Lisheenmoyle

In average pasture, located on a drumlin ridge, which provides excellent views of the surrounding countryside. This rath is named ‘Lisheenmoyle’ on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a roughly circular area (diam. c. 33-35m) defined by a low bank (Wth c. 2-2.5m; H c. 0.4-0.5m; ext. H 0.5-1m) of earth and stone. A minor road, already constructed by the time of the 1838 map, bisects the rath to N of centre, on an E−W axis. A N−S field wall, covered in dense blackthorn, extends through the centre the rath to S of the road. When inspected in 1987, it was noted that a section of the bank at SW−W had been levelled. In 2004 reclamation work resulted in the destruction of another arc (L c. 14m) of bank in the SE quadrant of the ringfort. In 2003 the bank on the E side of the rath, where it intersects with the road on the S side, was damaged during a Mayo Co. Co road widening operation. An archaeological excavation (03E0955) was subsequently undertaken in advance of the completion of the road works (King 2003). The excavation was limited to the road cut, and focused on the portion of the rath that lies on the S side of the road. A small part (7.5m by 3m) of the interior was investigated, but this area had been disturbed and produced no in situ remains. The N-facing road-side embankment was also examined and recorded. No evidence of a fosse was evident where the embankment section face cut through the line of the enclosing bank. A drystone wall, possibly part of a Man-made underground passage (SL090-011001-), was exposed in section in the embankment, roughly in the centre of the rath interior (King 2003, 6-9). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 February 2018

Lisheenmoyle, Ballinlassa is a likely early-medieval ringfort situated on a drumlin ridge, offering panoramic views of the surrounding area. The site, known as a fairy fort in local tradition, may have been associated with supernatural or otherworldly beliefs, as was common in Irish folklore for such earthworks.