Ballyloughan Castle

This vast ruins of Ballylouhan Castle can be found just a short drive from the R724 off the main Bagenalstown  Fenagh road.
Like the nearby Ballymoon Castle very little is known about the history of Ballyloughan.
What is known or thought is that it was probably built in the 13th century.
The owners were probably the Kavanagh family who were prominent in Carlow at that time.
The fully enclosed site would have had four towers and it is though that the castle was originally surrounded by a moat.
The stand out feature of this site is the gatehouse. (From the inside you can climb to an upper level.)
Access; the castle is on private land but is well signposted from the surrounding area.
The road/lane which brings you up to the castle is quite narrow so park as close as you can to the entrance.   
   

Kilfeaghan Portal Tomb

Located about a mile off the A1 on a farm is the impressive Kilfeaghan Portal Tomb.

The real star of this site is the massive capstone, 2.5 meters long by 1.5 meters in thickness.
The capstone is said to weigh around the 35 ton mark, it rests on two portal stones which have been driven into the ground by the sheer weight of this beast of a capstone.

The tomb rests on top of a large cairn (which was mostly covered in grass on the morning of my visit).
For a better idea of the size of the cairn check this link to Jim Dempsey's great Megalithic Ireland web site.

Access - this tomb is very easy to find and is well sign posted, a walkway is provided from the farm gate.  

Dunmoe Castle

    

This great looking castle ruin sits overlooking the Boyne river.
The castle was built in the 15th Century and was home to the D'arcy family.
The original castle would have had four round turrets (only two survive).
The castle was four storeys high, with the bottom two floors vaulted.
During the Cromwellian invasion the castle was fired upon in 1649, but avoided major damage.
Fire was this castles undoing during the 1798 rebellion.
Access can be gained down a lane just off the N51.
(If visiting in winter sensible footwear will be needed as the field the leads you to the ruin can resemble a quagmire.)   

Ardmulchan Church

This is the very striking tower of Ardmulchan church.
It stands overlooking the sweeping Boyne river with Dunmoe castle visible in the far distance. 
Ardmulchan derives its name from Ard Maelchon, "Maelchu's Hill".
The tower seems to stand to its full height and can be climbed almost half of the way up-on a very uneven stairway.
The church is dated over 500 years.
Mass continued to be celebrated here as late as 1613.
All around the tower is a mix of graves some very recent and some ancient.
The site also has graves from the Great Famine.
It is claimed that the cemetery wall that surrounds the tower was built with the stones of a nearby destroyed castle. 

Ballymoon Castle

Ballymoon Castle is a castle without history.
What is known, based on its design, it was probably built between 1290 and 1310. 
It is thought that the builders were the Carew family who were very active in the area at that time.
The castle is 24 meters by 24 meters, with the granite walls rising to an impressive 6 meters with the thickness being close to 2.5 meters.
The outer walls were once believed to have walk ways, but nothing remains of them today.
Three square towers project from sides while the fourth has a gatehouse as its feature.
The interior of the courtyard is now bare, but markings of fireplaces along with gun loops and arrow slits all remain.
Their is considerable weight given to the thought that the castle may never have been finished.
All I can say is that on a fine day you will not wish yourself anywhere else.
This site is quite simply superb and along with other castles close by, you truly will lose yourself in the past.  
The site is well signposted and can be found just off the R724 about 3.5 kilometres from Bagnelstown.

Armoy Round Tower

This is the the Round Tower of Armoy which stands in the grounds of St. Patrick's Parish Church.
The tower is about 11 meters high and has three storeys.
The entrance door is now 1.6 meters above ground level, this would have been much higher but burials over the last few century's have seen the ground rise.    
The tower (11th/12th Century) is all that remains of an early monastery which was founded about AD 460 by Saint Olcán, a disciple of Saint Patrick.
At the time  Armoy was the main religious settlement in the Irish part of the kingdom of Dál.

Carbury Castle

This striking ruin sits over looking the village of Carbury.
The original castle may have been built in the 14th Century by the de Bermingham family.
The four chimney stacks are believed to have been added in the 17th Century along with some large mullioned windows.
The outer walls still stand strong, but if you go inside the ruin be careful as the inside is not so sturdy.
To the south of the castle is a graveyard, which has one wall of a church and a Mausoleum belonging to the Colley family who carried out all the later work on the castle.