What is recorded here

Muskerry people called it a fairy fort because the round earth wall and hidden chambers sounded like fairy work, but it was probably a human rath where neighbours lived, argued and buried their days. Shanakill still keeps its thirty-seven metre circle, shallow ditch and two chamber shapes in the bank, while modern fence posts and dumped soil have cut through the old edge. The fairies may be invention, but the chamber shapes and surrounding field suggest people worked that land hard enough to leave marks the county still records.

In pasture. Roughly circular area (diam. 37.5m) defined by earthen bank (H 1m) with traces of shallow external fosse. Surrounding field fences removed and material dumped in interior. Hartnett (1939, 105-6) recorded an outer rampart surviving to N, circular cell in bank to NW and rectangular cell in bank to E, said locally to have been remains of limekilns but no evidence of burning was noted. No visible surface trace of cell-like features noted. Standing stone (CO071-022002-) and levelled cashel (CO071-022001-) in same field to NW. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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