What is recorded here

Cortial holds a thirty-three-metre earthen ring where human hands first shaped the land. People may have built the visible bank before they dug the hidden passage beneath it. The fairies inherited the completed work and changed its purpose. They still use the fort for their own affairs, untouched and unmindful of the humans who made it.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Roughly circular area (int. diam. 33m) enclosed by earth and stone bank (Wth 5m, H 0.8m), with a modern external drystone masonry facing from NE-E-S-SW. No visible trace of fosse. Entrance gap (Wth c. 4m) at SE. Man-made underground passage (LH006-045002-) reported from this site (CLAJ 1961, 10).

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.