Remains of O'Neill castle uncovered in NI

Remains of a medieval castle believed to be one of the first built in Ulster have been uncovered in a former Co Tyrone military base.

They are thought to date back to the early 14th Century and to have been built by Irish chieftain Domnall O’Neill.

Archaeologists have examined the site in the centre of Dungannon and recovered thousands of artefacts, but it has now disappeared under tonnes of concrete in preparation for development.

While the sealing of the site will preserve the remains, it prevents further exploration.

Dr Tom McNeill, of the medieval history department at Queen’s University Belfast, said today a chance to fully look at an important part of Northern Ireland’s past was being missed.

Because of the site’s role as a security base for decades no one had been able to gain access.

Now after a brief glimpse it was unlikely it would be properly excavated again for another generation, he said.

Dr McNeill, who visited the site during the excavations, added: “It is in many ways an opportunity seriously missed to have a look properly at what is there.”

The site at Castle Hill is currently being vacated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which had accommodation barracks there.

The local council is understood to be negotiating to take over the site, owned by the Orange Order, and turn it into a town park.

Castle Hill in Dungannon has long been pinpointed by historians as the location of the O’Neill stronghold, dating back to the 10th century, but contemporary references to the castle are few.

Dr McNeill said: “There are a few one-line references in 15th century documents. You would get one and then there would be another one 20 years later”.

He said: “Put together they indicate that there was an O’Neill castle in the area.”

The discovery of the ancient remains came during excavations for the erection of a communications mast ahead of the PSNI departure.

During the work, contractors uncovered a two-metre stretch of ancient wall. Given the level of historical interest in the site Northern Ireland Archaeological Consultancy were drafted in to examine the area that was to be affected by the building work.

Site director Robert Chapple said the team of archaeologists recovered some 4,000 artefacts dating from the late medieval to post-medieval periods.

The medieval features included a defensive wall which, though damaged, bore “significant resemblance” to some ancillary defences shown on a well known map dating back to 1602, he said.

At least two castles are thought to have been built by the O’Neills before the Flight of the Earls in 1607 when Hugh O’Neill left Ireland for exile in Italy after being stripped of his Kingship by the English crown.

Following the flight the land was taken over by another leading family who built their own castle on the site, before it was destroyed and replaced with a gentleman’s residence.

Mr Chapple said pieces which came from each structure had been recovered during the dig.

But with the closure of the site a potential archaeological goldmine will remain unexplored for the foreseeable future.