Man-made underground passage in Ballynahown

Just W of centre in a cashel (CL004-027003-). Described by Westropp (1905, 351) as, ‘… a Man-made underground passage, 27 feet [c. 8.23m] from the western terrace, measuring 18 feet 8 inches [c. 5.69m], north-east and south-west. And 5 feet wide [c. 1.52m], lined with walls of small masonry, and roofed with great slabs, large and thin; one measures 7 and a half feet [c. 2.3m] by 5 feet 4 inches [c. 1.63m], by 10 inches to 12 inches [c. 0.25-0.3m]. Near the southern end, to the east, is a small side apartment, only 4 feet [c. 1.22m] by 3 feet [c. 0.91m] wide.’ The monument was later described by Cunningham (1980, 20) as ‘collapsed’. The Man-made underground passage survives today as a partially unroofed passage (L 4.8m SSW-NNE; Wth 1.2-1.3m; H 0.7-0.8m) with a collapsed lintel at the SSW end, to the E of which is a narrow alcove (Wth 0.95m at front; Wth 0.55m at back; D 1.1-1.2m ENW-WSW). The passage is roofed by three lintels at the SSW end (L 0.95m; Wth 0.9m; H 0.7m), where the side walls meet to form a V-shape, which contains a small, square alcove and there is a second, smaller alcove (H 0.2m; Wth 0.2m; D 0.6m) at the S-end of the chamber. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Lynda McCormack Date of upload: 17 October 2022