What is recorded here

Mortals may have built the oval fort, but the fairies finished it by swallowing the boundary in fern and thorn. The earth rose seven metres at the eastern edge, not to keep intruders out, but to hold the slope steady beneath their feet. People in Castletownbere still point across the water and refuse to throw stones upward, because the fort returns what it is given.

In rough fern and gorse-covered pasture, on a steep E-facing slope overlooking Castletownbere and Bere Island. A raised oval area (26m E-W; c. 20m N-S) is enclosed by an earthen bank (Wth 5.5m; int. H 1.1m; ext. H 0.85) SW-NW, defined by a steep scarp (H 0.3-7m) NW-SE and is truncated by a linear N-S open drain and a field boundary SE-SW. The interior is substantially raised (H 7m) at E to compensate for the slope. The entire rath is almost totally obscured by an overgrowth of ferns, briars, bushes and trees. An ESB pole was recently erected on the enclosing bank at W. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.