Bawn, Clogharevaun, Co. Galway

Measuring 47 metres north to south and 32 metres east to west, the structure was built in association with a tower house that forms part of its eastern wall. The builders cleverly adapted to the natural terrain by raising the southern half by about half a metre, creating a level interior space whilst giving the whole structure a subtle platform appearance.

When archaeologists surveyed the site in May 1983, they found a patchwork of surviving walls in various states of preservation. The southwestern corner stood as the best preserved section, rising between 5 and 6 metres high, with the remains of a ruined building incorporated into its 0.6 metre thick walls. The western side retained substantial lengths of walling, whilst the eastern, northern and southern sides had largely deteriorated into grassed over stony banks, roughly 2 metres wide and between 0.5 and 1 metre high. Within the bawn's interior, the southwestern corner appeared to contain a rectangular building measuring approximately 5 by 2.6 metres, with an offset at 4 metres height that likely once supported an upper floor, lit by window openings in the south and west walls.

Unfortunately, the monument has suffered considerable damage in recent decades despite being subject to a preservation order since 1995. When revisited in September 1995, the surviving northwest corner walls had been destroyed, and aerial imagery from 2000 revealed that most of the southern wall had been levelled. What remains today offers tantalising hints about the bawn's original defensive purpose and the daily life of its inhabitants, including possible evidence of additional buildings indicated by grass covered wall lines running from the western wall into the interior.