Enclosure, Kealduff, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Kealduff, Co. Kerry

On a low rise of ground in the bogland of Kealduff, a small rectangular outline breaks the surface of the peat.

It is barely noticeable at first, just a rough band of collapsed stonework tracing a shape that measures seven metres from north to south and three metres from east to west, with rubble pressed into the bog along its edges. Below, the ground swallows whatever once stood here. Above, the lower courses of a crudely built wall survive to a height of only about thirty-five centimetres, its thickness just under a metre, the whole thing long since tumbled and partly absorbed by the landscape around it.

What exactly this enclosure contained or served is not recorded. The form itself, a small rectangular space defined by a stone perimeter wall, is a type found across Ireland in various periods, sometimes associated with agricultural use, sometimes with more ambiguous purposes that have since been lost. The setting is quietly suggestive. The rise commands a view south-west over Lough Naparka, which may mean very little or may indicate that the position was chosen deliberately, as elevated ground near water often was in early settlement patterns across the region. The rough construction of the surviving stonework points away from anything especially formal or institutional, suggesting instead something practical and local, built without great precision but built to last at least as long as its purpose required.

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Pete F
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