This cashel, a type of stone ringfort once measuring between 20 and 30 metres in diameter, occupied a slight knoll on the side of Glenfinn Valley. Though the site offered fairly good agricultural land, little remains of the original structure today; most of it was destroyed around 50 years ago, leaving only a scatter of boulders to mark where this defensive homestead once stood.

Archaeological testing in 2004 revealed the extent of the damage when developers planned to build houses on the site at Kiltyfergal, Cloghan. During excavations, archaeologists discovered a large spread of loose stones measuring roughly 15 by 10 metres, likely the dumped remains of the cashel’s walls, relocated at some point in the recent past. The most intriguing find was a fragment of a jet or lignite bracelet discovered amongst the stone spread, a small but significant artefact that confirms the site’s archaeological importance and hints at the lives of those who once called this fortified farmstead home.

Cashels like Caiseal Ban were common throughout Ireland during the early medieval period, serving as fortified homesteads for prosperous farmers. These circular stone enclosures, built without mortar, would have contained dwelling houses, storage buildings, and livestock pens, all protected by thick stone walls. While the original location of Caiseal Ban may have been slightly north of where the stone spread was found, its destruction represents a familiar pattern across Ireland where agricultural improvement and development have erased countless archaeological sites, leaving only scattered stones and occasional artefacts to remind us of centuries of continuous occupation.