Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

On top of a slight rise in marshy pasture c.130m SW of a small stream which forms the townland boundary. Hachured and named ‘Caherycoosaun’ on the 1916 ed. OS 6-inch map. Listed as 'Ringfort - cashel' in the RMP (1996). Noted by Westropp (1910, 150) among a group of named cathairs near Kilshanny surviving only as ‘absolutely defaced remains, sometimes all trace gone’. A bivallate rath (c. 54m N-S; c. 60m E-W) comprising a subcircular area (22m N-S; 21m E-W) defined by a low earthen scarp (H 0.1m), a fosse (Wth 4-5m; D 0.1m), and a round-topped earthen bank (Wth 3m; H 0.25m). The inner scarp peters out to the SE and it is concealed by rushes to the N. A 2m wide lowering of the scarp at the S may be the remains of the original entrance, while a gap at the NNE appears to be modern and leads to a farm track. The interior is slightly undulating and highest in the centre. It is covered in rushes. No internal features are visible.

Reference:
Westropp, T. J. 1910 Notes on the antiquities around Kilfenora and Lehinch, Co. Clare, part III. North Munster Archaeological Society 1, 147-59.

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell

Date of upload: 10 July 2023