Ecclesiastical enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Ecclesiastical enclosure described by O'Hare (2000, 83-4) as; 'The presence of this enclosure is not indicated on either edition of the OS 6 maps. The author was informed of its existence by Dr Daphne Pochin Mould, who first became aware of it during the course of an aerial flight over the area. The landowner stated to the author that he had always been aware of the existence of the enclosure the outline of which, he claimed, was never remarkable on the ground. It was, however, levelled still further about thirty years ago. Situated on a slight east-facing slope in a field of pasture, the view from the site is limited. The main Castleisland/Killarney road lies immediately to the west. The site of the former parish church and graveyard of Dysert is located a short distance to the north. On the OS 1st edition, an area of Glebe land is depicted on either side of this road, stretching between the enclosure and the church site.
A low, curving, earthen bank is visible on the ground running from south-south-west through west to north to east. It is somewhat faint at both extremities, but nevertheless can be seen to enclose an area c. 80cm in overall diameter. The internal bank face is clearly visible along most of its length, surviving to a maximum height of 0.8m on the west-south west. The external bank face is, however, less well defined. The foundations of at least two hut sites are clearly visible within the interior. A sub-rectangular structure measuring 20m north-south and varying from c. 12m in width at its north end to c. 17m in width at the south, is roughly centrally-placed within the enclosure. The east bank/wall stands to a maximum height of 0.7m externally. A mound, c.
6m in diameter and standing to a maximum height of c. 0.35m, is located immediately inside the west bank/wall of this structure.
A second possible hut site lies to the north of the first. It is sub-circular in outline (10m east-west; 9m north-south), and lies c. 11m inside the north bank of the enclosure. The enclosing bank/wall is best preserved on the north, south and west, less so on the east, where it survives to a maximum height of only 0.15m internally. The feature is clearly visible from the air. A further concentration of earthworks difficult to decipher, is concentrated within the west and north-west portions of the enclosure. There is also evidence of cultivation ridges, running in a north-south direction. On the west and north-west, two straight earthen banks run parallel with each other, from the external face of the enclosure, until interrupted by the field fence which borders the roadway on the west. The Irish term Diseart signified a "Desert or a secluded retreat (Dinneen 1927, 343). The term is common in placenames and may perhaps indicate the existence of an early hermitage in this area.
The landowner informed the author that he recalled as a child seeing "a cave built of stone, in the field immediately to the north-east of this enclosure, running as he thought "back (i.e. north) towards Dysert church. The area is undulating, with a large outcrop of limestone visible with natural "passages" or "creeps" running beneath it. While it may be that the cave described by the landowner was a natural feature, it is possible that it was the site of a souterrain'.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 29 April 2022

References

Dinneen, P.S. Rev. 1927 (Reprint 1979) Foclóir Gaedhilge agus béarla. An Irish-English dictionary. Dublin. Richview Press.

O'Hare, P. 2000 Holy wells and other sites of pilgrimage within a portion of East Kerry. Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society 29, 55-98.