What is recorded here

Coolnafarna holds a square stone field on a natural rise, its drystone walls still standing beside a narrow esker in County Mayo. The northern bank rises steep and proud while blackthorn hides the rounded corners, suggesting a human hand shaped the earth before forgetting its name. A cave once marked the northwest quadrant on old surveys but has vanished beneath the pasture, leaving only the solid ring and the quiet suspicion that the ground still remembers what it swallowed.

In pasture, utilising a natural rise in an area of generally level ground, flanked c. 40m to W by a N–S esker. This square field (int. dim. 30m N−S; c. 31m E−W) may incorporate the remains of a ringfort/cashel. It is defined by drystone walls (Wth 1.6-1.8m; int. H 0.6-0.8m; ext. H 1.5m) constructed of small and medium-sized stones. At N the wall is evident as a broad stony rise (Wth 2m) with a steep, slightly battered external face (H 1.5m). On its inner edge is a narrow drystone wall (Wth 0.5m), a modern rebuild, which rises proud of the top of the stone bank. The walls appear to have gently rounded corners at SW and NW, but blackthorn scrub and brambles makes close examination difficult. The interior is at a higher level than the surrounding land. There is no trace now of a Man-made underground passage (MA093-062----), marked as ‘Cave’ on the 1838 OS 6-inch map in the NW quadrant. The field is bordered on the E side by a farm track; a road/trackway that skirted the W and N sides of the field on the 1916 OS 6-inch map has been removed. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 29 June 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.