Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

In a high prominent location on the NW slopes of Slieve Elva, with commanding views from W–NNE over the Aran Isles and much of Galway Bay. It is indicated with a solid line on the 1842 and 1915 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps. A rectangular enclosure (28.8m NW–SE by 23.5m NE–SW) with square corners defined by a drystone wall (ext. H 1–2.5m; int. H 1.3–1.8m; T 1.2m). The original entrance (Wth 1.6m) on the SW wall is now blocked. A partially surviving beam slot (surviving L 0.6m; original est. L 1.5m) is visible on its S side.
Although no connection between the bawn and towerhouse survives, on the NNW exterior face of the tower, a well-dressed corbel extends out (L 0.27m) in line with where the bawn wall would have met with the castle, suggesting that they were contemporary. The site has been referred to as a ‘straight-walled “moher”’ (Westropp 1901, 10), ‘mothair’ (FitzPatrick 2009) and as a ‘square cashel’ (Comber 2019). However, based on its form and the likelihood that it was built contemporary with the towerhouse (CL004-016007-) it is best classified as a bawn (as per Ua Cróinín R. and Breen M. 2014; Bowmer 2019, 80). The bawn lies in the S end of an extensive multiperiod field system (CL004-016001-), covering an area of c. 8sqkm.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 28 April 2021

References

Bowmer, T. 2019 Rectilinear drystone cashel and enclosure settlements in the Burren, Co. Clare. The Journal of Irish Archaeology 28, 59–84.

Comber, M. 2019 Square ringforts? A contribution to the identification of ‘ringfort’ types. Medieval Archaeology 63(1), 128–53.

Ua Cróinín, R. and Breen, M. 1997 The castles and tower-houses of Co. Clare, 6 vols. Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin.

FitzPatrick, E. 2009 Native enclosed settlement and the problem of the Irish 'ring-fort'. Medieval Archaeology 53, 271–307.