Where is the inauguration mound of the O'Carrolls?

Inauguration of the O'Neill on 1602 map of Ulster by Richard Bartlett

Following on from my previous post on the possible O'Carroll inauguration mound at Moatquarter, new information has came to light suggesting it is unlikely to be it.

This paper (below) by Paul MacCotter deals with the site at Moatquarter and disagrees with Elizabeth Fitzpatricks assessment of Moatquarter as a possible inauguration mound.

The M7 motorway historical landscape: studies in the history of Ikerrin and Elyocarroll

One of the main points is that he disagrees with Elizabeth Fitzpatrick's location of the mound mentioned in "The History of the Diocese of Killaloe" by Gwynn & Gleeson as being at Moatquarter. If you read the paper he says (pg 51)

"As is from reading Gwynn, the motte he speaks about is not that of Moatquarter but that at Dunkerrin to the north, and it is this motte that the tradition must refer to."

Motte at Frankfort to the east of Dunkerring village - Copyright - OSI

Another point Fitzpatrick used in arguing for Moatquarter was that the mound and nearby church at Dromroe were in different parishes.

MacCotter says this "is inaccurate..... both lay in the same parish in the 17th century."

He then goes on to say that it may in fact be possible to find the location of the mound. He refers to a reference to a pre-invasion royal site of the O'Carrolls in a poem known as Dún Enaigh.

From this he seems to give three potential areas - Rathenny (which is meant to be an alias for Dún Enaigh), and the Cullenwaine / Templeharry areas which may have been the royal estate associated with Dún Enaigh. So from my reading of the paper he seems to think that the likely location of an O'Carroll inauguration mound is within these areas.

I did a review of the 37 townlands within Cullenwaine / Templeharry as to the monuments within each.

Templeharry		Ballintemple			House & fulacht fia
		Ballydonagh			No records
		Brickanagh			Enclosure
		Clonymohan			5 ring-forts & destoyed castle
		Cloonalisk			Designed landscape feature
		Cloonaloughan			No records
		Emmel			No records
		Emmel East			Ringfort
		Emmel West			2 ring-forts, enclosure, castle & house
		Foxburrow			No records
		Gorraun			Megalithic Tomb
		Graffan		x	Graveyard on hill & house - two ringforts in the townland
		Knockbrack			No records
		Knockearl		x	No records
Cullenwaine		Armyhill			No records
		Ballingorraun			Ringfort & enclosure
		Ballinlough			Castle ringfort & enclosure
		Ballycormick			Ringfort & enclosure
		Ballynakill			No records
		Barnagrotty		x	Motte
		Brownstown			No records
		Clynoe			Ringfort & enclosure
		Cullenwaine		x	Graveyard, church, mound, castle, ring-forts, enclosure
		Glaskill			Ringfort & enclosure
		Glendine		x	Motte
		Island			No records
		Knockaspur			No records
		Knockbane			Moated site & ringfort
		Lisdavuck			Ringfort
		Loyer			Designed landscape feature & enclosure
		Moneygall			ringfort, fulachta fia, metalworking, burial ground
		Rath			enclosure
		Rathenny		x	enclosure
		Rathmoyle		x	ringfort 2 banks
		Rosdrehid			No records
		Silverhill			No records
		Snugborough			No records

My rough analysis from the Sites and Monuments Records suggests that the townlands above marked with an x seem to be the most likely sites for an inauguration mound (based on the existing monuments within). An interesting townland with no recorded sites is Knockearl just south of Cloughjordan town which going on placename evidence alone has been included.

It may be that one of these monuments is known by the local name of Dún Enaigh. The simplest solution would be that the enclosure within Rathenny townland was it but from reading the description it doesn't appear as such "No surface remains of any enclosure of archaeological significance, potential enclosure possible identified from aerial photographs taken in 1973 (GSI R 90; S 87). Of doubtful antiquity."