Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

On a SE-facing slope in elevated rocky pasture near the top of a pronounced ridge with clear views NE-NW and within a multiperiod field system (CL005-227004-). Indicated and named ‘Caheranardurrish’ on the 1839 and 1916 OS 6-inch maps. A subcircular cashel (28m N-S; 29m E-W) defined by a battered wall of coursed limestone blocks (max. H 2m; Wth c. 0.8m). External wall facing is present around most of the monument, but no clear original inner facing survives. The wall is low and fragmentary to the NE, SE and SW, with a wide band of collapsed rubble around the interior walls (Wth c. 2.8m). A doorway roofed by three lintels is present in the wall at the ESE (Wth c. 1.4m; int. H 1m; ext. H 1.45m). The internal NE quadrant of the cashel is partitioned by low stone banks aligned N-S, NE-SW and E-W, and two semicircular pens abut the inter wall-face to the E. Westropp (1899, 380) noted a possible ‘small cist’ beneath some rubble ESE of the centre. On inspection in 1998 the remaining stones were found to be not well set and possibly recent. The rubble may represent the remains of a house (CL005-140002-) and the cist-like feature may have been associated with it.
 

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell

 

Date of upload: 14 October 2025

References

Westropp, T.J. 1899 Prehistoric remains in the Burren, County Clare. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 9, 367-384.