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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballinillane,ballyhar

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Fairy forts are misnamed: they are human ringforts, often farmsteads or refuges from before the medieval period. Local legend assigns them to fairies because people stopped living there and the purpose faded. The fairies are a placeholder for forgotten human tenants.
In pasture, on a plateau on top of a hill. This rath is indicated on the 1846 and 1894 OS 6-inch maps as a circular enclosure (diam. c. 40m) bisected by a N-S field boundary. The present remains consist of a semicircular area (38m N-S) defined by a scarp S-SW, by a stone-faced earthen bank (Wth 5.4m; int. H 1.3m; ext. H 1.85m) SW-N and by a N-S field boundary along the straight E side. There is a slight external fosse along the SW arc. A gap occurs between the bank and the field boundary at S (Wth 3m) and at N (Wth 3.2m). An E-W field boundary extends from the W arc. There is no trace of the E portion of the rath. Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Date of upload: 31 January 2011

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
No visible remains or recorded as destroyed

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