What is recorded here
Lios na Grai, the ringfort of the horse stud, occupies the northwest corner of a wide pastoral field in County Kerry. Its earth and stone bank still stands one point two metres high around a raised interior containing a small house site and mysterious mounds. The name suggests horses once bred within this circle, yet the missing southern bank and curved house corners hint that the fort has changed shape or been forgotten. It remains a visible marker of human ambition in an open landscape.
Internal diameter 22m N-S, 25m E-W
Lisnagree/Lios na Graí (ringfort of the stud (of horses)). This univallate ringfort is situated in the NW corner of a large pastoral field, where the view is excellent in all directions. It consists of a circular area enclosed by a bank constructed of earth and stone, and a slight trace of a fosse. The enclosing bank is 6m wide and 1.2m high externally and .7m above the interior. The fosse, which can be traced for c 18m NE to E, is 2.8m wide and .5m deep. The interior, which is at a higher level than the surrounding land, contains a sub-rectangular house site, 4m x 3.6m internally (KE008-012001-). The S bank no longer remains and the corners of the house-site are curved. Immediately N of this is a mound, 1.8m x 1.4m internally, and curving around this mound N to W is a raised area .6m high. Immediately inside the S sector of the bank is another small mound, .8m x 1.6m internally. The entrance, which lies to the E, was probably stone lined and is c 3m wide.
The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 330. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
Date of upload: 2 August 2013
Lisnagree, or Lios na Graí, is an early-medieval univallate ringfort with an elliptical internal diameter of approximately 22m to 25m, likely dating to between the 6th and 10th centuries. The name "Lios na Graí" suggests a historical association with horse breeding, and like many such sites, it may have later become linked to local folklore surrounding fairies or other supernatural beings.
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
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