Moyry Castle

The very striking ruin of Moyry Castle is a must see if you find yourself visiting any of the many sites in County Armagh.
The castle was built by Lord Mountjoy in 1601.
The castle had great importance as it was built to help oversee and secure the ancient route between Leinster and Ulster.

Among the features of the castle are rounded corners, many gun loops and a drop hole positioned above the doorway.
The walls of the castle are over a meter in thickness with the only remaining part of the outer wall close to 3 meters in height.

The inner of the castle is a shell with no sign of a stairway.

Access - The castle is very visible as a result of being built on a hill.
Parking can be a bit tricky as the surrounding roads are quite narrow. 

 

Ballykeel Portal Tomb

The superb Ballykeel Portal Tomb is just one of those magical sites that you will spend a lot longer than intended at.

The tomb which is of the tripod type has two upright portal stones with one back stone supporting the very large capstone.
The huge capstone is close to 3 meters in length and the two portal stones near 2 meters in height.

Some remains of the once large cairn that the tomb sits in can still be seen with several stones dotted around the enclosure.

The tomb was excavated in 1965.
Extensive restoration work was carried out on the tomb which had partly collapsed.

If your lucky enough to visit Legannany Portal Tomb you will notice a lot of similarity with both structures, but the capstone at Ballykeel is far more impressive.

Access - The site is a short drive from the M1and is well signposted from a couple of directions, parking is OK but the roads are narrow.

Ballymacdermot Court Tomb

This court tomb dates from about 3500BC and has three separate burial chambers which were entered from the forecourt.

This site was excavated in 1962 and a few fragments of cremated bone were found in the two larger chambers.

The setting for this site could not be better with fantastic views, you are also very close to Balllykeel Portal Tomb.