
What is recorded here
Indicated is an oval cashel on a narrow coastal strip in County Clare, squeezed between steep rock slopes and Galway Bay. Its overthrown stone bank still marks a wide interior where a large pile of rocks sits like a forgotten heap, while two hut sites wait outside the perimeter. The sea may have taken the rest, leaving only this odd, broken circle to tempt imagination.
On slightly elevated ground on a narrow coastal strip of pastureland between steeply rising, rock slopes immediately to the S and Galway Bay a short distance to the N. Indicated on the first edition (1842) of the OS 6-inch map and partially hachured on the later, Cassini edition (1915). Described by Westropp (1901, 11) as ’oval and overthrown’.
An oval area (int. diams. 34.3 E-W; 28.5m N-S) is mainly defined by a stony bank (Wth 1.5-2.3m; int. H 0.3-0.55; ext. H 0.5-0.45m) which is heavily overgrown ESE-WSW, but with occasional surviving wall facing stones visible. External facing stones (H c. 0.5-0.7m) are best preserved from WNW to NNE and to a lesser extent from NNE to ESE, while inner facing stones (H 0.3-0.55m) are visible sporadically between N and ESE. A substantial, later field wall (Wth 1.3m; int. H 0.25m; ext. H 0.7m). has been built just outside the perimeter (at a distance of 2.9m) from WSW to W. The interior of the monument is level and contains a very large pile of stones (L 10m NW-SE; Wth 5m; H 0.9m) in the ENE sector.
A hut site (CL004-029003-) stands immediately outside the cashel at NE and there is a second hut site (CL004-029002-) opposite, outside the monument at WSW.
See attached image CL004-029----_1 ASI aerial photo, monuments viewed from NW, March 2007.
References
Westropp, T.J. 1901 Prehistoric remains in north-western Clare, part 1. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 31, 1-17.
Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Lynda McCormack
Date of upload: 20 October 2022
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- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
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( Poulomega ? )Cave · 1.2 mi
OughtdarraCliff · 1.3 mi
Balliny CaherRuins · 1.8 mi
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The BurrenHeritage attraction · 2.2 mi
Slieve ElvaMountain / peak · 2.4 miOther information
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