Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Legend associates St Patrick with Rathbrenan where he stopped overnight and was told by Caílte that this rath had originally had been called Rath Glas after a Scandinavian king, Glas Mac Drecán, who had been defeated in a great mythical battle here by the Fianna and who was buried under the mound in the interior (O’Grady 1892, 1, 121; 2 131-2; Dooley and Roe 1999, 39-41). There are references to Rathbrenainn in the annals in AD 600, AD 1143, and AD 1410 (Knox 1915 293).
It is situated at the crest of the SE-facing slope of a NW-SE ridge. Circular grass-covered area (diam. 60m NE-SW; 59.8m NW-SE) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 5-7.8m; int. H 0.25-0.4m; ext. H 2.2-2.85m) separated by a rounded fosse with some bushes (Wth of top 6.2-9.7m; Wth of base 2.2-4.4m; D 1.2m) from an outer bank (Wth 2m; H 0.5m) NW-E-SSE which is incorporated into a field bank SSE-SW (max. ext. diam. 78.4m E-W). There is an entrance (Wth 3.5m) and causeway, which are probably secondary, at NW connecting to rath (RO039-035001-), while the original entrance through the inner (Wth 4.5m) and outer (Wth 4.2m) banks and a causeway (Wth 5.2m) are at ESE.
There is a grass-covered mound (RO039-035003-) (diam. 9.5m NW-SE; 8.7m NE-SW; H 0.5-1.3m) inside the perimeter at E. A subrectangular annexe or field (RO039-035004-) (dims c. 100m E-W; c. 70m N-S) to the S defined by a bank and fosse (Wth c. 2m; D c. 0.6m) which connected this monument and rath (RO039-035001-) (ibid. 289) no longer survives.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 8 October, 2015

References

Knox, H.T. 1915 Rath Brenainn. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 45, 287-99.

Dooley, A. and Roe, H. (eds) 1999 Tales of the Elders of Ireland. Oxford, University Press