Mweelra

2 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Mweelra, from 34,682 m² (3.47 ha, 8.57 acres) to 335,232 m² (33.52 ha, 82.84 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 9 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 Mweelra 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.

No planning application touches the townland of Mweelra 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 the townland of Mweelra.

Recorded monuments

• WM024-030 Barrow - stepped barrow
  Description

  Surveyed in 2013 and described by McGuinness (2014, 57) as following: 'Roughly circular earthwork (Diam. 41m N-S x 37m E-W) comprising a low, poorly defined circular mound or platform (Diam. 19.4m N-S x 18.2m E-W) surrounded by a lower, berm-like feature ranging in width (from base of inner mound to external ground level) from 9m on S side to 12.5m on N side, and up to 1.2m in height on W side; overall height of monument reaches up to 2.5m above ground level on W side. Inner mound rises up to 1.6m above berm on SE side, being much higher on S than on N side. Limestone boulders protrude from the monument at various places, a very large split one lying at the junction of berm and inner mound or platform on SE side. To SE of centre of monument is a tiny irregular mound, apparently limestone boulders covered by a thin layer of soil. Cutting 5m into SW edge of berm but extending beyond it is an oval stone-filled depression, about 7m in width at edge of berm; this appears to be of relatively recent origin (limekiln?). Monument has been identified as a ringfort in the RMP and as an ‘Earthwork’ by Schot (2006, Fig. 2), but seems better classified as a stepped barrow. Barrow lies on NE spur of Hill of Ushnagh, E of a point midway between mound-barrow in Mweelra (WM024-173----) to S and ringfort and associated mound in Togherstown (WM024-025----) to N. Immediately E of monument is a linear feature running NNE-SSW, which appears to comprise a grassed-over wall with what appears to be a gate (a huge block of stone forming one gatepost), but farther SSW this wall or bank appears to have been flattened and has the appearance of a low, linear causeway. This feature, which runs for many hundreds of metres to N of site, appears from aerial photograph on ASI website to end about 150m to S of barrow, possibly at a large oval enclosure. It is clear from this aerial photograph that the linear feature swerves slightly to E to avoid the barrow'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by David McGuinness. Date of upload: 23 February 2015

• WM024-064002 Ritual site - pond
  Description

  Lough Lugh is a small lake located in a slight hollow (166m above sea-level) between the western and eastern summits of Uisneach, at the approximate centre of the monument complex (WM024-177----). The lake has been identified as Loch Lugborta where, according to early Irish tradition, the god Lug was drowned by the mythical trio, Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Greine and subsequently buried in a cairn nearby (Schot 2011; Schot 2010, 5; Gwynn 1924, 278-81). The lake measures c.80m N/S by 60m E/W and has a floating vegetation mat at its centre. Its associated mythology and comparison with similar bodies of water at other royal centres, such as within the Navan Complex, Co. Armagh, suggest that the lake might have been a ritual focus in prehistory. Recent palaeoenvironmental investigations, involving a study of the lake sediments and the fossilised remains of insects and pollen, have shown that the lake has an interesting and complex history (Schot et al. 2014; McGinley et al. 2015). A lake was present here at the end of the last ice age, some 12,000 years ago, but it began to develop into a marsh before 8,000BC. Sometime later, possibly in the late prehistoric or early medieval period, the accumulated sediments were dug out to restore open water conditions. The existing lake, therefore, is the combined result of natural processes and human endeavour and may have been created as a ritual pond and/or as a watering hole for livestock (ibid.). See attached photo (WM024-064002-_01) provided by Dr. Roseanne Schot Compiled by: Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of upload: 08 May 2019

