Rock of Dunamase

Dunamase is a limestone crag rising about forty-five metres from flat Laois farmland, fortified since at least the ninth century - a Viking raid on it is recorded in 845 - and rebuilt as a Norman castle after it came to Strongbow with Aoife MacMurrough as part of her dowry, then to William Marshal. It commands a view over the plain in every direction, which was the point. In 1650 Cromwellian forces under Hewson and Reynolds slighted it with explosives to stop it being used again, and what remains is exactly that: a ruined gatehouse, barbican, curtain walls and the shell of a great hall, in broken condition on the rock. Nothing has been rebuilt. Access is free and unstaffed, up a steep grassy path through the gates, and the ground on top is uneven with unfenced drops. The view takes in the Slieve Bloom Mountains west and the plain in all directions.

History

Dunamase appears among the landmarks on Ptolemy's map of 140, and excavations in the 1990s showed that the rock was first settled in the 9th century, when a hill fort was built here; the Vikings of Dublin attacked it in 845, and the castle was built in the second half of the 12th century (Wikipedia, Dunamase).

Highlights

• The slighted ruins - gatehouse, barbican and hall, blown up in 1650.
• The crag - forty-five metres of limestone above flat farmland.
• The all-round view - the plain, and the Slieve Blooms to the west.
• The layers - fortified from the ninth century through the Norman period.

When to go

April to October. The grass path is slippery when wet and the summit is exposed. Early or late light suits the ruins.

Before you go

Unstaffed and unfenced - loose masonry, uneven ground and open drops on the rock. Steep climb from the car park. No facilities and minimal interpretation. Not suitable in poor weather.

Nearby

Portlaoise is west; Stradbally and the Steam Museum are east.

Key facts