Cashlaungar (Irish: ''An Caisleán Gearr''), also ''Cashlaungarr'', ''Cashlaun Gar'' or ''Cashlán Gar'', is a stone

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 Wale ...

(cashel) and

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 sp ...

located in

The Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burre ...

, a region 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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Cashlaungar is located in the centre of

The Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burre ...

, 2.7 km (1.8 miles) south of

Carran Carran (), also Carron, is a small village in County Clare, Ireland. It is in the Burren region, within a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. It is notable mainly for being the birthplace of Michael Cusack, the inspi ...

, overlooking the

Kilnaboy Kilnaboy or Killinaboy () is a village, townland and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the Burren, and as of the 2011 census the area had 347 inhabitants. Civil parish Kilnaboy is a parish in the historic Barony (Ireland ...

–

road to the west. It lies at an elevation of. It is located in the townland of Tullycommon, parish of Kilnaboy, not far from the larger ringfort

Cahercommaun Cahercommaun (), sometimes ''Cahercommane'', is a triple stone ringfort on the south-east edge of the Burren area, in Kilnaboy, near the rural village of Carran, in County Clare, Ireland. It was built in the 9th century. Features Cahercom ...

and

Tullycommon Wedge Tomb Tullycommon Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in The Burren region of County Clare, Ireland. Location Tullycommon wedge tomb is located in the eponymous townland in Kilnaboy parish, 1.8 km (1.1 mi) southea ...

History

The townland of Tullycommon is probably the ''Tuluauch-comyn'' held by (King Torlough) O'Brien in 1298 as given in the Pipe rolls. Through it in 1317 the army of Diarmait O'Brien reportedly marched on his way to Corcomroe Abbey, "along the fortress-begirt tracks" between Leana and Crughwill.

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donnel ...

's troops plundered it in their great raid into

Thomond Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...

in 1599. Excavation unearthed middens,

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

and ox bones.

Description

This cashel is a stone fort situated on the top of a steep-sided rocky outcrop. When antiquarian

Thomas Johnson Westropp Thomas Johnson Westropp (16 August 18609 April 1922) was an Irish antiquarian, folklorist and archaeologist. Career Westropp was born on 16 August 1860 at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. His relatives were landowners of Englis ...

visited it in the 1910s, the ramparts of the ringfort were preserved in three places and built of long worked blocks. They reached their greatest height in the northeast at 4 m (13 ft) and a thickness of 2.7 to 3.0 m (9–10 ft). The gate opened to the edge of a steep 10 m high slope. At the foot of the slope were rock fragments, probably the broken lintels of the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

. The fort measures internally about 40 m from north to south and 23 m from west to east. The gate was 3 m above ground level and was probably reached by ladder. The ruins of four round huts and one beehive hut were found on Cashlaungar.

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Clare Archaeological sites in County Clare Former populated places in Ireland Forts in the Republic of Ireland