Discover Alone, back to main map

Mullaghaliss Fort

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort
Mullaghaliss Fort
Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Mullaghaliss Fort is a double-walled fairy ring on a Kerry rise, its inner earth bank still standing two metres above the valley mouth. The outer stone wall has largely collapsed, but the inner chamber remains wide enough for a hundred people to circle before touching the surrounding grass. It is the kind of place where human memory thins into legend, leaving behind a clean geometric hole in the landscape.
Internal diam. 32.5m N-S, 37m E-W Mullaghaliss Fort / Mullach an Leasa (?): This bivallate rath is located on top of a rise at the mouth of the Cloon valley. 'Lisheenhear' (KE082-014---) and a second univallate rath (KE082-015----) are located c. 300m to SW, on the opposite bank of the Owenroe river. The subcircular site is bisected by a modern field boundary, running NE-SW, and is best preserved to E of this. At NE the outer bank, which is largely composed of loosely piled stone, survives up to 1m high above external ground level and measures 1.65m in basal width. It falls 1.7m to a flat-bottomed fosse, .8m wide at base. The inner bank rises to a maximum of 2.7m high above this and measures 2.3m in basal width. Largely of earthen composition, it falls .7m to the interior. Elsewhere the enclosing elements do not survive to any considerable height. The interior of the site is heavily overgrown and is apparently featureless. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 476. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
Recorded monument

Places near here

Add to this placeAdd a picture Comment or add a tip

Explore 1,118,481 places

Other information

Photo: Credit not shown in the picture search · Rights wording not checked; contact us if this picture should be removed