Knockgraffon : Legendary Residence of Fiacha Muillethan and the Kings of Munster

Knockgraffon lies three miles to the north of Caher in Co. Tipperary, close to New Inn.

 

There is a man-made mound, 60 or 70 feet high close to the ruins of an English castle. The mound is known as the Motte of Knockgraffon.It was an anglo Norman fortification with a wooden structure on the Summit, in the 12th and 13th centuries.

According to legend, Knockgraffon was the residence of Fiacha Muillethan, king of Munster in the third century.

Knockgraffon was the inauguration site for the kings of Munster.

 

The motte is a national monument, and has not yet been excavated.

In the saga "The Siege of Knocklong", Cormac Mac Airt invaded Munster in an attempt to levy tribute, Fiachra with the help of the Druid Mogh Roith defeated him at Knocklong and routed his army.

 

Knockgraffon Motte image

 

Details of Knockgraffon Motte

 

The Legend of Knockgraffon

 

The Legend of Knockgraffon is published in Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry By William Butler Yeats which is available free from Project Gutenberg