Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

Prominently sited at the N, leading-edge of a high (between 500’ and 600’ contours) narrow terrace on the NW slopes of Knockaunsmountain (OD 983’), with extensive views to W and over Galway Bay to N. Indicated and named ‘Caherduff’ on the first edition (1842) of the OS 6-inch map and similarly recorded on the later Cassini edition (1915) of that map.
Described by Westropp (1905, 352) as, ‘Built on a well-selected low knoll. The wall is 9 to 10 feet [c. 2.74-] thick and is of remarkably good masonry … It is over 10 feet [c. 3.05m] high where best preserved, i.e. to the south and north-east, in parts 9 feet [c. 2.74m] high; but great gaps occur, and the north and north-west parts ae greatly defaced. The wall has two faces, and large filling, and has traces of a terrace, 28 inches [0.71m] wide. The batter is 1 in 12, and well carried out; much of the inner face has been destroyed. The garth [interior] is slightly hollow and very irregular, 96 feet [c. 29.3m] across (north and south); the fort measuring about 116 feet [c. 35.4m] over all. There are large rocks about the garth, and a slight, oblong hollow, as if the rock-surface was quarried out, and the space fenced with large blocks at intervals.
Westropp also includes a sketch profile of the enclosing wall (op. cit. 351) and a fine sketch of the monument (op. cit. 349) – see image attached.
An almost circular area (est. ext. diams. c. 34m N-S; 32m E-W) is defined by a partially collapsed drystone wall which is best preserved at W and S (T 0.5-2.5m; int. H 1.6-1.7m; ext. H 1.3-2.6m). The wall facing is best preserved externally (H 2.4-2.6m) in SW and S but the inner wall facing is poorly preserved and only intermittently visible (H 0.7-1.6m). A terrace (Wth 0.75m; int. H 0.35m) is visible on the inner wall face in the W sector. A later field wall has been incorporated into the cashel wall along the N face, from NW to NE. The interior is an overgrown and uneven and hollow area and contains a copious amount of displaced blocks and stones which may both be the remains of and obscure internal features such as house or hut sites?

See attached image: CL004-031----_1 Westropp’s sketch of ‘Caherduff’

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Lynda McCormack

Date of upload: 24 October 2022

References

Westropp, T. J. 1905 Prehistoric remains (Forts and Dolmens) along the borders of Burren, in the county of Clare. Part 1 – The Eastern Border. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 35, 205-29.

Westropp, T. J. 1905 Prehistoric remains (Forts and Dolmens) along the borders of Burren, in the county of Clare. Part 2 - west Corcomroe. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 35, 342-61.