Not indicated, 394 ft. OD — Knockea

Situated on the summit and along the S-facing slope of Knockea (Cnoc Aodha/Hill of Hugh), in rolling pasture with good views in all directions. Folklore collected from Knockea School, Ballysheedy recorded the following tradition about this hill; 'The Hill of Knockea or Cnoc Aodha or Cnoc Cae or Mullach Cae [Cé]. This is the hill from which the Parish gets its name. Said to have been visited by St. Patrick and where a feast had been prepared for him by Lomán the King of the district [Knockea]: Where he is said to have met Nessan whom he afterwards made Abbot of Mungret. The site of the original Church of Knockea is still pointed out - at the foot of the north eastern side of the hill. N.B. Cnoc Aodha or the Hill of Hugh is the present version. Cnoc Cae or Mullach Cae [Cáe], the older name is said by some to mean the "Hill of fire" (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0525, Page 064; https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922103/4852432/4948482). In the ninth or tenth century text of the Tripartite Life of Patrick, the baptising and ordination of St Nessán of Mungret (LI013-009002-) by St Patrick on Mullach-Cáe was described as follows; ‘he went to Húi Fidgente [Uí Fidgenti], and Lommán [Lomán], son of Mace Eirc, made a feast for Patrick in Mullach-Cae, to the south of Carn-Feradaig [Carn Fhearaígh/cairn of Fearaíoch/Cahernarry/LI013-061----]; and a man of Patrick‘s household, namely deacon Mantán, was preparing the feast at the king’s. A train of jugglers came to Patrick to ask for food. They suffered no excuse. Go saith Patrick to Lommán and to deacon Mantán that they may help me. But they (refused and) said; It is not public criers that shall bless for us the beginning of our banquet. Then said Patrick: “The boy who arriveth from the north, To him the victory hath been given. Unto Cothraige he is near, With his wether on his back”. At that very hour came a certain youth [named Nessán] along with his mother, carrying a cooked ram on her back, to be brought to the king s feast. Patrick begged the boy to give him the wether [that he might bestow it on the jugglers] to save his honour. The boy at once gave it gladly. The mother, however, was not willing for fear of the king. Patrick gave the food to the jugglers, and straightway the earth swallowed them up. Derg, son of Scirire, of the Déisi, was their leader. And Patrick said that of Lommán’s race there would never be king, nor crown-prince, nor bishop. He said, moreover, of deacon Mantán, that his cloister on earth would not be lofty, and that it would be the dwelling of rabble, and that sheep and swine would come over his remains. He said, however, to Nessán, who had saved his honour: “Thou art mighty of race”. And he baptized him, and ordained him deacon, and founded a church for him, namely, Mungret. And he said to Nessán’s mother as she was excusing herself, that she would not be buried in her son s place, which thing is true’ (Stokes 1887, 203-5). Several well-defined enclosures and hollow ways are visible at this location and are clearly visible on oblique aerial photographs taken 20/07/1968 and 23/08/2000 (CUCAP AVT006-008; ASIAP (132) 12-14). This earthwork complex classified as a deserted settlement in the Limerick RMP (1997) was described in 1826 as; 'the Hill of Knockhay, which appears to have been very strongly fortified, as on it are still to be seen the remains of square and round buildings encircled in the usual manner by a deep but dry fosse, and around the entire hill is a strong rampart of earth and stone. A quantity of human bones have been dug up here and some remains of iron instruments' (Fitzgerald 1826-7 296-7; O'Flanagan 1929, 106). These earthworks were described by O'Kelly (1967, 72) as 'a complex of earthworks and enclosures which are marked by impressive banks and ditches…within some can be seen what appear to be house or hut foundations'. Two sites within the complex were excavated by O'Kelly in 1960; a rath (Site II) (LI013-111002-) and a burial enclosure (Site I) (LI013-111003-), both tentatively dated by the excavator to the Early Christian period. The focus of the complex is a roughly triangular area defined by field boundaries to N and W and by a grassed over trackway to E (see plan in O'Kelly 1967, Fig. 1). However banks are also visible immediately N of the field boundary and E of the trackway. The W half of the excavated rath (LI013-111002-), which was bisected by a field boundary, is visible in the adjoining field on aerial photographs. A potential enclosure was identified in the adjoining field to SW of the complex. A cairn (LI013-029----) and standing stone (LI013-210----) have been identified nearby to the S. Re-evaluation of this earthwork complex by Talbot (2019, 89) has suggested that these earthworks represent the remains of 'royal residence, but also indicates that it was a place of privileged burial, ritual and ceremony'. Talbot (2019, 89-93) described this earthwork complex as follows; 'Three main zones can be identified: south-west, central and east, the latter representing the most intensively used area of the site. Within the latter zone are three large rectilinear enclosures — E1, E2 and E3 — which seem to be relatively early in date. This is suggested by the fact that smaller, often curvilinear enclosures seem to be appended to them, reusing the rectilinear enclosing elements. E1, a rectilinear enclosure, 46m east to west, is double-banked to the west and south, but its eastern banks seem to have been removed. It may have extended into the field to the north, or the modern field bank may perpetuate the line of its northern boundary. Abutting this at the south-west is E2, a D-shaped enclosure, the largest in the complex, 50.5m north to south externally. Again, it is double-banked and its banks are up to 1.8m high in places. This is relatively central and the highest point on the hill, potentially underscoring its importance. Abutting E1 and E2 are E4, a rath-like enclosure, and E5, which also seems to post-date a large secondary enclosure, E6, and might therefore be considered a relatively late (tertiary) addition. Comparable in size to E1 and E2, E3 is located on the eastern edge of the complex (57.3m north to south externally). In contrast to the central enclosure, E3 is univallate. Interestingly, there is no evidence of an eastern bank. Instead, the cliff edge itself seems to have been utilised to delimit the monument. There is a probable funnelled entrance at the south-west. Of the relatively early features, E3 attracted the greatest number of secondary enclosures. To the north, south and west, relatively large curvilinear enclosures were appended to it (E6, E11 and E14). They are quite consistent in size, form and position in relation to E3. E6 is in relatively poor condition, having been overlain by E5, as noted above. E11, a little smaller than the other two, seems to have been extended at some point (E13) and subsequently divided internally by linear ditches (E12). A cup-shaped feature in the south-west of E11 possibly represents traces of a building. E14, the third and largest curvilinear enclosure appended to E3, incorporates a (perhaps tertiary) complex of what appear to be around eight curvilinear ‘huts’, mostly clustered in the northern third of the enclosure. The remaining two each occupy an additional third of E14 and are separated from the others by linear banks radiating from near its centre. The final feature in this eastern zone is a long linear ditch running south from E14 along the cliff face to the base of the hill, thereby defining this side of the site. Its stratigraphic relationship to E14 is unclear, but the fact that it does not seem to continue along the cliff edge further north raises the possibility that it is a relatively late feature, post-dating E3 and E14. The central area of the Knockea complex has far fewer earthworks. Indeed, it is a relatively blank, linear area, a natural avenue providing access to the co