Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

On a very slight E-facing slope just off the crest at the E end of low E–W ridge, in good quality mixed pasture and meadowland. Hachured and named ‘Caher of Mortyclogh’, with a cave indicated in the interior, on the 1842 and 1915 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps and named ‘Móthair Tí Clogh’ on Robinson’s (1977) map. A very poorly preserved subcircular cashel (est. int. dims. 44.3m N–S; 43.8m E–W) defined by a low grassed-over stone spread (max. H 0.8m; max. Wth 6m) which is reduced to a scarp over the exterior ENE–SSE and to a scarp over the interior WSW–NW. A single course of inner facing-stones forms an arc (L 4m) at N and a second arc (L 4m) of more substantial outer facing-stones (H 0.6m) survives at NW. The interior contains an accessible souterrain (CL003-013002-) and the ruins of a rectangular building (CL003-013003-). A later field wall overlies the N limits, roughly on the line of the inner cashel wall-face. A graveyard is located c. 100m to the WSW (CL003-011----) and a ringfort (not visible) lies c. 250m to the SW (CL003-009----). The name ‘Mothair’ (a local toponym for square ringforts) may refer to the original shape of this fort, or, as Westropp (1911, 352) tells us was locally believed, to ‘Mortough garbh O’Brien’ who, in 1317, fell in battle nearby. The second part of the name likely refers to the stone house (CL003-013003-) in the interior.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 15 December 2020

References

Westropp, T.J. 1911 Prehistoric remains (forts and dolmens) in the Burren, Co. Clare (continued). Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1, 343-67.

Robinson, T. 1977 (revised 1999) The Burren: a two-inch map of the uplands of north-west Clare. Map scale 1:31680. Roundstone: Folding Landscapes.