Wkstkopp — Types of the Ring-forts of Eastern Co. Glare. 61 



(even then covering much of Clooney parish), but Madara, at Quin village, 

 adjoining the Norman's northern castle and church, the only point where, as 

 the history shows, de Clare's territory crossed the river Gissagh, 



Slieve Beenagh. 



The forts round the hills are of no exceptional interest ; all, save Lisnagree, 

 are low ; they are circular with a shallow fosse. Souterrains occur in two of 

 the Ogonnello forts, but are choked up. The only " square " fort shown on 

 the 1839 map seems to have been really oval. Only some sixty forts, none, 

 save Lisnagree, of any special interest, remain in the hills. Of course none 

 are found on the southern face till past the former limits of the great Cratloe 

 forest. Nearly all near Limerick are levelled ; there are traces of two stone 

 forts and the name Caherdaviu. One group at Elmhill is described in the 

 next paragraph. Knockadrehid is the only fort in the tract beside the 

 Shannon for eight miles, but there are ten to the south-west of Killaloe. The 

 only fort -names are Doonass and Lislattin, the first the Eas-danainne of the 

 Annals, in 1124, Dun easa danainne, in a deed of about 1590. 



Ahaeeinagh (Ordnance Survey Map, 6 inches to a mile, No. 53). — A 

 small but conspicuous angle of one of the MacNamara peel-towers stands in a 

 ring-fort on the summit of a high ridge (about 400 feet above the sea) over- 

 looking the Shannon valley from O'Brien's Bridge to Carrigogunnell Castle and 

 on to the distant Galtees and the Silvermine Mountains. The fort-makers 

 cut a semicircular trench, 11 feet wide and 7 feet deep, leaving any large 

 block they met in situ} They shaped and levelled up the end into an oval 

 platform, 75 feet north and south by 71 feet across, and 6 feet to 10 feet, and 

 in one place even 12 feet high, revetting the face with a dry-stone wall of 

 large, shapeless blocks from 6 feet to 9 feet thick. The tower was very small 

 24 feet north and south by 22 feet wide outside, the wall to the west 5 feet, 

 and to the south, 6 feet 4 inches thick. When I sketched it in 1889, the 

 whole west face remained, showing the under story with a pointed vault, and 

 its end window a plain unglazed slit with a flat splay arch. Hardly half now 

 stands. The fort gateway faced a little to the north of east, and is 6 feet 

 wide To the south was a small cell or porter's lodge. The fosse is only 

 traceable to the west and south. 



Eaelhill (53). — Following the old bohereen (which after passing a farm- 

 house becomes a swampy and often overgrown cutting along the top of the 



1 This is also the case at Duneeva, near Lehineh, and the Dind Seanchas tells of the 

 removal of such a block from the fosse of Dun Ailinn by the divine fort-builder, the 

 Dagda (Revue Celtique, xv, pp. 309-310). For plan see Plate IV. 



