Indicated — Doonnagore

On a natural rise in hilly pastureland, and surrounding Doonnagore Castle (CL008-087----). The land all around slopes steeply, except at NW where there is a D-shaped berm-like area. Overlooked by higher ground to S and SE, but otherwise commanding a panoramic view. Indicated as a wall-defined rectangle on the 1842 ed. of the OS 6-inch map. On the 1897 OS 25-inch plan and the 1920 ed. of the OS 6-inch map the NE side is hachured rather than being defined by a wall. This restored subrectangular bawn (38m NE-SW; 22.5m NW-SE) with pointed NE side is defined by a coursed and mortared limestone wall, several sections of which were excavated in 1974 by Prof. Etienne Rynne (NUIG) (Ua Cróinín and Breen 1997). The double-faced walls (av. basal Wth 1.4m, narrowing to c. 1m at top; H 3m) with rubble core were found to be built on a foundation of large stones (H c. 0.7m; Wth 1.4-1.7m). The wall foundation in the SW corner had been strengthened in the SW corner by three additional large boulders, protruding over 0.5m beyond the outer wall-face. The original entrance (Wth 1.4m) found by Rynne was located c. 9m SW of the tower house, with pivot-stones showing that it was closed by a pair of doors on gudgeons (diam. c. 0.07-0.08m). Against the bawn wall on the NNE side Rynne found the possible gable-end of a building, including a chimney and part of a fireplace, as well as an intramural chamber with a lintelled ceiling. In the interior of the bawn the excavation revealed a short length of wall running SE from the NNW corner of the bawn. Rynne concluded from this that the original bawn was smaller, being defined by this wall, the N wall and the E wall as far as the tower house, which would have stood at the S corner of that early bawn. The excavation recovered two bronze harp-pegs, a bronze and iron buckle, an iron needle and an iron nail, dated to the 16th/17th century. The restored bawn wall (Wth 0.8m, widening to 2m at N; int. H 1m at W; ext. H 3m at NE) is built of coursed and mortared limestone, capped with flagstones. There are two entrances at SE, one on either side of the tower house (CL008-087----) which is abutted at NE and SW by the bawn wall. Set into the N wall are the remains of a lintelled fireplace (Wth 1.55m; H 1.7m; D 0.75m). Immediately to E of this is a doorway (Wth 0.69m; H 1.76m) leading to short passage (L 0.41m) and chamber (1.9m E-W; c. 1m N-S) within the bawn wall. To W of the fireplace is a (possibly original or modern) small, narrow, unroofed intramural passage with steps leading to the modern top of the N wall. Several grass-covered limestone blocks in the SW corner of the bawn may be the remains of a building or structure; alternatively these may be part of the reinforced foundations identified by Rynne, or they could be modern as the bawn wall appears to be partly rebuilt in this area. The grass-covered bawn interior is flat and level in the N half, but the S half slopes gently down to SSE. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Conn Herriott Date of upload: 17 January 2023