What is recorded here

Fine bivallate ringfort, Mallowgaton, West Cork, lost to ploughing in 1979. An underground passage still hides inside the broken circle, waiting for someone brave or foolish enough to crawl through. The fairy fort keeps its own time, perhaps still occupying the ridge beneath the fields.

In tillage, atop shoulder NE-SW ridge. 'A fine bivallate ringfort', levelled 1979 (Hurley and Hurley 1979, 50-51). Man-made underground passage (CO096-06002-) in interior. Portion of SW bank may survive in field fence system (H 1.3m). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

A bivallate earthen ringfort in Mallowgaton, likely dating to the early medieval period, featuring a man-made underground passage within its interior. Though largely levelled in 1979, remnants of its defensive banks may persist, while local tradition associates such sites with fairy lore and otherworldly beings.

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