Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

In rough pasture on the leading, SW edge of a high spur (OD 600’ contour) overlooking terraced slopes and a valley SW-W-NNW and within an extensive multiperiod field system (CL010-064001-). Indicated on both the first (1842) and Cassini edition (1920) of the OS 6-inch map. This circular cashel (int. diam. 20m; ext. diams. 35m E-W; 31m N-S) is defined by a stone wall (Wth 1.4-2m; int. H 0.3-1m; ext. H 0.7-1.15m) built from uncoursed but regular blocks with outer facing stones visible intermittently all around. The entire inner wall-face and parts of the outer wall-face are now obscured by collapsed stones (combined Wth of collapse and wall 5.2-8.8m).
The monument has been degraded since Westropp’s visit (1905, 221) when he recorded the wall as very neatly built, wider (c. 3m), higher (max. 1.5m) and with a slight batter. He also recorded a ‘hardly traceable’ entrance at ESE, ‘a semi-circular hut foundation’ against the wall at S, ‘and another curving wall foundation near it’. However, when inspected 1999, no entrance was obvious at ESE (and a gap (Wth 3.4m) at ENE appeared modern) and the internal features appeared to post-date the cashel’s original occupation. Hollows in the wall all around its circuit (not described by Westropp) are presumably due to later removal of stones, and later walls abut the cashel exterior at NW and SSW.
There is a cairn (CL010-064045-) c. 38m to the NE, and a hut site (CL010-239----) c. 74m to the NE.

References
Westropp, T.J. 1905 Prehistoric remains (forts and dolmens) along the borders of Burren, in the County of Clare. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 35, 205-29.

See attached images:
• CL010-064009-_01.JPG Aerial view of monument from the north (Photo. Markus Casey, March 2007).
• CL010-064009-_02.JPG Ground view of monument from west.

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 6 April 2023