Ringfort (Cashel), Cluidrevagh, Co. Galway

Co. Galway |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Cashel), Cluidrevagh, Co. Galway

There is something quietly instructive about a monument that has been almost entirely swallowed by the landscape it once commanded.

On a south-facing slope in Cluidrevagh, in the undulating pastureland of north County Galway, the remains of a cashel sit so thoroughly grassed over that only the western to northern arc of its drystone wall retains any real legibility. The rest has subsided into soft humps and foundation lines that a passing walker might easily mistake for natural undulation.

A cashel is a type of ringfort, the roughly circular enclosures that were the dominant form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically dating from around the sixth to the twelfth centuries. Where a rath used earthen banks, a cashel was defined by a drystone wall, and this one at Cluidrevagh was originally subcircular in plan, measuring approximately 36 metres north to south and 33 metres east to west. The site sits in rocky terrain, and outcropping stone is visible within the interior itself, suggesting the builders worked with and around the underlying geology rather than clearing it. A disused quarry lies roughly 50 metres to the north-west, a reminder that this landscape has been worked and reworked over centuries. More recently, land reclamation has cleared the rock outcrop immediately to the north of the monument, a small but telling sign of the ongoing pressures that gradually erode the context around such sites even when the site itself nominally survives.

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 (Cashel), Cluidrevagh, Co. Galway. 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