Rathancooleen, Castlemoyle North,Thurlesbeg, Co. Tipperary South
On a southeast facing slope in the townlands of Rathancooleen, Castlemoyle North and Thurlesbeg in South Tipperary, an impressive medieval earthwork commands views across the surrounding countryside.
Rathancooleen, Castlemoyle North,Thurlesbeg, Co. Tipperary South
This circular monument, measuring approximately 40 metres across its interior, consists of multiple defensive features that suggest it once served as a ringwork; a type of fortification commonly built by the Anglo-Normans in Ireland during the 12th and 13th centuries. The structure sits atop elevated ground, its strategic position offering clear sightlines in all directions, though today the site is heavily overgrown with grassland vegetation.
The monument’s defensive architecture reveals careful medieval engineering. A substantial earth and stone bank forms the primary enclosure, rising up to 5 metres high on its external face and featuring particularly steep, defensive slopes on the northern side where the natural topography enhances its protective capabilities. This main bank, measuring 6 metres wide at its base, is accompanied by a fosse or defensive ditch that runs around the perimeter, itself bordered by an outer bank that stands about a metre high. The entire complex features a single causewayed entrance on the southeastern side, approximately 3.5 metres wide, which would have controlled access to the interior.
Despite its overgrown state making detailed examination challenging, the monument’s essential features remain clearly visible. The interior appears to have been deliberately scooped out, creating gentle inner slopes that contrast sharply with the steep external faces of the enclosing banks. A modern road now cuts through the eastern section of the site on a north to south axis, destroying portions of the outer bank and intersecting the fosse, but the majority of this medieval earthwork survives intact, offering a tangible connection to Ireland’s Anglo-Norman past.





