Hut site, Caol An Phréacháin Thoir, Co. Kerry

Co. Kerry |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Caol An Phréacháin Thoir, Co. Kerry

On the lower southern slopes of Caunoge, in the boggy pasture that edges the Kealafreaghane river, there sits a small circular hut that has survived largely through the logic of its own construction.

It is corbelled drystone, meaning the walls were built without mortar, with each course of stone laid so that it slightly overhangs the one below, gradually closing in until the structure becomes self-supporting overhead. The result is a building that needs no binding agent to hold it together, only the careful placement of weight against weight.

The structure is modest in its dimensions: just over three and a half metres in internal diameter, less than a metre and a half in height, with walls roughly a metre thick. At the north-east there is a formal entrance, complete with a threshold slab, and on the eastern face a small window, thirty centimetres wide and thirty centimetres high, just enough to admit a slant of light. Huts of this general type are found across the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, the great arm of land that reaches into the Atlantic between Dingle Bay and the Kenmare River. Some are associated with early medieval monastic or pastoral activity; others may be later, built by those working seasonal grazing land far from a permanent settlement. The details of this particular structure's date and original use remain uncertain, but the corbelling technique itself has a long history in this part of Ireland, appearing in some of the earliest ecclesiastical enclosures on the peninsula as well as in humbler agricultural contexts.

The site sits in what is described as poor boggy pasture, the kind of ground that tends to discourage casual visitors and, in doing so, has probably helped preserve what stands here. The hut is small enough to be easily overlooked from a distance, low against the hillside and unremarkable in silhouette, which makes finding it a matter of patience and close attention to the terrain rather than any dramatic reveal.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Hut site, Caol An Phréacháin Thoir, Co. Kerry. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 50 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement