Cahermacnaghten () is a
ringfort
Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...
south of
Ballyvaughan
Ballyvaughan or Ballyvaghan () is a small harbour village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located on the N67 road on the south shores of Galway Bay, in the northwest corner of The Burren. This position on the coast road and the close proximity ...
in
the Burren
The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burren ...
area, in
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
, Ireland. It, or a nearby building, is the site of the famous
O'Davoran law school.
The fort is a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
.
Location
The fort lies right close to a road between the village of Ballyvaughan and
Kilfenora
Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Si ...
. It is located in the townland of Cahermacnaghten in the civil parish of
Rathborney
Rathborney, sometimes Rathbourney, ( ga, Ráth Boirne) is a civil parish in the Barony of Burren in County Clare, Ireland.
Location
Rathborney parish is in the Barony of Burren, from the village of Burren on the road to Ennistymon. It is SS ...
.
History
The O'Davorans were the hereditary lawyers (or
brehon
Brehon ( ga, breitheamh, ) is a term for a historical arbitration, mediative and judicial role in Gaelic culture. Brehons were part of the system of Early Irish law, which was also simply called "Brehon law". Brehons were judges, close in import ...
s) of the
O'Loghlen family, who styled themselves "Kings of the Burren" in the Middle Ages. Although it was long thought that their law school was located inside the cashel, it is now considered probable that the actual school was another ruined building 870 m to the southwest, known as ''Cabhail Tighe Breac''. At the time the ringfort likely contained a residential building. This was the principal place (''ceann áit'') of the O'Davoran family.
Written evidence of the O'Davorans goes back at least to 1364 (''Annals of Connaught''). The ringfort was occupied at least into the 17th century, as a 1606 deed specifies the division of the property between two scions of the family.
Description
The cashel has a diameter of around 100 feet. The interior floor is higher than the surrounding countryside, probably as a result of accumulated occupation debris. The interior contains five rectangular stone buildings.
An unusual two-storied 15th-century gatehouse gives access to the ringfort. Although it is now in a state of collapse, 19th- and early 20th-century descriptions and pictures are extant.
At least four other cashels, numerous enclosures and various old field walls fill the roughly 3 km long sohallow valley running NE to SW. At the time, the area thus contained a large community and was more densely populated in the 16th and 17th centuries than it is now.
The probable law school building has been investigated by archaeologists since 2007. It is a single-storied stone building with three rooms and a loft overhead. It likely was built at the turn of the 16th century as a non-residential place. A recent excavation has turned up a piece of slate with a single character inscribed upon it, which may support the assumed use as a school.
References
External links
Info at Clare County Library*
ttp://www.excavations.ie/report/2008/Clare/0019126/ Info on 2008 excavation''Cahermacnaghten: investigating Gaelic estates'' in: Burren Landscape and Settlement
{{Tourism in County Clare
Archaeological sites in County Clare
Forts in the Republic of Ireland
Former populated places in Ireland
National Monuments in County Clare