Enclosure, Coolnatullagh, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Coolnatullagh, Co. Clare

At Coolnatullagh in County Clare, a roughly circular stone enclosure sits quietly at the western edge of a low promontory, looking out over a small valley below.

It measures approximately 25 metres on its northeast to southwest axis and around 22 metres across the other way, making it a modest but distinct presence in the landscape. Enclosures of this kind, defined by a stone wall and broadly circular or subcircular in shape, are found across Ireland and are often associated with early medieval settlement, though their precise function and date can vary considerably from site to site.

What makes this particular enclosure worth noting is the context in which it sits. It forms part of an extensive field system in the surrounding area, and two fields abut it directly to the east, suggesting a long history of agricultural organisation in this part of Clare. The enclosure itself was identified by Ros Ó Maoldúin and is visible in Digital Globe satellite imagery captured between 2011 and 2013, a reminder that aerial and remote sensing work continues to bring unrecorded or under-recorded sites into view across the Irish countryside. The stone wall defining it has survived well enough to be legible from above, even if it sits unremarked on the ground.

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