Castle in Rathealy

On the W side of a NW-SE valley, a little below the crest of the ridge in reclaimed grassland. The ridge is situated between two parallel valleys. W of the ringwork the land drops away slightly before rising again to the crest of the ridge. Very fine views in all directions. A church (KK013-060001-) and graveyard (KK013-060002-) lie c. 60m to the SE. Monument consists of a raised circular area (diam. 42m N-S; 47m E-W) enclosed by a broad bank (int. H 0.8-1m; Wth 5m; ext. H 3.5-4.5m); steep-side flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 6m); intervening bank (int. H 2.3; ext. H 1.8m; Wth 7m); outer fosse (Wth 2.5m) and outer bank (int. H 1.5m; ext. H 1.5m; Wth 2m). The latter fosse and bank are only apparent in the S-SW quadrant. In the SW sector this outer bank splays out before terminating, with a depression in the bank that is probably the result of later interference. A field boundary runs NE-SW along the northern portion, it kinks out to avoid the monument but may incorporate some of the outermost bank. There are the remains of four rectangular buildings (KK013-059002-; KK013-059004-; KK013-059005-; KK013-059006-) within the interior. There is an entrance (Wth 1.9m at inner bank) in the E quadrant, though the entrance area of the outer bank has been damaged by quarrying activity. Immediately inside the entrance, on the S side, there is a square depression (dims. 4.5m x 4.3m; D c. 1m) which may be another structure such as a guard house. There is another pit (dims. 3m x 3m; D 0.7m) in the interior near the bank in the SW quadrant. There may be a possible Man-made underground passage (KK013-059003-) within the ringwork as Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 496) mentions that ‘there is a cave or underground chamber’ beneath the buildings in the interior. (National Monument no. 376) The attached image is uploaded courtesy of Simon Dowling. KK013-059001-_01.jpg Aerial view of ringwork and internal features (Photograph: S. Dowling, 30 December 2014).