Rathvilly Moat is a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Rathvilly Moat is located in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Knockroe about 1 km east of

Rathvilly Rathvilly () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. Rathvill ...

village, east of the

River Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), b ...

History and archaeology

The moat of Rathvilly was the residence of Crimthann mac Énnai, an Uí Cheinnselaig

King of Leinster The kings of Leinster ( ga, Rí Laighín), ruled from the establishment of Leinster during the Irish Iron Age, until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasio ...

, who reigned c. 443–483 and was baptised by Saint Patrick. The placename means "ringfort of the

sacred tree A sacred tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Greek, Hindu mythology, Celtic and Germanic mythologies ...

"; a ''bile'' was sacred to a certain family or ancestral group, and destroying an enemy clan's ''bile'' was a common act of war.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Carlow National Monuments in County Carlow