Kilfinane Motte

Kilfinane Motte, "Treada na ri" is accepted as the Trioda na Ríogh (Triple mounded fort of the king) as mentioned in the Book of Rights, a 12th-century list of taxes paid to and by the King of Cashel.

It consists of a mound 30 feet high surrounded by three circumvallations. The presence of three rings points to it as having been a high-status fort (trivallate). Local accounts claim it to have been a burial mound and later a ceremonial site for the Kings of Munster.

Its location looking out over the Golden Vale and in between the pass of the mountains in the area show its strategic value and it is claimed that it was once an outpost for the Kingdom of Fermoy. To the north side, the rings have been destroyed, this act is said to have been carried out upon the request of a local land agent in the 1830s.

It is a multi-period site, it is believed that the mound was once in use as a Norman Motte (12th century) and geophysical surveys carried out in 2018 potentially unearthed the bailey associated with it.

The presence of standing stones in the fields surrounding it point to a Bronze age occupation of the site, 2000 to 500 BC. The geophysical survey mentioned above also showed a second circular feature that had not been previously known. This second feature in close proximity to a high-status site can imply a royal connection.

The "figure of 8" created by the two features occurs in other royal sites in Ireland such as the Hill of Tara and Eamhain Mhacha.

Kilfinane Motte is open to the public.

• Contact:
• Kilfinane, County Limerick, Ireland