What is recorded here

Cashel is a buried fairy fort beneath Ballyhaunis Golf course, its wall erased by decades of matted scutch grass and forgotten tunnels. Men still drive past the seam where the fort disappears, unaware that the ground under their shoes is a chamber built for someone else. The grass breathes in hollow ridges, marking doors that no longer open for human hands.

Within the grounds of Ballyhaunis Golf course. Encompassing a low elevation in undulating terrain with excellent views S−W over expanses of mixed pasture and bog. Ground rises to NW and to NE; a line of conifers blocks views to N. Not shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map; shown on the on the 1916 edition as a circular enclosure (diam. 45-50m), outline by a single ring of hachures, named ‘Cashel’. The remains are evident as a raised roughly circular area (diam. c. 40-45m) covered in a densely matted carpet of scutch grass, 0.4m or more in depth, which obscures all detail. There is no visible trace of an enclosing wall or of the Man-made underground passage (MAA093-025002-), which according to local information is located in the cashel interior. The thick hummocks of grass create a very uneven surface, with several narrow ‘trenches’ or ‘tunnels’ extending through it, which may be rabbit runs. A few hawthorn bushes grow on the perimeter at W. A small gravelled road skirts the SE-S arc and the golf course fairways and green are immediately to W and N. Attached image: MA093-025001-_01.JPG viewed from N Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2022

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.