Cahernagat — Baile An Bhaoithín

National Monument No. 10039. Cahernagat/Cathair na gCat: A small, circular cashel situated on the lower, SSE facing slopes of Croaghmarhin. In the interior are the remains of 2 stone huts, a souterrain and an ogham stone. Small stones fill the interior of the enclosure up to and, in places, above the level of the top of the enclosing wall, and the inner wall-face is not visible. The overall diameter of the site is 17.3m. A possible inner facing stone at NW indicates a wall thickness of 1.75m, and a shallow depression, which runs 1.5m inside the outer face, for 10m at NNE, may mark the line of the inner face in this sector. However, as the roof of the souterrain is virtually on the same level as the top of the outer wall-face, it is possible that the interior was always considerably raised and that the stone fill does not conceal an inner face to the wall. The outer wall-face is a maximum of 1.9m high and the interior is a maximum of c. 3m above the external ground level. Two field walls radiate out from the site at SW and NE. To E of these the wall-face is constructed of large stones, with average dimensions of .9m x .2m. To W of the field walls, large stones occur only in the lower courses, to a maximum height of .85m. The upper courses, comprised of small stones, similar in size to those in the nearby field walls, may be a later rebuilding. An outward bulge at N is almost certainly a secondary feature. Hut (1): Located in the SW sector. This is a roughly circular drystone-built structure measuring 3.6m N-S and c. 3m E-W internally. Only the inner wall-face is visible and this stands to a maximum height of .38m. A 2.4m wide gap in the facing at E may indicate the location of an entrance passage from Hut (2), which has a corresponding break. Hut (2): An oval or circular drystone-built hut located directly E of hut (1). It measures 4.8m N-S internally but only the W half of the wall is traceable. The inner face stands to the same height as the wall of hut (1) and the outer face is obscured by collapse. The break in the facing at W is 1.1m wide. Souterrain: A drystone-built souterrain passage, aligned SW-NE, is located in the NE portion of the interior. A single roofing slab is visible on the surface and a gap below this provides limited access to the structure. The passage extends 1.5m to SW before being completely blocked by collapse. It is .65m high at present. The ground to NE of the opening is depressed for a length of .7m and this may mark the line of a further section of the passage. A large slab in the outer face of the cashel wall at NE apparently marks an entrance to the souterrain (local information), but the gap beneath it has now been blocked-up. The slab is at least .8m below the level of the roofing slabs visible in the interior, indicating that the passage must slope downwards to the exterior. Ogham Stone: This lies loose on the surface of the cashel, in the vicinity of the souterrain. It was discovered within the cashel in 1855 by Rev. James Goodman (Hitchcock 1856, 439-41). Curran (no. 14) was informed by Goodman's family that the stone had been found acting as the entrance lintel to the souterrain. Ferguson (1887, 39) stated that it had been found in an adjoining killeen but this is not consistent with the various other accounts of its provenance. The stone was smashed into 3 pieces in the 1880's and one fragment was lost. The 2 fragments visible today measure 1.81m overall and the inscription reads: TOGITTACC MAQI SAGARET(TOS) The last 3 letters were carved on the missing fragment, but there is no disagreement between the readings by Du Noyer (Antiquarian Sketches, 1, 28), Hitchcock, Brash (1879, 220) and Ferguson. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 549. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013