Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

In former Deer Park, on the demesne lands of Cahir Guillamore House (LI031-041019-) located 900m to N. Earthworks belonging to the medieval village (LI031-041009-) of Cahirguillamore located immediately to N-E-S. Medieval house site (LI031-041030-) 70m to W, historic road (LI031-041028-) 105m to NW. Medieval castle site (LI031-041015-) lies 215m to NE. A possible souterrain (LI031-041027-) is located within the centre of the cashel.
Annotated 'Stone Circle' on 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map where it is depicted as a circular arrangement of low orthostats with OS .station marking 320 ft. OD in centre of circle. Annotated ‘Stone Circle (Site of)’ on the 1897 ed. OSi 25-inch map suggesting that the orthostats were removed between these map dates. On the 25-inch map the monument is depicted as a tree-ring and not as an antiquity. Cashel which appears to have been modified as a landscape feature described in 1840 as follows; ‘In Lord Gillamore’s Deer-park in the townland of Caher, there is a circle of stones, about 118 paces [90m] in circumference, about 5½ feet high [1.7m], and 2 ft. [0.6m] or 1½ ft. [0.45m] in thickness. This circular wall, which is formed of regular-sized lime stones, without cement, assumed its present form about 5 years ago; and it is said to have been built with the foundation stones of an old castle [LI031-041015-]; yet some of the inhabitants say that the lower stones retain their original position, which is not like that of the foundation stones of a castle. About 174 paces [132m] N.W. of this is another somewhat similar wall of uncemented stone-work [LI031-041016-)’ (OSL Vol. 2, 97).
Identified by Ó Ríordáin and Hunt (1942, 41) as 'Fort B' and described as following; ‘This appears to us to be a stone-built fort, and not a stone circle, though it was clearly shown as a stone circle on the first survey, It is 26 yards [23m] in internal diameter. There is a long narrow depression in the interior which may be a collapsed souterrain [LI031-041027-].’ Monument visible as D shaped area (diam. c. 26m) enclosed by grass-covered footings of a low wall, truncated at E by a post-1700 field boundary running N-S, visible on OSi orthophoto taken between 2005-12 and on Google Earth orthoimage dated 20/09/2020. No trace of enclosing element visible on W side of post-1700 field boundary.

See attached Google Earth orthoimages

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 31 March 2021

References

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

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.