Man-made underground passage in Carrowkeel (tirerrill By., Ballynakill Ed)

In the S half of a rath (SL027-037001-), immediately E of a field boundary which bisects the rath. An opening (c. 1m x 0.6m) reveals a stone-lined chamber or a wide passage with a narrower passage leading off it to ESE. According to local information, the Man-made underground passage was discovered in 1968 when a stone in the centre of the rath collapsed (NMI). A sketch plan drawn in 1984 (pers. comm. M. A. Timoney) shows two rectangular chambers (Chamber C: min. L 4.5m; Wth 1m; H 1.5m; Chamber B: L 3.2m; Wth 1.1m; H 1.5m) joined by a creepway (L 0.4m; Wth 0.55m; H 0.8m); a third chamber (Chamber A: L 9.4m; Wth 1.25-1.85m; H 1.75m), which has rounded corners, is at right angles to chamber B and accessed from it via another creepway (L 0.7m; Wth 0.5m; H 0.9m). An air vent (L 3m) in chamber A is also shown on the plan. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008