Balrath

Area

255,377 m² (25.54 ha, 63.11 acres)

Buildings

No building touches it.

Zoning

No zone of a development plan covers it in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply.

Townland

Balrath

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Hill Of Mael And The Rock Of Curry 000681

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 4 recorded monuments.

• WM003-008 Ringfort - cashel
  Description

  Situated on the summit of a hill known locally as 'The Hill of Mael' with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. Cashel standing inside a large possible trivallate hillfort (WM003-008001-) with two pre-1700 field walls (WM003-008002-) radiating out from the cashel. Small circular hilltop cashel consisting of a circular-shaped area (approx. diam. 16-18m) enclosed by a ruinous drystone wall (Wth 1.5m) set on a very low earthen bank with entrance feature (Wth 1.5m) at SE defined by the wall footings of two stone walls (L 19m) running parallel to each other forming an ‘avenue’ (Wth 7m) which connects the inner enclosure to a larger outer enclosing element. The larger enclosure (approx. diam. 60m E-W) is defined by a poorly preserved drystone wall standing on top of an earthen bank (overall Wth 6-8m). The stone facing of this wall has been robbed out from E-S, in other places the wall merges with the natural rock outcrop forming the enclosing element of the monument. A small cairn located inside the centre of the inner enclosure was probably constructed as a trigonometrical station marking the spot height of 795 ft. by the Ordnance Survey in 19th century. The cashel appears to be standing inside a multivallate hillfort the surface of which slopes gradually from N-S. The remains of two old field walls possibly of post-1700 date radiate out from the inner enclosure at NNE and NNW. The larger outer enclosing contours of the hillfort are clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011 and on an aerial photograph taken in 1964 (CUCAP AJO061) (http://www.cambridgeairphotos.com/location/ajo061/). Recently described in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland as following; ‘Circular contour fort with a total site footprint of approximately 0.3ha positioned at the summit of The Hill of Mael with panoramic views from the summit and low-lying terrain to the W. Univallate for the entire circuit with no obvious entrance features recorded. A number of unrecorded features within the interior of the fort are visible in most aerial photographs. These comprise a central circular enclosure and two linear features leading SE from it to meet the enclosing elements of the contour fort. These are likely to be of archaeological significance and may be contemporary with the fort. The ramparts survive well throughout. The interior is under pasture. First map depiction in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping’ (https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/). See attached plan of cashel surveyed and drawn by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 23 November 2017

• WM003-008001 Hillfort
  Description

  Situated on the summit of a hill known locally as 'The Hill of Mael' with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. Cashel (WM003-008----) standing inside a large possible trivallate hillfort (overall diam. 370m E-W) with possible prehistoric field system (WM003-008002-) running across the hill and St Brigid's holy well (WM003-008003-) located below S summit of hilltop (Adams 1957, 45). The enclosing elements of the hillfort appear to represent a mixture of natural geological features which have been scarped and an earthen bank and fosse which is best visible at E where it forms a boundary with the modern forestry plantation. A band of rock outcrop on the W side of the hilltop appears to form a natural enclosing element. The enclosing features of the hillfort appear to follow the natural contours of the hill which is defined by rock outcropping best visible on SW and W face of hill. On this side of the hilltop at least two bands of rock outcrop can be seen running around the hill from SW-W only. These bands of natural rock outcrop following the contour of the hill may have been scarped and possibly represent the enclosing elements of the hillfort which would give the monument a trivallate appearance. A ditch and bank of the outermost enclosing feature is visible from W to NW on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011. The remains of meandering drystone field walls possibly of prehistoric date radiate out from the inner enclosure at NNE and NNW. The larger outer enclosing contours of the hillfort are clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011 and on an aerial photograph taken in 1964 (CUCAP AJO061) (http://www.cambridgeairphotos.com/location/ajo061/). Recently described in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland as following; ‘Circular contour fort with a total site footprint of approximately 0.3ha positioned at the summit of The Hill of Mael with panoramic views from the summit and low-lying terrain to the W. Univallate for the entire circuit with no obvious entrance features recorded. A number of unrecorded features within the interior of the fort are visible in most aerial photographs. These comprise a central circular enclosure and two linear features leading SE from it to meet the enclosing elements of the contour fort. These are likely to be of archaeological significance and may be contemporary with the fort. The ramparts survive well throughout. The interior is under pasture. First map depiction in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping.’ (http://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/records/IR1007.html) Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 23 November 2017

• WM003-008002 Field system
  Description

  Situated on the summit of a hill known locally as 'The Hill of Mael' with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. Cashel (WM003-008----) standing inside a large possible trivallate hillfort (WM003-008001-) with possible prehistoric meandering field system running across the hill. The remains of two meandering drystone field walls radiate out from the cashel (WM003-008---) at NNE and NNW. Field wall A (L 113m) runs off the NE face of cashel wall and runs from SW-NE. Field wall B (L 190m) runs off N face of cashel and is orientated on a SE-NW axis. A third meandering drystone field wall B (L 270m) runs SE-NW across the W facing slope of the hill with a fourth drystone field wall D (L 235m) located 250m to W which runs from SE-NW. The meandering field walls are clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011 and are clearly different from the straight running post-1700 field walls visible on aerial photographs. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 23 November 2017

• WM003-008003 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  Situated on the summit of a hill known locally as 'The Hill of Mael' with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. Cashel (WM003-008----) standing inside a large possible trivallate hillfort (overall diam. 370m E-W) with possible prehistoric field system (WM003-008002-) running across the hill and St Brigid's holy well (WM003-008003-) located below S summit of hilltop (Adams 1957, 45). Unable to locate holy well on the summit of the hill which was described in 1957 as 'the impressive Hill of Mael around the summit of which can be seen the embankment of a hillfort and which has St. Brigid's Well, reputed never to dry up (an it certainly kept running throughout the dry summer of 1955) just below it summit on the south side' (ibid.). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 24 January 2020

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.