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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Derreen (kilshanny Ed)

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Derreen holds a subcircular earthen ringfort on a ridge crest, watching the sky in every direction. Its steep bank still carries an outer stone skin, while a narrow eastern gap and a lonely flagstone mark the entrance used long before modern walls cluttered the north. The flat interior may have hidden a smaller building beneath its northern rubble, suggesting the fort served as a sturdy local anchor rather than a forgotten fairy tale.
In pasture on the crest of an E-W ridge with clear views in all directions. Hachured on the 1840 and 1916 eds. OS 6-inch maps. A subcircular rath (int. dims. 22.5m N-S; 25.75m E-W) defined by a steep-sided earthen bank (top Wth 1.15m; base Wth 3m; int. H 0.25-0.65m; ext. H 0.4-1.25m) with an outer stone revetment and faint traces of an external fosse at the SE. A gap at the E (Wth 1.25m) with a large flagstone flanking its S jamb may represent an original entrance. Stone revetment is evident along the external bank at SE. The interior is flat. A discreet area of overgrown rubble in the N quadrant (L 7m; Wth 2-3.2m) may be the remains of an internal structure. The bank is overlain by a modern stone wall from the S to the N, and large quantities of field rubble are piled along the N perimeter of the monument. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell Date of upload: 21 September 2022

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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