Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

On a NW-facing slope in pasture within a large multiperiod field system (CL009-059001-). Hachured on the 1920 ed. of the OS 6-inch map. This subcircular cashel (ext. dims. 38.5m SW-NE; 37.2m NW-SE) is defined by a much-collapsed double-faced stone wall (Wth 2.2m; max. ext. H 2-2.4m). The wall spread (Wth 6-11m) is widest on the downslope from W to N. The outer wall-face is visible all round and is made of large horizontally laid stones (L c. 1m; H c. 0.3m); a later drystone wall has been built on top of it from N to SE. Only a short stretch (L 4m) of the inner wall-face survives to the S of the now blocked-up entrance gap (Wth c. 1.6m) at NE. Within the interior are the remains of a possible 16th/17th-century house site (CL009-059107-) at N and a tower house (CL009-059065-) at SSE. Two possible internal divisions, one within the other, are visible in the W half, though it is unclear whether the inner one is spoil resulting from more recent digging of the interior. The outer one is more definite and is defined by a bank (L c. 15m N-S; Wth 1.5m; H 0.3m). A passageway (L 6m; Wth 2m) extends off the entrance gap to the ENE. It is defined by a drystone wall to the N and wall foundations to the S. It leads to the remains of three houses (see CL009-059108-, CL009-059109- and CL009-059110-). (Westropp 1897, 119; Ua Croinin and Breen 1997; FitzPatrick 2009, 302)

The following image has been uploaded: CL009-059064-_01.jpg View from SE

Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 5 April 2022

References

Westropp, T.J. 1898 Prehistoric remains in the Burren, County Clare (Carran and Kilcorney). The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 28, 352-66.

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 Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin.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.