Ringfort (Rath), Commons-Entire, Co. Tipperary

Co. Tipperary |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Commons-Entire, Co. Tipperary

A ringfort can tell you a great deal even when it is barely legible.

This one in Commons-Entire, County Tipperary, survives in fragments: a broad eastern bank still standing close to 1.7 metres above the interior, a scarp that traces the western and south-western edges, and an interior so choked with brambles, nettles, and scrub that its full dimensions can only be read off a nineteenth-century Ordnance Survey map rather than walked on the ground. The eastern quadrant has been quarried into and used as a dumping ground for debris and dead wood. Tillage has been pushed right up to the monument's edge on most sides. Whatever coherence the site once had, much of it has been lost to generations of agricultural tidying and casual neglect.

Ringforts, also known as raths, were the typical enclosed farmsteads of early medieval Ireland, generally dating from roughly the fifth to the twelfth centuries. They consist of a roughly circular area defined by one or more earthen banks, sometimes with an accompanying fosse, the external ditch that would have reinforced the enclosure. At Commons-Entire the fosse has largely disappeared at ground level, though an edition of the six-inch Ordnance Survey map produced between 1904 and 1905 shows it running from the north-east to the south-west of the site. The eastern bank is noticeably more substantial than the rest, probably because it was built up further over the years as material from cleared field boundaries was piled against it. The overall enclosure is roughly circular, measuring approximately 39 metres east to west. From the monument, two other medieval structures are visible in the middle distance: Nicholastown Castle lies roughly 1.3 kilometres to the south-east, and the tower house at Loughlohery sits about 2 kilometres to the west-north-west, a reminder that this gently undulating Tipperary hillside was once a fairly populated and organised landscape.

The south-western quadrant offers the clearest view of the surviving earthwork, being the only part relatively free of vegetation. The site sits just below the crest of a south-facing slope, which gives it a quiet elevation without drama, the kind of position early farmers favoured for shelter and drainage rather than defence. The interior slopes eastward, toward the disturbed and overgrown section where quarrying has done the most damage.

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 (Rath), Commons-Entire, Co. Tipperary. 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