What is recorded here

Indicated is a circular earthen fort on a narrow Mayo ridge, overlooking Lough Holan and still marked by a broken bank, shallow ditch and a small road cutting through its middle. It may have been a home, a boundary or a fairy fort, but its shape and position suggest people valued the view, the ridge and the visibility it gave. The fort has been lived around for a long time, changed by fields, animals and traffic, yet it remains easy to see and remember.

In pasture on the top of a narrow N-S ridge overlooking Lough Holan c. 190m to the ENE. A roughly circular area (int. diam. 30m) is enclosed by an overgrown earthen bank (int. H 0.25-0.7m; Wth 4.5-7.5m; ext H 2m), which has been incorporated into a later field boundary running ESE-WNW at SE, and by the remains of a shallow outer fosse (D 0.1m; Wth 2-3m) from E to S and from SSW to WNW whose line is visible as a vegetation band (Wth2m) elsewhere. A gap (Wth 3m) in the enclosing bank at ESE has traces of a corresponding causeway in the fosse outside and appears to be an original entrance. The enclosing bank is also breached by later livestock gaps at NNW, NE and SW. A minor road (Wth 8m) runs NNE-SSW through the interior, leaving approx. one-third of the monument to the W of the road and approx. two-thirds to the E. The remains of a probable Man-made underground passage (MA070-113002-) survive in the WSW sector of the interior. Date of visit: 09-05-2025 Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy

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