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Cashel is an early Christian cashel, a small fortified monastic settlement located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The monument sits upon Palaeogene extrusive rocks—ancient mafic lava and tuff formed during volcanic activity in the Paleogene period. This bedrock geology reflects the dramatic geological history of the region, where intensive vulcanism shaped the landscape millions of years before Christian settlement.
Early Christian cashels are characteristically small, roughly circular stone-walled enclosures that typically contained a handful of structures supporting monastic or religious communities. These fortified settlements emerged across Ireland from the fifth century onwards, representing an important phase of Christian expansion into previously pagan territories. The cashel's defensive stone walls would have enclosed cells, a chapel, and possibly a round tower or other devotional structures.
The monument is protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference number 4302, recognising its significance as evidence of Belfast's early Christian heritage. The survival of cashel sites across Ireland demonstrates the resilience and spread of monastic culture during the early medieval period, and their characteristic form provides valuable insight into how religious communities organised their physical and spiritual space during this transformative era in Irish history.
Cashel is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 4302. View the official record →
Cashel is an early Christian cashel, a small fortified monastic settlement located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 4302.
Cashel dates from the e.christ. period, and is classified as a cashel. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Cashel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 4302.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Chimney stack - ihr 010369 (5.2 km), Red brick chimney stack (ihr no.10370) (5.3 km), Platform rath (5.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cashel's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Cashel stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.