Threecastles Motte

On a prominent E-W ridge running along the S bank of the River Nore, which lies c. 120m to the N. The slight elevation gives a commanding view across the Nore valley in all directions and over a fording point of the river. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 267) the origin of the medieval name for Threecastles of 'Odagh' derives from the Ui Duach tribe whose lands here where taken by the Anglo-Normans and, 'under the name of the Manor of Odogh, was made part of the Lordship of Leinster, granted to Earl Strongbow by Henry II'. The initial castle erected here was the motte.

It consists of a very large flat-topped conical mound (top diam. c. 55m; H 9m to base of fosse) enclosed by a fosse (D c. 2m) on the S side but is not evident on the N side where the ground slopes gradually down towards the river. A lime-kiln has been built into the outer face of the fosse in the S sector. Carrigan (ibid. 268), notes that the 'top surface of the moat has been remodelled in recent times [late 19th century] and all its ancient features have been obliterated'. This is evident on the top of the mound which is covered with a maze of pathways (Wth c. 2m) between banks and platforms of earth (H 1.5-2.5m) and there is a small castellated folly on the N side. The sides of the motte have also been landscaped, forming a series of steep slopes and flat narrow terraces (Wth 2m).