THE ROCK OF DUNAMASE |
The Rock of Dunamase, known as "Dún Masc", 'the fort of Masc', from Masg, son of Augen Urgruidh, 4th son of Sedha Sithbhaic King of Leinster, its ruins date back many hundreds of years. The Rock stands 46m tall in the heart of what is otherwise a flat plain, and was ideal as a defensive position with its view right up to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Excavations in the 1990s demonstrated that the Rock was first settled in the 9th century when a fort or dun was constructed on the site. In 845 the Vikings of Dublin attacked the site and the abbot of Terryglass was killed there. The castle was built in the second half of the 12th century. Who built it is not recorded, but Meyler FitzHenry is the most likely candidate. Strongbow is another possibility, as it was he who controlled Leinster as heir of Dermot McMurrough. |