Enclosure, Derry, Co. Galway
Co. Galway |
Enclosures
On the crest of a ridge above the rolling pastureland of south Galway, a roughly triangular enclosure sits quietly in the grass, defined by a low bank of earth and stone that has been slowly losing its shape for centuries.
What makes it unusual is not grandeur but geometry: most early Irish enclosures are roughly circular or oval, reflecting the typical rath or ringfort form found across the island, so the subtriangular outline here, measuring approximately 55 metres north to south and 42 metres east to west, is worth a second look.
The site is poorly preserved, yet enough survives to trace its original form with some care. A fosse, which is a defensive ditch dug to reinforce the enclosing bank, runs from the south-southwest around to the west-northwest, and faint traces of what may have been an outer bank accompany it along the same arc. A narrow gap about 2.4 metres wide on the northern side may represent the original entrance, the kind of controlled threshold that would have regulated movement in and out of the enclosed space. Whether the enclosure served as a defended farmstead, a stock enclosure, or something with a more ceremonial purpose is not recorded, and the irregular plan makes straightforward classification difficult.