Site of Castle, Scurlockstown, Co. Meath

The location forms part of a medieval landscape that includes a motte 160 metres to the northwest and a parish church 150 metres to the west. According to the Civil Survey of 1654-6, the property belonged to Gerrott Leynes in 1640 and comprised 268 acres with a castle, two mills, and several cottages.

The castle itself was once an impressive fortified tower house, described by the antiquarian William Wilde in 1849 as a square tower flanked by two projecting circular towers that housed staircases. Today, only grass-covered stone mounds mark where this structure once stood. Archaeological excavations in 2001 and 2003 revealed the wider settlement that surrounded the castle; a stable and other buildings were discovered about 40 metres south and southwest, whilst a kiln and another structure were found 80 and 100 metres away respectively. The remnants of what may have been the castle's associated field system can still be traced about 300 metres to the east.

The excavated features have been carefully preserved beneath protective geotextile and topsoil, ensuring that future generations can continue to study this important medieval site. Whilst the tower house itself has vanished, the archaeological evidence paints a picture of a thriving manorial centre that once controlled this strategic position along the Boyne valley, complete with agricultural infrastructure, domestic buildings, and the mills that would have been vital to the local economy.