The Irish name was Monela “the plain of the glenside”. The village lies between Drumman Heights on one side and Garvagh Hill on the other.

  John Hamilton built the Bawn and gave his name to it and the village, Scottish Planter, Glasgow.  Came over in 1617.  Built his Bawn by 1619 of stone and clay – 60ft square, 12 ft high with 20 families settled around it. 

In 1617 Johns Hamilton married Sarah Brabazon. They had 4 sons and 4 daughters.  John Hamilton rebuilt Mullabrack Parish Church which he found in ruins because of continual warfare.  He died in 1639 and is buried in the Hamilton family vault under the floor of the south aisle of Mullabrack Church.

John was succeeded by his eldest son Hams who was a student at Glasgow University in the year his father died.  He gave up his studies to take charge of his father’s estates, but in 1641 the Irish Rebellion began in which the Native Irish rose against the Planters who had taken their land.  Many landlords fled to England and Scotland.  Hans Hamilton joined the Royalist Forces and fought for them during the English Civil War 1641 – 9.

1660: The restoration of Charles II – Hans Hamilton, now created a knight for services to the crown during the war, came back to Ireland.  Sir Hans built a fairly large and elaborate castle on the site of the old Bawn.  Around this time he married Magdalene Trevor and they had several children, but only one daughter, Sarah, survived to adulthood.

By 1681 Sir Hans was heavily in debt – he had managed his estates badly – was a soldier, not a business man.  Sir Hans died in 1681 and was buried in the family vault which he had restored together with the Parish Church in 1663.

Five Years before Sir Hans died, his daughter Sarah had married against her father’s wishes.  Her husband was Sir Robert Hamilton of Ardgonnell, Armagh (no relation).  They had one son, Hans who became his grandfather’s heir.  Sir Robert’s bad management, however, resulted in the 2nd Sir Hans having to sell off the Hamiltonsbawn Estate to pay off his father’s debts.

Sir Hans the second married Jane Skeffington and had one daughter, Anne, who married James Campbell from London.  Sir Hans died in 1731.

The castle and estate at Hamiltonsbawn were bought by the Gosfords in 1724 and the castle leased to the Government for use as an Army Barracks.

In 1731 the Government had taken a lease for 31 years at a yearly rent of £60 and 2 troops of horse were stationed there.  In 1760 annual cost of keeping the barracks in repair was £12 – 10 shillings.

In 1798 250 French prisoners of war were force-marched from Kinsale after the ’98 Rebellion to Hamiltonsbawn.  At the end of 18th century, the army moved out of the barracks and by 1835 it was a ruin.

Hamilton coat of arms which was set over the entrance to the castle and can still be seen in the Gable Wall of the Gildea House in Main Street, Hamiltonsbawn.