Embanked enclosure — Rathbrenan

Legend associates St Patrick with Rathbrenan where he stopped overnight and was told by Caílte that this rath had originally had been called Rath Glas after a Scandinavian king, Glas Mac Drecán, who had been defeated in a great mythical battle here by the Fianna and who was buried under the mound in the interior (O’Grady 1892, 1, 121; 2 131-2; Dooley and Roe 1999, 39-41). There are references to Rathbrenainn in the annals in AD 600, AD 1143, and AD 1410 (Knox 1915 293). It is situated at the crest of the SE-facing slope of a NW-SE ridge. Circular grass-covered area (diam. 60m NE-SW; 59.8m NW-SE) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 5-7.8m; int. H 0.25-0.4m; ext. H 2.2-2.85m) separated by a rounded fosse with some bushes (Wth of top 6.2-9.7m; Wth of base 2.2-4.4m; D 1.2m) from an outer bank (Wth 2m; H 0.5m) NW-E-SSE which is incorporated into a field bank SSE-SW (max. ext. diam. 78.4m E-W). There is an entrance (Wth 3.5m) and causeway, which are probably secondary, at NW connecting to rath (RO039-035001-), while the original entrance through the inner (Wth 4.5m) and outer (Wth 4.2m) banks and a causeway (Wth 5.2m) are at ESE. There is a grass-covered mound (RO039-035003-) (diam. 9.5m NW-SE; 8.7m NE-SW; H 0.5-1.3m) inside the perimeter at E. A subrectangular annexe or field (RO039-035004-) (dims c. 100m E-W; c. 70m N-S) to the S defined by a bank and fosse (Wth c. 2m; D c. 0.6m) which connected this monument and rath (RO039-035001-) (ibid. 289) no longer survives. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revised upload: 8 October, 2015