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Dunnamona
Dún na Móna
Motte at Dunnamona, Co. Westmeath - geograph.org.uk - 946491.jpg
Dunnamona is located in Ireland
Dunnamona
Location in Ireland
Location Dunnamona, Drumraney,
County Westmeath, Ireland
Region Tethbae
Coordinates 53°29′58″N 7°47′01″W / 53.499548°N 7.783629°W / 53.499548; -7.783629
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
Designations
National Monument of Ireland
Official name Dunnamona
Reference no. 560

Dunnamona is a motte-and-bailey and National Monument in County Westmeath, Ireland.

Location

Dunnamona motte is located next to a tributary of the Owenacharra River, 4.7 km (2.9 mi) east of Tubberclare.

History and archaeology

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.

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