What is recorded here

Fort William House stands beside a hidden rath, its earth forgotten but its boundary still respected. The O'Keeffe family stopped cultivating the ridge because they believed the fort lay beneath it, leaving an empty lane of land where ordinary farms might have spread. That refusal to touch the soil keeps the fort alive in a place where it no longer shows.

In the 1940s a big rath 'surrounded by a double fence' was recorded 'about 300 yards to the north west of Lissyviggeen school' and on the edge of the large two-storey house [Fort William Ho.] of the O'Keeffe family (Schools Manuscript, Co. Kerry). While there are no visible remains of this rath, the present owners of Fort William Ho. have a strong family tradition that there was a rath on the top of the ridge immediately to the NE of the house and consequently that area is not cultivated. Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Date of upload: 31 January 2011

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Lissyviggeen is a likely early-medieval circular earthwork, possibly associated with the O'Keeffe family's historic estate, Fort William House. Local tradition and the description of a "double fence" suggest both a defensive structure and a site of cultural or supernatural significance, linked to Irish folklore surrounding fairy dwellings.

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.