The buildings are situated on a raised mound, 3-4m in height, which makes the fort similar in profile to a low Norman motte. Surrounding the mound was a wide fosse (ditch) and an earth & stone bank. This was followed by a second outer fosse, and traces remain of a second outer bank too. Nowadays, the entrance to the fort is not obvious, but there would more than likely have been a causeway through both fosses and stairway up the side of the mound. The name ‘Dún na Sciath’ means ‘Fort of the Shields‘, so these have been added to the outside of the palisade for decoration.
Dún na Sciath, the Fort of the Shields, and the nearby crannog of Cró Inis on Lough Ennell, near Mullingar, made up the physical residence of the kings of Mide from the 8th to 11th centuries.1
The Clann Cholmáin, or O’Melaghlins as they later became known, ruled Mide from the fortress of Dún na Sciath on the edge of Lough Ennell. This multivallate ‘platform ringfort’ was similar in style to a Norman motte and was built on a ridge overlooking the crannog on the lake below. It had a wide ditch at the base of the platform with an earth and stone bank outside this, followed by another ditch and an external bank.2 Cró Inis was situated just 200m away and was likely used as a secondary dwelling or strategic refuge in times of attack.3 Unusually for crannogs, this was protected by a double palisade, with the outer palisade being placed in the water away from the shore so as to create an extra defensive ring around the island. Together, the ringfort and crannog offered considerable protection for the ruling king.
The Clann Cholmáin resided at Rathnew Fort on Uisneach Hill before relocating to the area around Lough Ennell around the 8th or 9th century.4 This move was likely done due to a combination of both strategic and economic reasons. At this time Mide was being pillaged by the Vikings and the Clann Cholmáin faced an open rebellion from the Gailenga who were plundering the countryside from Lough Ramor in Virginia.5 By establishing themselves near rivers and lakes, Clann Cholmáin could control access into and around the midlands along with having easy passage to the monasteries of Dysart, Durrow and Tehelly.6
The outer ‘post palisade’ was erected in the early 9th century and had a large opening facing the shoreline. It was thicker in certain places than in others, possibly from being reinforced at exposed locations over the years. A split-oak ‘plank palisade’ was added in the early 12th century which suggests that the crannog was refortified during this period. During the 15th century a tower house castle was built in the centre of the island.
As the River Shannon passed through Mide, however, it left Clann Cholmáin’s western flank vulnerable to attack. In the late 10th century during the struggle for dominance between Brian Boru and Malachy 2nd, Boru sailed a fleet of Viking ships right into the Mide heartland and ravaged it. This would be repeated throughout the turbulent 11th century when Mide found itself a pawn in the provincial wars.
By the 12th century Durrow seems to have replaced Dún na Sciath as the residence of choice for at least some of the O’Melaghlins kings,7 though the area around Lough Ennell still retained importance. This is where the O’Lochlainn king of the northern Uí Néill came to receive hostages in AD1154,8 and around this time Cró Inis was re-fortified following a Connacht invasion of Mide. Out of the two sites, Cró Inis sems to have been occupied longer and was resided in until the end of the medieval period.9
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References
- John Channing, ‘Politics, wealth and expansion: the archaeology of a multiperiod enclosure at Rochfort Demesne, Co. Westmeath’ in J. O’Sullivan & M. Stanley Bray (eds) New Routes to the Past: Proceedings of a public seminar on archaeological discoveries on National Road Schemes (Dubin, 2007), pp. 119-120
- National Monuments Service, Monument WM025-145, Available at https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment (Sep. 4, 2021)
- Clare Downham, ‘The Vikings in Southern Uí Néill until 1014’ in Peritia, Vols. 17-18, Medieval Academy of Ireland (2003-2004), p. 248
- Aidan O’Sullivan, ‘The social and ideological role of crannogs in Early Medieval Ireland’, Vol. 1, PHD Thesis, Department of Modern History, NUI Maynooth (March, 2004), p. 229
- The Annals of Ulster, Year 847.3, Available at https://celt.ucc.ie (Feb. 23, 2022)
- Elva Johnston, Literacy and Identity in Early Medieval Ireland (Woodbridge, 2013), p. 64
- Mark Joseph Zumbuhl, ‘The practice of Irish kingship in the central Middle Ages’, PHD Thesis, University of Glasgow (April, 2005), pp. 50-51
- Annals of the Four Masters, M1153.13, Avaliable at https://celt.ucc.ie (Jun. 11, 2022)
- Eamonn P. Kelly, ‘Some recent observations on Irish Lake Dwellings’ in C. Karkov l and R. Farrell (eds) Studies in Insular Art and Archaeology, American Early Medieval Studies, Vol. 1 (Oxford, 1991), p. 92