Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, on the former deer park of Cahir Guillamore demesne, 200m SE of a townland boundary with Coolfune and Killorath. Within NW portion of field system (LI031-041001-). Not depicted on OSi historic maps. According to Dowd (1896, 80), this enclosure forms part of an extensive settlement that 'has been assumed to be the foundations of extensive buildings, and modern work refers to them as being “the remains of an ancient city of great extent”. Upstanding monument identified as a D-shaped enclosure (Fort 3) on aerial image and annotated on key to aerial image (Ó Ríordáin and Hunt 1942, 40-41; Figures 1 and 2). Ó Ríordáin and Hunt (ibid, 41) described this monument as a: ‘D-shaped, which may have been its original outline’. Monument is visible as a D-shaped enclosure (44m NE-SW; 43m NW-SE) with straight side to SW, on aerial photograph (ASIAP 307, 3 & 5), on OSi orthoimages taken 2005-2012, on Digital Globe orthoimages taken 2011-2013 and on Google Earth orthoimage taken 20/09/2020.

See attached Google Earth orthoimage, ASIAP and CUCAP aerial survey image with enclosure marked 2, aerial image (Ó Ríordáin & Hunt 1942, 40) marked Figure 1 and key to aerial image marked Figure 2 (Fort 3).

Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly

Date of upload: 3 November 2020

References

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

ASIAP - Archaeological Survey of Ireland Aerial Photographs (c. 1996 - c. 2010).

Ó Ríordáin, S. P. & Hunt, J. 1942 Mediaeval dwellings at Caherguillamore, Co. Limerick. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 37-63.

Dowd, J. 1896 Round about the County of Limerick. Limerick. G. McKern & Sons.

O'Kelly, M.J. 1942-3 A survey of the antiquities in the barony of Small County, Co. Limerick. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 3, 75-97, 169-84, 222-46.