Westropp — Types of the Ring-Forts and similar Structures. 221 



MOGHANE FOKT. — Save the name " Cahermoghna " on a map of about 

 1590, no name is discoverable for this great fortress or "walled town." 

 One may suspect it to be the " Caherkine," as being apparently included in 

 that townland at the time of Petty's Surveys in 1655. Cathyrnachyne is 

 mentioned with de Clare's other lands in the neighbourhood at his death in 

 1287, while Moghane does not appear. The name " Cahermucna " occurs in 

 documents down to at least 1720. Caherkine is now confined to the adjoining 

 townland : none of its forts monopolize its name ; another townland witli a 

 caher and sonterrain (we shall see) is named Caherscooby. 



The difficulties which prevented Hackett and Windele from making 

 satisfactory notes on the ruin, had greatly increased even at the time of my 

 earlier visits in 1887 and 1892, and still more by the present date. Parts of 

 the wall can only be examined by creeping through thickets of sloe and other 

 bushes; and the luxuriant bracken, if a less painful, is still an even more 

 concealing, obstacle to our labours. A complete examination and measurement 

 of each ring occupied several hours on each of six days, so I hope the resultant 

 notes may be found as complete as they can be made without excavations. 



MOGHANE CAHER (omcRAM from S-W-) 



1, cairn ; 2, inner wall ; 3, middle wall ; 3*, collapsed wall ; 4, south caher ; 5, west caher ; 

 6, rock-cut gate ; 7, outer wall ; 8, castle. 



(The view is taken from the west, ti'ees being omitted to show reach of wall at "6.") 



The fort girds, with three walls, a long, low ridge, with a beautiful outlook 

 to the Shannon, the Fergus, and across the chain of lakes, and the plains of 

 central Clare, to the hills of Aughty, Burren, Callan, and Slieve Bernagh. 

 The hill has steep slopes to the east and west, with low crags in some 

 places ; the walls do not f oUow^ the contours of the ridge, as some have 

 fancied; but the outer one dips in bold curves down each side, and the 

 middle two are approximately regular and equidistant from each other. 

 These main walls on our first visits seemed to be shapeless heaps of stone, 

 and so were supposed by myself and others to be mere piled mounds, such as 

 are found in ancient British and foreign defences ; but systematic examination 

 has yielded, in many points in the outer, and a few in the inner and second 



