What is recorded here
No visible castle, no church, no ruin, no road, no field boundary, no owner and no archive. A hidden camera may have watched the plateau through a private lens for decades, but no visible fact records that purpose. The true purpose may have been to watch the plateau, not to be watched.
On a bedrock knoll at the S edge of a plateau, commanding wide views from SE to W, with adjacent land also dipping to the W and E. Hachured as a roughly oval enclosure on the OS 25-inch plan (1897) and 1920 ed. of the OS 6-inch map; a disused limekiln is shown at its base at S on the 25-inch plan.
This rath (int. dims. c. 33m NW-SE; c. 27m NE-SW; ext. dims. 46m NW-SE; 38m NE-SW) is defined by a scarp (original H c. 2m; Wth c. 5m). There are traces of a very low bank (max. H 0.2-0.3m) around the top of the scarp almost everywhere, except between E and SE; at S it is set slightly back from the scarp edge. There are later ramp entrances at SE (Wth 2.3m) and NW (Wth 3.5m; L 6m). The raised interior is quite level and featureless, apart from a shallow ditch (base Wth 1m; Wth at top 3.5m; D 0.2-0.4m) and associated spoil mound (Wth c. 3.5m; H 0.5m), which extend from the centre to the E edge of the scarp. These are later features. The rath is heavily poached and the scarp and bank have been truncated in various places: by farm buildings to the E and a modern trackway that skirts around it from SE to NW. A castle (CL009-096002-) may be associated.
The following image has been uploaded: CL009-096001-_01.jpg View from W
Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott
Date of upload: 25 May 2022
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
Roughan Castle (Supposed Site of)Castle, unclassified · 11 yd
Kiltennan FortFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 726 yd
Ballyshanny Housefarm house · 1327 yd
Hollywell Housefarm house · 1.1 mi
High CrossHeritage attraction · 1.4 mi
Burren Centre KilfenoraVisitor information · 1.5 mi
Cave of the Wild HorsesCave · 2.7 mi
Ballyteigue Nature ReserveNature reserve · 2.8 mi
Cullaun 5 (C5b)Cave · 3.0 mi