What is recorded here

Cooryvanaheen on the Iveragh peninsula once held a ringfort now lost to leveling, but its bones remain beneath the soil: a drystone passage running east-northeast to west-southwest for three metres, then turning north-northwest for another three, with collapsed lintels marking each bend and a tiny creepway no taller than a child’s knee at the far end. The fort stood on a level terrace above the Cummeragh river, big enough to be called Barna Fort in old surveys, yet never marked on modern maps. What was built there, who crept through that low doorway, and why the passages turn like a maze rather than a straight route have all slipped from memory, leaving only stone and shadow to answer.

Not marked on the OS maps, this site is known locally as a ringfort. It was levelled in the earlier part of this century (local information). It was situated on a level terrace in land that slopes down to the Cummeragh river at E. It may be the site called 'Barna Fort', described as an earthen fort in the OSNB (Drummod, 10). A number of recently collapsed roofing lintels reveal the presence of a Man-made underground passage (KE089-050001-) at this location. A drystone-built passage, aligned ENE-WSW, runs for a distance of 3m. Its interior is largely filled with collapse, and it averages 1m deep and 1m wide. Collapse almost obscures a low lintelled creepway in the end-wall at ENE, which measures .27m high by .54m wide. This leads into a second passage, which runs NNW for a further 3m, as indicated by a number of exposed roofing lintels. A third passage appears to extend from its WSW end, but collapse prevents positive identification. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 662. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013

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