Mayne

Anglo-Norman Motte

Since the 12th century Norman motte or motte and bailey castles have been a huge feature of the Irish landscape, the vast majority are located in the eastern half of the country. There are 433 mottes listed on the national monuments website, 175 of these had a bailey connected to it. There are possibly, a further 144 mottes present in Northern Ireland, of the 31 mottes in County Louth, 18 of them have a bailey attached.

The motte at Mayne is situated on church lands. At a lot of the motte sites we have visited you will find a church not too far away. The wall in the images below is the boundary wall of Mayne church graveyard. Unfortunately the flat-topped motte at Mayne is in very poor condition. Standing about four metres in height, this relatively small monument has been damaged on three sides, the east side by a building structure that has since been removed. There is no evidence of a bailey being present at this site.