 Motte-and-bailey castles were a primitive type of castle built by the Norman invasion, a mound of earth topped by a wooden palisade.This region, known as Tethbae, was allotted to the Dillon family, descendants of Sir Henry de Leon (c. 1176 – 1244).They built the motte at Dunnamona ("hillfort of peat") as well as another at Drumraney, later abandoning the mottes for permanent stone castles.