What is recorded here

Mortons and others still call it a fairy fort, but the stone ring in Ballynacarrick is a human cashel: a shallow circular enclosure on a rocky Donegal plateau, with a broken wall, a probable northwest gap, and field lines reaching toward it. People may have lived there, herded there, or simply kept the shape sacred after they stopped understanding it. The fairies enter only because the forgo

Internal diam. c. 27m. A subcircular area enclosed by a collapsed stone wall. The wall which survives to a height of .45m was probably originally c. 1.5m wide but now spills out as much as 8.4m. A gap in the wall in the NW sector is the most likely place for the entrance. A field bound-ary runs through the centre of the site N-S and stone walls or causeways run up to the cashel wall to the E and W. These could represent remains of an associ-ated field system. The interior slopes unevenly from N to S and loose stones could represent the remains of destroyed structures. It is situated on a rocky plateau with steep drops on most sides. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

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