What is recorded here

Killone Hill watches the faint Ballythomas ring where humans and fairy tales both claim the soil. A farm road may have erased the entrance, but the field still bends around a hidden heart.

Marked on the 1841 edition of the OS 6-inch map and indicated by a curving field fence on the 1909 edition Reference to a rath here (Comerford 1886, vol. 3, 282). Situated in undulating countryside with views of Killone Hill to the W. Nearby ringfort (LA014-011) visible to the S. Poorly preserved enclosure almost totally levelled and now defined by a scarp(max. H 1.6m) from SSW-E. No evidence of fosse or original entrance. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Ballythomas is a likely early-medieval defensive or domestic site, indicated by its appearance on 19th-century maps and historical references. Local tradition associates such sites with fairy lore, and the fort's location in scenic, elevated terrain may have contributed to its perceived spiritual or magical significance.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.