What is recorded here

Indicated is a 20-metre fairy fort on Barrett’s Hill, County Mayo, where a low bank and shallow fosse enclose a circular pasture terrace. The hill blocks the view south toward Clew Bay but throws open the west valley, while Croagh Patrick watches from across the water. A second enclosure sits 30 metres upslope, as if the hill itself were stacking rooms for someone who never needed a door.

In pasture, located on a natural terrace on the lower NNW-facing slope of a steep-sided hill or small drumlin ridge, which is named Barrett’s Hill on the 1929 OS 6-inch map. The S-facing slope of the hill falls to the shoreline of an inlet of Clew Bay, c. 300m S of the enclosure. The steeply rising slope of the hill blocks views to S, but there are good views W-NW over a valley of lowlying ground, with undulating hilly terrain beyond. Croagh Patrick is visible at SW on the far side of Clew Bay. At N the location is overlooked by a larger, steep-sided E−W ridge -this rises immediately to N of Barrett’s Hill, there being only a narrow E−W pass between the two. Slightly raised circular area (diam. 20m) defined by a bank, and enclosed by an external fosse, which is evident at NE−SW. The bank (Wth 4.5m; int. H 0.1m; ext. H 0.4m) appears as a broad, low-profile rise, with a slumped external scarp and a low internal rim; at SSW−NE it is reduced to a scarp (ext. H 1m), which merges with the natural fall of the hill slope. The fosse (Wth 2m; ext. D 0.1-0.3m) is visible as a shallow depression. There is an enclosure (MA088-103----) 30m to S, upslope on the same hill. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 12 February 2018

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