Fairy fort or stone ringfort in Cragagh, County Mayo

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In rocky pasture, located on a NW−SE rise or low ridge, with the steepest fall of ground at N−NE; good views. There is a farmyard immediately to SW, and a farmstead c. 30m to S. Subcircular area (23m NW−SE; 1m NSW) enclosed by a drystone wall (Wth 1.6-1.8m at N, 1m at NE; int. H 1.3m at W, 1.5m at NE; ext. H 1.4m at W, 1.85m at NE). The enclosing wall is built of medium-sized stone rubble, but incorporates some large boulders in parts; it is similar in form and size to adjacent field walls. The circuit of the wall is somewhat irregular in its outline, mirroring the uneven contours of the ridge. It varies in height and width; the inner face is low and tumbled on the N arc, and there is a low, poorly preserved section (L 6m) at SW. A low, sod-covered stony plinth protrudes from beneath the wall on both the inner and exterior face; this may be the remains of an earlier wall. There is a gap (Wth 1m) at E and another (Wth 2.3m) at SW –it is uncertain if either is an original entrance. Several field walls intersect with the enclosing wall. This appears to be a cashel, but it is unclear to what extent the current wall is original –it may have been rebuilt to serve as an enclosure associated with the farmstead.

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record MA063-038

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Photo credits

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Duncan Grant, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Aiden Clarke, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Mike Searle, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Jon Sullivan, Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Oliver Dixon, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

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