. Site of ‘Plary Monastery’ (WM024-034----) in field c. 150-200m to E. Present remains consist of a circular tower standing two storeys high the walls of which was constructed with coursed rubble limestone rising from a low protruding foundation plinth. The masonry of the external E face of the tower has been torn away where the walls of an adjoining building was attached. The S (H 1m; L 6.65m; wall T 0.9m) and E (H 0.6m; L 4.5m) walls of this adjoining building can be seen to the E of the upstanding tower. There are no visible remains of the N wall of this adjoining building. This building appears to have been one storey high as there are the remains of broken out window visible at first floor level in the E wall of the circular tower. The grass covered wall footings of a possible bawn (dims. c. 22m E-W) can be seen to the S (L 22m; wall T 0.8m; H 0.3m) and E (L 4.65m) of the tower and adjoining building. A gap (Wth 1.9m) in the S wall of this possible bawn may represent the entrance or gateway into the bawn of the castle. There is no evidence for the wall footings of the bawn on the N or W side of the circular tower. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 28 August 2014

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).

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