Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on Croagh Patrick Mountain. The summit of Croagh Patrick is enclosed by the remnants of a bank or wall of stone rubble defining an oblong or sub-rectangular area (c. 154m E-W; c. 20m N-S at W end, c. 30-35m at E end). In the early 19th-century, Ottway (1839, 319) noted it as 'a low wall built of large, uncemented stones evidently of the most ancient construction'. The wall is now difficult to trace around its entire circuit, being visible mainly as a low spread of loose stone (Wth 5-6m), and at the E end evident only as a low scarp. It largely follows the natural contours of the summit, and the external slope of the wall merges in parts with the natural break of slope of the mountain.
In the E half of the enclosure are the remains of an early medieval church (MA087-044005-) and a penitential station (MA087-044004-), known as 'Leaba Patrick'. There is a break or possible entrance (Wth 2m) in the wall at W, opening towards 'Roilig Mhuire', a possible enclosure (MA087-0043001-) with a cluster of penitential cairns (MA087-043003-; MA087-043004-, MA087-043005-), located 450m downslope to SW.
Sections of the wall at W and NW were excavated (94E115) in 1995 (Walsh, 1996; Morahan, 2001, 19-21). The excavation revealed an inner wall face (H c. 0.6m) constructed of flat schist stones, built on top of natural scree; no evidence of an external wall face was found. Several coloured glass beads, two amber beads, and flint and chert flakes were recovered in shallow layers of soil and scree immediately in front of the wall. The amber beads may date to the Bronze Age, but were not recovered from a secure context. The blue glass beads fall within a date range extending from the Iron Age to the Early Medieval period. None of the finds proved diagnostic in terms of dating the construction of the wall. It may have its origins in the prehistoric era, or it may have been built, or reused, to enclose an early medieval monastic settlement.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 19 March 2020

References

Walsh, G. (1996) 224. 'Croagh Patrick', Glaspatrick/Teevenacroagh, Mayo. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1995: Summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland. Bray. 67-68 (224). Bray, Wordwell Ltd.

Morahan, L. 2001 Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo. Archaeology, landscape and people. The Croagh Patrick Archaeological Committee, Westport, Co. Mayo.

Otway, C. 1839 A tour in Connaught comprising sketches of Clonmacnoise, Joyce Country, and Achill. Dublin. William Curry, Jun. and Company.