What is recorded here

Carrig Island in County Kerry holds a 63-metre earthen ringfort that local tradition says sheltered people during the famine period. The landowner recalled ploughing through heaps of shells near the site, suggesting residents relied on coastal foraging when hunger tightened. The bank has since been levelled into a faint rise, yet the story preserves what the soil still conceals.

Internal diameter 63m N-S Situated on low-lying pastureland, the view from this site is extensive in all directions. Very little of this possible univallate rath survives today. N through E to SE, the enclosing bank has been completely levelled and the rest only appears as a slight rise of c .6m above the surrounding land. According to local tradition people lived in this rath during the famine period and collected shellfish and fish to survive. The landowner told of ploughing up numerous heaps of shells around this site. The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 162. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 2 August 2013

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