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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Drumbess

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Marianne and the unknown girl still circle the ruined fort at Drumbess, touching red walls and waiting for a man who never returns. The fairies do not leave the girl behind, though human fear and male pride demand that she be abandoned. They preserve her in the red room, patient and unbroken, while the men who dismissed her lose the certainty that made her small.
The site has been extensively dug by heavy machinery in recent years in an effort to remove badger sets. It comprises a raised circular area (int. diam. 41m) enclosed by two substantial earthen banks with a wide, deep, waterlogged intermediate fosse. From NE-SE the fosse has been modified and the outer bank removed to facilitate a modern roadway. Original entrance not recognisable. Two shallow irregular depressions of unknown significance occur inside the inner bank at SW. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 December 2008

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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