Mortimer's Castle

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Mortimer's Castle
Native name
Irish: Caisleán De Moirtiméir
Fahatty Castle
The Old Court
Mortimer's Castle.jpg
Ink drawing by the Rev. William Falkiner, 1902. [1]
Type Castle
Location Faughalstown, County Westmeath, Ireland
Coordinates 53°38′55″N7°20′29″W / 53.648607°N 7.341412°W / 53.648607; -7.341412 Coordinates: 53°38′55″N7°20′29″W / 53.648607°N 7.341412°W / 53.648607; -7.341412
Area Inny Valley
Built14th/15th century
Architectural style(s) Anglo-Norman
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Mortimer's Castle in Ireland
Official nameMortimer's Castle
Reference no.610 [2]

Mortimer's Castle is a castle and National Monument located in County Westmeath, Ireland. [3]

Contents

Location

Mortimer's Castle is located on the east bank of Lough Derravaragh, 4.4 km (2.7 mi) southwest of Castlepollard.

History

The castle is believed to derive its name from Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374–98), who was Henry IV's Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for the last three years of his life, before dying in an ambush at Kells, County Meath (or maybe Kells, County Kilkenny or Kellistown, County Carlow). [4] [1]

Other accounts connect it with Edmund de Mortimer, 5th Earl of March and 7th Earl of Ulster (1391–1425), who was born at New Forest near Tyrrellspass.

A local legend said that a large amount of gold was buried in a cellar on the site, guarded by a black cat. [5]

Building

A large Anglo-Norman castle stood on the site, 52 m × 125 m (57 yd × 137 yd) in dimensions. The remains of a two-storey stone tower are in the northwest corner. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Mortimer's Castle, L. Derravaragh. Aug.5.02". 5 August 1902.
  2. "National Monuments of County Westmeath in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 1. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. Rice, Eoghan (2005). "myth and memory on an Irish lake: UCD archaeologists discover the past" (PDF). UCD Connections. No. 10. University College Dublin.
  4. "Areas of historical interest".
  5. "The Schools' Collection » Faughalstown".
  6. O'Sullivan, Aidan (March 2004). The social and ideological role of crannogs in early medieval Ireland (PDF) (Ph.D.). Vol. 1. Department Of Modern History, National University of Ireland Maynooth.