Ringfort (Cashel), An Caiseal, Dún Lúiche, Co. Donegal
On a gentle ridge overlooking a fertile valley in County Donegal, two raised platforms mark the sites where a pair of stone ring forts, known locally as cashels, once stood until recent memory.
Ringfort (Cashel), An Caiseal, Dún Lúiche, Co. Donegal
These circular defensive structures, typical of early medieval Ireland, were positioned just 10 metres apart and would have commanded impressive views westward across the productive farmland below.
The southern platform, the larger of the two, measures approximately 25 metres north to south and 30 metres east to west. Its earthen base rises one metre above the surrounding ground on three sides, whilst the western edge, facing the valley, stands an imposing two to three metres high. The northern platform is more modest in scale at roughly 16 by 19 metres, though it shares the same defensive characteristic of being most elevated on its western side.
Though both cashels have been destroyed, their foundations tell the story of a strategic settlement choice made centuries ago. The selection of this slightly elevated position would have provided the inhabitants with both defensive advantages and oversight of the agricultural lands that sustained them. These twin fortifications at An Caiseal represent just two of the thousands of similar structures that once dotted the Irish landscape, serving as fortified homesteads for farming families during the early medieval period.





