Ringfort (Cashel), Doolin, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Ringforts
In the limestone country outside Doolin, where the ground rises and falls in rough pasture broken by grey rock outcrops, a circular stone enclosure sits so quietly in the landscape that later generations built a field wall straight across it.
That later wall now overlays the south-eastern arc of a much older structure, and the two sit together in the grass like a palimpsest in stone, one era of land use laid over another without ceremony.
The older of the two is a cashel, the Irish term for a ringfort built from stone rather than earth and timber. Roughly subcircular and about 26 metres in diameter, it is defined by a low, grassed-over wall that has sunk into the pasture over centuries. Cashels of this kind were typically built during the early medieval period, functioning as enclosed farmsteads or the defended residences of local families of some standing. This one was noted by Conn Herriott and is situated within the remains of a broader field system, suggesting it was once part of an organised agricultural landscape. A second cashel lies approximately 50 metres to the south-east, which is not unusual; paired or clustered enclosures occur elsewhere in Ireland and may reflect family groupings or successive phases of settlement in a favoured location.