Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

In gently undulating low-lying pasture, overlooking the Camoge River to S, which also forms a townland boundary between Monaster North and South. Conjoined enclosures (LI031-010002-) known as the assembly place of Óenach Cairbre, lie 75m to NE. An ancient road (LI031-010001-) running NE-SW adjoins the monument to NW and leads from the conjoined enclosures to an earlier crossing point at Abbey bridge (LI031-009001-). Monaster Abbey (LI031-050004-) lies 135m to SSW, on the opposite side of the river and a burial mound (LI031-004----) referred to by Westropp (1920, 372) as Síd Asail lies 1km to NW and forms part of the ancient landscape of the Óenach Cairbre. Not depicted on OSi historic maps. Not annotated on Westropp’s sketch plan of Monasteranenagh, which depicts the assembly place of the ‘Oenach Cairbre’ and an ‘old road’ (Westropp 1920, 373). Possibly referred to by Begley (1906, 18) as ‘Oenach beg’: The Óenach [LI031-010002-], near Manstir abbey, on the north bank of the Camoge, with its large conjoined mounds and its sidh mound [LI031-004----] and other earthworks was Óenach Beg, the very term suggesting the existence of the great Oenach.’
In a later work, Westropp (1920, 372) describes the Óenach Cairbre territory as an ancient Celtic landscape and likens it to Tara, Telltown and Brugh na Bóinne in Co. Meath, Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon, The Curragh, Co. Kildare and nearby Knockainey Hill, Co. Limerick. He goes on to explain the common features of such archaeological complexes which often include an assembly-place [LI031-010002-], a sanctuary and a cemetery [LI031-004----] in the form of tumuli, cairns, ring mounds and platform forts which are often conjoined, old roads [LI031-010001-] and water supply (ibid). Westropp (1920, 372, 373 & 375) confirms that, ‘An ancient roadway’ leads from a fording point on the Camoge River, to the pair of conjoined ringforts (LI031-010002-), to which he refers to as the assembly place of the Óenach Cairbre. According to Westropp (1920, 373) the ford marks an earlier crossing point known as ‘The Ford of the Chariots of Fergus’. Power (1930, 43-4) describes the earthen monuments in the vicinity of Oenach Cairbre as, ‘Ancient earthworks of considerable size and extent [that] crown a gentle elevation on the north bank of the stream nearly opposite the abbey; These may have had connection with the great fair and its associated Pagan rites’. Westropp (1920, 375) describes, ‘An old hollow way [LI031-010001-] which leads from it [LI031-010002-] towards the ford, and is 4 to 5 feet (1.2-1.5m) deep and 8-10 feet (2.4-3m) wide below. There are traces of an enclosure [LI031-010003-] between it and the river’. Monument is visible as a rectangular-shaped cropmark (L 40m NE-SW; 30m NW-SE) OSi aerial orthoimage taken 2005-2012, or on Digital Globe orthoimage taken 2011-2013 or on Google Earth orthoimage taken 14/02/2020.

See attached Google Earth orthoimage, sketch plans by Westropp (1920, 373 & 374) and photographs taken by the ASI.

Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly

Date of upload: 30 October 2020

References

Begley, J. 1906 The Diocese of Limerick ancient and medieval. Dublin.

Westropp, T.J. 1919 The ancient places of assembly in the counties Limerick and Clare. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 49, 1-24.

Westropp, T.J. 1920 The assembly-place of ´Oenach Cairbre and Síd Asail at Monasteranenagh, County Limerick. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 35C, 363-77.