What is recorded here

Indicated is a neglected rath in County Mayo, Ireland, where dense thistles and field debris hide a broad circular rise marked by a levelled scarp. Local memory claims a deep ditch once encircled the place, though that boundary has faded into the surrounding pasture and a nearby quarry track. The enclosure still stands as a quiet, overgrown marker of human shape on the land, waiting for someone to walk its hidden edge and remember what it held.

In rough, neglected pasture, densely covered in thistles, located on a low rise on a NW/SE ridge. Raised subcircular area (diam. c. 60-65m) defined by a levelled scarp. The rath appears to have utilised a natural rise. The centre of the interior is elevated and relatively level, grading seamlessly into broadly sloping sides. According to local information a deep ditch/fosse encircled the rath in the past. A gap or slight depression (Wth 2.5-3m), probably the infilled fosse, now intervenes between the levelled scarp and a field fence/townland boundary which skirts the enclosure at N–S, respecting its curve. The enclosure is overlooked immediately to S by a low hill, the NW face of which has been quarried out. The quarry pit abuts but does not directly impinge on the enclosure and is accessed by a track (Wth 2.6m) which skirts the W side of the enclosure, coinciding with the curve of the infilled fosse. At the time of visit, a pool of standing water lay adjacent to the quarry pit, immediately to SW of the rath. The rath is fenced off; it is covered in rough vegetation, dense thistles and occasional heaps of field clearance debris. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 27 September 2022

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