Settlement deserted - medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture on the lower E facing slope of Oola Hill, 430m ESE of the summit and 80m NW and N of Oola Castle (LI033A008002-) standing 1km W of the county border with Tipperary. The site has excellent views to the N, E and S. A land grant of 1282 records that Ullish (Oola) was granted by the Citizens of Limerick to J. Fitz Thomas (Westropp 1906, 103). Oola Castle, a tower house, is reputed to have been built by a branch of the O’Brien’s of Thomond, Tirrelagh mac Brien held a castle at Knockowlow (Oola Hills) in 1572 (ibid., 103).
The earthworks were first identified on oblique aerial photographs taken 20/07/1968 and 10/07/1969 (CUCAP AVT043/044; AYO037) appear to be the remains of medieval settlement contemporary or earlier associated with Oola Castle. The field systems and earthworks are not depicted on the 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map or on the 1897 ed. OSi 25-inch map. The field systems, sunken way and house platforms are visible on OSi orthoimage taken 2005-12 and on Digital Globe orthoimages taken 2011-2013. A clear rectangular platform (ext. dims. 23m NNE-SSW; 19m ENE-WSW) defined by a fosse located at the E side of the field system. A covered way or sunken road (L. 125m) orientated NW-SE is located 14m SW of the rectangular platform. A series of irregular relic fields are located to the SW of the sunken road where cultivation ridges survives on the ground surface. The aerial Google Earth orthoimages taken 11/03/2014 and 18/11/2018 best illustrate the cultivation ridges and hummocky topography suggestive of wider settlement (ext. dims. 130m N-S; 160m E-W).

See attached CUCAP aerial photographs and Google Earth orthoimages

Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan

Date of upload: 2 October 2020

References

Hibernia Regnum: A set of 214 barony maps of Ireland dating to the period AD 1655-59. The original parish maps have been lost but the Hibernia Regnum maps are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (Goblet 1932, v-x). Photographic facsimiles of these maps were published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton in 1908.

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

Westropp, T.J. 1906-7 The ancient castles of the county of Limerick. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 26, 54-264.