Dún na Móna | |||||||||
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Location | Dunnamona, Drumraney, County Westmeath, Ireland |
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Region | Tethbae | ||||||||
Coordinates | 53°29′58″N 7°47′01″W / 53.499548°N 7.783629°WCoordinates: 53°29′58″N 7°47′01″W / 53.499548°N 7.783629°W | ||||||||
Type | motte | ||||||||
Diameter | 36 m (118 ft) | ||||||||
Height | 9 metres (30 ft) | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
Builder | Dillon family | ||||||||
Material | earth | ||||||||
Founded | 12th century | ||||||||
Periods | Norman Ireland | ||||||||
Cultures | Cambro-Norman, Old English | ||||||||
Site notes | |||||||||
Public access | yes | ||||||||
Designation |
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Designations | |
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Official name | Dunnamona |
Reference no. | 560 |
Dunnamona is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Dunnamona motte is located next to a tributary of the Owenacharra River, 4.7 km (2.9 mi) east of Tubberclare.
Motte-and-bailey castles were a primitive type of castle built by the Norman invasion, a mound of earth topped by a wooden palisade. This region, known as Tethbae, was allotted to the Dillon family, descendants of Sir Henry de Leon (c. 1176 – 1244). They built the motte at Dunnamona ("hillfort of peat") as well as another at Drumraney, later abandoning the mottes for permanent stone castles.