What is recorded here

Caherbullog is a substantial stone ringfort on a narrow shelf above the Caher valley, its thick wall hiding an inner face and swallowing an entrance beneath centuries of field rubbish. It belongs to the Western Stone Forts tradition, linking Clare pasture to Aran and the Burren through brute circular engineering. Sir Tirlagh O’Brien surrendered it and a neighbour cashel to the Government before receiving them back in 1583, a transaction that turned ancient stone into political leverage. The fort still stands buried in its own clearance, waiting for someone to dig through the rubble and discover what the wall was built to keep out or hold in.

Situated on a narrow N-S shelf on the W side of the Caher valley, c. 240m W of the Caher River, in extensively reclaimed pastureland. Hachured and named ‘Caherbullog’ on the 1840 and 1916 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. According to Westropp (1901, 15-16), it and another cashel (CL004-016025-) in the same townland, referred to as the ‘two Caherbollucks’, were surrendered to the Government by Sir Tirlagh O’Brien, before being regranted to him in 1583. A subcircular cashel (34.4m N-S; 32.6m E-W) defined by a very substantial drystone wall (Wth 5.2m at W; max. H 1.6m at S, over collapse and field clearance piled at outer base) with at least one additional face hidden within the wall. Field clearance is piled up against the outer wall and in the interior, making further inspection impossible. An entrance is probably preserved beneath the rubble. Later field walls radiate off the perimeter at NE and SE. The thickness of the wall and the internal face hidden within it morphologically link this site to the ‘Western Stone Forts’, such as those on the Aran islands (Cotter 2012) and elsewhere on the Burren (e.g. Ballykinvarga fort CL009-059012- and Cahercommaun fort CL010-064003-). Compiled by: Mary Tunney, Olive Alcock and Ros Ó Maoldúin Date of upload: 28 September 2021

Caherbullog is a ringfort, likely dating to the early medieval period, situated on a narrow west-facing shelf in the Caher valley. It is associated with the generic "Caher" name, often linked to early Christian or prehistoric settlements, though no specific folklore is recorded for this site.

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