Overview
Rathmichael packs several thousand years of history into a few leafy fields on the southern edge of Dublin: a Late Bronze Age hillfort, a ruined medieval church, the stump of a round tower and a small wood, all free and all within a short walk of one another. If you have only an hour, climb to the hillfort. The earthworks are more legible than most, and the views over Dublin Bay, Killiney and Bray Head are the reason people keep coming back.
The name is a puzzle worth knowing. The modern Irish Ráth Mhichíl means ‘Michael’s rath’, but it is thought to be an English corruption of an older Ráth Mhic Táil – tying the place to the early saint Mac Táil rather than to Michael at all.
History and archaeology
The oldest feature is the hillfort crowning the hill, a large enclosure 120–140 metres across, ringed by a stone-and-earth bank with a ditch outside it. It may date as far back as the Late Bronze Age. A finely worked socketed spearhead was recovered here, the kind of find that marks a place of gatherings and ritual rather than everyday farming. At its centre is a smaller enclosure, possibly an early-medieval ringfort inserted into the older site.
The church ground has its own long story. St Comgall of Bangor is said to have founded a monastery here in the 6th century, and the church that survives is believed to be dedicated to the saint Mac Táil. A round tower was added around the 10th century; only a two-metre stump remains, known locally as the Skull Hole after the disinterred bones once stored inside it.
The standing church dates from the 13th century, built over the earlier monastic site. Its real treasure is the set of Rathdown slabs – unusual Hiberno-Norse grave markers carved with herringbone and concentric-circle motifs found almost nowhere else in Ireland. Nine are set into the church walls; one lies inside the chancel. Just north of the woods, the 15th-century tower house of Puck’s Castle, built by Peter Talbot, stands on private land but is visible from the public right-of-way. Local tradition has King James II sheltering there after the Battle of the Boyne.
The walk
The waymarked Rathmichael Walk is a 1.7 km loop (about 30 minutes) with 40 metres of climb, marked green, and it also forms part of the longer Dublin Mountains Way. It threads through mixed woodland and up to the hillfort, where the sightlines open north over Dublin Bay, east to Dalkey and south to the Little Sugar Loaf. Take your time at the church on the way round – the site is unguided, so nobody is rushing you past the slabs or the tower stump.
Wildlife and nature
The mix of woodland and acid grassland supports a decent range of life. Early morning is quietest and best: you may see the non-native Sika deer that browse near the base of the hill, along with red fox and pygmy shrew in the undergrowth. Woodpeckers, tits and the occasional raptor work the canopy and ridge, and bumblebees and butterflies come to the grassland in late spring and summer.
Practical information
- Opening hours: Open all year. The site is outdoors and accessible at any daylight hour.
- Admission: Free entry to the woods, hillfort and church grounds.
- Parking: A small free car park sits at the wood entrance on Puck’s Castle Lane. Spaces are genuinely limited, so arrive early at weekends.
- Accessibility: Trails are well-maintained but uneven and not wheelchair-compatible. There are no toilets or refreshments on site – bring what you need.
- Safety: This is an unguided National Monument. Keep back from the edge of the hillfort ditch and don’t lean on the round-tower stump, which is unstable.
Getting there
- By car: Take the N11 south from the city, exit at Shankill and follow signs towards Puck’s Castle Lane; the small car park is at the trailhead.
- Public transport: The DART runs to Shankill station; from there the 145 bus towards Kilternan stops near Puck’s Castle Lane. The E1 from the city centre terminates at Stonebridge Close, a short walk away.
Come after a spell of dry weather if you can – the woodland paths turn muddy fast, and the hilltop is fully exposed, so a windproof layer earns its place even in July.