• WM024-173 Barrow - mound barrow
  Description

  Surveyed in 2013 and described by McGuinness (2014, 56) as following: 'Sharply defined circular tumulus (Diam. 15.5m N-S x 15.6m E-W) with irregular stony cap containing protruding boulders close to ESE side. Mound rises up to 2m in height above surrounding ground on NW side, its stony cap being up to 0.51m in height. Protruding boulders are visible at various points around the edge of the mound, with a row of them on the S side; it is unclear whether these are natural or form part of a kerb. On NE side of mound is a low, subrectangular projection (L. 3.5m; W. 3m) with boulders along its E side. A second low projection on W side might represent spill from mound. This mound appears to have been shaped from a natural landform. Tumulus was excavated by Macalister and Praeger after hearing a story that it ‘had been violated in comparatively recent times, and that a cist had been found within it’; they ‘trenched through the mound’ but ‘no evidence was found by us to shew that such a structure had ever existed’. The only feature they noted, aside from a rusty iron hook just under the sod and a broken quartzite pebble close to NNE edge of mound, was as follows: At one place within and near the top of the mound the stones seemed to have been laid intentionally, in an arc 25’ [c. 7.6m] in diameter, surrounding the centre; but nothing was found within it. No account of the excavation was provided, so it is unclear where their trench was dug or whether they accurately reconstructed the monument afterwards. Geophysical prospection by Roseanne Schot in 2005 and 2009, indicates that an arc of ditch surviving to N of the barrow originally formed part of an enormous hilltop enclosure (WM024-187----), defined by a rock-cut ditch and containing the barrow, which encircled the eastern summit of the Hill of Ushnagh (Schot 2010, 6). 4m-wide gap in enclosure at ENE, defined by the inwardly curved ends of the ditch, indicates an entrance aligned on the centrally positioned barrow. Barrow lies near E end of broad summit of Hill of Ushnagh, directly N of the conjoined, figure-of-eight-shaped early medieval fort excavated by Macalister and Praeger, and precisely on a line that takes in part of the ancient avenue approaching this fort from the S and continues on to the Togherstown ringfort and tumulus at the north end of the Uisneach complex. There is a small, shallow pond 21m to N; farther N again is a larger kettle-hole lake, beyond which is another barrow (WM024-030----). Frewin Hill (WM011-131----) and Knockdrin (WM012-032----), sites of hilltop barrows (McGuinness 2012, 28, 34-5), are visible to NE and ENE respectively'. In 2009 a geophysical survey was undertaken in the field enclosing the mound barrow and the results were described as following; 'A prominent mound (WM024-173----), 1.7m high and about 20m in diameter, crowns the summit of the hill and is probably the monument identified in Dindshenchas as Carn Lugdach or the Sidan, where the god Lugh is said to have been buried after being drowned in the nearby lake (Schot, forthcoming; Gwynn 1924, 278-9). The reported discovery of a cist within the mound sometime prior to the 1920s (Macalister and Praeger 1928, 83) suggests that this may be a bowl-barrow of early Bronze Age date. Magnetic gradiometry survey conducted around the mound in 2005 revealed a host of previously unrecorded archaeological features, including a curvilinear feature that was suspected to form part of a large enclosure encircling the eastern summit of the hill (Schot 2005). Evidenced as an arc-shaped, positive magnetic band curving from north to southeast across the western part of the surveyed area, this feature corresponds with a broad, shallow depression skirting the edge of the elevated plateau overlooking Lough Lugh (WM024-064002-), to the east, but exhibits no obvious surface trace elsewhere. Nevertheless, its geophysical and topographical signature suggested it to be an in-filled ditch, and the survey in Area 2 was undertaken to ascertain the extent and potential significance of this feature and to broaden the investigation of the eastern summit. Area 2 comprises an L-shaped extension to the area investigated in 2005, and encompasses lands of approximately 1.3ha, with maximum dimensions 170m east-west by 140m north-south' (Schot 2010, 6). Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by David McGuinness and Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of revised upload: 09 May 2019

