Cahirvagliair Ring Fort
Coppeen and its surrounding areas hold a wealth of historical sites, monuments, information, and of unique archaeological features. The fort of Cahirvagliair is one of these unique sites. It is a bivallate ringfortIt was one of the chief residences of the Cineál Laoighaire, and it has been suggested that the name comes from the Fort of the Son of Laoighaire “Cathair Mhac Laoighaire”. The fort has also been connected through local folklore to one of Ireland’s best known historical figures, Brian Boru. It is believed that Brian was held hostage here when he was a young boy between the ages of 8 and 16 years. It has been suggested that because of its size and the stonework in the entrance, that Cahirvagliair must have been built by someone of great importance and may even have been a royal residence.
Cahirvagliair Fort was taken into state care in 1915, but despite this, the fort is in very poor condition. The fosses and ditches which were restored in 1983 and 84 are now in parts, almost non-existent after being flattened. The internal diameter is 42 meters and the overall diameter is 75 meters.
The entrance is of course the main attraction and this statement was made about the site in ‘The Journal of Irish Archaeology’
“It is difficult to find a parallel for this entrance in an earthen ringfort but lintelled entrances do occur in stone forts. Generally these entrances are different from Cahirvagliair in that the gate would not be part of a projecting structure, the stones would not normally be dressed and the passage would not be as long.”
The fort has been excavated twice: firstly by antiquarian Windele in June of 1843. In his account of his first visit to the fort in 1840, he stated, “But the most striking object is the covered passage at the east side, and near the cairn, formed of two sidewalls, and covered over with large transverse stones.” He also stated, “The whole of this very interesting monument is worthy of being diligently explored, its cave and its cairn opened and the gateway entrance, the covered way put in repair. There are few monuments like it in the Country.”
According to local tradition, when the old school at Coppeen was being built, the contractor robbed stones from the entrance to Cahirvagliair. According to the story, they only stopped when a “foxy” haired woman appeared at the entrance and frightened them off.
Excavation
The fort has been excavated twice: firstly by antiquarian Windele in June of 1843. In his account of his first visit to the fort in 1840, he stated,
“But the most striking object is the covered passage at the east side, and near the cairn, formed of two sidewalls, and covered over with large transverse stones.” He also stated, “The whole of this very interesting monument is worthy of being diligently explored, its cave and its cairn opened and the gateway entrance, the covered way put in repair. There are few monuments like it in the Country.”
In his excavation in 1843, Windele was aided by Fr. Dan O’Sullivan P.P. The fort was, at this time, owned by a Mr Hungerford. At this time, the entrance was in very bad repair, with the exterior having received much injury and the outer covering stone fallen. Some of the lintels lining the roof of the entrance were also fallen.
The owner, Mr. Hungerford, had found what he described as caves two years previously. These were formed from earth and in some chambers, the roof was formed by flagstones. A boy, it was said, could stand or sit in some, and in others could creep on all fours. The only items found in the caves were some animal and human bones.
Following Windele’s, there was one other excavation which took place at the site; this one in April of 1984 under the direction of Conleth Manning. It was during this time that a more detailed excavation and restoration took place. The entrance was then restored beautifully, and contained most of the original stone work. (two lintels were missing from the original roof of the entrance).
An important hoard of late Bronze Age gold ornaments was found in the last century in “a fort in Coppeen”. As there are two ringforts in the townland of Coppeen East and one in Coppeen West, it is difficult to determine which ringfort was involved.
