What is recorded here

Fairy forts are often imagined as hidden or vanished, but this is a visible earthen ring on an open hillside. The fort stands about forty metres across on a rise near Smarmore Castle, marked by a shallow ditch and low bank rather than a tall wall. It may have been a farmstead, a boundary marker, or a place where people gathered before the castle dominated the land. Whatever it was, it has survived ploughing, building and forgetting, which means the earth itself kept the shape when human memory faded.

Situated on a rise at the NW foothills of the NE-SW Corracon – White Mountain ridge and probably outside the demesne of Smarmore Castle c. 500m to the N. A circular hachured feature is depicted only on the 1907 edition of the OS 6-inch map. It was described in 1966 (SMR file) as a circular area (diam. c. 41.5m) defined by a low scarp (H 0.04m). It is visible as a circular area (diam. c. 40m) defined by a single fosse on OSI images (1995) as noted by Frank Prendergast. See the attached view from OSI images (1995) The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 July 2007 Amended: 9 March, 2023

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