A souterrain is an underground stone-lined passage or chamber, typically constructed during the early medieval period in Ireland, roughly between the sixth and twelfth centuries. They are found across the country in considerable numbers, often associated with nearby ringforts, and their purpose is still debated: storage of perishables, refuge in times of raid, or both. What makes the one at Cloghmackirkeen notable is less any particular feature than the fact that so little has been made publicly available about it, leaving it in a category of monuments that are known to exist, formally recorded, but effectively unreachable by the curious.