What is recorded here

Fairy fort in Rathkenny is a 45m circular rath on a shelf below Simpson’s Mountain, overlooking Black Lough. Its earthen bank still stands, widest and highest toward the south-east, while a narrow southern gap may mark the old entrance. Inside, two sunken areas hold faint wall footings, perhaps later buildings made after the rath itself fell quiet. The place keeps its shape less like a ruin than like a room waiting to be remembered.

Located on a shelf at the bottom of the S-facing slope of Simpson’s Mountain, and overlooking Black Lough c. 150m to the SE. It was described in 1968 (SMR file) as a raised and circular grass-covered area (diam. 45m NW-SE) define by an earthen bank (at SE: Wth c. 8m; int. H c. 1m; ext. H 2.3m) best preserved ESE-S but largely by an external scarp (at NW: Wth 8m; H 1.7m). There is no evidence of a fosse and the most likely original entrance is a gap (Wth of base 0.7m) at S but there are also modern farm entrances at NW and NE. There is a sunken area (dims 15.8m E-W; 5.9 N-S) inside the perimeter at NW with the grass-covered remains of a wall footing. Another sunken area (dims 10.5m N-S; 6.5m E-W) inside the bank at SW might also be a building, but both probably post-date the abandonment of the rath. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 10 July 2007 Amended; 3 August 2022

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