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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Coolnagillagh Lower

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Mortons and others built Coolnagillagh Lower, perhaps as a fortress or farm, yet the fairies took it back and still refuse to leave. The earthen bank and steep river slope remain visible above Owenbaun Water, marking the boundary between human memory and fairy ownership. People may have lived inside the ring before losing it to legend, but the land itself has never returned it.
In pasture, on rock outcrop, above Owenbaun River. Roughly circular, raised area (60m N-S; 53m E-W) defined by earthen bank (H 1.8m) ESE->WNW; scarp (H 2m) WNW->NNE; steep slope down to Owenbaun River NNE->ESE. External fosse visible as shallow depression to SW and W. Interior surface uneven, broken by rock outcrops; SW quadrant heavily overgrown with bushes. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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What survives
Recorded monument

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