Ringfort (Cashel), Urlan More, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Ringforts
In the townland of Urlan More in County Clare, a cashel sits quietly in the landscape, distinguished from the more common earthen ringfort by the fact that its enclosing boundary is built from stone.
Where a typical ringfort relies on a raised earthen bank and ditch to define its circular interior, a cashel achieves the same effect with a dry-stone wall, a construction method that reflects both the local geology and the building traditions of early medieval Ireland. These structures date broadly from the period between the sixth and twelfth centuries, serving as farmsteads and enclosures for farming families of varying degrees of wealth and standing.
Clare is exceptionally well supplied with such monuments, owing in part to the Burren's abundance of exposed limestone, which made stone an obvious and readily available building material. Cashels in the region range from modest single-walled enclosures to elaborate multi-vallate complexes with internal chambers and passages. The example at Urlan More belongs to this broader tradition, though the specific details of its construction, condition, and history remain to be fully documented in the public record.