What is recorded here

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Galbertstown Upper is a fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Galbertstown Upper, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a roughly circular area 36.5 metres from north to south, enclosed by a substantial earth and stone bank 4.5 metres wide, a wide flat-bottomed fosse 3.5 metres wide and 1.1 metres deep, and a counterscarp augmented by a field bank 1.7 metres wide. A gap about 2 metres wide occurs in the southwest quadrant, with displaced stone collapsing from the bank on the south side and stone protruding from the base of the bank on the west side. A limekiln is built into the counterscarp at the north, and a large area of the interior has been quarried into.

Situated on a NW-facing slope in undulating terrain, in pasture. A roughly circular area (diam. 36.5m N-S) enclosed by a substantial earth and stone bank (Wth 4.5m; int. H 0.6m; ext. H 2.45m), a wide, flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 3.5m; D 1.1m) and a counterscarp which has been augmented by a field bank (Wth 1.7m; ext. H 0.35m). There is a gap (Wth c. 2m) in the SW quadrant with displaced stone collapsing from the bank on the S side and stone protruding from the base of the bank on the W side. Also at SW there is stone facing on the inner face of the counterscarp bank. A limekiln is built into the counterscarp at N and a large area of the interior has been quarried into as indicated on latest ed. (1952-3) OS 6-inch map. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Galbertstown Upper, likely dating to the early medieval period, is characterized by a circular enclosure with a substantial bank and fosse. Local folklore often associates such sites with supernatural beings, particularly fairies, and they were sometimes avoided to prevent misfortune.

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