The huge earthwork on
this site is the finest motte and bailey castle in Ulster. It is
situated at the apex of a loop in the Lagan River. Droim Mór means
“great ridge” and from the top of the Mound (Motte) there is a
wonderful view in every direction, especially to Slieve Croob and
the Mournes where you can see how effectively the castle commanded
the valley route to the east.
The castle was built
on the outskirts of the town in about 1200AD, around the time that
Dromore became the seat of a Bishop. This Anglo-Norman castle is
the only substantial medieval Monument left in the
province.
During the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ulster, started by John de
Courcy in 1177, the invaders built scores of castles across their
newly acquired territory to secure lines of communication,
especially valley routes. Not many were built of stone, mostly they
were mottes, flat topped mounds of earth thrown up at strategic
places with wooden stockades on the summit, and some had a bailey,
a kind of lower level annex, usually square or rectangular in
shape.
The area is accessed by leaving the town centre via Mount Street
at the SE corner of the square, continue up the hill and the site
is situated on the right hand side at the top of the hill. No long
walks required, you can park your car adjacent to the entrance, but
I would recommend that you continue past the entrance for
approximately 100-150m to a small lay-bye, before the factory. The
cache is a regular size tab-locked box wrapped in black plastic,
situated in a pretty obvious place, therefore no need for a
hint.
Please
take the time to explore the grounds of the site, climb to the top
of the motte and take in the view of the surrounding
countryside.