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habitants retired towards the Shannon, and ftrengthening them- 

 felves in great numbers in that rough part of the covmtry, which 

 is known at this day by the name of The Woods, and is ftill 

 much encumbered with bogs, fteep hills, rocks, ftreams and 

 flirubby ground. Here the natives made fland, and headed by 

 tue chiefs of the country, principally the Macgeoghegans and 

 O'Malones, began to repel the invaders, and for feveral centuries 

 maintained their independency under their ancient laws. This 

 obliged the Englifh to fortify their frontiers with long trenches, 

 forts and caftles ; and although we have no authentic records of 

 the conflldls that enfued between the Britifli and Irifli in this 

 part of the country, yet the military works that remain here 

 fuiEciently fliew the efforts of one party to regain, and of the 

 other to defend, that large portion of Meath that was within the 

 Englifli pale. The ancient doon or moat of Ardnorcher feems 

 to have prefented itfelf to De Lacy as a ftrong link in his chain of 

 forts and caftles, which were drawn along that country from the 

 great bogs in the fouthern parts of Meath towards the borders of 

 Brehny or Brefny O'Reilly, to cover the new fettlers and check 

 the inroads of the Irifli. I think he found it, like all others of the 

 curious ancient moats (as they are called in Ireland) an high 

 truncated cone, though not quite circular or infulated, as it is 

 part of a long and narrow ridge. It is furrounded with a trench 

 and an outer mound of earth, having very rude caves down 

 through its centre, which were open lately, and may be examined 

 at any time by the curious, their entrance being known to every 

 one in the neighbourhood. It is defended on the north by 

 a long morafs, through which a rivulet paffes to the outer mound 



of 



