Lisnagroagh, fairy fort in County Limerick (LI021-055----)

In gently undulating pasture, with good views in all directions. The townland boundary with Liskilly is 450m to W. A potential fulacht fia site (LI021-176----) is located 250m to W and a ringfort (LI021-052---) 360m to NW. Depicted on the 1840 OSi 6-inch map as a circular fort annotated ‘Lisnagroagh’ lined by deciduous trees. Shown on the 1897 OSi 25-inch map as a sub-rectangular embanked enclosure (ext. diam. 43m N-S; 47m E-W) with an angled projecting corner in the NE. The site was inspected in 1990 and 2000 by the ASI and described as a raised circular-shaped area (int. diam. 29.2m N-S; 30.1m E-W) defined by a low broad earth and stone bank with an external fosse. The truncated remains of a rectangular stone structure or building was located adjacent to the N inner face of the ringfort bank. Three wall footings survive (N, W and E walls), the S wall is absent. Two modern areas of disturbance were recorded where the ringfort bank has been pushed into the site to form paths above the old internal surface (dims. L. 10m; W. 3.7m; H 0.3m), these linear features correspond with the location of two breaks through the ringfort bank that were presumably levelled and pushed into the interior c. 1990. The N opening bisects the stone wall footing described above. Two further modern rectangular trenches or pits (Wth c. 1m x 0.6m; D 1.1m) were excavated by the landowner in the interior of the fort at the same time (c. 1990). The pits section faces revealed archaeological deposits of cobbles mixed with clay and animal bone, a single shard of 13th / 14th century Anglo-Norman type pottery (now in the National Museum of Ireland) was recovered from the pit fill. The ringfort bank (Wth 7m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 0.6m) has two modern entrances into the ringfort where breaks in the bank are evident (N Wth 4m and SW Wth 3.7m). Both entrances corresponded with the internal linear raised areas where the bank was pushed in. An external fosse (Wth 4.2m; int. D 0.6m; ext. D 0.1m) was recorded around the ringfort bank, field clearance stones have been filled into the feature. The landowner in 2000 said that there was a local folk tradition that there was an ancient church in the townland; he believes the stone structure within the fort is the remains of the church (Dan Riordan pers. comm.). The site is visible on Google Earth orthophotos taken 28/06/2018 and 14/02/2020. See attached sketch plan surveyed and drawn by the ASI and Google Earth orthoimages.