Indicated — Castlebarnagh

In pasture, located on a ridge, at the break of slope on the NE-facing side, with excellent views in all directions. This cashel, named ‘Cashelmore’ on the 1838 and 1930 OS 6-inch maps, consists of a subcircular area (44.2m N-S; 43.3m E-W, int.) enclosed by a drystone wall. The wall is constructed of roughly square limestone blocks and boulders, with particularly large blocks in the basal courses and in the external wall face, especially at SW. The wall is largely intact on the W half of the cashel: it is most substantial at S−W (Wth 3.4m; int. H 1.8m; ext. H 1.7-2m), narrowing somewhat at NW (Wth 2.5m; int. H 1.5m; ext. H 1.8m). On the NE arc, the external wall face is intact (H 1.6m), standing on a scarp incorporating large boulders (H 1m), but the internal wall face has collapsed to a low sod-covered stony rise, almost flush with interior ground level. At E−ESE the external wall face has slumped to a broad, sod-covered jumble of stones, topped on its inner edge by a low rebuilt wall (Wth 0.7m; H 0.6m). On the SE arc the external wall face is intact (H 1.4m) but the inner face is reduced to a broad spread (Wth 3.5-4m; int. H 1m) of loose stones. An entrance passage (Wth 1.5m ext., 1.4m int.) at NNW is flanked by distinctive walling of massive horizontally laid slabs. The passage narrows slightly along its length from exterior to interior. A roof lintel (L 2.1m; Wth 0.5m) covers the outermost section of the passage; this was placed there by the landowner, but is said to be an original roof slab. A massive horizontally laid slab set in the largely collapsed inner wall face at SSE overlies a cavity now filled with loose stone. This may be remnants of a mural chamber or passage (Wth 1.35m; H 0.78m). A large slab jutting from the exterior face of the cashel wall may be part of the same structure. The interior of the cashel has a gently slope down from the SW quadrant to the N and NE. There is a large pile of loose clearance stones (7m NW−SE; 2m NE−SW; H 1.5m) in the SW quadrant, and a smaller heap (diam. c. 3m; H 0.8m) a few meters to NE. A drystone field wall, on a roughly N−S axis, cuts across the interior, slightly to E of centre. There is a souterrain (MA072-047002-) in the W half of the cashel. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 20 April 2021