• WM024-187 Hilltop enclosure
  Description

  The largest monument at Uisneach, this enclosure is defined by a curvilinear ditch measuring nearly 200m in diameter and straddles three adjoining townlands on the E summit of the Hill (Schot 2010, 8-9; Schot 2011). A prominent mound (WM024-173---) crowns the gently rounded rise at the centre of the enclosure, while on the SW the enclosure overlooks Lough Lugh (WM024-064002-), which lies c.50m downslope. The SW sector of the enclosure was first recorded by geophysical survey in 2005 and a segment of its silted-up ditch can still be traced as a broad, shallow depression curving from NNW to SE near Lough Lugh. Further survey in 2009 revealed the full extent of the enclosure, which is sub-circular in plan (ibid., 103–4). The NW sector of the enclosure and portions of its S perimeter underlie, and are now obscured by, the townland boundary walls that divide Mweelra from Ushnagh Hill and Rathnew, respectively. For most of its circuit, however, the enclosure is evidenced geophysically as a curvilinear band of positive magnetic gradient, 2m in average width. Although the ditch appears to have been relatively substantial, and may be rock-cut, no traces of an accompanying bank have been identified. The magnetic signature of the enclosure on the E and SE is notably weaker than elsewhere along its circuit, probably as a result of extensive ploughing in this area in recent centuries. Notwithstanding this disturbance, the entrance to the enclosure is clearly discernible on the NE, and comprises a gap, c.4m wide, defined on the N by a distinctive, inward-curving terminal. Several other, narrower, breaches are also apparent elsewhere in the line of the enclosure; however it is uncertain whether these are deliberate features. They may, for example, be the result of later disturbance or could simply reflect the presence of different (non-magnetic) fills in the ditch. Some half a dozen pit-type features, 1-2m in diameter, were recorded at various points along the line of the enclosure and may mark the location of post-pits or deposits placed in the ditch. In addition to the mound (WM024-173---) at its centre, several ring-ditches and a large number of pits were recorded by geophysical survey inside and surrounding the enclosure, as were a range of other potentially significant, but less clearly defined, features. Comparison with the large-scale ceremonial enclosures at other prehistoric assembly places, including the royal centres of Tara, Navan Fort and Rathcroghan, suggests a late prehistoric (possibly Iron Age) date for this hilltop enclosure (ibid., 104). Compiled by: Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of upload: 08 May 2019

• WM024-197 Ring-ditch
  Description

  This small ring-ditch was recorded by geophysical survey c.20m NE of the hilltop enclosure (WM024-187----) in 2009 (Schot 2009; 2011). The ditch is defined by a discontinuous circular band of positive magnetic values, c.1m in maximum width and 7m in diameter, with several pit-type anomalies along its circuit. A large pit-type feature lies at the centre of the enclosed area and other possible pits varying from 1m to 2.5m in diameter surround the ring-ditch on the W, E and S. Traces of another possible ring-ditch were recorded c.6m to the S. Compiled by: Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of upload: 08 May 2019

• WM024-198 Ring-ditch
  Description

  Identified by geophysical survey in 2005, this ring-ditch is located on a low rise in the western sector of the hilltop enclosure (WM024-187----), approximately 65m SW of the mound (WM024-173---) (Schot 2005; 2011). It is evidenced as a semi-circular band of positive magnetic values, extending clockwise from N to SE, and has a projected diameter of c.9m. A possible pit lies at the centre of the ring-ditch, which is flanked on the N by an area of strong magnetic responses and several ill-defined linear and curvilinear features which are likely to be of archaeological origin. Compiled by: Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of upload: 08 May 2019

• WM024-199 Ring-ditch
  Description

  This small, sub-circular enclosure was identified by geophysical survey in 2005 and appears to be a partly ploughed-out ring-ditch (Schot 2005; 2011). Located in the SW quadrant of the hilltop enclosure (WM024-187----), c.70m SW of the mound (WM024-173----), it is defined by fragmented linear and pit-type responses and measures c.8.5m in maximum diameter. Compiled by: Dr. Roseanne Schot Date of upload: 08 May 2019

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Mweelra.

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 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility low, on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Mweelra.

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 Mweelra with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Westmeath.

Name

Mweelra

Area

369,915 m² (36.99 ha, 91.41 acres)

Civil parish

Conry, and its townlands

Barony

Rathconrath

Electoral division

Ballymorin, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Ballymorin electoral division: 389 people in 126 households; 89% of households own their home; 35% of homes were built since 2001; 1% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 3% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Rathnew, Togherstown, Ushnagh Hill

Placenames

Mweelra 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.