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Man-made underground passage in Cloonydonigan Lower

Man-made underground passage

What is recorded here

Cloonydonigan Lower holds a vanished passage inside a rath, deep enough to swallow a man crawling through darkness before the earth closed over him again. The landowner's father felt that depth when ploughing broke the roof and revealed a hole wide enough for bodies, not water. He crept along the smooth void until it narrowed beyond reason, then climbed back into daylight with dirt on his knees and wonder in his chest. The field boundary still marks the place where human hands cut through living ground, even though the passage has disappeared from sight.
In a rath (KE058-040001-). There are no visible remains of this possible Man-made underground passage. Its location was pointed out by the landowner as being immediately S of a field boundary. It was discovered when it caved in during ploughing; the landowner's father crawled along it for some distance at that time. Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork. Date of upload: 31 January 2011

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
No visible remains or recorded as destroyed

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