King Mesgegra's Mound is a motte and ancient Irish royal site located in Clane,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Ireland.

Location

King Mesgegra's Mound is located south of Clane, 160 metres (540 ft) northwest of a fording point on the River Liffey.

History and archaeology

According to Ulster Cycle legends, Mesgegra, King of Leinster, confronted the Ulster warrior Conall Cernach at the ford in Clane. Conall beheaded Mesgegra at the bullaun stone and placed his head in the hollow. Mesgegra's body was buried under King Mesgegra's Mound, while his head was buried at Mainham, north of Clane, along with his wife Buan. This story is recounted in '' Tallaind Etair'' ("The Siege of Howth") in the 12th-century Book of Leinster. The mound was later built on in the 12th century by the Normans who took control of Clane, probably by

Richard de Hereford Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'str ...

. Sunday's Well, a

warm spring ''Warm Spring'' () is a 2003 Chinese film produced by Shanxi Film Studio. Wulan Tana was the director and writer of this film which won her the Golden Rooster Award for Best Directorial Debut in 2003. The film was also named one of three Bes ...

now covered over, is at its base. At 13 °C (55 °F), it is one of only ten such springs in Ireland.

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Kildare