398 



Proceedings of the Roy at Irish Academy. 



Cahekhurley (28). 



20, — Though we have described this fine fort (very briefly) before, the 

 clearing of its area from bushes enables us to examine it for the first time 

 with ease/ It is, as we noted, the Caitir Urthaile of Clan Hasneisis in the 

 rental of " 1380," deriving its name from the family of Ui Urthaile or 

 O'Hurley, In 1620 it and other places in the district were confirmed to Sir 

 John Mac Namara by patent as "Cariruly." The ruined castle of " Cahirhurly" 

 was held by John Burke in " 1675 " (a few feet of its wall remain on a steep 

 rock-knoll near the river), while Clonmoher and Ballydonohane belonged to 

 Donough O'Callaghan* and the Coolbricks to John O'Brien. Up a long old 

 by-road up the mountain, or by the pretty glen, deep, dark pools and shallow 

 reaches, the haunt of the water-ousel, of the little river, we reach the fort on 

 the summit of a ridge, half ringed by the stream and valley at its foot. It 

 overlooks the whole northern valley with its lakes, and commands the pass 

 along the great pink-brown flanks of Slieve Bernagh, but still lies on so 

 sunny a spot that we have gathered primroses in its fosse at the beginning of 

 January. It consists of an outer ring 8 to 10 feet thick, and 6 feet high 



1 1 fir. #. \...^^> 



\%%-l90l' 



Fig. 8. — Plan of Caherhurley. 



1 In the plan made by us in 1896 (when much of the fort was covered with impenetrable 

 thicket) we only find that the stone wall should be continued in same curve to the eastern house-site ; 

 otherwise we have no correction to make. Proceedings, xxii., p. 443. 



* The existing O'Callaghans are a collateral branch of the older settlers, being cousins of the 

 Lismore O'Callaghans. They acted as trustees to the old branch of Kilgorey, and in one document 

 seem to be next-of-kin. The old branch died in the male line with Edmond O'Callaghan, who fell 

 in a duel in 1785. 



