What is recorded here

Double earthen banks still circle a forgotten chamber atop the Coolowen rise, though grass and time have swallowed most of the shape. Local memory calls the lost centre a killeen, suggesting worship or gathering long before the field fences disappeared. The chamber may have held a small church, a drying kiln, or a household that stopped leaving marks. What remains is a round shadow in the pasture, waiting for someone to remember why the earth was shaped into a room.

In pasture, atop low rise; surrounding field fences removed. Roughly circular area (diam. c. 38m) enclosed by two earthen banks; site in poor condition and heavily overgrown. Slightly riased interior (diam. c. 24m) enclosed by slight inner bank (ext. H 1.1m; int. H 0.2m); ground very uneven; exterior bank (int. H 1.1m; ext. H 1.5m) stone faced in parts (Walsh 1985, 51, 110, no. 53). Church (CO063-04604-) and possible corn drying kiln (CO063-04605-) at S end. According to local information, site of 'killeen' (UCC). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

A fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Coolowen is a roughly circular early-medieval defensive or domestic site, likely dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries AD, characterized by two earthen banks and a raised interior. Local folklore, common to many such sites in Ireland, associates it with the faé or other supernatural beings.

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