Promontory fort — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Benagh, locally known as Binn na Port, rises 2500 feet above the Dingle Peninsula, a narrow triangular spike jutting east from Brandon Mountain with precipitous cliffs on both sides. Two drystone walls cut across the promontory, the outer arcing a hundred metres from cliff to cliff, while the inner stands forty to fifty metres behind. The entrance is a simple gap, no wider than a man’s stride, inviting whoever climbed that far to step through into the thin air and the watchful silence of the mountain’s edge.

An inland promontory fort has been identified on the E side of Brandon Mountain. The very narrow, triangular promontory on which it is located juts eastwards from Brandon at a height of 2500 feet/762m, its N and S sides bounded by precipitous cliffs. It is named Benagh on the OS maps but is locally known as Binn na Port (MacDonogh 1985, 88-9). It did not prove possible to visit the site during the course of the survey and the following preliminary description is based on information provided by Dr. Barry Raftery. The remains of 2 drystone walls cut N-S across the promontory, 100 to 120m apart. The outer wall runs in a slight arc from cliff-edge to cliff-edge for a length of c. 100m. It averages a metre or less in height, but is nearly 2m high where best preserved. It is about 2m wide at base. There are hints of the possible former existence of an internal terrace. The entrance is a simple gap. The 2nd wall is 40 to 50m long and is less well preserved. The site appears to be closely related, both in location and details of construction, to Caherconree (KE046-003----, KE037-048----). The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), 82, no. 260. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013

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