Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

On the floor of Poulacarran Valley in hazel wood, at the W edge of a NE-SW ravine (H c. 5m). Hachured on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. This hazel-covered subcircular cashel (20.5m E-W; 19.6m N-S) is defined by a stone wall (Wth c. 1.2m; int. H 0.6-0.8m; ext. H 1-2m). The outer wall-face (Wth 0.7-1.2m), made of horizontally laid stones, rises 0.4-1m above the rest of the wall; it is best preserved at N and E, while at W it has been rebuilt with loose drystone walling. The lower courses of the outer wall-face and the entire inner wall-face are obscured by stone spill (total Wth 3-4.5m). The entrance (Wth 0.9m) at NNE is lined by upright stone slabs (H 1.2-1.45m; Wth 1.2m; T 0.3-0.6m). Westropp (1898, 363) recorded a fallen lintel (L 1.72m; Wth 0.91m; T 0.45m) here. He (ibid.) also described an annexe enclosure adjoining the cashel at N, with a “souterrain”—perhaps the cause for Robinson (1977) also recording a souterrain in this cashel. However, no such features were identified on inspection in 1997.

The following image has been uploaded:
CL009-213002-_01.jpg Drawing of entrance (Westropp 1898, 362)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 12 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.

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.