Dunamase
Dunamase | |
---|---|
Dún Másc | |
Location | County Laois, Ireland |
Built | c. 9th century |
Official name | Dunamase Castle |
Reference no. | 615[1] |
Dunamase or the Rock of Dunamase (
History
Excavations in the 1990s demonstrated that the Rock was first settled in the 9th century when a
The castle was built in the second half of the 12th century.[citation needed]
When the Normans arrived in Ireland in the late 12th century, Dunamase became the most important
Later, with the marriage of Strongbow and Aoife's daughter and heir, Isabel, the castle passed into the hands of the Marshal family.
From the 1400s and until the 16th century it was part of the land of the powerful O'More (now Moore or Ó Mórdha) family who ruled the county of County Laois for several hundreds of years until the 16th century when they faced great opposition from the English. Rory O'More famously resisted the English. Hence, County Laois today is still nicknamed "The O'Moore County". The O'More's move from Laois to new lands is so memorialised in a 19th-century poem, Transplanted, by William O'Neill:
But vain I wait and listen for Rory Og is dead,
And in the halls of Dunamase a Saxon rules instead,
And o'er his fruitful acres the stranger now is lord
Where since the days of Cuchorb a proud O'Moore kept ward.
The castle was notably owned by,
References
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2013) |
- Hodkinson, Brian (2003). "A summary of recent work at the Rock of Dunamase, Co. Laois". In Kenyon, John R.; O'Conor, Kieran (eds.). The Medieval Castle in Ireland and Wales. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 9781851827268.
- Hodkinson, B.J. (2003). "The Sources for the History of Dunamase Castle". Laois Heritage Society Journal (1).
Notes
- ^ "National Monuments of County Laois in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 1. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Dunamase". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib19.