An Móta

Moate derives its Irish name An Móta from the Norman motte-and-bailey fortification constructed here during the late 12th-century Anglo-Norman invasion. The term 'móta' refers to a raised earthen mound or moat, a defensive structure still visible behind main street buildings today. For much of the medieval period, the O'Melaghlin (later McLoughlin) family, descended from the 10th-century High K...