Ringfort (Cashel), Durra, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Cashel), Durra, Co. Clare

In the townland of Durra, in County Clare, there sits a cashel, a type of ringfort built from dry-stone walling rather than earthen banks.

Where the more common earthen ringforts were thrown up from ditched soil, cashels relied on the ready availability of local stone, and in the limestone-rich landscapes of Clare they are a familiar, if often overlooked, presence. This one carries the designation simply by its type and location, which is in some ways fitting: cashels were working enclosures, probably farmsteads, built during the early medieval period to protect livestock and household from the ordinary hazards of rural life rather than from any grand military threat.

Beyond its classification as a cashel within the ringfort family of monuments, the specific history of this structure in Durra remains largely undocumented in publicly available form. What can be said in general terms is that cashels of this kind date broadly to the period between the sixth and twelfth centuries, when the ringfort in its various forms was the dominant settlement type across Ireland. Thousands survive in varying states of preservation, many still embedded in field boundaries or half-absorbed into later agricultural landscapes, their original purpose long since forgotten by the families farming around them.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Ringfort (Cashel), Durra, Co. Clare. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement