Mael Rua's Rock

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Mael Rua's Rock
Caiseal Maeil Ruadh
England-Saint-Michaels-Mount-1900-1.jpg
LocationTyrmidra, Maltropia
History
BuilderMael Rua Mac Conchobar
Founded1220s
PeriodsBronze Age, Middle Ages, Modern

Mael Rua's Rock (Irish: Caiseal Maeil Ruadh, Mael Rua's ringfort) is an ancient site in central Maltropia and a former royal seat of the Uí Midire. It stands on the northern boundary of Na hÍsle, an extensive region of sand flats lying between Tyrmidra and Montrose. Evidence for human habitation on the small tidal island dates to the middle of the second millennium BC. The current structure, a castle on top of the island, was erected in the 1220s by Mael Rua Mac Conchobar and includes a fourteenth-century chapel within its walls. Most of the structures on the island were refurbished or rebuilt in the nineteenth century. It is now a national monument.