Fulacht fia in Cahircalla Beg

Situated c. 2km SW of Ennis town directly on outcropping limestone sloping gently to NW at the transition between dry land and boggy ground near the base of a steep incline with a small stream to the W. A fulacht fia (13.5m NW-SE; 17.5m NE-SW; max. H 1.6m), crescent-shaped with the opening to the W, was excavated in 2004 in advance of the construction of the N18 Western Relief Road. It is estimated that it was composed of 400 tonnes of burnt stone. It had a centrally placed rectangular stone trough (1.8m x 0.9m; D 0.45m). A small quantity of unidentifiable burnt mammal bone was retrieved from the mound. Radiocarbon dating showed that the fulacht fia had its origin in two burnt stone spreads, one deposited in 2550-2300 BC and the other around 1440-1280 BC and that after a hiatus of 1,000 years the body of the mound developed in the 12th to the 9th centuries BC. The earliest spread (Wth 4m; D 0.15m) comprised heat-shattered sandstone while the later spread (Wth 4m; D 0.3m) was 80% limestone. There was no evidence of a trough in either of these two phases. Broadly contemporary spreads were excavated 220m to the N and W. (Hull 2006; Bermingham, Hull and Taylor 2012, 31-5) Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 22 May 2017