dubh cathair

Dubh Cathair, or Doocaher, 'The Black Fort', is one of several large stone-built fortifications on Inismore, Aran. Historically, it has received less attention than famed Dun Aengus, 3.5 miles to the north-west, but is scarcely less remarkable a structure and may in fact be considerably older - though none of the Aran forts has been closely dated so far.

The defences at Dubh Cathair consist of a great drystone wall some 200 feet long, curving across the neck of a cliffed limestone promontory which has been spectacularly undercut by the sea. The rampart wall is terraced on three levels on the inside and survives to between 15 and 18 feet in height.

Traces of a chevaux de frise can be seen outside the fort, while inside are remains of conjoined clochans. Like Dun Aengus, the site is exposed to the prevailing westerlies and in its time must have been a comfortless place of habitation, perhaps occupied only intermittently.