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Garden Mount Cashel Lodge

History of Mount Cashel

Mount Cashel Lodge picture"Baile Maol Caiseal" The place of the ruined stone fort.

Mount Cashel takes its name from nearby Ballymulcashel("Baile maol caiseal" in Gaelic which means the place of the ruined stone fort). In 1850 Andrew Stacpoole leased the house and ninety-eight acres of land to John Frost. By the turn of the 20th century the Butler family from nearby Castle Crine were in residence. During the middle of 20th century Mr & Mrs Richard Abbott-Anderson lived here, who ran a mechanical engineering business in Ennis. His mother was a member of the Parker family of Ballyvalley.

In the early 1970's the property was purchased by Colonel and Mrs John Deighton. Mrs Deighton's family has strong links with Clareand Limerick. The house and lodges were faithfully restored in the late 20th Century to their Victorian heritage by Tony & Patricia Muffett. The property is now owned by Patrick & Annette Shanahan. The Shanahan's are an old Clare / Limerick family who can date their heritage back to Brian Boru's grandmother, who was a Shanahan. Brian who was the last High King of all Ireland, met his untimely death in the battle of Clontarf in 1014, but not before his army had banished the Vikings out of Ireland.

Ancient History

CrannogEvidence of much earlier habitation is confirmed by the presence of a "Crannog" (Lake Dwelling) in the middle of Castle Lake. This is a man-made mound of rocks in the lake built by the Celts. Such lake dwellings were common in Ireland in the 5th to 12th centuries A.D. Settlements of this kind may, however, have been used as early as the late bronze age and in some cases were still occupied up to the seventeenth century. Crannogs were artificial islands on which people built houses, kept animals and lived in relative security. The name Crannog is taken from the Irish word Crann which means tree. As the name suggests timber was the most important building material. They were usually built about 100 meters from the shore of a shallow lake. The islandwas constructed by laying layers of brushwood and other material, such as stones on the lake until eventually the island was formed. In the central area, houses of a wooden construction were built.

Access to the Crannog was originally by underwater stepping stones, later by boat but when times became more settled, causeways or bridges were used. The Craggaunowen Project, 4 miles from Mount Cashel, recreates aspects of Ireland'spast with the restoration and reconstruction's of earlier forms of dwelling houses, farmsteads, hunting sites and early Christian eras. This includes a reconstructed Crannog and Ringfort.

 

Mount Cashel Front Views

Mount Cashel Front Views

Mount Cashel Front Views

Pat & Annette Shanahan
Mount Cashel House
Kilmurry
Sixmilebridge
County Clare

Ireland

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