Enclosure, Feohanagh, Co. Limerick

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Enclosures

Enclosure, Feohanagh, Co. Limerick

Most earthwork enclosures in Ireland are roughly circular, the product of early medieval ringfort construction that once dotted the landscape in its thousands.

The enclosure outside Feohanagh in County Limerick does not quite follow that pattern. Its plan is only semi-circular, with the northern and south-western arc curving as expected but the remaining sections running in straight lines, giving it an irregular, almost improvised geometry that sets it apart from the standard ringfort form. It sits in level marshy pasture, which adds to the sense of something slightly out of place.

The site was recorded and compiled by Denis Power, with details uploaded in August 2011. The enclosure measures roughly 74 metres north to south and 98 metres east to west, making it a substantial feature on the ground. An earthen bank defines its boundary, rising to about 0.7 metres on the interior face and to 1.55 metres on the exterior, with an outer fosse, or ditch, running alongside it. The fosse is approximately 0.8 metres deep and 2 metres wide. A gap of around 2.4 metres in the western bank marks what was presumably the original entrance, now crossed by a rubble causeway of recent construction. Inside, a natural ridge runs east to west across the enclosed area, and the ground to the north of that ridge remains noticeably marshy, suggesting the wet conditions here are not simply a modern agricultural problem but a persistent feature of the terrain.

The western interior has been used as a dump for rubble, which somewhat obscures that section of the site and is worth bearing in mind if you are trying to read the earthworks clearly. The bank and fosse are best observed on the northern and eastern sides, where the enclosing elements are more intact and the change in height between interior and exterior is easier to appreciate. Access to the Feohanagh area is via small rural roads in west County Limerick, and the surrounding pasture can be soft underfoot, particularly after rainfall. The marshy ground on the northern side of the interior ridge is likely to be wet for much of the year.

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Pete F
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